I see a fair amount of people here take the NAC supplement. I understand it helps the body produce Glutathione, which is a very important antioxidant. I have one doctor who is taking classes to be a functional doc. He says I should take TWO tablets of this totaling to,1200 mg. I think most people take one tablet of 600 units. I think my doctor is concerned about Lymphoma prevention. Additionally, I have a fair amount of cancer in my family tree. So, I'm curious as to why folks here are taking NAC, but particularly what dosage you are taking. Thank you.
I take NAC 600 mg twice a day. Total of 1200 mg per day.
I take it for the following reasons: Antioxidant; Anti-inflammatory; Lower Lipids; Neurological Function/Cognitive Function; Mucolytic Agent
The one area I can actually see the difference is in my sinus and nasal discharge. I used to have (many years) very dry, thick, whitish/creamish sinus and nasal mucous. Since being on the NAC it is very thin, watery, and clear. My breathing is so much improved. My ENT did confirm that it was the NAC that was causing the sinus and nasal secretions to be thin, clear, and watery instead of thick and creamy.
The other areas are more difficult to measure in terms of how much the NAC is affecting them, especially since I take several supplements. Many of them affect the same things (Antioxidant; Anti-inflammatory; Lower Lipids; Neurological Function/Cognitive Function).
NAC is not good if you are diabetic.
I used to take NAC and it does help me produce more saliva. But I quit taking it when I discovered it made me gain weight!! (what doesn't?) :o :'(
"I used to take NAC and it does help me produce more saliva."
Interesting!
Maybe that is why I have more saliva as well as more and clearer sinus mucous.
what is nac please?
NAC is N-Acetyl L-Cysteine.
i still cannot understand how you can take all those pills or capsules... i can take may be one a day breaking it or swallowing with some food but this takes fear and time to decide to do it and to prepare it... and if i succeed, most of the pills affect my gastritis and if it does not affect my gastritis i will probably have diarrhea... so when i see the list of all the medicines most of you take, i feel the most sick person here...(sob)
I take it. It helps with nasal/throat dryness and mouth dryness for me. It also has other benefits that make it worth taking.
i did not know what is this nac but i understand thats something i use with areosol when i used to have thick mucous in the past . but it affects my stomach and bladder. anybody with the same problem? thanks
Jasper,
I never knew that NAC can help with thick sinus drainage. Where have I been when people have been discussing this?
I'm going to get me some pronto! How long before I see a difference? (With my damned luck, it probably won't work for me.😞)
I'm going to try it and let everyone know how it works out for me. It would be awesome if it did!
Kathy
Kathy ..... I am not sure how long it takes to work. I actually started taking it for another reason and then noticed my sinus and nasal secretions thinned out. But I don't remember how long it took. I have been taking it since October 2013. My sinus and nasal secretions have been pretty thin now for over a year. I just don't recall for sure when I noticed them getting thinner.
I knew NAC was used as a mucolytic for lung secretions and that it is sometimes used in Sjogren's (for thinning the lung secretions) so I figured that the reason my sinus secretions thinned was due to the NAC. I discussed this with my ENT doctor recently and she agreed that the NAC was thinning my sinus and nasal secretions.
What dosage helps with thinning mucus?
I started taking 600 mg a day in Oct. 2013 and then increased it to 600 mg twice a day in Sept. 2014. My mucous was already thin on 600 mg a day. I increased it to twice a day for other reasons.
Be sure to talk with your doctor before taking NAC. In addition, I would recommend doing your own on line research so that you know the effects, side effects, contraindications, dosages, etc.
Lane I'm not sure for the reason, but WorldHealth.net says "People with diabetes mellitus and allergies to eggs, milk, or wheat should not take supplementary cysteine." I know in my past life, in ICU, when using high doses of NAC to treat acetaminophen poisoning, we were required to do hourly blood sugar and ketone tests on any diabetic patients, so there must be a link.
If considering using it in low (supplement) doses, be very aware of how it is sourced, since some of the primary sources are from products that present problems for many people with allergies, like dairy, eggs, nuts, shellfish and wheat.
In my case, I am taking 600 units (one tablet). One of my doctors, a neurologist, is taking classes in Functional Medicine. He asked me to take two tablets or 1200. I have hesitated, but it seems many here are taking both tablets. He is adamant that two tablets are best for me overall.
Linda....thanks for the information. One can't simply start something without a full examination of all the possible consequences! We all take so many meds and supplements ...AI patient Is a full time job! The prednisone that I am on temp. Raises the blood glucose so I must plan out food, pill taking ,etc. I was checking out NAC for my husband, who has COPD. His pulmonologist ok'd it, but you can't take it if you take blood thinners...my husband takes Coumadin and plavix.
to thin the mucous secretion is the principal effect since decades
I have a friend show has Sjogrens, COPD and Diabetes. She has been acutely ill many times in one year and almost died due to COPD and lung infections. Her pulmonary doc put her on NAC and a low maintenance dose of antibiotic.
The NAC thins her lung secretions--she has one lung that really would fill up with thick mucus--- and her cough is not nearly as bad. She has not been in the hospital since she started this regime. Irish
I remembered that I was using the NAC nasal irrigations to help clear the thick mucus out of my nasal passages. It worked well. However, I quit doing it as I was also on Levoquin nasal irrigations and it was to expensive.
My otolaryngologist recommended NAC for hearing loss due to Meniere's Disease, in 2008.
IN 2011 the hearing in my right ear, which had more loss than my left ear, returned to the same level as my left ear.
Was this due to the NAC? I don't know. I don't care. I continue to take it, of course. It isn't hurting me, and perhaps it is helping with many things.
I am not diabetic.
Hugs, Elaine
Carolina...do you take the larger dosage of NAC...1200 ?
Dear Nomad, off the top of my head I don't know how much NAC I take. I checked and I take 1,000 mg a day.
I take generic Mucinex daily for thinning mucus. I order it on line and take it at night.
AND I rinse with Simply Saline and spray with Nasocort (twice a day) to prevent post nasal drip.
It is a complex solution to a miserable problem. But if I forget the Nasocort a couple of times I am choking all night.
The sensation is of having something 'stuck' behind my nasal passages, it should come down, but it won't and I can't swallow properly.
I am struggling to swallow the thick blockage all night. I finally get it down and then it just forms again. Just writing about it here makes me feel like I can't swallow!
I didn't know NAC thinned mucus. I just thought it did "something" to the problems of Meniere's. Meniere's isn't fully understood. Most of what we have isn't fully understood.
We just keep trying to help our problems, some life changing problems and some sort of 'annoying' problems. They add up quickly to a way of life that becomes 'the new normal'. But my spraying and rinsing and careful ordering and managing of my medications and supplements is how I manage to face each day.
Last night the temperature dropped outside and my humidifier ran out of water, so it was like the Sahara in my mouth this morning. A small thing, but one of so many.
I also take an antihistamine day and night (day Zyrtec, night Benadryl) And this helps with skin itching, congestion and many other symptoms.
But I think the really important part is that we must all come to what works for us. I keep re evaluating my medications, using the NIH site to go over the positives and negatives.
Recently I stopped taking Turmeric, to see if anything changed. I can't see any change. But I'll start it again later to see what happens when I re introduce it.
What amazed me is that I used Restasis for 8 years and when I stopped, nothing changed at all. And Restasis is very expensive and was another 'routine' to go through, another drug to order and manage.
I've started and stopped many things over my time. But I've always taken a Salagen/Evoxac/generic without a doubt. And the meds I take for my Coronary Artery Disease are decided upon by my Cardiologist. I have to take an Iron supplement because without it my anemia returns.
Actually I have't tested the Iron/anemia thing in 7 years. But my blood tests are always normal with two Iron supplement tablets a day, so I know I need it.
I take the copper supplement my Neurologist wants me to take, although I never knew I had a total deficiency of copper which is almost unheard of, and nothing has improved/changed with the 10 mg of copper I've taken daily for over a year now. So I have no idea about this. Maybe it will make a difference long term? I have no clue.
The thing is that NO ONE I know does any of this, except my friends in this forum. We are forced to find our way. Thank goodness you are all here to keep me company.
Hugs, Elaine
I have to add that NAC is a very old drug that has been used for years. When I was in nurses training 50 years ago we would do Mucomist nebulizers on patients with COPD or other lung problems---cystic fibrosis is another disease treated with these nebs. It helps thin the thick mucus so it is more easily coughed up.
When in the liguid form used for nebs it smells something terrible., Not as bad as a skunk, but almost. I guess is left a bad taste in the patients mouth also. If you look it up on Wikipedia you will see a lot of info on it. Some of the stuff on this site is often open to discussion as we all know. However, I can vouch for the use in treating respiratory conditions. Irish