Hot flashes and Hep C...any 'liver safe' supplements or meds?

[phantomsmom]

I was recently diagnosed with Hep C; currently, I have a low viral load and no evidence of liver damage.

I am suffering two weeks of each month with terrible hot flashes, though lab work shows I am not yet in menopause.  A naturopath recommended black cohosh, but internet research indicates that this supplement can cause serious liver damage.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,
Nancy

[Heppy]

I have done lots of research on Hep C, and I find a lot of the information on the internet and in books to be contradicting. I am very unhappy about how "most products" are merely sold for the dollar. I have been to many different health/herb stores, and they have tried to sell me Liver elixirs with alcohol in it. Black cohosh was a big seller on the shelf. I bought it but didn't open it until I hit the PC. I was shocked at the dangers that Black Cohosh does to the liver.

I learned to say "NO" to people now, and let them know in a nice way that I don't want to die. Otherwise, why would I go out of my way to look for products to protect my liver. Hep C is a scary thing, but it is definitely more scarier when people don't really care what they try to sell to you.

For the most part, I stick to a simple Milk Thistle/Dandelion Root combo, Flaxseed oil, Selenium, Chromium, Vitamin C/Rose Hip, Vitamin E, Calcium Citrate, and Red Clover. That is for my Hep C. I just found out that I am menopausal. I was so excited to find out until my doctor told me I could not take the regular Estrogen. I figured, no problem, until I hit the health store.

So far, the only thing that I found that might be all right for me is Vitex. (Chaste Berry) and Sage. If anyone knows what is safe to take for menopause...please let me know. I don't belong to a support group or anything, so I don't really talk to anyone about my conditons.

Thanks,
Heppy

[scotty-in -florida]

18 years with Hep C ..never had a biopsy never had a viral load test ..dont care what my numbers are..I am 40 year old male in florida ..I dont drink or drug,,I eat tons of RAW vegys ,I drink gallons of tomatoe and cranberry juices..I take 6 to 8 milk thistle pills a day plus a variety of viatamins..Thats my story and im sticking to it..For all i know i will be dead in 5 years..But I believe ill live to the ripe old age of 75..That would be fine with me...My thoughts and prayers go out to all  ..anyone relate to this?

[Linda in Singapore]

I've been living with Hep c for many years.  I had the liver biopsy and seem to be one of the lucky ones with little liver damage.  As for hot flashes, try the tried and true..... Evening Primrose Oil.  I've been taking it for years now and it works wonders. No sweats at all anymore.   I take one of the large ones (1300mg) or three of the small ones every night.  Be very careful of the other supplements/herbs you take.  Black Cohosh is not good.  Check out the liversupport.com site and read all you can.  I am currently on Liver Kampo, Alpha Lipoic Acid, Selenium, and Liv52 (plus multi) and it's brought all my 'numbers' (almost a year now) to the normal range.  I don't know whether you are getting viral load counts done, but if you are, keep in mind that the viral load can fluctuate throughout the day.  Don't put too much stock in the numbers.  Just keep checking your liver function tests and try to reduce stress (easier said than done).  As for mainstream meds that are ok, well, there are many.  You just need to do the research and not get too panicky about it all.  Get the oils and fats out of your diet, try not to drink alcohol, get some exercise, and make sure you get enough sleep.  I've found no liver problems with small doses of Zopiclone (Ambien), Stablon (Tianeptine), and there are many others.  Good luck to you.  Remember, get everything in balance and try not to stress about this.  Many, many people are living full lives with Hep C.  It's just very difficult to get over that "WHAT, ME?" at first.  Read all you can, do all you can, and enjoy life.

[Forseegood]

Right on Cuteus, to use an old 70's phrase, ha! After we spoke about this I went a searchin on the net about this and it's really pretty appaling. Like you said, when we have plant based estrogens that work on the same receptors, why keep these Premarin (one of the biggest selling drugs on the planet, even post all the controversy) companies going, abusing these poor animals? Of course i'm not blaming anyone, many women dont know what's going on and all the options available to them.

Because they keep these mares in holding stalls to gather their urine all day, they usually just slaughter their young, according to some sources I read. And these animals are very sensitive intelligent animals, my sis had horses and I dealt with them a lot when I was young. And because they need a high concentration of hormone in the urine, they don't give the horse enough water.I know with all that's going on and all the people that are suffering, this sounds a little strange to point out, but like you said, it's just not necessary to take Premarin with all that's out there. Oh, and btw, my mom got sick of me nagging and she has come over to the plant based, ha!

[cuteus]

good job! pay her back on the nagging, lol!
one down....millions to go!

[cuteus]

darn! I pasted or thought I did a URL to an article on this, chucks!
http://www.hcgresources.com/HormoneHorrors.htm
http://www.insiderreports.com/storypage.asp_Q_ChanID_E_HQ_A_StoryID_E_20001586
advocate for  this bill
http://www.equineadvocates.com/wildhorses.html
http://www.hsus.org/pets/issues_affecting_our_pets/equine_protection/the_facts_about_premarin.html
I can't support the use of a drug that is not necessary to save a life when there are acceptable alternatives that have the same purpose.
We are not in this world to destroy and abuse it, but cherish it and preserve it for the coming generations.
I am not judging your mom's choice, foresee, but I can't support that choice in light of this  unnecessary suffering.

[Forseegood]

I'm glad you pointed this out, if I rag on something like this, it's not cause I'm so invested in being right, it's just that I have read a lot on premarin and I just don't think it is the best HRT for us, though of course I completely go along with what anyone ultimately decides on, including my own mom. And I know I probably sound strange to some, but I really don't like the way the drug co.s go about treating the mares in collecting their urine for this form of HRT.

[cuteus]

A while back I came accross an article in the HSUS magazine on the horrors of this "med" production.
If there is an alternative, please use THAT!

[dammitjanet]

Yeah!  And to think men have the gall to complain about going bald in middle age!  They don't know how easy they've gotit!

[Forseegood]

Couldn't agree more with you. The bio-identicals are the way to go, at least it can't be as toxic as horse urine, can't be, even though my mom uses Premarin and she's okay with it. Youre right about sussing out what is the hep and what is the menopause, and if the both together has caused some super hormonal monster that won't let go certain times of the month. It really amazed me, the amount of symptoms attributed to menopause, it at least validated me that I wasn't out of mind making things up, because I'll talk to many women who don't experience any of these things cept a hot flash once or twice, UGH!!!!Boy do I envy them!!!And I know many women who completely got rid of their menopausal symptoms by simply quitting drinking. Why do guys get to have all the fun!

[dammitjanet]

You might also want to check out www.womensinternational.com.  They are a compounding pharmacy using biologically-identical (not chemical) hormone therapies.  They have many doctors & pharmacists on staff and are accessable by phone or email.  You don't give your age, but you could be peri-menopausal, or you might just have a hormone imbalance.  Have you had a hormone panel run?  A good idea to have this done as a baseline for when you do enter menopause.  From personal experience, I can tell you that menopausal symptoms can be numerous and can last for years.  At the same time, since being diagnosed HepC+, I have found that many of the symptoms I thought to be menopausal can also be HepC related.  The body is an integrated structure!  One other thing, (not so much for you, Nancy, but for other women who might read this), I found that since I quit drinking my hot flashes & night sweats have almost completely disappeared.  I had read in many sources of the connection between hot flashes & alcohol, but just blew it off.  My mistake!  Good luck to you.  I know how miserable (and embarrassing) the flashes can be.  DJ

[susan400]

I am on HRT.  The Estrogel which is a gel that you rub onto your arm.  It's plant based.  Not horse urine!  Anyhow, I've had a complete hysterectomy and salpino-oophorectomy (ovaries removed).  I asked my liver doctor about the Estrogel and whether I could stay on it because of my liver.  I also asked him about the article that I had read about women with Hep C and the estrogen protective effect.  This is why men usually progress faster than we do, because we have the estrogen.  Most women, even after menopause, continue to produce small levels of hormones, whether they take them or not.  Unless, of course, you are like me and have no ovaries.  My doctor said that he recommended that I stay on my estrogen.  As long as that was what I wanted to do with the other known side effects of HRT.  He agreed with the findings of that article.  Since I already have significant fibrosis, I see no real reason to take the estrogen out of the picture and then, start progressing even more.  I've never had a problem with being on HRT.  I like it.  I feel 100% better w/HRT than w/o HRT.  I'm not worried about breast cancer.  I get my mammo's regularly and they are perfectly fine.  My heart checks out perfectly fine.  And I've been on HFT for 14 years, so if I was going to have a problem with my heart caused by HRT, then I think I'd see evidence of that by now.  Since my Mom has osteoporosis, that's another good reason for me to stay on HFT.  Anyhow, everybody has to make their own decisions on what is right for them.  I've made mine.
God Bless     Susan400    hepCandme.com

[Forseegood]

Personally, I'd stay away from herbs like black cohosh, even though I know some women who benefit, I don't like any herb that has the possibiltiy of raising heartbeat in some people. So many variables too, are you on HRT? things like that. Also, if you have any kind of thyroid condition, many women do, keep your soy consumption to a minimum. I take a vitamin and herb regimen to help with these symptoms as well as the hep, but that's just me, others don't.

There was a very good thread on here about menopause and hep c, but it was months back I think, maybe someone can dig it up. Personally, I think they act on each other, because there are so many hormonal mechanisms to consider when you look at the liver. It just seems to me that many women who have hep seem to have worse menopausal symptoms, which would make sense. Although I know some women with hep who seem to have no menopausal symptoms at all, so there you go, we are all different. I'd also plug into a search engine,  "menopause+hepatitis c+women" you'll get some interesting info that way to check out._Hope this helps.

[phantomsmom]

Thanks, Jim and Beth.  You know, I totally forgot to ask what genotype I am, and since I'm new to all this, is that a big concern?  I have to have lab work repeated every couple of months right now, so I can find out easily enough.

Beth, my hot flashes don't seem worse since the diagnosis, but for two weeks out of the month, I am drenched.  I just got 10" cut off my hair so it's not such a hassle to wash it 2-3 times a day!

Like you, it seems like I'm already taking PLENTY of pills (given all the vitamins), so the thought of taking something more for the hot flashes sucks. I was diagnosed with pernicious anemia/B-12 deficiency two weeks after the Hep C diagnosis, so my current daily regime includes sublingual B-12, Vit. C, Vit. E, Iron, Selenium, and a multi...is there anything else I should be taking?  What about milk thistle?  

I'm sure there are lots more questions I should ask my doctor, but I was so stunned to get the diagnosis, then relieved to know the damage is minimal.  Fortunately, I rarely drink, so at least I don't have to deal with giving that up!

Any advice is welcomed!
Nancy

[v eggie dip]

Hi Nancy, I'm Beth...I suffer the same problems as you...I have been living with hot flashes for 2 years now, and maybe it's in my nmind, but ever since I found out I was Hep C active they seem worse...I don't take anything for it other than the vitamins I take  on a daily basis...Before diaganosed with Hep C I was told to take black cohosh and took it a few times but it made my PVC's worse so I stopped taking it...Wish I could be more helpful...If you find something that is liver friendly, and it works, let me know please...I live in a constant "sweat"

Beth

[jmjm530]

If you haven't already, you might want to get a biopsy to confirm you have minimum liver damage. A biopsy is not a big deal but if that's not to your liking there's a blood test by LabCorp called Fibrosure that sort of does the same thing. Do you know what genotype you are?

As far as "hot flashes" I'm sure you'll get advice from the other side. :) I'll just add that it's common once you find out you have hep c to blame any and all symptons on it. Remember, people have lots wrong with them, including hot flashes, who do not have hep c.

That black cohosh stuff sounds dangerous. Now that you know you have a liver problem you have to be extra careful with drugs, herbs, etc,  and of course alcohol. Some stay stop drinking altogether. My docs told me a beer or glass of wine on occasion was OK.

-- Jim