Was about to take my one capsule of NAC that I normally take in the morning. Two came out of the bottle. Tried again. Two came out. It took it as a sign and took both of them. (I know I can, that it’s okay.) And now find myself breathing markedly easier. I’ll remember that. (Winter time always is harder on my lungs these days. It’s nothing dramatic, but relatively small differences can make a big difference.)

(NAC – an amino acid analogue – thins mucus and yes, its biggest effect is after 2 to 3 hours. Says research. Says my experience, too. My lungs are pretty clear at the moment, I think, but it’s almost as if the thick mucus sometimes makes the insides of my lungs stick together. It’s just something you need to be mindful of and work at so that the mucus does not build up and catch up with you. That’s all.)

(Correction: It IS a big deal. Because not knowing what was going on meant that I was not always getting quite enough oxygen in the past and it led to viral pneumonia in 2017. Managing it is no big deal, but not managing it can cause it to result in big deals and it can sap your energy.)

(And yes, it can make me cranky and gloomy too.)