NAD+ user experiences: what users themselves report
Users’ own accounts, not research. The accounts are self-selected and prove neither that it works nor that it is safe.
This page does not list users’ doses or sellers, and no figure on it is a recommendation. Doses used in studies, with sources: NAD+ dosage in studies.
In short
Of 87 people, 46 (53%) said NAD+ brought some benefit and 47 (54%) some harm.
- An AI model read and classified 300 public Reddit posts one by one, following written instructions. Leaving out posts that looked like marketing, 88 were first-hand accounts, from 87 different people.
- Benefits mentioned most often: more energy (23, 26%), focus or brain fog (7, 8%) and better mood (6, 7%).
- Harms mentioned most often: fatigue or crash (16, 18%), flushing or heat (7, 8%) and nausea or stomach upset (7, 8%). In addition, 25 (29%) described some other, rarer harm. People tend to post when something goes wrong, so this share does not tell how common harms are.
- The figures mix injected NAD+ and oral precursors (NMN, NR). Split by route, the groups were too small for figures, so for them there are quotes only.
- The accounts cannot separate the substance from placebo or other causes. What the research shows: NAD+: what the research shows.
Where the accounts come from and how we read them
Sources: the Reddit forums r/Biohackers (41 accounts), r/NMN (21), r/Peptides (17), r/Nootropics (6), r/bpc_157 (2) and r/Retatrutide (1), 7 Nov 2024 to 1 Oct 2026. The posts were retrieved from a public Reddit archive. From first-person posts about NAD+, 300 were picked at random, and every one was read.
Coding: for each account we recorded the route, reported benefits and harms, how strong a harm was, whether and why the person stopped, length of use and other substances used at the same time. We kept accounts that reported some effect, some harm, or no effect. Questions and plans were left out. A harm was recorded when the person reported it during use, even if the cause was uncertain. Several posts by one person count as one person. One person can mention several things, so the shares in the tables do not add up to 100.
Check: an AI model read and classified the posts following written instructions. A second, separate AI run classified a random tenth (30 posts) again without seeing the first classification. The main fields matched: 27/30 (90%). 5 posts looked like marketing and are not in the figures.
Whose accounts these are: routes mentioned: injection 33, precursor by mouth (NMN or NR) 29, by mouth 4, intravenous drip 2, more than one way 1, patch 1; the others did not say. The figures describe the writers and are not a recommendation. The products were not verified, so we do not know what people actually took.
Did NAD+ help? The overall picture
Of 87 people, 32 (37%) reported benefit only, 14 (16%) both benefit and harm, 33 (38%) harm only and 8 (9%) neither.
Stopping. 8 people (9%) said they stopped or paused: 7 because of harms and 1 because they noticed no effect or for another reason.
| Overall picture: benefit, harm or neither | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Benefit only | 32 | 37% |
| Both benefit and harm | 14 | 16% |
| Harm only | 33 | 38% |
| Neither benefit nor harm | 8 | 9% |
Most common reported benefits
Of 87 people. 46 (53%) mentioned some benefit; the table lists every benefit reported.
| Reported | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| More energy | 23 | 26% |
| Focus or brain fog | 7 | 8% |
| Better mood | 6 | 7% |
| Recovery or exercise performance | 4 | 5% |
| Signs of ageing or skin | 2 | 2% |
| Less pain | 2 | 2% |
| Better sleep | 2 | 2% |
| Other benefit | 20 | 23% |
Share = people / 87.
Most common reported harms
Of 87 people. 47 (54%) mentioned some harm; 4 said explicitly they had none.
| Reported | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Fatigue or crash | 16 | 18% |
| Flushing or heat | 7 | 8% |
| Nausea or stomach upset | 7 | 8% |
| Anxiety, restlessness or jitteriness | 6 | 7% |
| Injection site pain or burning | 5 | 6% |
| Dizziness | 3 | 3% |
| Low mood or irritability | 3 | 3% |
| Chest tightness or pressure | 2 | 2% |
| Headache | 2 | 2% |
| Allergic reaction, hives or rash | 1 | 1% |
| Shortness of breath | 1 | 1% |
| Muscle cramps or tightness | 1 | 1% |
| Palpitations or fast heart rate | 1 | 1% |
| Insomnia | 1 | 1% |
| Other, rarer harm | 25 | 29% |
| Harms mentioned but not named | 1 | 1% |
Share = people / 87.
How severe were the harms?
Of the 47 people who described how strong a harm was, 26 (55%) described it as mild, 15 (32%) as clearly bothersome and 6 (13%) as severe. The strength is the writer's own description, not a doctor's assessment.
| Strength of the harm as the writer described it | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Mild: minor and manageable | 26 | 55% |
| Clearly bothersome: several days, sleep or work affected | 15 | 32% |
| Severe: emergency visit, hospital or unable to function | 6 | 13% |
Harms known from research and regulators: What are the side effects of NAD+?
How long did people use NAD+?
53 of 87 people (61%) said how long they had been using it at the time of writing. Where one person wrote several posts, the longest stated time counts.
| Stated length of use | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Under a week | 10 | 19% |
| 1-4 weeks | 12 | 23% |
| 1-3 months | 17 | 32% |
| Over 3 months | 14 | 26% |
Many people post partway through, often in the first days or as soon as harms start, so short times are over-represented. The numbers describe the writers; they do not say how long it should be used.
Other substances at the same time
27 of 87 people (31%) used other substances at the same time. The most common: tirzepatide (4), TMG (4), coq10 (3) and creatine (3). Then the account cannot tell which substance had the effect.
Injections, drips and precursors
The accounts cover two different things: NAD+ injected or given as a drip into a vein, and the oral precursors NMN and NR. Routes mentioned: injection 33, precursor by mouth (NMN or NR) 29, by mouth 4, intravenous drip 2, more than one way 1, patch 1.
We show figures by route only for groups of at least 40 people. Both groups were smaller (injection or drip 36, by mouth or precursor 34), so for each group there are quotes only. The figures in the tables mix routes.
Only 2 people described an intravenous drip. The harms of drips are covered in the research section: What are the side effects of NAD+? The precursors have their own page: NMN: what the research shows.
About dosing
We do not repeat the amounts or ways of use people mention, and we give no dosing or how-to instructions. A safe dose is not known. Doses used in studies, with sources: NAD+ dosage in studies. Legal status: Is NAD+ legal in Finland?
What can be concluded?
The most common reported benefit was energy and the most common harm tiredness or a crash. The accounts cannot tell which route works better or is safer.
The accounts prove neither that it works nor that it is safe. The writers are self-selected, the product contents are unknown, many used several substances at once, and placebo effects can be large. The research and its evidence levels: NAD+: what the research shows.
Quotes
Short excerpts in the writers’ own words. Writers’ names and links are not shown. We picked quotes from every group: benefit, both benefit and harm, no effect, harms and people who stopped.
-
"The energy boost is great."
r/Biohackers, 2025-12, Intramuscular injections, duration not stated; the writer reports a clear energy boost.
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"So far I see the same energy boost after a month."
r/NMN, 2026-07, Oral precursors: NMN for three years with more energy, then a switch to NR, which gave the same energy effect within a month.
-
"Better focus and energy throughout the day. Amazing. When I do my shot, I always get a flushed feeling, a little weakness in legs and tightness in chest"
r/Peptides, 2025-09, Injections for about two months; better focus and energy, plus passing flushing, leg weakness and chest tightness after each injection.
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"I wish I could say it has changed My life but I'm not sure I really feel any benefit."
r/NMN, 2025-11, Oral NMN powder (precursor) with TMG, almost 100 days; no clear benefit.
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"I just started NAD + injections a week ago and I’m experiencing extreme fatigue."
r/Biohackers, 2024-12, Self-given injections, about one week of use; fatigue so strong that the writer hesitates to take the next injection.
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"Unfortunately, I had to stop after a couple weeks due to increasing stomach irritation."
r/NMN, 2025-06, Oral NMN (precursor), about two weeks; daily activity felt easier, but stopped because of stomach irritation, followed by mood swings, fatigue and joint pain.
Other summaries made with the same method: BPC-157 user experiences, MOTS-c user experiences, NMN user experiences, SS-31 user experiences, Retatrutide user experiences, Tesamorelin user experiences, Epitalon user experiences and user experiences with collagen and skin peptides.
Content is general information about research, not medical advice. If you have symptoms, contact a healthcare professional.