Strange symptoms (NAC)

[kaffirlime]

About three weeks ago I took two days of NAC (and some chlorella, psyllium, cilantro etc), and since that I've been crashing really bad. I have nervous attacks all day and panic, shakiness, hyperactivity etc and feel it changed something. Had really bad GI-symptoms as well, that seem to be slightly better now. Been to the ER several times already, lots of tests all come back normal (except slightly elevated leukocytes), had three ECGs, abdominal ultrasound all normal. Also get these blood pressure spikes, and weakness, and weird dream-like states, and hyperthyroid-like symptoms.

I was thinking about mercury, since I got slight exposure to cinnabar while taking traditional herbs in Asia. Will get mercury lab tests on monday. Also last two days started to get pins and needles around body, and mild burning sensation on skin. And general weird sensation in body.

I don't know what I should do - should I try low-dose hydrocortisone for adrenal stress? I was on that for a long time in the past (2007-2010 around that time), but then quit it. I am also slightly hypothyroid and on T4 50mcg.
What should I do to avoid crashing?

Thank you for your thoughts!!
kaffirlime

 

[ivorin]

Same experience, was mercury for me. Definitely don't take chelating agents if you still have dental amalgams or old red tattoos.

 

[ljimbo423]

Hi @kaffirlime - It sounds like you stirred up some toxins of some kind. What type of toxins I don't know. Taking some herbs to gently help the liver to detox the toxins and get them out of the body, makes sense to me.

Dandelion root or burdock root come to mind. They are very gentle at low doses. I would start with just one herb at a very low dose, see how you feel and go from there.

Jim

 

[Sing]

The only time I took chorella, and I think it was only a teaspoon or half teaspoon of the powder, I had bad GI tract symptoms and pain. I think I might really have damaged my GI tract or at least thrown my system off for some time. I personally would never touch any amount of it again. As for cilantro it tastes like soap to me so I don’t eat it. Psyillium is just a form of fiber/cellulose, adding bulk but non-aggressive in effect.

NAC, I take later in the evening or at bedtime. It helps relieve pain and helps me sleep better too. But if I take too much, the next morning my blood pressure is even lower than normal. Never, however, have I experienced any aggressive symptoms or GI distress from it.

So that is just my take on the supplements you mentioned. I have also heard that it is best to add only one new thing at a time to be able to see how one’s body responds. That is what my doctor recommends.

 

[kaffirlime]

Thank you for replying!!

I don't have any amalgams, but I got exposed to some cinnabar (mercuric sulfide) while having herbal treatments in Asia. So the mercury is possible, although cinnabar should be quite inert compared to other mercuric compounds, though still not good.

Yes I could take some dandelion, also have milk thistle at home. Just wondering how to cool down the acute reaction, I had mild fever for over two weeks after taking NAC for two days, now the fever is a bit better, but still feel weird and spacey with fluctuating panic attacks and adrenaline fits, suddenly feeling very light and very heavy. I did overdo it a bit with supplements prior to this crazy reaction, but I feel the NAC was the main trigger. Now been taking vitamin C throughout the day.

How do you people usually deal with severe detox reactions? I'm a bit afraid of supplements right now after this experience, and feel more sensitive to them than before.

 

[sinas]

hi @kaffirlime

dont you happen to have chlamydia Pn infection?
NAC produces die-off symptoms in people infected with chlamydia pn.
I was infected with Chlamydia Pn when my symptoms kicked in so I want to try this...

 

[pamojja]

I was thinking about mercury, since I got slight exposure to cinnabar while taking traditional herbs in Asia.

Got good results with Ayurvedic preparations on other condition than ME/CFS, also containing Cinnabar at about 40 mg/d during the last 5 years (contained for example in Abana, Geriforte and Tentex forte combination products of Himalaya company). Makardhwaj, another Sulfite of Mercury, at 30 mg/d. To get some information how much heavy metals I would get from Ayurvedic preparations in total - which are generally very contaminated, as well as Indian food - I took yearly hair tissue mineral analysis. Though it's weakness is that it can't detect stored away heavy metal, those in circulation through present exposures would show up in hair.

In yearly HTMA testing for 8 years only Uranium and Strontium went above normal range. Strontium, Cadmium, Aluminium and Barium exposures finally halved from beginning to the end of these years. Mercury reduced to a quarter. Lead, Arsenic and Nickel remained at the same low levels. The rise above normal for 2 years by uranium was preceded by a rather high bicarbonates intake (3g per day), which I found out after, could have chelated the Uranium.

Will get mercury lab tests on monday.

Very interested in your results. Please share once they are in.

 

[Learner1]

How do you people usually deal with severe detox reactions? I'm a bit afraid of supplements right now after this experience, and feel more sensitive to them than before.

Everyone is toxic to some degree. It does sound like you stirred something up. With reactions like that it might even show up as acute toxicity in your blood.

I had a reaction when I started taking large amounts of an ALA product and my doctor tested me with a standard blood test which showed acute arsenic toxicity. And I had several symptoms of arsenic poisoning. Apparently, the arsenic had been in my mitochondria and were released into the bloodstream at a rate too fast for me to get rid of.

Drinking lots of water, eating plenty of vegetables with fiber, and using a binder will help. Quicksilver in Colorado has a universal binder which is good if you dont know what the toxin is, otherwise binders need to be matched up to the toxin.

You also need to have enough B1 and molybdenum for your transsulfuration pathway. I take 5-600mg benfotiamine and 1mg molybdenum daily, but bump them up if my body is struggling and emitting sulfur. You also may need B6.

Lots of curcumin helped. I use Thorne Meriva but another high quality curcumin would help. I take 3g a day usually, but with toxic stress, IVs of it have helped.

The more you can deal with known variables the better off you'll be. Investigating any supplement manufacturer's sourcing and manufacturing standards is important, so you're not inadvertently poisoned. Knowing where your food comes from Is helpful, too.

And testing for ticibs and nutrient status is essential for developing a good treatment plan. Randomly trying stuff other people have recommended may not be best for your unique needs.

NAC is a great supplement. It needs to be used in context of a comprehensive supplement plan.

 

[kaffirlime]

I have been quite worried about this whole weird situation and strange symptoms... everything feels changed somehow, and I feel my body is different. The dizziness and ataxia are constant, and spacey panicky feeling, and weakness.

Sinas, I thought about that possibility as well, since this all started as a "chest infection" and I got yellow sputum coming from my lungs for a while along with cough, but then it got better - yet my lungs still feel "funny" in a sense that it makes me dizzy, and have mild cough occasionally (itchy type), and the NAC did cause some kind of lung detox reaction. But my lung X-ray and lung sounds are all normal. If it was C. pneumoniae, would it clear itself out naturally?

Pamojja, I had some Chinese TCM preparations that had cinnabar in them for a while (maybe 3 months). It was mainly used in preparations to calm down the nervous system, and cinnabar shouldn't be that well absorbed (as far as I've researched about the studies), and Chinese people have used it for thousands of years, and is still quite common there (though the accepted doses are lower nowadays than it was before, I think the official accepted dose range is now 100-500mg/day, the doses I took were not that high (I hope).

I tested for urine mercury in a standard lab, the results should come tomorrow. I had a bioelectronic NES-test done from my hand by a homeopath, and it said that my mercury is elevated. In the past hair analysis said (years ago) that I have slightly elevated mercury.

Learner1, did the arsenic toxicity then go away over time naturally? I do feel I stirred up and rattled something... what about sulbutiamine? I have that at home. What binders would you recommend for mercury? I have edible clay at home, psyllium, charcoal, and silica gel.

Thanks everyone for your valuable replies!!

 

[Learner1]

Your symptoms sound like toxicity. Could be a bug, I suppose, but with a history of taking substances of unknown purity, could be almost any toxin.

If it were c. pneumoniae, it may not go away by itself. It gets entrenched and not just in our lungs. I'm on a multi antibiotic regimen to try to kill it finally. The cpnhelp website can tell you more.

As for toxins, if nothing acute shows up, you can do a provoked urine toxic metals test, using EDTS, DMSA, or DMPS depending on what you suspect. That should tell you what will come out if you work the issue.

Then, you need a strategy to get rid of it. You probably don't want to start with ALA or sulbutiamine as they cross the blood brain barrier. You need to get a lot out of your other tissues first.

You need to ensure elimination, transsulfuration pathway and methylation all are working. Have binders on board. Start supplementing with good trace minerals. Then you can use chelators to start bringing stuff out. As yours got stirred up with a little NAC, spend some time on these first steps.

Ideally, chelation should be done under an experienced doctors supervision, which is how I got rid of arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury, and platinum. It takes years.

You need to have nutrient support (Vs, aminos, minerals, antioxidants) for this process, which can be hard on your liver and kidneys. EDTA, DMSA, and DMPS are useful, but a doctor should guide you. There's also the Cutler protocol, aimed at people who do it themselves.

It would have been too slow for me, as with help, its taken 6 years to get reasonably clean, doing it faster, with excellent doctors. My kidneys and liver were stressed at times, but it was reversible and they're fine now.

Once you've done all that, then you can clean out mitochondria using ALA, or better yet, PolyMVA. Even though my testing looked good after all the cheating, when I started this, all the arsenic came pouring out of me. The heavy metals clog up the mitochondrial membrane, impacting energy production. 18 months into the PolyMVA, I'm now pretty clean, though after I got rid of the arsenic, lead came out. Seems the body gets rid of the metals in sequence, one at a time.

Probably sounds like a daunting project. But you can do damage if you don't have a well-thought out program. Best to educate yourself, ideally find a good doctor, and then start a good program.

For now, focusing on fiber, water, and taking curcumin, benfotiamine, and molybdenum would be what I'd try if I were in your shoes.

 

[kaffirlime]

Thank you Learner1 for your reply. If it were C. Pneumoniae, is it dangerous? Is there any test I can take? I'll check the cpnhelp. I also thought my lungs releasing some toxins because I smoked a little bit some years ago when had rough time (didn't smoke much) and could be some release of those old toxins? The cough is mildly itchy (and had a sweet taste in the beginning), and NAC clearly opened up something. Lungs tend to have mild burning sensation sometimes while coughing.

I have considered the Andy Cutler protocol, but taking the ALA every 3 hours seems to be a bit difficult since sleep is an issue for me already.

Would plain turmeric powder do anything beneficial?

I can't afford good doctors now, but might be able to see chiropractic and others once in a while...go on their protocols and then of course self-treating if find a good method.

 

[Learner1]

There are lab tests for cpn. The cpnhelp website can give you a decent idea of what you're dealing with. Its acellular and has a unique life cycle making it challenging to deal with and its related to serious health problems. But maybe you don't have it.

Curcumin is not very bioavailable. Its best if processed with a lipid. Piperine from black pepper helps, too. The best formulations increase the bioavailability dramatically.

I have not done the Cutler protocol. Others here have and could advise you better. But do find a knowledgeable doctor if you can. Some chiropractors do know about chelation. Others don't.

 

[kaffirlime]

Learner1, alright, thanks for the information! I'll check it. I might give curcumin a try, I have used turmeric on and off throughout these years for general health purposes.

Today I have weird cool/cold sensation in lower abdomen and also legs, and mild burning (and cool sensation changing) in feet, slight pains around and "circulatory tingling" (like when warm blood meets cold). Also feel euphoric compared to normal state, except for the worrying about symptoms. The symptoms tend to worry me a lot because they are so weird and change constantly. I had abdominal ultrasound done a couple of days ago and it didn't show anything.

 

[Learner1]

Hmmm... it does sound worrisome. Here's some info on mercury poisoning symptoms.

https://chriskresser.com/could-mercury-toxicity-be-causing-your-symptoms/

You might also look at symptoms of toxicity for other heavy metals, like arsenic.

 

[kaffirlime]

I do have some of the symptoms in the list, but had them prior to this acute problem as well, but then also these new weird symptoms. Legs/feet feel cool but circulation seems okay, abdomen I don't know cos I can't see. I've had weird symptoms from/related to exertion as well throughout the years (nausea, changes in consciousness, coldness, circulatory changes, mood changes, dysphoria, euphoria etc), and it could be that this is related to that too, since I walked quite much daily (because it keeps me sane and keeps my joints & back flexible) and then stopped that when got ill from NAC about three weeks ago. So it might also play a role in this crash. But I feel something has changed in my consciousness and it feels funny, weird, but also scary if get worried about it. I look at things differently. My temperatures used to be low, but now they've been around 36.8-37.2c, and I feel better and worse at the same time in a very strange way.

 

[kaffirlime]

Today I got my urine mercury labs back, the result was 3.5 (reference range: <20 nmol/L is normal in the unexposed population and 40> means needing treatment). Right now I am also considering that my thyroid and adrenal function got stirred from the NAC due to some unknown mechanism. Maybe got stimulated into hyper-state.

I feel like getting hyperthyroid-like attacks (or thyroid attacks anyway, feel pressure in thyroid area), and feel "hashimotoish" (a term I use when my thyroid and adrenals get stirred in an "iodine-like way" causing severe anxiety, stress, brain fog and crashing). I don't even know if I'm hashi but I'm hypothyroid anyway to some degree and taking thyroxine 50mcg as a crutch. A couple of months ago I quit antidepressant cold turkey, so that might also play a slight role in the whole picture.

 

[pamojja]

As for toxins, if nothing acute shows up, you can do a provoked urine toxic metals test, using EDTS, DMSA, or DMPS depending on what you suspect.

Today I got my urine mercury labs back, the result was 3.5 (reference range: <20 nmol/L is normal in the unexposed population and 40> means needing treatment).

Was this a provoked toxic-metal urine test? Or just the usual output?

 

[Learner1]

Was this a provoked toxic-metal urine test?

Yes

Or just the usual output?

Not sure what you mean??

 

[pamojja]

Yes

Not sure what you mean??

Your first answer already answered it, thanks. With the second question meant the usual output of urine without provocation with a chelate first.

 

[kaffirlime]

Hello! The urine mercury test was not a provoked test, just a normal one. It could also be that the NAC stirred up mold since I have exposure history...