New ‘Mom’s Little Helper’ Is a $175-a-Month Injectable to Fight Exhaustion

As a 30-year-old working and raising two young children, I am perpetually tired, and it shows. My eyes tend to look sunken, my skin wouldn’t exactly be described as “shiny,” and I rarely have the energy to comb my hair. But on social media, my fellow moms suddenly look cheerful.

In TikTok videos and Instagram carousels, these women show before and after pictures in which they go from ragged to refreshed, seemingly overnight. Their secret? NAD+ Supplements and Injections — the new “mommy’s little helper” when it comes to combating overall motherhood fatigue.

“I feel better than I have in 10 years,” says Tia Collis, 43, a mother of two from Florida who injects the anti-aging treatment.

Claims like these explain why taking NAD+ (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide) and its precursors NMN (nicotinamide mononucleotide) and NR (nicotinamide riboside) are gaining traction beyond longevity and biohackers, and trickling down to tired moms in their 30s and 40s.

As Dr. Mindy Goldmanthe chief clinician of Noon Health, tells me, NAD+ is a coenzyme found naturally in almost every cell in our body, helping to maintain their function and convert food into energy. As we age, our NAD+ levels decrease, which can make things more difficult for cells to produce energy and repair damage. Women like Collis are injecting themselves with NAD+, hoping to bring back the youthful energy they need in the trenches of motherhood, along with sharper focus and less brain fog.

“There is growing interest in whether supporting NAD+ levels can help women in areas that are important to them, such as energy, metabolism and brain health,” says Goldman.

It was this possibility that initially led Collis to try injectable NAD+ for herself. Like me, Collis’s life is a constant balancing act. She not only raises her two children, ages 11 and 3, but also works full-time as a real estate agent, entrepreneur, and content creator. All this juggling is made even more difficult by the fact that she suffers from Hashimoto’s disease, an autoimmune disease that has an impact on the thyroid and can cause fatigue and laziness.

“I had to take a nap every day,” she remembers.

No more. On InstagramCollis posted videos of herself sticking a needle full of injectable NAD+ in his legshowing him brilliant results and saying she feels like she’s “25 again.” Her fatigue and brain fog have cleared, she tells me. She was enough of a fan that she eventually became an affiliate of the company she purchased from in order to spread the word.

“It makes me feel more human and less like a 42-year-old zombie,” she told her audience in a video.

Videos like Collis’s are frequent topics of discussion in mom circles, like my group chats with my friends with young children, where we constantly exchange ideas for getting through our hectic days. When a friend of mine started taking NAD+ pills, we all waited impatiently for her results, as if she were our personal guinea pig.

But the promise of a vaccine, powder or pill that would turn me into super mom comes at a price: injectables can work $175 for a month’s supplyPowdered supplements, which typically contain NAD+ precursors like NMN, can be expensive about $120 and even the pills are around $69which raises the question of whether the results are really worth it.

Well, maybe, says Goldman. She cautions that additional NAD+ is still under study. So while we understand a lot about what it does naturally in our cells, we don’t have extensive human research on the benefits of increasing co-enzyme levels.

“Social media has helped generate a lot of excitement around NAD+, but claims can sometimes get ahead of the science,” says Goldman.

Jacob Hill, specialist in naturopathic medicine, tells the Cleveland Clinic that interest in these supplements comes largely from “their potential anti-aging and longevity benefits.” But, he adds, “research in this area is still developing. The long-term benefits and risks will not be clear until more research is available.”

From what Goldman has seen, there appear to be a fair number of women who report feeling more energetic and mentally sharper, and she understands why these benefits would be particularly appealing to mothers of young children — and women going through perimenopause. However, she cautions against believing some of the more exaggerated claims.

“Be wary of promises about reversing aging, dramatic weight loss, or eliminating fatigue, and look for information that reflects both what we know and what we are still learning,” she says.

Goldman supports whether people want to try the supplement. But she also wants moms to engage in other ways to combat burnout, like exercising regularly, prioritizing sleep and eating nutritious foods.

“It may be a tool that women want to explore, but it shouldn’t replace finding the underlying reasons why they may feel this way,” she says.

Ultimately, while NAD+ may not be a silver bullet that will change my entire life, it can be one piece of a larger plan for balance and self-care. After trying the pills, my friend told us she decided not to continue because the small energy boost she felt wasn’t worth the high price. But those who notice a big difference can encourage others to give it a try.

Collis tells me that while she always advises her followers to consult their doctor before starting to take any vitamins or supplements, she also wants women like her to know that there are ways to feel better.

“There are tools to combat fatigue and brain fog,” she says. “You don’t have to suffer like this.”