THE MILK THISTLE QUESTION.....AGAIN

[fresnoborn]

i read sometime ago on this site about milk thistle. I went out and purchased a milk thistle supplement that contains 140mg of milk thistle seed extract and silymarin 98mg. I haven't taken it yet but was wondering if I should. Is it okay to take it while on treatment? If so, how much and how often? Anyone out there willing to give advice? my doctor says it makes no difference but I have heard otherwise. I was wondering what this team thought. My doctor is not a hepatologist just a grastrologist. there are no hepatologists in my area. please respond. What exactly is it that Milk thistle does?

[bobbyullc]

MY MD RECOMMENDED IT AND MY SPECIALIST SAID IT WAS OK DURING TREATMENT. GOOD LUCK.

[jmjm530]

I've heard otherwise too and don't take it. No studies one way or another to my knowledge. The story is that while milk thistle protects the liver, during treatment it may impede SVR by protecting the virus. No idea if this is true or not but my thought is that during tx the priority is viral load reduction, not liver protection.

-- Jim

[Henry4]

My doc told me not to take it during tx.  Said there were no studies out, but it was best not to take any herbals or supplments while on tx because it might interfere with treatment.
Good luck
Henry

[Laika]

On treatment, I was very foggy, fatigued, forgetful.  It was a chore to remember the all-important riba.  I forgot about 5 doses during treatment, and that was with my watch alarm set.

I took supplements prior to treatment, and now that I'm finished with treatment, am starting to take a few again.  You may find that treatment is complicated enough without having to remember to take supplements.

Laika

[MichaelT]

I don't know what it does, but taken after consuming the poisonous amanita mushroom it helps tremendously in saving the liver from destruction.

In general, it seems that consensus has gone from "it can't hurt" to "it might be a problem" during treatment. We do know it is not a wonder-drug against the HCV, so the reasonable course would seem to be avoiding milk thistle during treatment.

[fresnoborn]

Thanks for the input. After careful consideration I choose to not take the milk thistle. Maybe after treatment is done, I will then take it, maybe.

[new-sojourn]

I took it and cl'd in 18 days.  I take it in large doses-800-1200mg.  daily.

Some people can have a 'hey fever' reaction to milk thistle-esp capsals, ditto St Joh's wort-that's why I quit St J's.

The best and friendliest thing you can do for your liver is juicing raw veggies.

[bobbyullc]

???? maybe i wll discontinue it during treatment???

thanks

[jmjm530]

It may not be the right decision, but at least you'll be with the majority. :)

[hep62pj]

I was also told not to take it during tx, but I am back on it now since tx did not work...I figure, what the heck it does not bother me at all (no side effects from it) and if it helps a little, why not I take it with vit-c every morning.

[anti]

As long as it does not interfere with the specific enzyme pathway that controls the metabolism of your medication(interferon, I presume). This goes for any herbal preparation.
Just check the contraindications section of the accompanying drug literature that comes with your prescription. Then compare that with the enzyme pathway that milk thistle uses (CYP450,I believe but not sure). Also, www.healthyhepper.com is a great site for HCV 'ers.