Has anyone had NAC work almost immediately for trichotillomania?

About a week ago, I stumbled across this sub (Googling something completely unrelated). I saw several people mention that NAC helped reduce their hair pulling urges.

I’ve had trichotillomania for about 30 years and pull from pretty much everywhere, along with dermatillomania. I’ve tried just about everything over the years: medications, therapy, wigs, fake nails, Band-Aids, witch hazel, fidget tools…

I picked up some NAC from a grocery store and started taking it while waiting for a higher quality brand to arrive. Everything I read said it would probably take a couple of weeks to notice anything.

What surprised me was that I felt different after four hours! I wasn’t expecting any change at all; not that quickly. It felt like my mind got quieter. The urge to pull wasn’t necessarily gone, but it was like I suddenly had a pause button. Instead of obsessing over a hair or immediately acting on an urge, I could notice it and then move on.

Another strange thing is that my chronic postnasal drip improved dramatically, and so did a chronic cough I’ve had for years. My usual afternoon crash (possibly related to ADHD meds) also seems was less.

The effect seems to wear off after about 6–7 hours. When I start feeling urges again, I take another dose and the urges settle back down. For example, this morning I had an irritated eyelid from allergies and could feel an eyelash poking me. Normally I would have obsessed over it and eventually pulled it out. Instead, I took NAC, waited a bit, and then completely forgot about it.

I’m now one week in and haven’t pulled a single hair. Has anyone else experienced NAC working this quickly? I’m wondering whether some of this could be placebo, but the changes feel significant enough that I’m struggling to explain them that way.