NAC supplement

[jenny2008]

i used to take NAC and it may have helped keep my oil glands open. I stopped taking it about 4 months ago and have had problems keeping my glands open since.

Does anyone know if it is safe to take NAC while taking doxyclycline? and if so, how to take NAC? dos it have to be on an empty stomach??
thanks everyone!!

[ringo]

As far as I know NAC does not interfere with doxycycline. However, food interferes with NAC. I usually take it with something light, like just now I took it with a couple of spoons of sweet corn. Fatty foods, dairy products, etc. prevent NAC from being absorbed properly.
Whenever I tried to stop the NAC i noticed immediately a deterioration in my eyes, especially in terms of nasty mucous strings.
It is a scientific fact that oxidative stress is involved in dry eye inflammation and many other kinds of ocular diseases, and NAC prevents the oxidization of specific pro-inflammatory molecules. This, besides the dissolving of mucous, is one of the major ways in which doctors believe NAC reduces dry eye inflammation adn soreness-- by preventing oxidative stress.
I would recommend that you continue using NAC-- it is a powerful antioxidant beneficial for many other things besides dry eye, and can be used safely long term.

[odydnas]

What brands do you buy? I want to try it, and I wanted to use it for 100mg/3x a day, as in this study:

http://journals.lww.com/corneajrnl/A...haritis.7.aspx

But I don't really see any at that dose. And I just don't know what to buy, I guess. Thanks!

[ringo]

I buy the one from GNC store in capsules for lack of something better--

however, on a trip to Europe I got from Boots pharmacy "NAC Long"-- it is in nice tasting effervescent tablets, it is long release and causes a noticeable effect of relief immediately after you take it. It is 600 mg each tablet and my doctor recommended it two to three times a day, just like when it is taken for bronchitis.
NAC long is manufactured by the german pharmaceutical Temmler Pharma.

There is also another one with immediate effect of relief, it is called ACC Acute, and it is in sachets which are dissolved in hot water, again 600 mg each. It is not long release, but widely available in pharmacies.

Hope that helps-- let us know how you feel with it?

[jenny2008]

so do you take 600mg? the nac i got at gnc is a 600 mg tab.. i have been taking it in the morning when i wake, i eat about 10 minutes later-just oatmeal.. and i wait 2 hours to take vitamins.. do u think waiting 10 minutes to eat oatmeal is long enough??

does it help with the MGD?? my doc said he had never heard of anyone taking it orally-he knew of hte drops though for other eye issues.

[ringo]

Jenny I find that the GNC capsules are still helping, but they do not cause the immediate relief that I experience with the liquid forms of NAC-- probably due to the slower absorption when they are taken as capsules.

I think an oatmeal would not be interfering with NAC-- i meant foods that are harder to diest like meat, dairy products, etc. Lots of people with diseases involving the production of excessive mucous are taking NAC orally, for ex. lung diseases of all kinds. Othes take it as an anti-aging and immune boosting supplement, it is also a strong antiviral. It is given to heavy smokers as well, and to people that have been exposed to poisoning with various toxic substances; also to alcoholics, and in huge quantities to people who have AIDS (it maintains a healthy level of immune fighter cells for years longer than in the AIDS patients who do not take it); or who have been poisoned with acetaminophen. It has been called by doctors "the old new super drug", as it has so many various clinically proven benefits.

In the case of dry eyes, the mucous component fails to be distributed in the tear liquid normally-- it should look like frost on a window inside the tear; instead in dry eye it looks like branches of a tree, and that causes a feeling of soreness in the eye, even if tears a re in good quantity. In some people like me, this progresses to forming painful mucous strands stuck to the eye surface and pulling on the cornea nerves, thus increasing inflammation and damage.So I need to put in the drops as well.

Ask your doctor to read about it on Wikipedia at least-- i am constantly surprised how little doctors know about things related to our condition...

[Royal Eyeness]

my doc said he had never heard of anyone taking it orally-he knew of hte drops though for other eye issues.

Jenny, oral NAC is precursor to glutathione, which is an amino acid - and a common supplement with a lot of uses that has been around for a LONG time.

I'd be very afraid to go to a doctor who says he never heard of anyone taking it orally. To get a non-essential amino acid into your system, you'd have to ingest it orally. How one could graduate from medical school and not know that is beyond me.

You shouldn't take NAC on an empty stomach - take it AFTER you eat. It is known to potentially cause gastrointestinal disturbances.

[jenny2008]

u misunderstood.. he didnt know of people taking it orally for the eyes..he has rx/d the drops..

[odydnas]

Thanks Ringo! I will check in with my primary care doc before I take the supplements, and I will keep you posted. How long does it take to feel a difference? How long should I be taking it to conclude that it is or isn't working?

[ringo]

Hi Odydnas,

In my case, I started to take the ACC Acute sachets, dissolved in hot water, each 600 mg, 3 times a day (standard prescription for bronchitis cases). I felt relief immediately after ingestion, on the 2nd or 3rd day of taking them. I felt similar relief with NAC Long, again 600 mg, effervescent tablets. I cannot feel it as much with the NAC capsules from GNC< but I know it is still working, as the soreness is more without taking it. I cannot be completely sure how long it will take to feel improvement in your case, although I would expect a similar experience to mine.

I know one thing for sure-- that even if you do not feel the improvement noticeably, NAC works. And it also helps your body overall, so I would recommend that everyone, even people who are healthy, take it routinely, like for example one would take vitamin C.

Acetylcysteine is routinely prescribed by doctors for cases of severe dry eye and Sjogren's. I was prescribed the drops as well, which I no longer use regularly, as they sting quite a bit. But I do put them occasionally if I have a very stubborn mucous string.

Before I used to have tons of stubborn mucous strings all the time; in fact they were so tightly stuck to my cornea that they were undetectable by anything other than the extreme pain they were causing me; and only when I put in all the drops, they would surface and start coming off with a lot of effort. I believe that the regular use of NAC and initially these drops helped decrease substantially this problem.

I am curious though if you would feel the same explicit relief as I do. Please let me know how you feel when you take it, and which for you are taking. I wish you success with this supplement, hopefully it will help you as it has helped others.

Regards,
Daniela