Episode 8: Could NAC Help with Endometriosis Symptoms?

NAC (N-acetylcysteine) is a supplement that’s been gaining attention in the endometriosis space — but what is it, and could it actually help?

In Episode 8 of The Endo Edit, Katie and Ragan break down what NAC is, what it’s commonly used for, and why it’s being discussed in relation to endometriosis. They also walk through existing research and case studies exploring its potential benefits, including symptom support and overall wellness.

This episode is designed to help you better understand the conversation around NAC — without the overwhelm or the hype.

As always, this is not medical advice, but a starting point for informed conversations with your healthcare provider.

#endometroisis #womendiagnosisstories #endometriosisawareness #womenshealthpodcast #womenshealthstories #womenswellnessstories #endometriosispodcast #endometriosiscommunity #endometriosiswarrior #EndoWarrior #TheEndoEdit #NAC #Supplements 

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

You're listening to The Endo Edi, where real stories about women's health and lived experiences. I'm a deterrent, an endo warrior over ten years in the making, labor in clean living, and prove that your diagnosis doesn't define you.

SPEAKER_00 0:14

And I'm Reagan Hubbard, a registered nurse, holistic health coach, and fellow endo warrior.

SPEAKER_01 0:19

If you've ever felt dismissed or unseen, you're not alone.

SPEAKER_00 0:22

This is where we talk about what's been silenced. Welcome to the endoedit.

SPEAKER_01 0:27

Welcome back to another episode of the Endoedit. Today we're gonna be diving into a supplement called NAC, which is short for N-acetyl Cysteine. And we're gonna be diving into some research to see if this supplement is really a low-risk, promising support tool for endometriosis symptoms and endometriomas, or maybe the internet getting ahead of the science. Because I don't know about you. I've been seeing NAC everywhere. Um, it's pretty funny. I've actually been taking it myself for like two years now per my doctor's recommendation and guidance and supervision and all that stuff. Um, it wasn't one of those things where I was like, oh, let's really dive into this and see how it's helping my endometriosis, because I thought it was just like kind of like a good overall like detox support tool supplement, if you will. Um, and it wasn't until recently I came across a post on Instagram from Dr. Machima. I might have said that wrong. But, anyways, it was this post that claimed women who took 600 milligrams of NAC for three months experienced less enopain, smaller ovarian cysts, lower inflammation levels, and many went on to get pregnant without using hormones. So this Dr. Mahima is a fertility specialist uh who I follow on Instagram. So I thought it was very interesting. So I kind of shared it with Reagan, and I know she's been taking NAC as well. So I was like, you know what, let's dive into this and see what this is all about. And like, what are the use? What are other use in AC and really kind of dig into this supplement that we've both been taking for a while?

SPEAKER_00 2:13

Yeah, yeah, I know. I've been taking it for probably like a year. Well, maybe a little less than a year at this point, and I like generally knew what it was, but it was something that I did want to deep dive into. So this was the perfect opportunity.

SPEAKER_01 2:26

Before we really dive into all of the research and things about NAC, we do just want to start this episode off with a little disclaimer because it is kind of a medical supplement of sorts. So we just want to start by saying nothing in this episode is medical advice. You'll hear later on in this episode as we dive into the research behind NAC and endometriosis. You'll see that NAC may be promising for girls, women with endo, but endometriosis care is highly individual, and anyone considering supplements should talk with their doctor first, especially if you're pregnant, trying to conceive on other medications or preparing for a surgery. So, like I said, Regan and I have both been on the supplement for a while. We didn't start it without like speaking to our doctor first. I mean, I didn't even know about it until my doctor put me on it. Um, this wasn't one of those things where we saw it out on our own and just started taking it. I'll also say I take way more than the 600 milligrams. So that's also something to consider, take into consideration. So again, just don't free ball, go off on your own and start taking NAC because what we're about to talk about is pretty promising. Just make a note and bring it to your doctor or your healthcare provider next time you're meeting with them, or give them a call, send them an email, whatever it is, and see if they think you'd be a good candidate for this supplement. So now let's dive into it.

SPEAKER_00 3:46

So I guess we can just kind of start with what is NAC, which you kind of touched on it, but this is something that was kind of a shock to me when I started researching it. It's the synthetic derivative of the amino acid L-cysteine. So L-cysteine, based off the research I did, is just very has very low bioavailability. So creating it into NAC creates makes it more stable and more bioavailable so that we can take it as a supplement and it will actually work. So that was something really interesting that when I was deep diving into this, it also is a precursor to glutathione, which is a massive antioxidant. It's like one of our main antioxidants. So when we have enough or more glutathione, it would make sense that you'd feel a little bit better, especially with someone who has a chronic illness that deals with inflammation. So I'll I'll punt it over to you, Katie, if you have anything to add.

SPEAKER_01 4:43

Yeah, I'll just add like when it comes to endometriosis, the theory is that NAC may help by reducing oxidative stress, inflammation, cell proliferation, and possibly the endometrioma growth. And I think this is all just tying back to the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory properties of it. NAC is a multi-system support tool, which is funny because we often describe endometriosis as like a multi-system um disease. So kind of cool. Endometriosis attacks the body at all different angles, and NAC teams seems to kind of like support the body from all different angles. So before we really dive into how it relates to endometriosis, PCOS, hormonal health, um, I just want to start by kind of talking about common uses for NAC because I think it's very interesting, and someone might relate uh to something else that it is commonly used for. So for instance, the biggest, most established medical use is for respiratory health. So NAC acts as a mucolytic. Did I say that right? Mucolictic.

SPEAKER_00 5:50

Mucalytic.

SPEAKER_01 5:51

Mucolytic, which means just a fancy word if it helps break down mucus. So it is often used in chronic bronchitis, COPD, sinus congestion, which I think I started taking it initially when I was having really bad like histamine symptoms and really bad sinus congestion, which I think was just like a lot of inflammation and hormone-related, but just interesting, like antioxidant, of course, is gonna help clear out your sinuses. And it's really just, you know, used in those instances to help improve your breathing and reduce flare-ups. So that was one interesting way, the most common way that NAC is typically used and found. Yeah. Something else that's really interesting and could probably benefit everybody is the mental health and brain support. And this is because it modulates glutamate and dopamine, which is most often used for those that are struggling with anxiety or depression or addiction. Um, it's really big, well known for reducing cravings. And again, it's not a magic fix, but it is one of the more interesting adjuct, adjunct supplements in psychiatry.

SPEAKER_00 6:59

I had seen this a couple of times actually, which I didn't even put the two together. Like I didn't realize it was the same. Also because I saw the full name, the long NAC. But, anyways, it's used for uh acetaminophen, which is Tylenol overdose. It protects the liver. So when Tylenol is overdosed, it can be pretty harmful for the liver. So it basically stops the overdose, protects your liver. It's really great for liver detox pathways, alcohol-related liver stress, and general just oxidative damage, which again, like we said before, always, always, always go through a doctor when starting a supplement like this. Another really great thing that this can be used for is your immune system. And we touch on inflammation as well, but they all tie hand in hand. So it boosts glutathione, which we talked about, is a key antioxidant, which really helps reduce oxidative stress, helps support the immune response, and helps regulate inflammation. And then this is where it really starts to overlap with chronic illnesses like endometriosis. This is where we start to see um the true benefits of the anti-inflammatory properties of the NA.

SPEAKER_01 8:07

Absolutely. Two other things before we start really diving into the endometriosis is it also may help improve your heart health by um helping out with your blood vessel function and helping with the oxidative stress in your arteries. This one isn't as clearly researched, just kind of a newer use for it. And then who doesn't love some anti-aging support? Since it is an antioxidant, it may help with acne that is inflammation related, not necessarily something that is caused by hormones or like a sensitivity to a product or something. And then skin repair. So very interesting. The last one is really gonna help us dive into today's episode, and that is PCOS and hormonal health. So NAC has been studied to help out with insulin resistance, ovarian support, testosterone regulation, which is interesting. And it is sometimes compared to metformin, which I am not very familiar with. Reagan, are you familiar with metformin if you want to speak to that a little bit?

SPEAKER_00 9:08

Yeah, yeah. Metformin is a medication primarily used in like in diabetes or prediabetes to try to help with insulin resistance and weight loss and just like, yeah, general sugar support to try to help regulate diabetes. So that's really interesting that it's compared to metformin.

SPEAKER_01 9:27

I feel like we booked, I was gonna say just quickly this week we have booked across different articles and posts and stuff that have been claiming endometriosis is more of a metabolic disease. Which when I saw the insulin connection to NAC, I was like, well, that's interesting. Yeah. So that that might be a separate thing that we dive into in another episode, but just like kind of a quick kind of connection parallel there.

SPEAKER_00 9:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:54

I want to go back just quickly to like tying in the hormonal health aspect of NAC with the liver detoxification because I know I started NAC when my estrogen was really high, and I was working with my doctor on naturally detoxing excess estrogen. So I'm kind of like, sorry, doc, two years later I'm just now putting two and two together of like I was probably have been taking NAC to just kind of help my liver out and to help it kind of like better detox excess estrogen. Cause Tima, if your bowels are going slow, you're not getting rid of anything. And if you have excess estrogen, like I wasn't trying to synthetically block my estrogen. I wanted to like very naturally just like help my body level it out. So that actually makes a lot of sense that someone who has a disease that is kind of hormonal related and needs help flushing the body of something NAC makes a lot of sense to do that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. In a in a not like, it's not like Muralax, okay. Like a gentle, a very gentle, yeah, like subtle way.

SPEAKER_00 11:11

Yeah, yeah. It is, and your liver is one of the main, it's not like the only, but one of the main detox pathways. So yeah, it would make a lot of sense that if you support your liver, especially if you have a chronic illness, like it's working overtime all the time. So if you're giving them giving your liver like supplements and nutrients and just things to help support it, it's gonna work a little bit better. It's gonna feel a little bit better. So yeah, I think that that was a really great, I didn't even think about that, but that's a really good tie to how it supports the liver and how that could in turn be super helpful for endo. Yeah, that's awesome.

SPEAKER_01 11:47

Very cool. Light bulb moment.

SPEAKER_00 11:49

It's all making sense. I know, full circle. I love it.

SPEAKER_01 11:53

So before we dive into some of the research that we've done, aside from just kind of looking into a little bit more about NAC, what is it, what is it most commonly used for? Just another quick little important nuance to make you guys aware of is that NAC is not FDA approved outside of a medical setting. Um, a lot of the research that we're gonna kind of start diving into are smaller studies or they're early stage studies. Um, and the effects of NAC are modest, they are not dramatic, which is why it works best as a part of like a broader protocol that is taken in addition to other supplements and also may require some diet and lifestyle changes. If you're looking to increase your antioxidant support and decrease inflammation, this is not like a one-pill cure-all. Like, of course, you're gonna have to watch what you're eating and be mindful of your movement and stuff like that. So, like, I every time I've been on an AC, I have taken it alongside a handful of other things that we're also supporting with like antioxidant, anti-inflammation, mitochondrial health, like all sorts of woo-woo out there things. Um, I can say I definitely noticed like improvements from being on it. And something that I found was interesting was when my husband and I started diving into like family planning and I started looking into prenatal packs, and a lot of them include NAC.

SPEAKER_00 13:23

Interesting.

SPEAKER_01 13:25

Isn't that interesting? Yeah. Anything that's kind of like affecting your ovulation and apparently like insulin resistance. So that was interesting. That a lot of the prenatal packs and things like that included um a pretty decent dose of NAC.

SPEAKER_00 13:45

That is crazy. And that would make a lot of sense. Something that was kind of off label that I didn't like, even in the research, I didn't really see a ton of this, was that it's really helpful for sleep too. Um, because my doctor put me on morning and nighttime NAC. And so something that I noticed was it just I just sleep better when I take it at night.

SPEAKER_01 14:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 14:10

So that's also like a little action added benefit to it.

SPEAKER_01 14:14

Listening to you say this, because I was the same. I'm like morning and night, like two times a day. Yeah. Not the recommended dose on the bottle, but I'm like, whatever. It's not. I'll gladly take a lot of this antioxidant stuff. I'm wondering now that we know that it can be used for like anxiety and depression and stuff. Like for me, my anxiety is the worst when I'm like laying in bed and the lights are off and everything is off, and all I can focus on is my racing thoughts. So I wonder that's somehow tying into how it helps us sleep better.

SPEAKER_00 14:43

Yeah. No, it very well could be. Like the dopamine and the definitely could be calm down. Yeah, yeah. Which the doctor put it put me on it after we had talked about just like anxiety issues I have right before my period, that she was like, okay, let's do this. So yeah, that is really interesting. I don't know if it's like significantly changed the like PMDD aspect, but I will say it has helped me sleep better. So that is a win in my for sure.

SPEAKER_01 15:12

Yeah, absolutely. And I'll just say, um, I mean, this is kind of one of those things where it's like, yes, talk to your doctor before you start it. But based off of that, and then going into the research we're about to talk about, it just seems like it has a lot of good to offer that is pretty promising.

SPEAKER_00 15:32

Yeah, and it has a pretty decent safety profile. Again, nothing is a hundred percent perfect, so please talk to your doctor. We cannot say that enough. Don't do this without permission, but it does seem to be pretty safe.

SPEAKER_01 15:45

Um, I'll talk to some safety points that I did just kind of find. So it it does support that NAC is generally considered well tolerated. But oral NAC, which is what I take, I don't I don't know of what other form it comes in. I've only ever taken a pill form of it.

SPEAKER_00 16:02

You can inject it.

SPEAKER_01 16:04

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 16:05

Like as a peptide.

unknown 16:07

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 16:08

Yeah, but yeah.

SPEAKER_01 16:09

Yeah, like you would a peptide. Okay. So it's it's it it says that oral NAC can cause GI side effects like nausea, diarrhea, indigestion, abdominal pain, vomiting, and flatulence, which none of those are very glamorous. I'm sure that kind of ties into the liver detox aspect of it. And it can also interact with nitroglycerin.

SPEAKER_00 16:30

If you take nitro, do not take this medication too. If you have any cardiac issues, I would say like that is where I would recommend like don't go, don't take NIC if you have cardiac issues. Like a known.

SPEAKER_01 16:43

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Because it can also affect your blood pressure and cause headaches. So if you have any anything that's known with either heart issues, blood pressure issues, this is definitely not gonna be for you. So stay clear of it or speak to your doctor before starting it. But otherwise, it's pretty safe to use. I never experienced any of those abdominal upset discomfort things.

SPEAKER_00 17:07

I did. I did, yeah. So that I noticed it pretty right away. I if I took it without having food in my stomach first, I would get super nauseous. Which I am a pretty nauseous person, anyways. Like I'm very sensitive to anything that could make me nauseous. Yeah. They're pretty bad motion sickness and stuff, but I noticed it right away, and then I started eating protein, like something before. Even if it wasn't a full breakfast, I would have a snack before I took all of my morning supplements and it went away. So for me, it was very mild. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:38

Again, I was taking a high dose. So maybe that helped. I take it like right after breakfast and right after dinner. Yeah, there you go. So take it with food. Otherwise, you might have some upset, and that's never fun. And I feel like any supplement, even if it says you don't have to take it with food, I'm still taking it. Like I'm just saying, I'm I would just not experience that all day because now my whole day is ruined all because of a supplement that I should have had some breakfast with or a snack or whatever it is.

SPEAKER_00 18:08

Yeah, no, I'm the same.

SPEAKER_01 18:09

This is clearly one of those that you should take with food.

SPEAKER_00 18:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:14

And again, we're not saying to self-prescribe, talk to your doctor first. They will have recommended doses for you. Ryan and I take more than is advised on the bottle, but it's under doctor's supervision, so we know it's safe. So again, talk to your doctor before you start this. We're just letting you know if you do start it, take it with food, whether it says two or not. Okay, let's dive into some meat here of some research. And we're gonna start all the way back in 2013, which is when an observational study found that after three months, women who took NAC had a slight reduction in ovarian endometrioma size, while untreated patients had growth in the endometrioma. Um, and the authors of this study also noted that fewer surgeries, these are endometriosis-related surgeries, were needed in the group that was taking NAC. And this is again 600 milligrams of NAC for three months straight. And we will link all of these studies at the bottom of the podcast description so you can go in and read them for yourselves. We're just kind of doing some cliff notes of the um highlights of these different studies that are showing kind of how it was observed, how it was researched, how it was studied, and what the results were.

SPEAKER_00 19:32

The next study in 2023, prospective single cohort study, found that NAC was associated with reduced endometriosis-related pain and reduced ovarian endometrioma size after three months. And so I think pretty much what you'll see across the board with these studies, it's it's three months is really when you see the benefits. Like these these individuals took it for three months straight again at that dose of 600 milligrams.

SPEAKER_01 20:02

And yeah, I think that kind of ties back to how it is like very much a modest, gentle for the most part supplement because three months. To me, I'm an instant gratification person. If I don't take something in the next day, I'm like, I feel so good. I'm like, what is this doing for me? So it does seem like three months is definitely the sweet spot to really start noticing improvements in endometriomas, endometriomas, endometriosis, pain, and gas. That too. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:35

Endometriomas, yeah. Which yeah. I think I had talked about this probably in our first episode. Like the the reason I had an emergency surgery was because of an endometrioma. So I think this could be super helpful for people who have endo and get cysts very easily. I am one of those people, and these studies are really encouraging that if you take NAC, it might help reduce endometriomas or cysts, or even like prevent them.

SPEAKER_01 21:05

Yeah, it was so interesting because it was probably two years ago I was having really bad pelvic pain again, and so I got an ultrasound done, and there was like a three centimeter endometrioma. And it was nothing that like my doctor she called and she was like, I wouldn't do surgery for this. Um like keep an eye on it if your pain gets worse, if it grows in size, like we'll you know, reconsider. Um but it's around that time that I started pelvic floor therapy, and then I also met with the doctor that I'm currently seeing and loving, and she put me on NAC. So I wonder if that contributed.

SPEAKER_00 21:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 21:38

Yeah, surgery a few years ago.

SPEAKER_00 21:40

Yeah, probably. I would not be shocked. Since I started NAC, um, I right before I started, I had a assist that burst, and it was, you know, just terrible and no pain. And so that was another reason that she was like, hey, I think we should start this just to see. And then funny enough, I had gotten. COVID right before then. So it was like a double whammy where I was like super inflamed because I just had COVID. And then I got another cis. Luckily it wasn't endometrioma, but it burst. And then I started NAC. And since then I've gotten two scans, no cis. So I feel like in my own journey, I've seen a lot of benefit with the cis specifically. Yeah. Um, which is great. That's amazing. Yeah, I would love to not have another surgery for that.

SPEAKER_01 22:26

Absolutely. And I I also want to point out with how effective it is, it is not expensive. I don't find it to be one more expensive. Like it's it's very approachable, like price point that I think anyone should really have access to it.

SPEAKER_00 22:40

So yeah, that's all like I'm comfortable buying it every month. It's not a supplement that I'm like every month this is gonna be so really doing anything.

SPEAKER_01 22:48

Yeah, no, it is for sure one of those. And like the brand that we use, the bottle we get is huge. I don't even think we need like it's a lot. Yeah, it's a lot. Um and it is not, again, it's not a prescription, so it is easily available, but talk to your doctor before you start it.

SPEAKER_00 23:06

We need to go back and count how many times we say that. No one do what we say unless you talk to your doctor for the love of goodness.

SPEAKER_01 23:14

Yes. Take a drink every time we say talk to a doctor. Do a burpee every time we say talk to a doctor.

SPEAKER_00 23:21

Yeah, there you go.

SPEAKER_01 23:23

Oh my goodness. Okay. I do just want to real quick go back to the 2023 study of how they claimed it was reducing endometriosis related pain. I just want to point out the pain that they were like kind of tracking are ones that are kind of big words that Ray and I might need your help breaking down what they mean because I really don't and I was kind of like so the only one I understood was chronic pelvic pain. The other two, I don't even know how to pronounce them so help me out and tell me in layman's terms what are those?

SPEAKER_00 23:54

Yeah. Okay, so the first one is dysmenorrhea which is just painful periods. Just a big word for painful periods. And then desperneas it means the general term is genital pain. So that I mean includes urination but persistent or recurrent genital pain that occurs before during after intercourse actually and both men and women can have this. So the NIC study from 2023 specifically followed those types of pain. Which I feel like with endometriosis I don't know what other pain you'd follow.

SPEAKER_01 24:26

I was gonna say those are really the main ones of like does your period hurt? Does anything else down there hurt?

SPEAKER_00 24:33

Yeah. Is your I guess well I guess if it's growing other places they didn't follow that.

SPEAKER_01 24:40

To study into patients that present with GI symptoms to see if it helps their GI symptoms.

SPEAKER_00 24:46

Ah that's true I actually didn't see any studies about that.

SPEAKER_01 24:50

Digestion because if it's a liver detox you think if you have slow digestion it would kind of support if you have fast digestion you probably don't want to speed it up anymore. So that would be an interesting anyone out there wants to do research on endopatients with GI symptoms or like bowel endometriosis on their bowel, see how NAC affects it. I mean I guess I could just speak to my own experience but I wasn't really I don't know I I took so many things alongside the NAC that were helping things it's hard to say like it would definitely help with my bloating and my digestion and blah blah blah blah blah because I was also taking a new probiotic which supports all of those things as well. So hard to say. Yeah yeah but yeah it definitely has the the main pain points that is most associated with endometriosis.

SPEAKER_00 25:35

A fertility angle a study that we found um that took place in 2021 ended in 2023 that followed infertile women with endometriosis um who were going through IVF and looking at the NAC effects but this area is still emerging. It did indicate that there is proven fertility support. So it does show that it did help with IVF and just fertility in general with these patients but it was less uh less like definitive than the other studies that we found.

SPEAKER_01 26:09

So this is one that people are still talking about researching but it could show to be beneficial for women going through IVF to try to conceive it does support ovulation yeah like I think found in a majority of prenatal vitamins it's gotta do something to help with fertility it's just there's not a lot of research on it. And the one that we did found was again being used in conjunction to women who were already undergoing IVF treatments. So it wasn't like infertile women are or or women struggling with fertility went in, got scans then started NAC, got new scans and saw all these improvements. That's not what this one was about. Mm-hmm so it is kind of hard to say how it does impact fertility but I think it definitely does support ovulation health which of course kind of supports fertility health.

SPEAKER_00 27:00

Yeah so yeah I think this is in that area specifically it's not a just take NAC and then you'll get pregnant. It's like it could it's helpful but there's other things that I would recommend you use in junction to that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 27:17

What do we think is causing the fertility struggles? Is it egg health? Is it poor ovulation? Is it irregular periods? Is it hormonal? So yeah I think when it comes to fertility it's already a very messy subject yeah totally not a lot out there about NAC supporting or not supporting fertility but it does do a lot of good and I would say if you are starting the talks of wanting to start a family uh it doesn't hurt to get on NAC because it does support antioxidant health inflammation hormone support insulin resistance ovulation support so it seems to do a lot of good things but yeah add it in addition to some other things that will help fertility and of course speak with your doctor first.

SPEAKER_00 28:02

Oh my god another burpee do a burpee yeah yeah I think across the board that the evidence is very encouraging but it's not like like definitive which is really hard when it comes to supplements and like trying to be a little more holistic because there's not a lot of research right now. I think we're starting to move that so that there are other options besides just like birth control, you know? So I I think as more research comes out the more we'll have clarity on supplements um and just other therapies and other methods to help with endo infertility. But I do think I mean the the studies that we've seen have been very encouraging. They've been mostly observational single cohort like early stage studies. So we have to put that caveat in there. But generally it all across the board's promising has a pretty good safety profile as far as supplements goes but it does need more like randomized high quality trials before it can be like really really pushed. So I think that's a great kind of segue into a pretty good talking point too of like how do you help with research in this which is something that I did going down a rabbit hole uh researching NAC was there's it's kind of hard to like figure out which research studies would be helpful and stuff like that. But there are a few websites which we can link as well in the podcast um that already have set aside endometriosis studies that you can be a part of. And then you can also just Google like endometriosis studies near me. And yeah, we can contribute to trying to figure out what is helpful and what's not helpful. And um yeah that's just that's the only way you know we can't can't know until we have some like definitive research that can like go based off of what we feel.

SPEAKER_01 29:57

Right. Yeah which I I want to say like a big reason why we did an episode on this supplement is because we both have personal experience with it. And it was one of those things that I just started seeing a lot of posts on Instagram about NAC being this really huge awesome effective supplement for endometriosis. And whenever I see something claiming to be like this is it this will help your endometriosis this will cure it this will get your life back it's like well I gotta dive into this because there's no cure. Yeah if this is it then why isn't this pushed more than birth control? You know so you just always have to be skeptical. Reagan and I both in the early diagnosis stages we were trying anything and everything under the sun that we came across. And you know good old Instagram once you interact with something on the topic it serves you a million more things and now you're like taking way too many things what's hurting what's helping what's working what's not so yeah that's a big reason why we even dove into this specific supplement is because we have experience with it. Our doctor recommended it to both of us we both have endometriosis symptoms that are very different from one another seeing there were studies on it and more and more people were talking about it I was like well that's interesting.

SPEAKER_00 31:15

I've been taking this for two years now how about I dive into what I am taking so again if anything claims to be this big miracle treatment easy fix um affordable pill solution talk to your doctor first do some research the research yeah yeah and it's like very available the research like I mean I had access to maybe a little bit more than Katie did just from having a medical license but generally you could access I mean we'll provide it for you like you guys can access these public studies and read the results for yourself. So I kind of go back to like my philosophy of like do do the research you know we have the internet nowadays and as much as you shouldn't you shouldn't use it as your medical doctor definitely look things up look into the research try to deep dive into it because then that helps everyone too.

SPEAKER_01 32:10

Right. And like I said and I both had great experiences with NAC but it is not a one size fits all. I'm sure there's plenty of people out there who had terrible experiences. So again cater it to yourself do your own research personal experience I think it's great. I can see a lot of reasons to continue taking it even now that I'm at a point where I'm feeling really good. It's kind of like why not at least start taking the actual recommended dose and not going above and beyond the recommended dose and just kind of have it be a part of my daily supplement lineup alongside like my daily multivitamin. It just kind of seems like it can do a lot to just continue to support your body I think women with endometriosis or any chronic disease our bodies are just naturally working harder to do everything and get everything done in a day. So NAC seems to support your body in a lot of different ways just kind of get the job done. So it seems great. Like Reagan said the research is promising but it is limited. It is fairly new I mean 2013 13 years ago but there's supplements that have been out there for decades centuries so it is I would think still a newer one. So do your research and just one more time talk to your doctor yes talk to your doctor yep and on that note thank you for tuning in to another episode of the Endoheed um hopefully you found it valuable and this encourages you to do a deep dive into NAC and other kind of antioxidant anti-inflammatory supplements so that the next time you meet with your doctor you can have it as a part of your list of things that you want to look into and discuss with them. So thank you for tuning in and we will see y'all next time.

SPEAKER_00 33:56

Yes thanks for joining us for another conversation on the endoedit.

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You can find more resources stories and community at theendoeditcom or on Instagram at theendoedit we'll see you next time and until then take care of yourself.