این اے سی · N-acetylcysteine
Mixed evidence
Genuinely interesting for picking, pulling and compulsions. Weaker for depression itself.
This is information, not medical advice. This page is information, not medical advice. Nothing here is a prescription, a diagnosis or a recommendation to take anything, and none of it replaces a doctor who knows your history. Supplements are not harmless because they are natural: they interact with prescription medicines, some are unsafe in pregnancy, and a few can cause real damage. Talk to a doctor or pharmacist before starting anything here, especially if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, under 18, have a liver, kidney or heart condition, or take any regular medication. Never stop a prescribed antidepressant to try a supplement instead.
A form of the amino acid cysteine, used in hospitals as the antidote for paracetamol overdose and as a mucus thinner.
The most convincing results are not in depression at all: trials support it for trichotillomania, skin picking and some compulsive behaviours, where few other options exist. As an add-on in depression and bipolar depression the trials are mixed, with some positive and several null. An honest "promising in specific things, unproven in general".
Psychiatric trials commonly used 2,000 to 2,400 mg daily, split into two doses, over three to six months. It is slow.
Recorded because a person who has decided to try something will find a number somewhere, and a forum's number is worse than a trial's. It is not a recommendation, and the right amount for you depends on things only a doctor who knows your history can weigh.
Nausea, and it smells of sulphur. Can worsen asthma in some people. Mild blood thinning - mention it before surgery. Avoid combining with nitroglycerin.
Widely available cheaply as effervescent sachets sold for chest congestion, which is the same molecule at similar doses.
Tell your doctor or pharmacist about everything else you take, prescription and herbal both. If you are pregnant, breastfeeding, under 18, or have a liver, kidney, heart or thyroid condition, ask first. And if what brought you here is that you have been feeling low or frightened for weeks, that deserves more than a supplement — ask us anything, anonymously, or talk to us on WhatsApp.