High-dose N-acetylcysteine.
Hi all,
I’m wondering if any of you have experience with High-dose N-acetylcysteine as something to improve breathing. I have gotten responses ranging from ABSOLUTELY NOT; don’t use it (from a pulmonologist) to it could be a great use (from an acupuncturist).
I’ll appreciate any insight or information you may have.
Bob
Hi Bob, and thanks for your post. My familiarity with this medication is in its liquid form, which is marketed as Mucomyst. For many years we used it (in the hospital setting), as an aerosol treatment to 'thin out' thick, inspissated secretions. Typically it was indicated for patients with COPD, asthma, cystic fibrosis and bronchiectasis. It came in both 10% and 20% solutions.
Once of its side effects was, for some patients, it cause bronchospasm and, for those patients, they often times had worse reactions.. For awhile, the pulmonologists used to order it in tandem with a bronchodilator treatment to. This was thought to counter the those adverse effects.
Today, the pulmonologists I work with no longer use Mucomyst for that reason.
I'm hopeful others will chime in an offer their own personal experiences with
N-acetylcysteine.
We also have an article published, right here on COPD.net, which focuses on N-acetylcysteine, which I thought might be of interest to you.
What do you think?
Leon (site moderator COPD.net)
