DON'Ts on tx, what to avoid

[Marcia2202]

First my utter respect to every one on tx! I can't even imagine what you guys are going through!
I'm still into my pre tx organizing. I was thinking of comprising a list of DON'Ts during tx and stating the reasons why. I would so much appreciate any input from what has been read or experienced. Once I have all the info, I'll make a list and post it back onto the forum, so everyone can profit from it. (I will do another post with DO's.)
I'll start with what I have read or 'heard'. Please correct, if wrong. Marcia

Milk Thistle - interfere with drugs, will 'flush out' the tx drugs from the liver

Tanning Beds - due to photosensitivity caused by tx drugs, serious blistering has been experienced

Sun exposure - (in moderation???) due to photosensitivity caused by tx drugs

Licorice root -

Grapefruit -

Iron supplements -

[Marcia2202]

Virgin Coconut Oil is made up of medium chain fatty acids, and is one of the only oils which don't turn into trans fatty acids when heated.

You can find a lot on VCO on the net.

Coconut oil made from copra (dried coconuts) is NOT the same.

Olive oil is great fresh, but not good when heated.

Marcia

[Marcia2202]

Thanks.

I'm sorry, I'm not knowledgeable enough about the things you asked about. I'm sure someone else will answer them for you.

If you find some answers, please post them here.


Marcia

[incharge08]

At my tx orientation the nurse strongly stressed staying out of the sun because it will make your skin blister  and suggested using SPF 30 or higher sunscreen and a hat if you are out in the sun.

Marcia I know you're looking for 'don'ts' but I have 2 questions:

I take Aleve rather than Tylenol does it make a difference? Tylenol makes me feel 'weird' so I switched to Aleve.

I also take 2 Probiotic/Acidophilus w/ citrus Pectin - capsules once a day - (Activia is suppose to contain probiotics)  and I drink 1 cup of organic detox tea that contains licorice root among other things - before I go to bed.  

I wondered if these interfere with the Riba and interferon absorption?

But I always take my Riba alone and wait 2 to 3 hrs before I take my other meds or supplements.

I'll see what info I can find about this.
great thread!
jeneice

[comeagain]

I´ve heard that the only suitable oil for heating is oliv or rapsoil dont know about coconut though , but all polyunsaturated oil is very canserogenic when heating, otherwise very healthy.
I have no problem with fried food during tx.

ca

[overcom31]

Thank You for the info. on The Milk Thistle, I will defiantly use it to my advantage...Do you think that is why I am not feeling any side effects from the tx...I am in my 10th week of tx and have no side effects at all...I just thought I was lucky, but in reality I may be just flushing the tx out of my system...I go back to my doc. on June 2nd to see how the tx is coming along...I think they would have called me and told me if I was not responding to tx after my last bloodwork, maybe they are just waiting for me to come back....I am pretty worried now that all the effort I have already put into this has been for nothing, beacuse I continued to take a supplement, that GI said was fine to take during tx...anyway I stopped taking the Milk Thistle about 2 weeks ago, and hopefully my tx will still be ok....

[Marcia2202]

Here is the thread you couldn't find. Marcia

[Marcia2202]

I have gotten a reply from Jim regarding the fiber. He is NOT talking about regular fiber present in whole grain bread etc. He was talking about fiber supplements.

So in my words:

Do not not take any medications within one hour before or after taking FIBER SUPPLEMENTS such as Psyllium Husk (Metamuscil), Bran, Flax, clay, .... as it will bind with the meds or vitamins or whatever you take .... and get transported out of your body.

Marcia

[Marcia2202]

does any one have something else to add to this thread? More sharing would be greatly appreciated. Marcia

[Marcia2202]

Thanks for the input. I will let these threads hang around for a few more days, before I start making the lists. Lets see how long they last..

The fat helps the body absorb the Riba better. I also heard that it is easier on the stomach???

Marcia

[jjhvc]

Put Iron Supplements on the NO list  Bunch of good reasons !

[jjhvc]

Marcia found these books to be quite helpful on all the above
"The First Year Hepatitis C "....By Cara Bruce & Lisa Montanarelli
"The Hepatitis C Help book "....Misha Ruth Cohen OMD ,Robert Gish , MD
"Hepatitis & Liver Disease "  revised Edition ...Melissa Palmer , MD

To Anyone: Why fat w/ Rib ? Had not heard why? I took mine this morn with olive oil anyway . No Queezy stomach this morn  Hummm Thanks for that DO
Jan

[Marcia2202]

Thank you. It was you who got such damage from a tanning bed, isn't it? I remember reading the post a few days ago.

Fried foods??? I totally agree with you. I can't even look at fried food. :-) I think it's the liver refusing it. Heated butter is the worst ever. I only cook with virgin coconut oil. That's the only oil I can take when heated,  can't even take olive oil when heated. I use extra virgin olive oil and a little sesame sometimes in their raw organic cold pressed form.

Marcia

[Marcia2202]

Naringin is the bitter taste in citrus fruit, thus present in larger amounts in grapefruit, bitter orange and pummelo.

Check out this link, it is a cross study of different citrus fruit, unfortunately lemon is not mentioned.

powernetdesign.com/grapefruit/general/mechanism.html

Of 15 fruits screened, white grapefruit (control), red pummelo  (pomelo), sweetie (oro blanco), melogold, banpeiyu pummelo, hassaku orange, sour (seville) orange, lime  and natsudaidai  showed significant immunoreactivity, indicating the presence of furanocoumarin derivatives. Navel orange, sweet orange and yuzu  showed slight immunoreactivity, while iyokan orange, satsuma mandarin, ponkan mandarin and dekopon mandarin showed minimal immunoreactivity.

This is another thing I found, mentioning lemons.

yafferuden.com/html/grapefruit_drug_interaction.html

While sweet oranges and their juice do not appear to cause the same reaction, sour orange juice such as that from Seville oranges, may have an effect similar to grapefruit juice. Preliminary research suggests lime juice might also have this effect.45 Tangelos are a hybrid of grapefruit and may also interfere with drugs. Most other citrus fruits, such as lemons, citrons, naturally sweet oranges and tangerines are considered safe.

Lets see if the links stayed

Marcia

[nygirl7]

Believe me Marcia please know how smart you are......do NOT tan while on treatment.  Yowza it's not a pleasant experience whatsoeEVER, even for an Italian girl like me who rarely ever has burned!

Good list and hopefully this will help some of the myths out there.  Smart of you to think it up.

(just on a personal note I found fried foods KILLED my stomach BAD if I even tried to eat them...nothing to do wth meds or anything but I"d be very careful about it!)

[Marcia2202]

thanks, the fat bit is already on the other thread. The Do's thread.

I will check out the bit about fibers. I had planned taking the riba with ryebread and cheese, so I guess I'll have to leave the bread and take a big chunk of cheese instead :-)

Marcia

[gauf]

lactoferrin is a good addition at EOT per HR. Taper down the peg while introducing the lactoferrin. This will help your immune system to come back online.
--------------------------------
No anti inflammatories on tox is the safest bet. No MT, green tea, curcumin, or resveratrol.   Grapefruit juice? Well it has been shown to knock down VL, but is also hard on liver so late stagers need to keep that in mind. How does in interact with the tox drugs? Not sure so I lean to the side of caution.

[Rockerforlife]

How bout lemons,they are excellent for the liver too,but while on TX arte they a no no too?

[Marcia2202]

Another proof that it elevates the levels of the drug. Thanks for the input.

I think that the grapefruit and milk thistle debates will go on into the next century. :-)

I have seen so many 'conversations' about the two.

In simple words .... Milk thistle flushes the drugs out of the liver
                             Grapefruit messes around with the levels of the drugs

Two things one definitely doesn't want to do while on tx....

Marcia

[mremeet]

You want to take fat with your riba everytime and also jim stated fairly recently to avoid fiber well before and after taking the riba as well. Apparently the fiber can inhibit optimum absorption of the riba (which the fat facilitates). I don't have the study or source available for the fiber, but I would presume jim (or someone else?) has a reputable source of info for that one.

[Marcia2202]

thanks for your input, my Swedish friend. I'm Swedish too, you know, born at Karolinska in Solna  :-)  Mom Swedish, Dad American. Never lived in Sweden nor the US, though.

Been reading up a tiny bit about lactoferrin. It's colostrum, isn't it? I used to take this awesome stuf called transfer factor years ago. Also ordered bovine colostrum from New Zealand. (much cheaper than transfer factor) I'm just wondering, if the lactoferrin could cause problems, if ones iron counts are high. Just read that there is something called apolactoferrin, lactoferrin with depleted iron, maybe better for the liver. Just a thought. You can actually google lactoferrin drug interaction and get a whole lot of info. I didn't get into it in depth. Marcia

[Andiamo1]

Telaprevir instructions list grapefruit as something that can't be eaten while on treatment.  Grapefruit  changes the way the liver metabolizes Telaprevir resulting in raised blood levels of the drug.

[comeagain]

BTW I wonder if their is any contraindications with using lactoferrin during tx

[comeagain]

The biggest dont is in my opinion is to say yes, now is the time to learn to say no.
I´m talking about family members and others who has get used to that you do a lot. You got to save your strengt.

I wanna underline this thick.

Very good idea this thread.
ca

[Marcia2202]

From what I have understood, milk thistle is good for the liver, except if you are on certain drugs, which it might interact with or if you are allergic. I would definitely not take it when on tx. Marcia

If you google milk thistle drug interaction, you will get a lot of literature on the subject.

Here is what I found on a UK site.

Milk Thistle is a cheap, easily bought herb that contains a substance called sylimarin that is known to help the liver. It is routinely prescribed in other parts of Europe and is believed to help the liver cells regenerate themselves. Many people in the UK take milk thistle to help the liver; it is not believed to have any toxic effects. However it should never be taken while on treatment as it can speed up the liver metabolism meaning the medication doesn't last as long as it should in the bloodstream. It may also interfere with other medication such as painkillers. Always consult a qualified herbalist before starting to take herbal remedies and discuss your plans with your treatment specialist.

This is from a US site:

Milk thistle can produce allergic reactions, which tend to be more common among people who are allergic to plants in the same family (for example, ragweed, chrysanthemum, marigold, and daisy)