Vitamins to help HCV

[jassruth6]

Well after looking at a few sights I had to come up with my own thing and wanted to see how it sounds:
               Fish Oil 1200 mg
               Milk Thistle 240 mg xtra
               B-12 500 mcg
               C    500mg
               E    400 IU dl-Alpha
Im not a vitamin person but seen that these have helped not cured but help and if anyone reading this has anything to change please let me know, if not thats what tomorrow will look like till we get my husband on interferon injections.

[GrandOak]

Good luck with the fish oil.  Actually after awhile it does get easier to swallow, but never enjoyable.

One thing to consider is the purity of the vitamins.  There is alot of junk out there, what with it being a multi-billion dollar business with absolutely no evidence that most of it has any beneficial value.

Another thing to weigh is what impact, or resdiual effect, ingesting all those vitamins may have upon tx when it actually does begin.

[jassruth6]

I checked with the pharmacy and read the labels and they show only what I posted, and thank god the fish oil is a pill, he has been on that now for two weeks and he goes August 3rd for another blood test, the fish oil was to help his cholesterol, and was looking for a clinic to test his cholesterol to see if it has even helped lower it. It not then that will stop and if so then will continue. But we do know that when his treatments start we will need to make an ajustment in the viamins with docs orders of course. Thanks for the comment

[timedog]

sorry I think I am coming late to your thread. I understand the need to bring colestrol down and from what I know omega 3 (fish oil) helps I know it helped me.

Not sure what else you are trying to accomplish in regards to Hep C. Not sure what stage your in and why you just don't wait to start treatment.  Unless it just makes you feel better to act like you are doing something. At the end of the day none of that stuff is going to help with the hep c. None of it is bad for you unless you don't buy good vitimins, and from what I know some of them e & c can help out durning treatment.

But to me to act just for the sake of acting not sure what that achives but to act with true purpose is how we move forward.

[anise]

I have always taken vitamins.  My dermatologist feels that is why my skin is in such good condition, and why I look youthful.  

Also, I have taken vitamins throughout my treatment.  I just got back my 1 month CBC blood test, my HGB has gone up from 11.1 to 12.5 and my platelets are normal and so is the rest of the blood work.  The vitamins I take are the following:  Vit, B,C,E,selenium, zinc,b-12 (sublinquinly), folic acid, potassium (my potassium was too low before treatment so I included potassium), it worked my potassium is fine.  I can't say whether this vitamin regime helped with my blood numbers, but I guess it didn't do harm either.

[Snookmiester]

There is a book you should pick up, as it will help guide you in relation to helpful herbs, amounts, etc...
The title of the book, "The Hepatitis C Help Book".. Authored by, Misha Cohen, and Dr. Robert Gish..
The book is a grounbreaking treatment program combining western and eastern medicine for MAXIMUM wellness and healing.

The vitamins you are taking are excellent for HCV, but dosage is quite low.
Some of what I was taking is as follows....
Vitamin C 2000mg daily
Vitamin E 800iu
Selenium 100mcg
Milk thistle 275mg 3x daily
Alpha Lipocic acid 100mg
NAC 600mg
Fish body oils 1000mg
Flaxseed oil
Zinc 50mg
B complex
folic acid
aloe vera
I also drank green tea twice daily

I saw almost immediate improvements in way of my CBC, and overall health.. ALT's normalized within two weeks.. I continued this regimen for 6 months prior to tx, and continued most of the supplements with the exception of milk thistle, for the entirity of my tx.. Never needed any rescue drugs, and maintained full doses of combo for the full 48 weeks.
Did these help, maybe? Can't prove either way right?

[tulsatime]

Hi thanks for posting that. Do you think a person with cirrhsis can take all this? Until I find a doctor I need all the help I can get. Or is this too much for my liver? Take Care

[Snookmiester]

I'm not a Dr, or anybody credible, so to speak... This is just my personal regimen, before and during tx, as suggested by websites and books on supplementation and the HCV.. This is also just a basic list, as many of us take much, much more..I would look into professional advice, such as Misha Cohen.. A memeber here had wonderful success under her guidance, and I beleieve she lists a network of herbal Dr's she closely works with. Run a google on her name, and check out her website.

But the vitamins I was taking above are good places to start. There have been a few studies where they tested the blood of patients infected with HCV, and in many, some of these key substances where depleted. Specifically selenium. There has also been numerous studies to the effectiveness of Vitamin C, and E.. I was instructed to take vitamin E by my Dr, in a dosage of 800iu daily. He told me this is the one supplement studied and documented to be beneficial to the liver.. But I for one know better, as research suggests, it is the custom "tailored" combinations of key substances that have the greatest effects.
If you do decide to take supplements, discuss them with your Dr, and also have routine labwork.. You'll want to document any changes in ALT's, etc.. I saw almost immediate results. Some of most drastic improvements will come from just changing your diet. Avoid salt, and fatty foods. Avoid processed foods, sugars, and artificial colorings and sweetners. Try to eat whole foods, leafy greens, fruits, etc..

[Snookmiester]

One thing I will swear by during tx, is upping the protein intake. I was drinking protein shakes religously. Specifically a meal replacement shake called Myoplex. You can get it in different formulations, regular, sport, lean, etc.. This stuff is great. I noticed less fatigue after bringing this into the mix.

[Snookmiester]

Fish is VERY important..Mercury levels in even the most contaminted of fish, is still very low. Salmon is probably the healthiest thing anyone can add to their diet.

[jassruth6]

Hey there again the reason the doses are low is because I didnt know where to start. But looks like i'm not the only one who needed to know such a thing. My husband and I just found out at the end of May and I have also been tested but came out neg. we have six kids and they give blood as often as they can so their blood gets tested and they are all good so we are glad about that, but at this point he is 42 and very healthy and the doc gives us hope that 6 months to a year and he will be over the HCV we hope but we know its not going to be easy, I'm disabled and we know when the treatments start he might not be able to work so we want to do all that we can to get him thru this. His mom has passed in 98 due to not knowing about her HCV and we want to prevent that. But thanks for the advise about the doses we will run them by the doc first thing in the am.             Good Luck to all!!!
                                    Thank Ruth

[Snookmiester]

Here is an article for all the smokers. Just goes to show, if you want to live healthy, put down the smokes. No sense in undergoing tx, if you are contributing to fibrosis progression from cigarette intake.
Pretty interesting article. Should be a wak up call for all the smokers with HCV

<a href="http://www.hivandhepatitis.com/hep_c/news/2006/070706_a.html>smoking causes fibrosis</a>