I would suggest you discuss treatment with ATT for your tuberculosis. I had a positive ppd and bad bronchitis in 1987 and then a single encapsulated tubercule in 1993, accompanied by rapidly spreading vitiligo and hyperpigmentation--a sign my adrenals and endocrine were being attacked, very high liver function tests, the beginnings of fatty liver, severe sudden endometriosis, and fatigue. No one connected this sudden illness to TB, though it is the cause, and the reviving of the TB was due to me working very long long hours and wearing myself thin. I was extremely healthy and fit at the time.
I became ill again in 1998, having unexplained right lower lobe pneumonia, a hysterectomy due to sterility and endometriosis and pco, and right submandibular gland/lymph node suddenly swelling. It came out of the blue. again recurrance of tb.
I am now disfigured, have horrible spinal problems and have had two surgeries, have had the lymph nodes on both sides of my neck removed, I have scoliosis and degeneration, canal stenosis and other problems thoughout my spine. I have multiple endocrine problems including adrenal dysfunction that left untreated will likely progress to addisons disease. I should have taken the INH TB treatment, but I was told not to worry, a single encapsulated tubercule, not a big deal, even though I had acute liver disease and all those other problems, the docs didn't connect it at the time. We don't understand how it progresses in this country, and we neglect/deny/fail to test for tb that may have passed into the blood stream, where it silently attacks your body. We only want to treat people with active tb, even though your tb may become active and you may be contagious and not know it. It may be spreading throughout your body.
I read an account of an Indian boy who had a single encapsulated tubercule and positive tb test. The nodule cleared with a short term of antibiotics. 4 years later, he was rushed into the ER with black gums and in Addisonian crisis--the tb had spread to his adrenal glands and he was dying. The ER treated him, and he went on Anti Tuberculosis Therapy and his adrenals healed and he seroconverted.
Even though I read tb affects children harder than adults, the fact it spread into his blood silently, quickly, even though he had a single encapsulated tubercule, made me realize that I wasn't taking the disease seriously, and it was the likely cause for my sudden debilitating life-threatening bouts of illness, for which a diagnosis could never be found. BTW, most biopsies don't check for TB, even if you request it, which I did.
For me, the story showed that you never know how it will progress, and that even with healthy people it can silently cause damage in multiple places. Also, I must have been contagious at some points too. So for me, taking antituberculosis therapy is a number one priority. Also, I was told the longer you wait, the harder it is to clear the disease.
I hope you are okay and everything works out alright. For me, it has been a recurring nightmare, costing me a fortune, disfiguring and crippling me, and now very debilitating. My sister had it and took INH Anti tuberculosis therapy and has been fine and doesn't even test positive anymore. I wish I had followed her lead. I was just told by American doctor after American doctor that it wasn't a big deal and I needn't worry about it becoming active unless I got AIDs or was elderly and weak. For me, that was not the case.
Take care and wish you the best.
