Experience:N-Acetylcysteine (600mg, oral) - pretty good for minor addictions
- Substance(s): N-Acetylcysteine
- Dose: 600mg
- Route of Administration: Oral
Subject
- Age: 16
- Sex: M
- Height: 6'2
- Weight: 75 kg / 165 lb
- Date: 04/2024
- Location: UK
Background
I got it because I have a long cough with thick mucus and I wanted a mucolytic agent to help me, but I deliberately chose NAC (N-acetylcysteine) instead of guaifenesin for its psychoactive effects I wanted to test. I have a few bad habits such as excessive time spent doing things I shouldn't be doing to ease a sense of low-level but consistent pain (physical and emotional, which I don't know the cause of), as well as occasionally getting paralysed by anxiety which is preventing me from working, even though I deep down want to. I thought it would be quite interesting and maybe even helpful to try.
Experience report
Note: If you're an accustomed reader of PsychonautWiki, you're probably going to find my stuff quite low-level. I just want to showcase the positive effects (and negative) that NAC had on me for anyone considering this supplement.
Timeline
T+ 0:00 - Popped the thingy.
T+ ~0:15 - I noticed a pain in my chest. It was annoying but could be handled. 2-3/10 at most. And it went away fairly quickly after about 20-30s. However, it also became easier to breathe.
T+ 0:37 - By now the effects came. I could tell because my breath started to contain remnants of a smell of rotten eggs, which I knew was characteristic of NAC.
I noticed a general sense of reduced anxiety, which made it easier to do things I was procrastinating on.
- Socially: I stopped procrastinating on responding to messages; I opened them all and responded. (Before I felt bad for leaving it late => more procrastination). The reduced anxiety meant I was less inhibited with what I said, making it easier to tell jokes, let loose and be charismatic. Without the pain, I found it easier to take "emotional risks"; it reminded me of how I socially glowed for a small amount of time after reading HTWFAIP by Dale Carnegie years ago.
- Academically: Without the anxiety holding me back, I was able to actually set out what I needed to do for exams without feeling a constant pain of loss and regret. I was able to make study plans and even study using active techniques such as reading the textbook by subheading and answering questions. Before, I could not concentrate on a page because of these feelings constantly nagging at me. Seeing them netted up for once was refreshing, and I'm thankful for it.
- Projects: I stopped trying to hide from the tracks of what I should've done before and just accepted it. It felt like Mr. Triumph took over my brain for a bit. I no longer felt pain when opening emails or group chats, I was just able to do things and see. It made it easier to let go of what I couldn't control, adding to the reduced anxiety. As a result I was paradoxically able to do more to help.
- Health: I wanted to (and did go on) a walk in nature for the first time all year. I was more motivated to look after myself. Not to mention the cough suppression itself which was quite useful - it reduced the coughing quite a bit, and made it easier to cough productively when I did.
- Intellectually: The reduced anxiety made it easier to consume items related to ideologies I do not usually align with. It took my sense of self-worth/identity out of the equation for a bit making it easier to think about other people's point of view. In other words, I no longer considered the ideas of another person to be a direct attack on myself. I could "handle" it and come to judgment myself.
As well as reduced anxiety, it was literally just easier to be productive. While before my days involved "mostly internet with a little bit of productivity", it turned into "productivity with a little bit of internet". Even when I was allowed to take a break off studying, I wanted to prolong the studying instead of the break. As if it no longer carried a sense of dread that I needed to escape.
T+ 2:00 - By now I noticed that the NAC flipped everything around, as if it gave me urges to not engage with my bad habits. This effect outlived the duration of the compound's action. I'll describe it more further down.
T+ 2:20 - Coming down very fast. I found that after eating, the effects diminished a lot to about 10% their strength before. I basically concluded the experience here. If you want to prolong your experience, do not eat anything while you're on it. It was very obvious that the experience ended because my fatigue returned and my anxiety was on its way up again.
Several hours after the entire experience ended (T+ 13:37)
As for the bad choice part, here's how it felt:
- I could think more clearly, so it was easier to weigh up the upsides and downsides of engaging with the behaviour and not.
- Ironically the NAC made it easier to think about the positive feelings of the addictive behaviour, but from the perspective of someone onlooking it from the outside, meaning I did not have to engage with it to fulfil what I was missing out on.
- If you like, imagine the behaviour as playing a song. Normally I can play a part of the song in my head, but really want to actually hear it so it's stronger. NAC is like playing the whole song for you quickly in your head so you get it over with. In a way it's also like observing the sheet music for the song without hearing it to see how it works.
The morning after, I woke up quite dehydrated, though this could be due to other factors too.
Overall, I find it really cool that doing a dose of this once was able to bring a change in my views that long outlasts the duration of the experience itself.
Submitted by EgoManiac91
Effects analysis
Cognitive: I felt every effect listed on the page
- Addiction suppression
- "it gave me urges to not engage with my bad habits"
- "I did not have to engage with it to fulfil what I was missing out on"
- Motivation enhancement
- "made it easier to do things I was procrastinating on."
- "I wanted to (and did go on) a walk in nature for the first time all year."
- "Even when I was allowed to take a break off studying, I wanted to prolong the studying instead of the break"
- Anxiety suppression
- "I was less inhibited with what I said, making it easier to tell jokes, let loose and be charismatic"
- "I could not concentrate on a page because of these feelings constantly nagging at me. Seeing them netted up for once was refreshing"
- "I stopped trying to hide"
- "I no longer considered the ideas of another person to be a direct attack on myself"
- Focus enhancement
- "I could not concentrate on a page because of these feelings...Seeing them netted up for once was refreshing"
- "I was able to make study plans and even study using active techniques"
- "it turned into productivity with a little bit of internet"
- Rejuvenation (manifested as personal bias suppression)
- "easier to consume items related to ideologies I do not usually align with"
- "It took my sense of self-worth/identity out of the equation for a bit"
- "I no longer considered the ideas of another person to be a direct attack on myself"
- "from the perspective of someone onlooking it from the outside"
- Mindfulness
- "I could think more clearly, so it was easier to weigh up the upsides and downsides"
- "NAC is like playing the whole song for you quickly in your head so you get it over with"
- "it's also like observing the sheet music"
- "It made me feel like I had free will and it was a choice"
Physical
- Bronchodilation
- "it also became easier to breathe"
- Increased blood pressure
- "I noticed a pain in my chest. It was annoying but could be handled."
- Cough suppression
- "it reduced the coughing quite a bit, and made it easier to cough productively when I did"
- Dehydration
- "The morning after, I woke up quite dehydrated"