N-Acetyl Cysteine

Do you avoid alcohol totally? Apparently the sort of extreme reaction to even small amounts of alcohol, like I've had, can be a clue to use NAC.

Thank you. Yes, I am doing well. Early in 2014, I came down with pneumonia, and they saw something on the X-ray that made the doctor order up a CT scan. On that, they saw a small nodule in my left lung. The biopsy determined the nodule was non-small cell Squamous cell cancer. I then had surgery to remove the lower lobe of my left lung. While removing the lobe, the surgeon found adhesions between the two lobes. He cut these out and, like all tissue removed during surgery, sent them to the lab. These were found to be a second type of cancer, adenocarcenoma. I would have been all done with treatment had he not found the second type, and it was too late to make sure surgically that they got it all. I was referred to an oncologist for chemotherapy. Since completing treatment, all my CT scans have come up NED (No Evidence of Disease). I had a run of good luck -- good luck that I had pneumonia, because that's how I was diagnosed at Stage 1. Lung Cancer is so deadly because most cases are not diagnosed until Stage 4. Good luck that the surgeon found those adhesions when he did. FWIW, I had quit smoking 5 years before. I was only able to do so by switching to vaping. I was 63 then. I am 73 now.

Thanks so much hb. This is good enough for me. Am headed out tomorrow to my local store to buy. Will look for Swanson brand and start with 600/day then work up??

Lymphedema seems to be one of those illnesses that isn't too interesting to most doctors. The attitude seems to be 'live with it.' Maybe because it isn't a big moneymaker for doctors in general.

It appears to be a good money maker for hospital lymphedema clinics though. When I went for my consult everything they wanted to do cost big bucks: ongoing high copay physical therapy, custom support stockings that cost the earth. I use my own but their perspective was anything I would find on my own for a good price wouldn't be as effective as theirs.

I get so tired of all the moneymaking #^%$ often built into healthcare here.(US)

No. It's not bunk, Don't mean to get off topic-but maybe I'm not. I understand more people have lymphedema (lymphoedema) than previously thought.

As I look around at the residents in my senior living I've noticed many of them have red and swollen lower legs that could be lymphedema. My docs have said diabetic neuropathy, peripheral artery disease, cellulitis , etc but no one really thinks it's lymphedema. But I do and I am usually in tune with my body. Most likely for me it is a combination of diabetic neuropathy and lymphedema.

The clinic recommended the dry brush and had an expensive one I could buy. A nice therapist was very helpful showing me things I could do at home when I told her the clinic charged too much.

I went to Sprouts(US) - I think any health store would have dry brushes- and bought a soft bristle brush about 10 inches long with very soft bristles round in shape and about 3 inches in diameter at one end of the brush.

The procedure is you gently brush up your leg (for me-ankle to knee) in an upward motion toward the heart. The touch of the brush should be very very light almost like a butterfly or very light fingertips. This encourages the movement of thick mucin up and out of the cells. Tip: If you are brushing your arms or abdomen always brush toward you heart.

It is not permanent but I do it when my legs feel heavy, achy, and are hurting. I only have to do it about 5 minutes until the pain from the swelling is relieved enough to be comfortable. Mostly I do this at night if my legs wake me up.

Sorry to hog the thyroid site for this but maybe others have the same problem.

By the way, I just took a moment and joined the LSN (Lymphoedema Support Network) here on Health Unlocked. It is my 3rd forum and only glanced at some posts. I did see where in the US some studies are pointing to the Ketogenic diet as helpful for us. Will read indepth later on today.

Hope this helps. I'm anxious to get on top of this because my legs interfere with my sleep.

PS There are also some helpful youtube videos demonstrating the technique which I watched early on. They were very helpful.

Thanks. I do some of these things too. And I believe it is thyroid-related.

I also have atrial-fibrillation caused in part by poor thyroid management. Our lymph system is considered part of our vascular system so all is inter-related but rarely treated as such.

One of the things that makes medical care harder than it has to be in my opinion is the total segregation of body systems with different specialists having their own individual piece of the pie (and often guarding it zealously.)

Our body is one big system with different branches (like a tree) and a problem with one branch affects all the others.

As usual, just my take on things. But it's more and more the patient's responsibility to see we are treated as a whole. Difficult to do.

When you say the smell from it do you mean the tablets or after you’ve taken it, as in bodily or breathe for example?

MDs seem to be clueless about amino acid issues. What I have used as a criteria, is the Total Blood Protein (TBP) test, which has a normal range of about 6.3-8.2 g/dl. My TBP sits around 6.1 if I do not supplement. I asked my doc to research his healthy patients to see what their TBP is, and he concluded that TBP in the upper part of the range (7.0-8.2) is what his younger and healthier patients have. There are other more elaborate tests, but the simple TBP test seems to be adequate for me. The Amino-9 product comes only in powder form, so I mix it into a small cup of a 12-strain organic kefir, eat that, then chase the taste with a small amount of fruit juice. I encapsulate it at home for travel. The bottle recommends doses of 5 or 10 grams per day, but I use 2 tablespoons (about 13 grams) per day.

Sounds like this might benefit my knees.

Thanks. irina (US)

Thanks. I'll give the NAC a try mainly to see if it helps the lymphedema. I also take magnesium taurate or glycinate mainly for a-fib so will bump that up. I currently take B12 shots every 2 weeks as levels were low.

My sister has good results with sublingual B12 so may consider adding this if my levels start drifting down. She has terrible absorption problems as she had early (1984) weight loss surgery, Back then they took out quite a lot of small bowel, rearranged the stomach, etc. Thank goodness they have developed much less invasive, effective procedures now.

Thanks HLAB. I saw that and since I give myself B12 injections q2 weeks I'm thinking I may do weekly for a while til I can get my Endo to check my level- maybe in a couple of months.

My levels tend to drift down and my Endo is good about checking them.

I also have a hard time keeping my Vit D up. I do this by eating 8 oz liver weekly/religiously. I have a lot of abdominal damage from radiation some years ago so try to avoid iron pills.

I think our bodies are like 1000 piece puzzles-we fit one piece correctly and two fall off the table and hit the floor.lol

Yes that's a great idea . Sometimes switching to a different brand can make all the difference . Best Wishes .

Wow they are expensive! I thought Dr. Mercola supplements were costly. Vit. B6 is £1068 a kilo! That’s surely close to the price of gold 👀