Adverse Effects of Using Glutathione Precursors

[snippet]

In an effort to aid both heavy metal detoxification and symptoms of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, I had taken Glutathione Precursors (NAC, Glutamate, and Glycine) in a self guided medication venture and felt markedly improved.  Unfortunately, after a month of taking the precursors, high liver enzyme counts were detected in a routine blood scan.  Upon receiving the results, I stopped the Glutathione Precursor program, and two weeks later, a subsequent blood scan showed normal liver counts, which leads me to believe that the glutathione repletion was directly involved with the elevated reading.  Because I was feeling better while taking it, I find myself disheartened by the fact that I had to stop the supplementation, and would like to hear from someone who is familiar with this type of detoxification program, as no doctor I have found has any familiarity with such a regimen and its expected results or effects.  

Is it normal for a blood scan to come back with high liver counts when taking the glutathione precursors?  If so, for how long does one usually engage in supplementation before taking a break?  If not, could I lower the dose and maintain healthier counts that way while on the program?  I have literally tried most everything available for my symptoms with little to no success over the years, and I feel very strongly about continuing down this path, given the positive results I had experienced in a short amount of time.  Just for added clarification, the exact dosage that I was taking was 1 capsule three times a day of the following potency:

257mg N-acetyl L-cysteine (NAC), 128mg L-glutamic acid, 64mg L-glycine

Any guidance or knowledge you can pass on would be greatly appreciated and thank you for your anticipated response

Sincerely,

Michael

[Jennistar]

I HIGHLY suggest you do a genomics test.. johns Hopkins is doing them I believe insurance is also covering them now.  If you don't have insurance have your doctor order a detoxigenomics test ( liver genetics ). depending on how your liver pathways are set up one supplement can be deadly ( as well as medications ). I finally agreed upon my docs repetive requests and it explained everything..all the weird reactions to supplements near death experiences with low dose or within 3 normal doses of certain meds.. Johns Hopkins is using it as the new gold standard for liver diagnostics.Note this is NOT an epigenetics test..Its the real deal

[Wilderstien]

This is fascinating - if it wasn’t so tragic. It’s a hypersensitivity. Interestingly, I too had this, so did my horse and my dogs. The only common denominator was blue eyes and myself blonde and the dogs and horse were white. No other animals of ours got this. We all had elevated liver enzymes - off the charts but seemed ok physically - but it affected the brain badly in the dogs, some wouldn’t eat till you put food in their mouths, their limbs became stiff and their jaws locked, like tetanus but it wasn’t. Vets were all totally puzzled - my doctor too. The interesting point here is that they could ‘ prove’ homeopathic medicines in less than 60 seconds. That is the degree of sensitivity. They could see the food, wanted it but couldn’t pick it up in their mouths, or drink it seemed impossible for them, so I fed them with syringes. Nothing worked until I had a brain wave. I gave them dichotomous earth, different sorts and very gradually. I took a tiny bit in the edge of a knife and it put me on my back with one hell of a migraine for two
Days. That’s how bad it was. I got better, so did the dogs, gradually over :
Weeks they could walk, eat, recognised me, answered to their names. And we’re fine. If I took them off the clay for more a month, they reverted and one died but she was 16. I also used medicinal charcoal, iodine. Vitamin c and b12 p5p and folate, plus a complete amino acid profile. I kept them well hydrated at all times as this was difficult to do. Not sure this will help, but it sorted me and the dogs. The horse got better but in withdrawal of a month she reverted and we sadly lost her too .

[woleile]

I noticed this text on my bottle of n-acetyl-cysteine (glutathione precursor) this morning:

"Prolonged or elevated use may alter liver function tests without affecting actual liver function. Inform your physician that you are ingesting NAC if you undergo liver function tests."

Too late for your question, but maybe it could help someone else.

Laura

[Wilderstien]

Hi Michael,

How’s it going now. I am a qualified IIN health coach, but even the additional 5 years research I did ( in addition to the training I had plus the adapt with Chris Kresser )  didn’t answer my questions fully. So I had to experiment on myself. I’m great now, but so many things can influence the liver markers. It may not have been the glutathione precursors. Are you any further forward - if not let me know and I could  tell you how I got over mine, if it would help. I know how it feels. Kindest regards Suze.

[Jennistar]

believe insurance is also covering them now.  If you don't have insurance have your doctor order a detoxigenomics test ( liver genetics ). depending on how your liver pathways are set up one supplement can be deadly ( as well as medications ). I finally agreed upon my docs repetive requests and it explained everything..all the weird reactions to supplements near death experiences with low dose or within 3 normal doses of certain meds.. Johns Hopkins is using it as the new gold standard for liver diagnostics.Note this is NOT an epigenetics test..Its the real deal

[recoveringfrombronchitis]

Perhaps you should look into I.V. Glutathione (or maybe start with ALA as described above).  You have to be careful with oral supplementation b/c...

"Supplemental glutamine should be kept absolutely dry or the powder will degrade into ammonia and pyroglutamic acid.

Precautions: Glutamine should not be taken by persons with cirrhosis of the liver, kidney problems, Reye's syndrome, or any type of disorder that can result in an accumulation of ammonia in the blood. For such individuals, taking supplemental glutamine may only cause further damage to the body. Be aware that although the names sound similar, glutamine, glutamic acid (also sometimes called glutamate) glutathione, gluten, and monosodium glutamate are all different substances."
Source: http://www.celiac.com/gluten-free/topic/185-what-is-glutamine-and-acidophilus/

[newtrition]

In the post above referring to Glutathione.......The Mother of All Antioxidants........take note of the comment about undenatured whey protein....Immunocal has method of use patents and many fully completed clinical studies, including some done on CFIDS.  Great results for CFIDS suffers.  It would definitely worth your while to investigate it.

[tropicalgeek]

I cured myself of chronic fatigue syndrome by doing heavy research and figuring out what was causing it in my own body.  Long story short, I had gut dysbiosis, intestinal hyperpermeability and a methylation block in my liver.  See beatcfsandfms.org for ways to deal with it.  The doctor I used to do the right tests and recommend the right supps and diet that cured me was Dr. Farr at becomehealthynow.com.  He wasn't listed at beatcfsandfms.org, I found him myself online.  I live out of the US now and had to find a doctor I could use without traveling to the US.  He sent me the tests, I fed ex'd them to the labs in the US, he got the results and then he recommended diet and supps to take care of the problem.  It took a long time and was pretty expensive, but I'm over it now and my worst problem is that I have a deconditioned body from 6 years of inactivity.  I'm taking yoga and joining a couple of gyms to get my poor body back in shape.  It was quite a ride, at least I'm enjoying it now.  I will continue to take the glutathione precursors probably indefinitely.  If they are causing high liver enzymes, it just means you have more issues.  Glutathione is vital for the body.  Try to find a doctor (NOT a medical doctor) that can make recommendations based on tests.  General recommendations do not work for us, you have to know what is going on in your body and deal with it.  We need individually tailored treatment plans.  Farr is really good, you can go to his site, fill out a questionnaire, and then get a free phone consultation to talk with him and ask questions.  He is in Florida.  good luck