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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/

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the MAC & Bronchiectasis Support Group.

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Sue, Volunteer Mentor | @sueinmn | Jan 16, 2024
In reply to @spider109 "Thank-you Sue for your reply, I have one other question for you though. How long before..." + (show)
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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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sandy148 | @sandy148 | Jan 16, 2024

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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spider109 | @spider109 | Jan 16, 2024
In reply to @sueinmn "Well, I've been using guaifenesin for almost 40 years so I don't remember how long. The..." + (show)
Profile picture for Sue, Volunteer Mentor @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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wolfplanetzero | @wolfplanetzero | Jan 16, 2024

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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clk1958 | @clk1958 | Jun 22 11:36am
In reply to @scoop "Thanks for posting this study; it's great that it's relatively new from Dec 2023. Maybe I..." + (show)
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Thanks for posting this study; it's great that it's relatively new from Dec 2023. Maybe I missed it but the study did not say how often the NAC was given. Many of us take 600mg twice a day. I wonder if taking 1200mg twice a day would help, or they administered it in smaller increments throughout the day. For kicks I might give this a whirl!

@wolfplanetzero have you tried increasing the NAC you take?

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My lung specialist put me on NAC 6 weeks ago ( 600 mg) once in the morning is all I take. I have bronchiactasis and have just been give the green light on my MAC disease after 16 months of antibiotics. The mucas is much thinner and coming up within hours or sooner after taking. I also have not had to do much airway clearance later in the day as there is nothing left to bring up. I will continue with the NAC as it certainly is working for me along with many other benefits, I suggest it is worth a try!

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scoop | @scoop | Jun 22 12:30pm
In reply to @clk1958 "My lung specialist put me on NAC 6 weeks ago ( 600 mg) once in the..." + (show)
Profile picture for clk1958 @clk1958

My lung specialist put me on NAC 6 weeks ago ( 600 mg) once in the morning is all I take. I have bronchiactasis and have just been give the green light on my MAC disease after 16 months of antibiotics. The mucas is much thinner and coming up within hours or sooner after taking. I also have not had to do much airway clearance later in the day as there is nothing left to bring up. I will continue with the NAC as it certainly is working for me along with many other benefits, I suggest it is worth a try!

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@clk1958
That's good news about your MAC. Maybe I will need to revisit NAC as I stopped taking it a while ago. This studied was interrupted by covid but it looked promising. However, NAC 2400 mg/day is a lot to remember to take. Glad a smaller dose is working for you.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38141851/

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clk1958 | @clk1958 | Jun 22 4:04pm
In reply to @scoop "@clk1958 That's good news about your MAC. Maybe I will need to revisit NAC as I..." + (show)
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@clk1958
That's good news about your MAC. Maybe I will need to revisit NAC as I stopped taking it a while ago. This studied was interrupted by covid but it looked promising. However, NAC 2400 mg/day is a lot to remember to take. Glad a smaller dose is working for you.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38141851/

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Also as Sue mentioned as well I will take 600 mg of musinex which really kicks it up and helps even more. I will add musinex if I are something that makes me phlemier.

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petry | @petry | Jun 22 5:01pm
In reply to @equanimous "Wow. Thanks, Scoop. I am surprised by this information. The studies I have read all seem..." + (show)
Profile picture for AZ @equanimous

Wow. Thanks, Scoop. I am surprised by this information. The studies I have read all seem to indicate that N-acetylcysteine can be effective in the treatment of bronchiectasis. Since taking it, my mucus has thinned out significantly thus improving my BE symptoms. I am curious to learn more about the reasons why it is not recommended for NCFB.

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@equanimous
Im very interested in this . Since I have BE along with MAC I wonder if NAK will benefit me ?

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@ling | @wangling | Jun 23 11:39am
In reply to @clk1958 "My lung specialist put me on NAC 6 weeks ago ( 600 mg) once in the..." + (show)
Profile picture for clk1958 @clk1958

My lung specialist put me on NAC 6 weeks ago ( 600 mg) once in the morning is all I take. I have bronchiactasis and have just been give the green light on my MAC disease after 16 months of antibiotics. The mucas is much thinner and coming up within hours or sooner after taking. I also have not had to do much airway clearance later in the day as there is nothing left to bring up. I will continue with the NAC as it certainly is working for me along with many other benefits, I suggest it is worth a try!

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@clk1958, Congratulations for your clearing MAC.
What NAC brand your doctor put you on? Hopefully it can replace saline. Do you nebulize saline?

Thanks for sharing the info.
Ling

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ssieber | @ssieber | Jun 24 10:51am

I get my NAC from Amazon. I take 4 a day. My last CT was remarkable with less inflammation.

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