popmom Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 I tried searching the forum but didn't find what I needed. I have trichotillomania. I have a daughter who struggles with trich and one with dermatillomania. You guys clued me in to this NAC supplement, so I ordered some. It's in a powder form. I started taking it yesterday. I can't find good information on dosing. Curious what dose others are using for adults and children. I'm taking 1800mg a day. How long before I can expect to see some results? What is the best way to take this nasty stuff? I tried grape juice--no good. Decided to work with the sourness and mixed it in homemade lemonade today and that was tolerable but still a little hard to drink. Not sure I can convince either of my daughters to try it unless I can make it more palatable. My 19 yr old--I especially want her to try it, but she doesn't swallow pills--of any kind--no matter how small. (I could start another thread on that alone.) My 11 year old can swallow an ibuprofen size pill, but I don't think she could swallow a big capsule of this stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbgrace Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 (edited) We're using it for OCD. (I know there is even more research out there for trichotillomania). We purchase it in capsules. I think that's preferred--both for taste (it's so bitter) and because it degrades with exposure. But if they can't swallow pills you don't have a choice. I remember I bought several things to try to teach pill swallowing back when my son was younger--a cup, some goopy glide stuff, probably more. I don't remember any of them being terribly successful. He just ended up learning with apple sauce or something I think. I know it can be a phobia almost. My son has been taking 2400 in twice a day doses, (two 600 mg capsules morning and two night) since he was, I think, 10. That's also the dose used in this pediatric clinical trial trichotillomania study with kids 8-17. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00993265 It takes a while to kick in and help once you get to the full dose. In some adult trials I saw wording such as "response was noted at 12 weeks," and the trial I linked was 12 weeks. A friend noticed her son took 12 weeks total and 9 weeks on full dose before she began seeing improvement. So I'm going to say give it 12 weeks before you decide whether it helps. I hope it does. Edited March 31, 2017 by sbgrace 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heathermomster Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 (edited) Maybe before they drink it, have them suck on an ice cube. After they swallow it, follow that up with a tasty beverage chaser or a cold drink. Edited March 31, 2017 by Heathermomster 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MerryAtHope Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 A friend of mine taught her teens to swallow pills with drinking through a straw rather than taking a drink normally--you might see if that helps them learn. She was surprised how quickly they learned that way. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wapiti Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 (edited) How my kiddo finally learned to swallow pills: http://research4kids.ucalgary.ca/pill-study especially video #2, the duck shake If you need to do liquid, I'd definitely use PharmaNac, though it is expensive (we prefer pomegranate flavor; we thought apple did not taste as good), sometimes with a splash of juice. https://www.amazon.com/PharmaNAC-effervescent-tablets-BioAdvantex-N-acetylcysteine/dp/B01LQNN0XI/ref=sr_1_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1490967818&sr=8-1&keywords=pharmanac (huh, this looks like a new flavor!) Edited March 31, 2017 by wapiti 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 A friend of mine taught her teens to swallow pills with drinking through a straw rather than taking a drink normally--you might see if that helps them learn. She was surprised how quickly they learned that way. How my kiddo finally learned to swallow pills: http://research4kids.ucalgary.ca/pill-study especially video #2, the duck shake Ok, these are really interesting ideas! We've started with using Nerds. They're teeny tiny. We found that even just the act of swallowing the water in a gulp (minus the small thing) was challenging. So that's where we had to start. We got it to work with some Nerds, then we got busy. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
popmom Posted March 31, 2017 Author Share Posted March 31, 2017 Thanks for all the ideas! Can't watch the duck shake video yet, but I will when I get home. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 This has some info you might find useful: http://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/supplement/cysteine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted April 1, 2017 Share Posted April 1, 2017 (edited) we take NOW NAC 600mg capsules, guided by a ND. dudeling takes 1 am/pm - so 1200mg per day, and has since he was seven. he could take a higher dose - but he starts to react. I take 2 am/pm. eta: I've had times when I've seen the supplements benefit in the absence as opposed to the use. and NAC was one of those - especially for dudeling. I'd run out, and didn't rush out to replace it right away. he was off of it for nearly a month - it took a week to get him back where he was benefiting. Edited April 1, 2017 by gardenmom5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caedmyn Posted April 1, 2017 Share Posted April 1, 2017 I have mixed various powdered supplements in chocolate sauce for my kids before. Applesauce also works if the flavor isn't too strong. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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