occurrence of regular phlegm in throat

[akuk]

Im a Thyroid patient and taking 112.5mcg Thyroxin sodium tablet, regular occurrence of phlegm in my throat is the main problem. What is the treatment?

[humanbean]

I have found NAC (N-Acetyl-Cysteine or N-Acetylcysteine) useful for thinning mucus in the lungs and throat.

examine.com/supplements/n-a...

Personally, I've found a dose of 600mg - 1200mg per day worked reasonably well for me.

When I think I need it I take it in short bursts i.e. I take it for 3 or 4 days, then stop for 3 or 4 days, then take it again for 3 or 4 days, and continue like this until I feel that mucus has cleared. Then I stop taking it, until I need it again.

The reason for this is I find the clearing effect works better for me this way. The mucus-thinning effect isn't quick for me. It might be several days before I can have a good cough and clear stuff out. I'm an ex- heavy smoker, probably headed for COPD. But so far I've been able to avoid needing prescribed meds, and I haven't needed to seek a diagnosis.

When I stopped smoking I felt as though my lungs had a puddle of gunge at the bottom, that I could never clear out, no matter how much I tried. It was two years after I stopped that I took NAC for the first time, and it helped me to clear my lungs. It was bliss!

[Treepie in reply to humanbean]

Is NAC a prescription medicine? I have constant mucus but never smoked much,just a few small cigars in summer for a few years.

[humanbean in reply to Treepie]

No. It's an over-the-counter supplement.

This is the one I bought last :

healthmonthly.co.uk/swanson...

One thing I forgot to mention is that NAC doesn't smell very nice - a bit like bad eggs or sulphur. I did discover that the Swanson brand has the least smell of any brand I've tried.

Another thing is that there are a couple of supplements whose name is abbreviated to NAC, although the one I've mentioned is by far the most likely one you will come across, and I can't remember what it was that I found which was also called NAC but was a completely different thing!

[Treepie in reply to humanbean]

Thank you.

[Ellie-Louise in reply to humanbean]

I wonder if this would work for me then? because I get almost continual, throat catarrh.

[humanbean in reply to Ellie-Louise]

It might work. But I'm not making any promises. The only thing I can say with certainty is that it helps me.

[Ellie-Louise in reply to humanbean]

I'll try some, I'll try anything to stop having to clear my throat all the time.

Thanks humanbean. x

Edit: I told my husband about it and he is going to try it too.

[humanbean in reply to Ellie-Louise]

I just wanted to copy what I said above :

When I think I need it I take it in short bursts i.e. I take it for 3 or 4 days, then stop for 3 or 4 days, then take it again for 3 or 4 days, and continue like this until I feel that mucus has cleared. Then I stop taking it, until I need it again.

The reason for this is I find the clearing effect works better for me this way. The mucus-thinning effect isn't quick for me. It might be several days before I can have a good cough and clear stuff out.

I find that I get rid of gunge in the days when I'm not taking the NAC rather than when I am. So, I take it for a few days then stop for a few days, and it is the stopping that makes stuff come up. One thing to point out is that NAC doesn't reduce the amount of phlegm or mucus you produce, it just thins it out, enabling it to be coughed up.

It may affect you completely differently, or it may not help at all. Please do your own research on it, in case there are reasons it might not be good for you.

[Ellie-Louise in reply to humanbean]

Yes.

[techivers in reply to Ellie-Louise]

Hi Ellie-Louise, did you find the N-Acetyl Cysteine (NAC) capsules worked for you? I have the same problem and it's down to post nasal drip.

Thanks.

[Ellie-Louise in reply to techivers]

To tell you the truth, I can’t say I did notice much difference and neither did my husband. We don’t bother taking it now, I’m sorry that my reply can’t be more useful to you.

[MariLiz]

Gargling with warm salt water morning and evening helps a lot.