Took NAC today

@alleycatkate My pulmonologist put me on NAC when I was diagnosed with MAC and Bronchiectasis in 2019. I use the capsules daily along with my nebulizer meds. I am doing well.

@chisintexas Good to hear you're thriving! I have a similar timeframe for NAC... probably 2017, and I've done well with my BE and MAC journey, except for acquiring Pseudo's. I do think NAC helps.

@sueinmn my doctor at NJH told me (June, 2025) that if I wanted to use NAC, and I felt it benefitted me, he had no objections, but it wasn’t something he recommends to his patients. I have not tried NAC to date. I began treatment for MAC almost immediately after that conversation at NJH and have had my hands full with all of that. NAC is on my list of future “maybes” as I do know some fellow patients who feel it has greatly benefited them (oral version). I think the inhaled version adds more complexity than I am looking for at the moment, given I don’t have respiratory symptoms, but I did have a respiratory therapist tell me recently she thought it was effective at aiding AC.

@scoop this is a real issue with AI. As much as I appreciate how quickly it can pull together a lot of information, one needs to be very careful relying on AI.

I am 88 and I felt nausau for the first day or two, not a lot, but enough to make me cut back to one 600mg pill for about a week and took it with 3 or 4 crackers and at least 8-10 ounces or more of water. I am now taking it twice a day with no troubles and I had something happen that was unusual. I noticed two brown mucus plugs in my mucus during an Aerobika session and that has never happened in four years on that therapy. I had no one to ask so I asked Gemini (paid version) and Gemini bot said it was most likely dried blood and good possibility it was pried loose by NAC, kind of loosing the glue that stuck it in one of my lung pot holes. I will ask my Pulmo about it, it only happened once. Overall, I feel good with NAC, not great, but different and mucus is thinner.

I have been taking NAC every morning and for me worked wonders. It came my mucas lose and was much easier to do an airway clearance. May take a couple days to adjust but it also has many other benefits. I had to come off for two weeks while on the ciprofloxen and noticed the difference and how much harder it was to do airway clearance.

@clk1958 How many mgs do you take each day?
Kay

@clk1958 I also would like to know how many mgs.

I have been taking NAC for ten days and I have to say this has become a miracle drug for me. I take 1200mg twice a day, pill form, early morning and about 3pm in the afternoon. Prior to taking this I stopped Cipro, Oxcillin and Lebo, none worked or bad side effects. I was deperate. I had a serious exacerbation that went away after three days of Cipro, before quitting. Here is what NAC has done for me.
1. Eating normal, great appetite again. Working on getting my 40 pounds loss back.
2. Energy level vastly improved, no longer walking around like a Zombie all day.
3. No early morning gagging, coughing, etc. Much less coughing.
4. Sleeping better.
I asked Gemini Pro why would this be happening beyong just thinning my mucus and got a lengthy explanation, scientific at times, that explained all the other benefits I am getting. I am almost 89 years old.

@picartist That's a really encouraging post. I'm taking NAC but only 500 mg midday, because I'm still on Mucinex per doctor's instructions. I am just curious, are you also taking Mucinex? And are you doing nebulizer treatments twice a day? Sounds like your exacerbation was treated with only 3 days of Cipro (which the bacteria must have been sensitive to) and then your (NAC enhanced) airway clearance protocol? This must feel like a new lease on life!
I hate the early morning gagging also.