Reddit mentions of Jarrow Formulas N-A-G 700 mg, Supports Joints & Intestinal Function, 120 Veggie Caps

http://www.amazon.com/Jarrow-Formulas-700-Veggie-Caps/dp/B0013OQGUK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1452648310&sr=8-1&keywords=n+acetyl+glucosamine

That'll be your best bang for the buck.

I'm dosing ~2100mg am and pm (4200mg total). Studies with Crohn's have gone up to 6g I believe.

> A pilot study in 2000 investigated the efficacy of NAG administration in children with severe ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease who were unresponsive to conventional treatment. Patients were given NAG orally or rectally, 3–6 g daily. Histochemical assessment of epithelial and matrix NAG and glycosaminoglycans was performed where biopsy specimens were available. Eight of 12 children who received oral NAG showed clear improvement. Of the children with symptomatic Crohn’s stricture, 4 out of 7 showed endoscopic and radiological improvement and were able to avoid surgery over a mean follow-up period of 2.5 years. Investigators concluded that NAG administration may be useful in IBD with stricture but that further trials were needed to confirm efficacy.122 No published controlled studies appear to have been conducted to investigate the effects of NAG supplementation on IP defects in humans. However, it may be reasonable to postulate that similar benefits exist as those seen in the above trial in IBD patients due to the shared pathophysiological mechanisms of intestinal inflammation and mucosal oxidative stress commonly found in both IBD and IP defects.>

http://www.naturalmedicinejournal.com/journal/2010-03/nutritional-protocol-treatment-intestinal-permeability-defects-and-related

I tend to feel it within the hour, sometimes 2 to hit max potency. Chronic fatigue is not very well understood but it seems like there is a trigger from many different sources - whether it be methylation issues (severe ones), herpes and enteroviruses (EBV, cytomegalovirus, etc.), certain autoimmune disorders (Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, etc) - that results in similar kinds of conditions. The different symptoms being post exertional fatigue/malaise (sometimes bordering on severe - 10s of hours), cognitive issues involving thinking, blank mind, difficulty with speech, short term and working memory, general chronic fatigue not relieved by rest, and sometimes things like limbs feeling really heavy. I don't understand it and I don't think anyone truly does at the moment but it's possible the immune inflammation from leaky gut could be causing these problems. I'm not a Dr or anything but I am in the medical field (nursing & bio bachelors) and have quite a lot of biology/chemistry under my belt, and several years researching my own issues.

Once you look into this stuff you'll be amazed at how much a "supplement" (a very tainted word) can be just as powerful if not more powerful than certain pharmaceuticals. Perhaps not because pharmaceuticals are junk but perhaps because the supplement is targeting something more specifically problematic for you and for which prescription drugs just haven't been created to do quite yet, though some do. Also it may be treating something at the source in a very natural way rather than busting out the mega industrial, billion dollar, high tech, hardcore, super pharmaceutical drug that is incomprehensibly complex and laser targeted in what it does but may be covering up the issue rather than resolving (though relief may occur). Such as if someone uses an SSRI but has a Vitamin D deficiency. They may feel better but if it can be resolved by treating the problem at its source and letting the body's wisdom put things where they need to be that will always be the #1 option.

remicade looks as though it specifically targets TNF-Alpha. Other cytokines may be wreaking havoc in your system as well and it may not even be touching the other ones.

With a quick Google search you can see that NAG resulted in significantly decreased tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin (IL)-6 concentrations in mice. It may be affecting others as well. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22434264

There are a plethora of supplements out there that can help you with this. See a few threads here:
http://forums.phoenixrising.me/index.php?threads/chronic-microglial-activation-in-me-cfs-and-its-possible-treatment-using-microglial-inhibitors.34164/
http://forums.phoenixrising.me/index.php?threads/completely-eliminated-my-severe-anxiety-symptoms-with-three-supplements.18369/

Have you ever tried Turmeric in moderate - high dose? It does something similar.

I wouldn't be discouraged if NAG doesn't do much, though I suspect it will. It's strongly implicated in helping with Crohn's even outside of pure cognitive issues.

Some of the heavy hitters in terms of this cytokine / microglial inhibition are Memantine and Low Dose Naltrexone. Memantine was a game changer for me, significantly stronger than NAG. It is extremely powerful. I have LDN on the way and can't wait to try it. LDN seems to be very hit or miss with people.

This is going to be the best site you'll ever find on ME/CFS. Trust me, I've been looking for years.
http://phoenixrising.me/
http://phoenixrising.me/mecfs-basics
http://phoenixrising.me/treating-cfs-chronic-fatigue-syndrome-me

If you relate to that you may have some more options in terms of treatment. I'd start out with NAG / Turmeric / maybe a few others on the lists there that are easy to buy / find (in the completely eliminated my anxiety thread).

If you feel you have CFS outside of Crohn's, this is what you're going to want to start looking into:
https://sites.google.com/site/cfstestingandtreatmentroadmap/

That should keep you engaged for a while but in the meantime definitely grab some NAG and maybe Turmeric and based on how that treats you and how closely you relate to all this you can start going down a new path for potential treatments. I'm really curious about how NAG will affect you, it looks very promising. LDN also looks huuuge for Crohn's.

Good luck and if you have any questions shoot me another message.

n-acetylglucosamine. I use Jarrow brand. I found N-A-G through a phoenixrising thread.