N-Acetylcysteine (NAC)

Hi @valeri:

For what it's worth, I take a low dose (7.5mg) of an antidepressant (Remeron) nightly and my doctor said that taking 600mg/day of NAC is fine. But as @jazz advises, discuss with your doctor.

You might be surprised: when I brought up NAC with my doctor, he was well acquainted as it is being touted as a wonder-drug in various medical circles.

-Golly

 

@Golly
Thank you very much!

Are you experiencing any improvement being on 600mg?

 

Hi @valeri;

I haven't started the NAC yet. I expect I will soon, however. I will certainly report the results after a month or two of regular use.

-G

 

Update from my NAC experiment -> no effect after a one weeks use. That could be a too short duration, but I decided to quit it anyway.

 

I dono somehow i ended up buying 500 if those pills... dont remeber what was i thinking when i bought it..
It took a month plus time to reach me cause restrictions in the country i stay now.. had to send it to my home country then someone brought it to me here..

 

I might continue to use them in smaller dosages just to be ultra safe and hope they could protect my hearing for the future...

 

NAC and eye floaters?? I have a question for those of you who have been taking NAC. I am new to tinnitus talk and this is my first post. I awoke with tinnitus (in my right ear) the morning of July 20th, 2014. I was being treated for a tooth infection during the week prior and could feel pain and pressure building up along my jaw toward my right ear. The doctors believe that nerve inflammation from the infection compressed on my auditory nerve and caused the tinnitus. Approximately 5 weeks ago I began taking NAC along with Taurine to try to decrease the ringing. However, a week later I started seeing numerous black floaters in my eyes. It may be completely unrelated but I've never noticed floaters before. Has anyone else experienced this after taking NAC? I'm just so scared right now and I feel like everything I try seems to make either the tinnitus or something else worse. I really hope it's not the NAC because I think that the NAC might be helping to decrease the volume (I stopped taking it last week and the tinnitus was much louder--which could have also been due to the stress of trying to return to work for the first time). Thank you for taking the time to reply.

 

Welcome to TT!

I've only been taking NAC for about six weeks @ 600 mg a day. I haven't had any floaters develop in that time. I just did a quick search "floaters" on the forum and other than your post I don't see any mention of NAC and floaters on either page. I could have overlooked something so you might want to read through the search results for yourself:

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/search/880562/?q=floaters&o=date&c[node]=13

You can also Google NAC for possible side effects. Good Luck!

 

Do you have references to any scientific articles on NAC and floaters? I just did a cursory PubMed search and couldn't find anything negative. Since NAC is a potent anti-oxidant, it's hard to imagine it causing floaters--but I could be wrong! I'll do a thorough search tomorrow. In the meantime, if you do know of a study about NAC and floaters published in a scientific journal, please post the reference(s). Knowing potential side effects are critical for making informed decisions to take any supplement or drug.

I did find an article about NAC being protective for your eyes. Here's an abstract from a 2011 journal article:

J Cell Physiol. 2011 Jul;226(7):1843-9. doi: 10.1002/jcp.22508.

N-Acetylcysteine promotes long-term survival of cones in a model of retinitis pigmentosa.

Lee SY1, Usui S, Zafar AB, Oveson BC, Jo YJ, Lu L, Masoudi S, Campochiaro PA.
Author information

Abstract
Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a major source of blindness caused by a large variety of mutations that lead to the death of rod photoreceptors. After rods die, cones gradually die from progressive oxidative damage. Several types of antioxidant formulations have been shown to reduce cone cell death over a relatively short-time frame, but in order for this strategy to be translated into a new treatment for patients with RP, prolonged effects will be needed. In this study, we determined that orally administered N-acetylcysteine (NAC) reduced cone cell death and preserved cone function by reducing oxidative damage in two models of RP, rd1(+/+) and rd10(+/+) mice. In rd10(+/+) mice, supplementation of drinking water with NAC promoted partial maintenance of cone structure and function for at least 6 months. Topical application of NAC to the cornea also reduced superoxide radicals in the retina and promoted survival and functioning of cones. Since oral and/or topical administration of NAC is feasible for long-term treatment in humans, and NAC has a good safety profile, it is reasonable to consider clinical trials to evaluate the effects of prolonged treatment with NAC in patients with RP.

Copyright © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Reference:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21506115​

 

which one do we take? the website looks like it has alot to pick from???seems like they all say nac. on them???

 

No I haven't, I was only giving scicia a suggestion that she could do an additional search of possible side effects from NAC. I had only done a search on the forum about NAC to see if there was any reference to floaters. She additionally began taking Taurine at the same time. I haven't done any search on that.

I can understand her concern being that she suddenly experienced "numerous black floaters" only a week later. I don't think that the NAC is the cause. It's just my opinion but I think that enough people have been taking NAC for a sufficient length of time that if it did cause floaters it would be a well known fact by now.

Btw, thanks for all of the research that you do for us on TT. You're a real gem, for sure!

 

Thank you for the responses. I couldn't find any scientific articles--only another forum where someone said that they thought their eye floaters were a result of nac affecting disulfide bonds in the eyes--
However, numerous other people stated that nac was very helpful and protective to the eyes. I was also on a lot of antibiotics and prednisone after the tinnitus started so perhaps that's related to the floaters (as well as experiencing a tremendous amount of stress, fear and anxiety trying to cope with all of this)

 

@Markku
Do you know if NAC and melatonin can be taken while on Zoloft?
Thank you!

 

Thank you--that is very true Markku. I am so stuck in a place of fear right now that it is governing everything I do/don't do. I have spent hundreds of hours searching the internet over the past almost eight weeks, and for everything that someone said helped their T, somebody else said that it made their T worse. For a while,
over the first month, it seemed like the T was slowly getting better but the hyperacusis was so reactive and painful that it was difficult at times to distinguish between the two. Now the T seems like it's getting worse (changed into more of a high pitched electrical hiss as well as a low tone that drones in and out). I worry that all of my anxiety and "obsessive checking" has "cemented" these tones in my head now forever...

 

That is probably the most likely explanation.

Like others have stated: unlikely.

Eye floaters require a diagnosis at an eye specialist. Not just any eye specialist can do this. You need to go to a specialist of the specialists. There are only a good handful of such specialists in the world - here is a couple of them:

http://vitreousfloaters.com/
http://brendanmoriarty.com/
http://www.augenzentrum-fankhauser.ch/
http://www.oogartsenpraktijk.nl/

There are many types of eye floaters - and the type will depend on the cause and your age. The reason why an eye floater specialist is required is because they have the knowledge, skill, and equipment to diagnose eye floaters properly.

You may in fact have had the eye floaters all the time. But perhaps you couldn't see them. Why is that? Well, if the vitreous shifts just a little, that will be enough to make certain eye floaters visible (and which were not visible before). These are so-called micro-floaters. Youngish people to get this kind, most often.

The trouble with going to a regular eye specialist is that they will only be able to see eye floaters that are visible to them (which may - or may not - be the ones that are visible to you). And similarly, the eye floaters that you see, may - or may not - be visible only to yourself (depending on the size). So seeing an eye floater specialist is the place to begin. Additionally, the above specialists can remove eye floaters using non-invasive eye surgery. At least in many cases.

My own doctor was Dr. Gerbrandy.

 

Thank you all for taking the time to respond. Attheedgeofscience--I will definitely check out those links--

 

Does this look ok to buy?

http://www.cosmeticstore.com.au/sou...rals+NAC+N+Acetyl+Cysteine+600+mg+120+Tablets

 

Hi @Karl28;

Whenever I want to learn about the quality of a supplement I check with ConsumerLab: a company that tests vitamins, minerals, etc. to assess whether they contain exactly what is advertised on the bottle. Unfortunately, ConsumerLab has not tested any NAC products. However, I have noticed that this particular company, Source Naturals, has been tested for other supplements (e.g., Vitamin D, CoQ10, SAMe), and these were "approved" by ConsumerLab. So, I don't know whether one can extrapolate, but this might provide you with some reassurance that the brand is legitimate.

-Golly

 

Just wanted to give my 2 cents on the NAC supplement.

I have been on NAC for about a week and half now (1800 mg) daily. Three pills daily, morning, afternoon and evening.

I would have to say, that my H is so much better and almost quite gone. For the T though, not so much. Still going on strong and either the spike I am going through now is my new T base level or I may have damaged my hearing over time(music in car, movies, helicopter flights, plane rides, etc), though that does not mean I have not been wearing my ear plugs though, because I find my self very different and I have to habituate to it all over again. With NAC though I am taking:

• Chelated Magnesium
• B-Complex
• Chelated Zinc
• Fish Oil
• Ginko Biloba (stopped due to no effect what so ever, 2 weeks)

Since I am a weightlifter I take these as well:

• HGH (http://www.aisportsnutrition.com/mstore/index.php/hghpro.html)
• Sythna 6 (http://www.gobsn.com/product/syntha6.html)
• N.O. Explode (http://www.gobsn.com/product/noxplode.html)

Have I noticed an increase of my T since taking the pre-workout, nope not one bit. Not even alcohol seems to increase my T or caffeine. Though, I try to limit myself in the amount of intake I consume. Sugar though on the other hand does a tad bit. I have been on NAC for awhile now and would have to say the visits to the men's room is quite regular that normal.

I have not seen an increase of floaters either, this I always had since I was 15 years old. No big deal, I just have one big one that looks like windshield wiper .

 

@EatMoTacos Thank you for your report! Very helpful and descriptive. Just the type of reporting we need!

So your hyperacusis is almost gone. Excellent! Hyperacusis is probably tinnitus' "little brother," same damage--only less. But it is troublesome that your tinnitus may have gotten louder. Would you say this increase coincided with your starting the NAC? If so, then maybe reduce for a while (to 1200 mg) and see what happens. I can't see how the NAC would spike you, but who knows? However, if the spike is induced by the NAC then getting off of it should eliminate it. Please keep us informed!

What type of tinnitus do you have? Buzzing, whistling (noise tinnitus) or tonal tinnitus or both? I have both types of tinnitus and I've noticed the NAC works on my noise, but less so (if at all) on my tonal. It's hard for me to know for certain since my tonal is not loud and frequently drowned out by my whistling noises. But on NAC I am hearing my tonal tinnitus more--so I take that as good news, for it means at least one noise is lessening.

I'm only on 1200 mg, divided. I don't know if I'll increase. But so far I've had no side effects at all.

That said, I still have tinnitus. Today, for example, I'm whistling quite loudly. I wonder if this loudness is reduced from the pre-NAC loudness? It's so hard to tell. I hate being loud, and I need something objective to measure my noise against. (My tinnitus cycles, usually two low and one medium-to-loud. But sometimes I'll have two loud days in a row.)

But I am positive the NAC has greatly reduced my tinnitus on my low days. I used to always hear my tinnitus. Now, when I'm low, I'll go hours and not even notice it. And that NEVER happened before NAC. Some days I find myself actually stopping and checking for my tinnitus, which, of course, is still there.

I just don't know why I still have loud days. I need a way to evaluate my loud days to see if they are gradually reducing in volume. But the ratio of loud/soft days has not changed.

Overall, I'm still happy with the NAC. It works better than anything else I've tried.

 

What's the recommended brand and dosage of NAC?

 

im happy to hear that nac has helped peoples H and it helped your whistling T. i just started 2 days ago with 600mg per day and will go to 1200 per day in a few days. havent noticed anything yet but im hoping for some improvements.

 

There are probably a number of good brands of NAC out there. I get mine from Swanson Vitamins. I'm not affiliated with the company in any way. I've been using some of there products for more than eight years. They post what I believe to be honest, customer reviews for the most part. I say that because I have read a number of negative and mixed reviews about some of their products over the years. Although, I must admit that I wish some of them would be more specific about why they liked it or feel they have benefitted in some way from taking it.

Additionally, I receive an email from them about every two months or so asking me to write some reviews of their products that I have used. They don't try to bias me to write only favorable ones. No wording such as "products that you have benefitted from or had good results with." Just to write a review, period. There are 28 reviews of this particular brand of NAC on their site. Just click on "reviews" :

http://www.swansonvitamins.com/swan...teine-pharmaceutical-grade-600-mg-60-veg-caps

I began using 600 mg (one capsule) a day as is recommended on the label three weeks ago. I haven't experienced any change in my T yet. In another week I'm planning on increasing the dose to 600mg 2 X a day. If there's any change in my T either way after that I'll let you guys know.

 

Based on the original thread with the study done. I think NAC had better effect with stressed induced T rather than Noise exposure.

That's what I think, I could be wrong. Even though, I still take it I lowered my dose to 1200mg because I found myself going to th bathroom every other hour. So I had to cut back. Still no change in my H but it's all good so far.

My spike happened way before I started taking NAC and thus the reason I came to this site. So my increase in my recent T was not due to NAC supplement. My T decided to change after 4 years of living my life to the fullest.

My T had to impact on the amount of alchol or coffee I would drink. Until one night after having several beers I had a headache, woke up the next morning with a different level and apparently it has stayed there thus so far. Which by then I was a tad bit worried.

So NAC for me is one my supplement I will regularly take.

Since I workout like 4 days a week I am thinking of starting BCAA, L-Arganine, and CQ10.

I hope this helps. :/

 

I just opened a bottle of NAC and it stinks bad. Is that normal for this supplement?

 

Yeah NAC has an odor to it. It's not too bad. I've had worse than that. Lmao.

 

Do you burp that smell?

 

Not really, I just take all my supplements at the same time with a tall glass of OJ or fruit juice on an empty stomach. Then drink a Naked Drink "green machine" on the way to work. Very tasty. yum yum.

 

I am a brand new member but I do have some experience with NAC 600mg. Like I said on my introduction page, I started taking NAC at the request of my doctor at the House Ear Clinic. It is MY belief that NAC totally alleviated all my hyperacusis and the tinnitus in my right ear. This happened within 1 month of starting NAC. But like I stated before, there has been no improvement since then. I continue to take 1200mg a day with absolutely no side effects hoping that it might still kick in on my raging, cycling left ear tinnitus.