This week during several conversations with parents we discussed obsessive compulsive disorder and how some doctors have prescribed medications like antipsychotics such as Fluvox to treat OCD. Other doctors have come to realize that there is not many if any medications to treat OCD and have recommended N-Acetyl Cystein (NAC).
As of yesterday, when I started writing this article, I was able to order NAC from Walmart at $10 a bottle for 600mg tablets. This may not be the case in the near future because the Food and Drug Administration is considering NAC to not be a dietary supplement and may issue regulations over it for distribution. In an article by National Law Review (April 4, 2022), they stated the FDA is considering NAC from removal from the definition as a dietary supplement. I really like the idea of being able to order this over the counter from Walmart and provide it as an option as an anti-oxidant for removing the free radicals from his system.
NAC was originally used as a drug in the early 1960s. Today, this old drug is being used to treat many other ailments due to its various properties. Specifically, NAC is used to treat some psychiatric disorders such as Schizphrenia, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Bipolar Disorders, addiction behavior (Schwalfenberg, 2021). There have been some families that I am aware of that have been prescribed NAC and have seen some improvement. They state that there are not many signs of improvement unless the dosage is above 1200 mg per day. There are some side effects such as diarrhea and vomiting to name two. Therefore, we were open to try the supplement.
My son’s doctor recommended he initially take 1200 mg per day at 600 mg per capsule and this to 1800 mg per day. When increasing to 1800 mg we did notice that his dose of 600 mg before he went to bed was causing him to wake up in the middle of the night more frequently. We chose to eliminate the evening dose and see how the 1200 mg would work. His bowel movements have been looser since being on the NAC and we have not seen a significant difference in his OCD as of today but appears to be some impact so we are continuing to administer the supplement. Our next step would be to increase his intake to 1800 mg per day but may need to increase the morning dosage to 1200 and evening dosage to 600mg based on the capsules that we are able to get. Doctor’s can prescribe capsules that are aligned with 900mg per tablet and reach the prescribed dosage. We were only trying to use an amount that was available over the counter. Bottom line, we feel it is an option that has limited side effects and is always a better alternative than using antipsychotics.
Reference:
National Law Review (April 4, 2022). https://www.natlawreview.com/article/fda-confirms-n-acetyl-l-cysteine-nac-excluded-dietary-supplement-definition-and
Schwalfenberg, Gery K. (2021). https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/9949453
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