You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
Questions about PharmaNAC regarding CFRD
- Thread starter regina65
- Start date
At least some CF diabeties is caused by mucus plugging up the pancreas. It's not that you're not making insulin it is just not able to get into your blood system. The major purpose of taking the pharmanac is to increase your glutathione levels which thins all the mucus in your body. So when you think about it ,it makes sense that YOUR diabetes would get better while a person w/ regular diabetes might not have the same results.
Have you noticed any difference in your congestion?I have been on pharmanac for about a 6 weeks now and Ive been having trouble with low blood sugars every time I use insulin now. Is it possible the pharmanac is helping my pancreas.
baseballfrank
New member
What is pharmanac and does it help lung inflammation?
pharmanac is a product that increases the amount of glutathione that you produce. Glutathione does many good things but the most important for us is it thins out the mucus so you can get rid of it easier. It also is an anti-inflamitory and helps oxygen bond to your red blood cells better. Basically it does most of the things that we need so badly. It seems like if we could get enough glutathione into our system most of our problems would be solved.
baseballfrank
New member
Is it better then Curcumin for combating inflammation? Everybody was raving about curcumin and I tried that. Can't really tell a difference. I've never heard of pharmanac. Does it work?
occupyjapan
New member
This is going to be long, and I apologize for that.
PharmaNAC is basically drinkable Mucomyst, which was (and still is) an established, tested and verified treatment for Cystic Fibrosis. Mucomyst was kind of supplanted by Pulmozyme since Pulmozyme is more effective in general but is still used by many CF patients in addition to, or as an alternative to, Pulmozyme. Pulmozyme breaks up DNA in our sputum which makes it less viscous, Mucomyst's primary benefit to CF patients is anti-inflammatory; it doesn't so much make our mucous less viscous in and of itself, but rather reduces inflammation which makes it easier to cough up. Oral Mucomyst is still used for mucous-related bowel obstructions (often in newborns). Oddly enough, it is also used for tylenol overdoses. Many non-CF bronchoscopy patients are given inhaled Mucomyst prior to the procedure.
That said, PharmaNAC obviously isn't going to put as great a concentration of the medicine in the lungs as inhaled Mucomyst (and no, for goodness sake, don't self-medicate by inhaling PharmaNAC - sad that I have to put this disclaimer, but I've seen people proudly touting that they inhale everything from hydrogen peroxide to very toxic plant oils on here). Think of it like an IV antibiotic vs. inhaled antibiotics, both work well, but for our specific disease, inhaled is the way to go. That said, ingesting PharmaNAC will still noticeably increase glutathione concentrations in the lungs, which is a thing most CF patients have a marked deficiency in. More glutathione, less inflammation. You won't have the anti-inflammatory properties of high dose inhaled steroids or something, but you also don't have any of the risks. Still, it's best to use PharmaNAC as an addition to your daily routine, rather than using it to replace something else. Take what works for you and add PharmaNAC. If it helps, great! If not, no big deal, just go back to your normal routine.
I have used PharmaNAC for several months now and can tell a difference; I did it for 2 months in a row, then purposefully took myself off it for a month to see how I felt, and then put myself back on it. It's not night and day (on a 1-10 scale with 1 being no change and 10 being drastic change, I'd say PharmaNAC is somewhere in the 3-4 range), but every little bit helps and considering taking PharmaNAC is only as hard as dropping a tablet into a glass of water or juice, the benefits absolutely outweigh the hassle as the length of time it adds to our daily routine is negligible - the tablets dissolve in about 30 seconds; I personally use that time to gather up my morning/evening pills and then down them with a glass of PharmaNAC.
I notice a difference. To me, the difference is worth 50 bucks a month or so. Will you notice a difference? Maybe, maybe not. Will the difference be worth the cost? Maybe, maybe not.
With all due respect, the people raving about curcumin are probably the same people that rave about tea tree oil or hydrogen peroxide or colloidal silver. Their health probably wasn't doing as well as they wanted and they got desperate enough to try some of those "Medical Secrets 'THEY' Don't Want You to Know About" and they noticed some sort of improvement. Was it due to the thing they tried, a new medicine their doctor put them on, a conscious decision on their part to be more compliant, a positive change in exercise habits, the normal ebb and flow of Cystic Fibrosis or some combination of them? Who knows. It's impossible to say because the test wasn't done under strictly controlled circumstances. A lot of people given placebos have SOME sort of minor improvement simply because they think the drug is going to work. The mind is a powerful thing.
The reality is that some of these "natural" therapies probably work in some way, but they aren't researched, aren't one-size-fits-all (like any medicine), have virtually non-existent dosage guidelines and, worst of all, generally aren't very safe at all - if I nebulized industrial strength hydrogen peroxide, I'd probably kill a lot of bacteria (maybe) but I'd probably kill myself too (likely). Tree oils are toxic, colloidal silver is often manufactured in less than medical grade sterile circumstances (the last damn thing any of us need is to nebulize a batch of *insert substance here* that was contaminated with MAC or Burkholderia) and has dubious antibacterial properties at best vis a vis Cystic Fibrosis, hydrogen peroxide is dangerous and, in your case, curcumin likely has carcinogenic properties according to various actual scientific studies as opposed to a bunch of strangers on the internet. It also has lousy bioavailability (meaning you have to put a LOT of a likely carcinogen into your system to get "therapeutic" (whatever that may even mean in this case) levels).
Trust me, there isn't some grand, devious scientific conspiracy to reject natural therapies so as to pad the wallets of pharma execs with money from expensive drugs. If curcumin was the silver bullet for Cystic Fibrosis and was totally safe and effective and etc., then whatever scientist proved this would likely not only have research institutes beating down his door to give him money but would probably win a Nobel Prize in biology for it. He would be wealthy and world famous. There is absolutely a driving force for scientists to pursue these things and there is absolutely a profit to be had from selling them (they'd have to be formulated in such a way that put the highest concentration of the drug that is safely possible in our lungs as safely as possible, and that is a patentable thing meaning BIG bucks for any Pharma company that discovered it). The problem is most of them just don't work or are so toxic or dangerous that even if they DO work, they are too dangerous to use.
How this ties into PharmaNAC is that it is an over the counter, relatively cheap, safe and easy to use version of acetylcistine, which is what Mucomyst - an actual legit, researched, proven effective CF drug - is made from. It's about as far from naturalistic, quacky "remedies" as you can get.
PharmaNAC is basically drinkable Mucomyst, which was (and still is) an established, tested and verified treatment for Cystic Fibrosis. Mucomyst was kind of supplanted by Pulmozyme since Pulmozyme is more effective in general but is still used by many CF patients in addition to, or as an alternative to, Pulmozyme. Pulmozyme breaks up DNA in our sputum which makes it less viscous, Mucomyst's primary benefit to CF patients is anti-inflammatory; it doesn't so much make our mucous less viscous in and of itself, but rather reduces inflammation which makes it easier to cough up. Oral Mucomyst is still used for mucous-related bowel obstructions (often in newborns). Oddly enough, it is also used for tylenol overdoses. Many non-CF bronchoscopy patients are given inhaled Mucomyst prior to the procedure.
That said, PharmaNAC obviously isn't going to put as great a concentration of the medicine in the lungs as inhaled Mucomyst (and no, for goodness sake, don't self-medicate by inhaling PharmaNAC - sad that I have to put this disclaimer, but I've seen people proudly touting that they inhale everything from hydrogen peroxide to very toxic plant oils on here). Think of it like an IV antibiotic vs. inhaled antibiotics, both work well, but for our specific disease, inhaled is the way to go. That said, ingesting PharmaNAC will still noticeably increase glutathione concentrations in the lungs, which is a thing most CF patients have a marked deficiency in. More glutathione, less inflammation. You won't have the anti-inflammatory properties of high dose inhaled steroids or something, but you also don't have any of the risks. Still, it's best to use PharmaNAC as an addition to your daily routine, rather than using it to replace something else. Take what works for you and add PharmaNAC. If it helps, great! If not, no big deal, just go back to your normal routine.
I have used PharmaNAC for several months now and can tell a difference; I did it for 2 months in a row, then purposefully took myself off it for a month to see how I felt, and then put myself back on it. It's not night and day (on a 1-10 scale with 1 being no change and 10 being drastic change, I'd say PharmaNAC is somewhere in the 3-4 range), but every little bit helps and considering taking PharmaNAC is only as hard as dropping a tablet into a glass of water or juice, the benefits absolutely outweigh the hassle as the length of time it adds to our daily routine is negligible - the tablets dissolve in about 30 seconds; I personally use that time to gather up my morning/evening pills and then down them with a glass of PharmaNAC.
I notice a difference. To me, the difference is worth 50 bucks a month or so. Will you notice a difference? Maybe, maybe not. Will the difference be worth the cost? Maybe, maybe not.
Is it better then Curcumin for combating inflammation? Everybody was raving about curcumin and I tried that. Can't really tell a difference. I've never heard of pharmanac. Does it work?
With all due respect, the people raving about curcumin are probably the same people that rave about tea tree oil or hydrogen peroxide or colloidal silver. Their health probably wasn't doing as well as they wanted and they got desperate enough to try some of those "Medical Secrets 'THEY' Don't Want You to Know About" and they noticed some sort of improvement. Was it due to the thing they tried, a new medicine their doctor put them on, a conscious decision on their part to be more compliant, a positive change in exercise habits, the normal ebb and flow of Cystic Fibrosis or some combination of them? Who knows. It's impossible to say because the test wasn't done under strictly controlled circumstances. A lot of people given placebos have SOME sort of minor improvement simply because they think the drug is going to work. The mind is a powerful thing.
The reality is that some of these "natural" therapies probably work in some way, but they aren't researched, aren't one-size-fits-all (like any medicine), have virtually non-existent dosage guidelines and, worst of all, generally aren't very safe at all - if I nebulized industrial strength hydrogen peroxide, I'd probably kill a lot of bacteria (maybe) but I'd probably kill myself too (likely). Tree oils are toxic, colloidal silver is often manufactured in less than medical grade sterile circumstances (the last damn thing any of us need is to nebulize a batch of *insert substance here* that was contaminated with MAC or Burkholderia) and has dubious antibacterial properties at best vis a vis Cystic Fibrosis, hydrogen peroxide is dangerous and, in your case, curcumin likely has carcinogenic properties according to various actual scientific studies as opposed to a bunch of strangers on the internet. It also has lousy bioavailability (meaning you have to put a LOT of a likely carcinogen into your system to get "therapeutic" (whatever that may even mean in this case) levels).
Trust me, there isn't some grand, devious scientific conspiracy to reject natural therapies so as to pad the wallets of pharma execs with money from expensive drugs. If curcumin was the silver bullet for Cystic Fibrosis and was totally safe and effective and etc., then whatever scientist proved this would likely not only have research institutes beating down his door to give him money but would probably win a Nobel Prize in biology for it. He would be wealthy and world famous. There is absolutely a driving force for scientists to pursue these things and there is absolutely a profit to be had from selling them (they'd have to be formulated in such a way that put the highest concentration of the drug that is safely possible in our lungs as safely as possible, and that is a patentable thing meaning BIG bucks for any Pharma company that discovered it). The problem is most of them just don't work or are so toxic or dangerous that even if they DO work, they are too dangerous to use.
How this ties into PharmaNAC is that it is an over the counter, relatively cheap, safe and easy to use version of acetylcistine, which is what Mucomyst - an actual legit, researched, proven effective CF drug - is made from. It's about as far from naturalistic, quacky "remedies" as you can get.
chris27rocker
New member
I've tried a lot of "stuff" - I have inhaled glutathione, eaten oil of oregano, taken curcumin, you name it - and pharmaNAC is the only thing that made me notice a real difference. I get a good response from my insulin, too, so I take it in the morning or early afternoon. That way I can monitor my blood sugar and adjust instead of worrying about nighttime lows. It also seems to give me a slight boost in breathing and energy, like a mild energy drink! Just remember not to take it with Tylenol; they work against each other.
Question about NAC. I read a lot about stability issues with NAC in various forms due to air exposure and oxidation. Wouldn't NAC in capsule form be potentially more effective since it's enclosed in a capsule and not exposed to air? Pharmanac is so pricey compared to NAC capsules, don't quite get why it's so superior.
baseballfrank
New member
OccupyJapan, Excellent post. Thank you. There is a new product out called cellgevity that gets glutathione into the body orally. it has a compound called D-Ribose L-Cysteine which supposedly prevents glutathione from breaking down.
The science of it sounds promising, but not sure if it is just slick marketing.
It is supposed to be better then pharmanac. Do you know anything about it? What do you think? Us CF people are desperate and we are looking for anything no matter how slight that will improve our inflammation.
here is the website.
http://www.glutathione4cf.com/
Anybody use this and had success?
The science of it sounds promising, but not sure if it is just slick marketing.
It is supposed to be better then pharmanac. Do you know anything about it? What do you think? Us CF people are desperate and we are looking for anything no matter how slight that will improve our inflammation.
here is the website.
http://www.glutathione4cf.com/
Anybody use this and had success?
J
jennywotherspoon
Guest
Baseballfrank, my 19 year old daughter is also DDF508. We have been using Cellgevity this year and have noticed a difference. She has had noticeably more energy, no infections and has had her best winter in many years (we are just coming out of winter in Australia) as far a colds and flu goes. This is despite being around sick people. One small headcold that cleared in 5 days is not the norm for her. I understand this is just anecdotal evidence but we will be continuing on the Cellgevity as I do believe it has made a difference to her overall health.