masi61

I just wanted to report here that I am trialing "NAC" from the healthfood store for post viral "long covid" symptoms I was unable to rid myself of that I had been experiencing for over a month. Now I did get a "Kenalog" cortisone shot from my family doctor and I had 2 courses of antibiotics (zithromax z-pack and 10 days of doxycycline twice daily) but my recovery was very slow.

It may be that my continued recovery would have happened anyway but I seem to have improved quicker when I started taking the NAC. First thing I noticed is that it is similar to Mucinex but more powerful. I was bringing up some nasty brown globules that previously I was unable to get up. My lung capacity which is normally quite large had been reduced somewhat and my full lung capacity seemed to be returning. I could tell that the mucolytic action was working so I tried to increase my fluid intake to help it work even better.

Also I had urine that turned brown for like the 1st 24 hours after taking it. I later learned that N-Acetyl Cysteine is actually a drug called Mucomyst and I had previously run across the elixir (liquid) form of this med while working my job as a psych nurse - it is given as an antidote for tylenol overdoses and is said to detoxify the liver. It has a very strong sulfurous odor. I think it may have started detoxing my liver! When you look up this supplement on the internet they talk about how NAC "supports the body's production of glutathione which is the body's endogenous potent antioxidant. I tend to believe that it is perhaps facilitating just that.... so call me encouraged. Even the verbiage "scavenges free radicals". sounds like something this med might play a hand in.

Just thought I would share my experience in case others are dealing with lingering post viral symptoms.

Skullo 

I came down with Covid for the first time five weeks ago. My O2 levels were in the eighties.I spent three days in the hospital.I received antivirals and other drugs , steroids. I think it is way to soon to say long Covid.
My only risk factor is my age. My doctor says my lungs are clear. I get winded easily. They say it may take six months for lungs to heal.I think I’m at about 80 %. My power numbers on smart trainer are down at least. 20.I don’t push it hard because the next day I will be washed out.Fatigue can hit at anytime. I am afraid to ride too far from the house.I can do my household chores but am slow. Covid really can suck.
How long ago did you become infected?

Polaris OBark

I got it for the first time at the beginning of April. I immediately got on Paxlovid and eventually cleared the infection. I kept a close eye on my blood oxygen with my Garmin watch, and it stayed between 95% and 100%. The fatigue during and immediately after the viral infection was pronounced, but at least part of it was from disrupted sleep I think. Now, 8 weeks later, my VO2 max is actually slightly higher than before the infection.

I have no idea whether Paxlovid is responsible for my (comparatively) mild (but still unpleasant) symptoms and full recovery, but the clinical trials claim it reduces the incidence of long covid by about 20% or so.

The diabetes drug metformin is in stage 3 clinical trials, and apparently this can really help, is inexpensive, and widely available:

​​​​​​​(Quote from SF Chron).

Skullo 

Mine started with a mild cough on a Sunday morning , by Tuesday afternoon late I was hospitalized.
I was fit 5’ 9 “ , 146 lbs and bike fit, medical personnel said I was not what they usually see in ICU. The meds I received worked well was home by Thursday afternoon and was in supplemental oxygen for 3 days but did not really need it. Now I am at 94 -95 and when I am active it goes up to 97 -99. Just fatigue and I can tell I’m off even when we’ll rested.
My advice live your life but be careful, this crap is still lurking.

79pmooney

I did a 90 day course of NAC to detox my liver. I'd been telling my GP. a nurse with lots of letters after her name and strong on alternative approaches, that I used to work with fiberglass and that it was common knowledge that the solvent we all used by the 55 gallon drum, acetone, went right through our skin on contact, carrying all the dissolved polyester resin and catalyst to our liver. That we all knew former fiberglass workers with strange allergies and toxic reactions to all sorts of very common stuff; sometimes making their life long after a small hell. I finished my 6 years with the stuff as a carrier of that legacy.

Well, after a physical, she asked me if I wanted to try an alternative medicine liver cleansing; that it would be a small chemo and might not be fun. She got an immediate yes. So I did it. She included a "heavy metal cleanser". I don't think my contact with lead, etc, has been much but I didn't argue. First near month I felt nothing., Then I started to gradually feel worse. Got progressively spacier, forgetting stuff, unable to focus and generally just not feeling well. One day it hit me. The polyester "high" of doing a big fiberglass layup and having my mask's charcoal filter break down mid-job. (It's a pretty poor high that no one would seek out and pay money for.) Then with 3 weeks to go I started feeling better. To better than I had felt in 3 decades. I'd been taking powerful and expensive inhalants, antihistamine and steroidal, for 20 years. Up there with food and water in importance in my life. Full squirts each nostril every day. After? About a 1/4 squirt every 5 days.

I still know very little about NAC. But my experience with it was life-changing for the better. To a place I never thought I would live to see. And I still hear people tell me it is foo-foo and it is all in my head. ($50 for the two "medicines" made every day since as good or better than the best days of my inhalants that I spent thousands on.)

Polaris OBark

Very sorry to hear that, but glad you survived! I would have hoped the vaccines and boosters would have protected you from a severe enough case to require hospitalization.

Skullo 

Thanks , I was vaccinated an boosted , so it’s not a guarantee. Maybe it helped some. I was at a crowded convention with people from fifty states Canada, Puerto Rico and more. No telling what strain got me.A lot of people came down with it , mild to bad like me.

masi61

I tested positive for Covid in January 2022. My recovery took over 2 months and some of the cardiac effects lasted for nearly a year. This last time I got real sick at the end of April 2023 and I home tested for Covid negative 3x but my symptoms were almost identical to what I experienced in Winter of 2022.

Polaris OBark

That is scary.

I got it from some people coughing all over us in a restaurant in early April. My first symptom was losing my voice. I think mine was XXB 1.5

Carbonfiberboy 

Google "glynac". It works better if you take glycine with it. I've been doing that for years. It's particularly helpful for geezers. I cap my own NAC to save money, use a small scoop for the glycine, dissolve it in something. I still haven't had my first Covid infection. Never was a big enclosed area socializer.

masi61

Thanks, I am taking glycine capsules alongside the NAC. I may look into different more affordable formulations if I end up taking it for longer periods of time.