HEPATITIS RESEARCHER

    I want to buy some supplements and I'm not sure which ones are the most important.  A priority so to say.  I'm looking at ppc, ala, nac, resveratol, and SAMe although I'm not sure I can afford all of them.  
    I am on tx, UND at 10 weeks (although the test wasn't the sensitive one). Right now I only take vitamin D.  
    Sorry to bug you on this but I'm having some major confusion on what to buy, and what's a waste of money.  I only have a limited amount of money.
    Also, is there any reason why I shouldn't buy in bulk (shelf life or storage problems)?

[Hepatitis Researcher]

The supplements while on tx question is difficult, because the ones having antifibrotic promise are almost all antiinflammatory, somewhat reducing the initiating events at the dendritic cell/lymphocyte interface.I know this sounds technical. Most of them also have, paradoxically an improving effect on some aspects of lymphocyte function, as the spectracell test clearly shows.

Bottom line, no clear answer possible  regarding  use during tx.

But a moderate use of NAC/VitC, TMG, ALA ( those are quite cheap and possibly  PPC (since it was actually shown to help the SVR rate) is probably a good idea even during tx. Vit D3 is good, but it would be best to know ones serum level.
Also some Inulin is inexpensive (trader joes) and a very good well researched prebiotic. To get any lactulose here in the US  is not trivial.

[jamimapuddle]

Thank you so much.  I love you man!

[merryBe]

so glad to hear you are doing well and treating!!

keep all your oil based supplement refrigerated and look for the pull dates...the longer out the pull date..the fresher the substance. Of course, buying locally is the only way I know of to ensure freshness....some sites may offer pull dates, particularly if you order through the 1-800 number you can ask.

serum level checks very important for vit D as HR said.
My GP doc overdosed me this year, (I took as directed) and then she didn't recheck me....and so finally I had my endocrine guy do it...and now my liver is way too high, which is very BAD for it....and it will take time to come back down....you can't just extract it......so you need to ask for regular checking when on this vitamin as it is nessessary for health, but deadly in high concentrations to the liver.... As long as you are on tx you should be able to ask your liver doctor to check this when your other blood work is done.

[jamimapuddle]

Thanks for the tip on vit d. I had no idea, from what I've been reading about in scietific america is that you would have to take something like 40,000iu a day.  Some of the people that worked in the latest big vit D study suggest 4000iu a day.  I've been taking 800iu a day.  Whats with the serum level?

[merryBe]

not to overstep as much as save HR some time while I have some strength and my hubby is at a Blazer game....,
just means to have your blood levels of the vitamin checked. they cannot check the actual level in the liver tissue without a biopsy and analysis of that same tissue, but checking the blood levels let's them know if you have too much or too little.

If you know any history Admiral Perry and his crew died while exploring the North pole from eating too much polar bear liver, which is so rich in Vitamin D it is toxic for humans.

the Liver loves Vitamin D, and needs it year round. However in Nature there is only a steady supply in certain foods, and the skin will synthesize it from sunlight, and store it in the liver for low light/winter use. In the Artic animals store a lot for the long winter which is why their livers have toxic amounts....but we are not designed for that hibernation requirement, so we can get overdosed from getting more than the daily requirement, one serving of polar bear liver is like a 6 month supply for us.

In most cases these overdosing occurs from eating organ meats, or from a well meaning mother who is given drops by the pediatrician...and not warned..thinking a little is good a lot is better....not good there....in my case, my doc overdosed me on mega doses because I was so low. First she told me to avoid all sunlight due to my skin condition....that caused the deficiency, and then no recheck when she mega dosed me...but I was so sick at the time...I forgot to ask...
and she was still insisting there was nothing wrong with my liver...so of course my build up meant more damage....sheesh....
anyway, hope this will help you.  Don't be afraid to take the vitamin as normally it is essential to health, but it is one that needs watching. Or you can spend 10 minutes daily in the sun, and your body will make enough. Eat carrots, things like that.

and, just like with other things, like simple over the counter drugs etc...everything becomes more important to evaluate once your liver is compromised and perhaps not working well to begin with.

have a great chrsitmas, and be of good cheer, in here you will learn lots that will help you! Thank God!

[Hepatitis Researcher]

Almost half of the  persons in the US are actually deficient in Vit D, according to the new standards.
You need to test the 25 HydroxyVitamin D levels. The new ranges are way up from 32min  to 90pg/ml max.