small study: high dose NAC might help bronchiectasis patients

Posted by wolfplanetzero @wolfplanetzero, Jan 11, 2024

Hello. A recent double-blind study (17 subjects) showed that high-dose NAC (2400 mg daily) improved lung function and quality of life in bronchiectasis patients, and provided other benefits. Hopefully a larger study will be undertaken soon. As always, best to work with your doctor when considering new therapies. The dosage in this study is about twice as high as some of the other NAC research papers.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38141851/

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@spider109

Thank-you Sue for your reply, I have one other question for you though. How long before you noticed a difference in your mucus problems AFTER you started using NAC and/or Mucinex? I used both for about 1 1/2-2 weeks and didn’t seem to see a difference. In fact if anything seemed a little worse. Granted I’ve been diagnosed with Bronchiectasis and fibrosis, not MAC or NTM. As always thank-you for you help & knowledge to us all.

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Well, I've been using guaifenesin for almost 40 years so I don't remember how long. The effect with NAC was gradual, so perhaps a month or two.
Did you begin using both at the same time? Whenever trying a new thing, I try to do one at a time to see how much it helps.
Sue

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I have not tried NAC because I do have asthma. However, I do take Clear Lung which I have not seen mentioned lately. Does Clear Lung and NAC do basically the same thing

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@sueinmn

Well, I've been using guaifenesin for almost 40 years so I don't remember how long. The effect with NAC was gradual, so perhaps a month or two.
Did you begin using both at the same time? Whenever trying a new thing, I try to do one at a time to see how much it helps.
Sue

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Sue I also have used Guiafeneson for quite some time and it does work well for me. I will check with my doctor and see how long to take the NAC. As always thank you so much

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Pulmozyme (dornase alfa) is not recommended for non-CF bronchiectasis patients because it could be potentially harmful. It is prescribed for cystic fibrosis patients. All of my lung doctors at the Cleveland Clinic have suggested that I take Mucinex. When I mentioned NAC to my main pulmonologist, she said that studies show mixed results, but it shouldn't cause any harm. I take it off and on. FYI A Chinese study from 2018 involving 161 bronchiectasis patients showed that NAC 600mg twice daily reduced exacerbations.
https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT02088216

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