Perhaps We Can Make It Definitely
I got my first Drug Sensitivity Test (DST) result in Nov 11, 2004, that was 3 years after I started receiving TB treatment under the management of different private physicians. Sputum tests were overdue not because they were not available but because I was not referred by my first doctor to undergo such tests right after I finished one cycle of TB treatment wherein I did not respond to the medication. She only used x-rays as a diagnostic tool in deciding whether I was already cured or not. I changed doctors 3 times.
My first DST result showed that I was resistant to INH (only). With the DST test, I got more confident that I would be given effective treatment regimen and that anytime soon, I would be declared as CURED from TB but getting freed from TB did not come sooner than I expected. I received continuous treatment under different private physicians. Ten months after my first DST result, I gained resistance to 2 more first line anti-TB drugs, Rifampicin and Ethambutol.