lamisil and moderately elevated liver enzyme level

[elric]

I am 35, 5'9" and weigh 204lbs. In March this year I visited my doctor with a toenail fungus.  She put me on Lamisil.  After a month, I returned and got tests done.  My AST/ALT were normal.  In the meantime, my doctor left her pratice so I started going to a clinic.  I have been an Lamisil for 6 months now.  I have found a new doctor and he had me take the tests again since I hadn't had any since the initial one in April.  My Hepatitis screen was negative but my AST was 105 and my ALT was 90 or vice versa.  

He told me the enzyme levels should drop but that I could not drink alcohol at all until the dosage was done.  

So my questions are:
1) Does he mean the nail polish dosage or the Lamisil dosage?  I know Lamisil takes at least 28 days to flush out of the system.
1) I ate quite a bit of chocolate through out the 6 months.  Should I stop eating chocolate all together or just the chocolate that is based on chocolate liqueur?
2) Can I eat foods with pure vanilla extract (which is alcohol based?
3) I drank alocohol twice during the 6 months (1.5 ounce) each time.  Would that amount of alcohol make a difference in the elevation?  And would the large amount of chocolate I ate effect the elevation?
4) When should I go get more tests to check the levels?

[Forseegood]

Hi, from what' I've always heard, just eat as healthy as you possibly can during tx, your main focus is to get through it. If that means red meat and potatoes, whatever. I think I might of come off as too tough on the diet thing, didn't mean to. I just think it's so important that people with liver disease eat well because that is something that your liver has to condend with all day. Especially the people who are "watching and waiting" with low biopsy scores, I'd just eat as well as you possibly can. And have a whole lotta positive thoughts to boot!

[strator]

I wish I could do better with my eating habits. I had to add breakfast to the mix so I could tale the riba. I'm not real bad, I carry and eat apples and bananas with me to work. Read packages looking for the words whole and grain. Drink lotssa water(thats new). But seldom get more than a serving of veggies a day. And can be too inconsistent, you know heathy habits for 2 days in a row, then whatever C### is available and easy. But the gummie bears! A bag a day fixation probably cancels any good eating intentions. Wonder what those do to the enzymes.
My weight has averaged between 146-153 this past year(I'm 5'5) At 21 I was a very fit 130. Last time I went that low people told me I looked sick.

[sunspot]

Let

[v eggie dip]

you said it!  it's very hard to make up a well balanced diet without using animal meat...I have been goofing around with it for a few years now, stopped eating red meat altogether quite sometime ago and pork and chicken several months ago...I am a vitamin freak since I am HCV active (6 months now) and started by using some of the things that tallblonde posted...hopefully on Tuesday I will get a better feel for how accurate I have been with the balance....my daughter has been a vegan for most of her life (she's 34 years old now, I had her when I was 3  lol) and she gives me some ideas, but I can't eat tofu and that's a once a day thing for her..Yuck, tastes like wallpaper paste...I guess I am just interested mostly in the cheese replacement and I really haven't got much knowledge in liver friendly foods, especially carbs and sugar producing veggies...

I am sure I will have a hard time getting back to my 21 year old weight, sheesh I am old, how the heck can I expect to do that, but that's what Dr Cecil said to do so I will give it the old college try...

Thanks for the site, going there now..

*dip hugs for chev*

btw, I drive a 3/4 ton truck, a CHEV!!!!

[FlGuy]

replacement for cheese? easy. chocolate.

[FlGuy]

These are all good questions to ask your Doctor since Lamisil has warnings related to the liver, drug interractions and liver damage.  Read and understand the drug information that came with the meds, or go online,  and call your doc.

[v eggie dip]

Hi ladies :)

Okay, I need your help!

I need some new vegan ideas that don't include cheese (yes I eat cheese, and probably too much of i too, I know I am not a true vegan) but still taste good, so I can start trying to get back to the weight I was when I was 21 years old!!! (hahaha) According to Dr Cecil this is the ideal weight people should be and with my fatty liver issue I really want to drop a few pounds but also, re think my eating habits...I am not up to snuff with all te liver freindly things and I am hoping you two can help...Angie, you have my email addy and Susan if you go to the Janis site and click on my name in the personl section you will find my email addy there (and of course anyone else that is reading this is welcomed to email me)...

I am seeing a Homeopathinc Doc on Tuesday and she will most likely redo my vitamins and she has already told me she uses Chinese Herbs so with my new "habits" I am hoping to stay away from the interferon/riba nightmare for awhile...

Any input is much appreciated...

Thanks, Beth

[v eggie dip]

oh gawd, did ya have to say chocolate!!!  Another one of my vices...I will really miss hot chocolate this winter...

*dip won't be dipping in the da chocolate this year*

[GoofyDad]

Just a proactive screening. That one I don't worry about. I could skip the 6 month ultra-sounds though. The last tech-gal had a hairy upper lip, fer crying out loud. THEY should be the ones being screened, if you ask me.

A discriminate Goof (who could do without spending the morning in a dimly lit room, in his skivies, with a hairy-lipped gal) Color me shallow.

[v eggie dip]

an upper hairy lipped tech would most likely gross me out, and when I get grossed out I either say (outloud usually, it's out of my control..lol) pah leeeeeeeeeeeeeze  or ewwwwwwwwwwwwwww....But, so glad it's just proactive...we don't need a liverless goof hangin around here!

*wax lipped dip*

[GoofyDad]

I have this mental movie of the the great hunter boiling off whale blubber behind the woodshed in preparation for the spring thaw and the annual Veggie wax. Whisps of black blubber smoke curling through the snapping winter Maples.

Rrrrrriiiiip Yeoooooooooow!

[dammitjanet]

Hi Beth.  In lieu of hot chocolate, you might want to try the Celestial Seasonings Rooibus Tea (Tallblonde suggested this - it's part of her regimen).  It's very tasty, with a vanilla-almost-like-chocolate flavor.  And it's very high in antioxidants.  I'm enjoying a cup right now (along with a couple of Dove cookies!).    DJ

PS - You really don't have that much weight to lose.  We could all use a healthier diet and more exercise.  Let us know what the nutritionist suggests.

[GoofyDad]

Carpie wants to know:
"By the way, what IS your strong suit???"

The one with the onions sewn into the underarms.

[v eggie dip]

funny you mention rooibus tea..I got my order in two days ago, I also am enjoying a cup of it, but I bought 180 bags of green tea this time, I have tried the flavors but like the green tea the best...

well according to Cecil I need to loose 27 pounds!  but to be honest with you I would happy with 10, maybe 15 at the most...

[Forseegood]

Hey Girl, all I can tell you is the kind of diet I eat, which seems to work for me and I've been doing this for years and years. I wish I had the kind of dicipline it takes to have a really strict diet, but something in me tells me that moderation is the key to everything, and even though I do have friends that have these kinds of diets (W.Hollywood ya know) I personally believe "moderation" is the key to all happiness. Even though moderation is a relative term.

Firstly, I eat every 3 hours or so, I have to, but it's the ideal thing to do for everybody to do because you keep your blood sugar levels up that way, and when your blood sugar levels are even your body functions better. Letting your blood sugar levels drop to low (and anybody's body can) leads to a faux "starving" response, which can actually make you gain more weight from the food you eat, your body doesnt ustilize the calories optimally. When people tell me they don't have the time or energy to be eating every 3 hours, I tell them they would if they made it a priority. Funny how so many say they don't have the "time" to exercise, but they sure make the time to watch "Survivor" or some other inane thing.

This means making healthy snacks if youre going to work or some place else. I do this by maybe putting peanut or almond butter (don't use a lot of these nut butters, they are rich in fat and calories, but a little fat is a good thing) on a rice cracker or a piece of bread that is made from rice almond, etc. (I personally try to stay away from wheat for the most part, but that's your choice, of course try to do a multi-grain if you do eat wheat) and a little avocado, etc. I also always carry around a little bottle of veggie juice. In hot weather I carry around one of those little coolers with the ice packs in them. Just a small one for snacks. These snacks I eat every 3 hours don't have to constitute a whole meal by any means, just a light snack. When I do eat lunch or whatever, they are small servings. To me, keeping weight down is all about the servings. If I'm at a restaurant, I usually eat half of whatever anybody else is eating, and take the rest home for my next snack. I never eat a big meal, my stomach wouldn't know how to handle that. That's another good thing, once you get in the habit of eating small portions, your stomach kind of shrinks and you can't fit a big meal in if you wanted to. This is also great for the digestion and the old liver. Nothing is worse on the digestion than having to digest some honking big meal, and the liver is key to the digestion as you know.

In the morning I eat a bowl of oatmeal (with cinnamon, blueberries (usually the frozen kind I keep in the fridge)and a little rice or soy milk. and a medium boiled egg. Then throughout the day I eat variations on veggies and fruits, I do have the "not so good things" like pasta but what I do, is make an excellent pasta sause with plenty of tomatoes, a few olives, garlic, oregano, mushrooms, olive oil, etc. and then just use a little bit of pasta. There are excellent ready made pasta sauces in a bottle, but not those commercial brands with tons of salt and god knows what else, I go to the health food store for mine if I don't have time to make it myself. So I'm mostly eating the sauce. This is how I get around having the not so good things, I eat very little of them. That way I'm not denying myself and yet I'm not introducing a bunch of bad stuff into my body.

On the snacks they are also at least two salads thoughout the day, with baby carrots, colored bell peppers, lots of colorful veggies. Shrooms, etc. Maybe some walnuts too and/or sunflower seeds. And mixed baby greens that you get at the store, with all the salads I eat, I just dont have time to be be shucking lettuce all day. I know being in Canada veggies and fruits won't be as plentiful as they are in So. Ca. but you can pay the extra money and get them, sorry to say. They are essential. Sometimes I'll be feeling really cr##py and I eat a mixed veggie salad and it's like I start feeling really wonderful! All those enzymes and nutrients! Makes all the difference. A few months ago I messed up my ankle and I didn't go to the store, so I just sent out for stuff or ate canned stuff, basic cr@@p all day for a few days, and I felt ill. Maybe people that eat bad diets feel ill all the time and they don't know any better, hep or no hep. It really makes a difference.

I'd also invest in a wok, that way you can fast fry things if you want to in olive oil, veggies or maybe a little ground turkey or chicken for chinese meals, etc. And a food processor, that way you can make some really nice veggie soups from brokoli, etc. Also in the winter I have a crock pot, where I throw in all the veggies, and a little chicken, (I'm not stict a strict vegan, I do eat white meat like this, (no hormones)but not very often)and I eat broiled fish once in awhile too, the low mercury kind imported from less polluted environments. Is anybody still with me? snore, snore.....ha ha! Anyway, another snack idea is a little soy milk with a half banana, blueberries and/or maybe some other fruit, and a little yogurt and whey protein powder. This is a  good one before bed, the potassium in the banana and carbs and all help sleep. Or a heated tortilla and some avocado, maybe some beans. I do eat a little cheese, not very much. A little parmesan on my pasta or tomato soup, and maybe a little goat cheese on my salads once in awhile, once more "moderation".

If you do eat something not so good, try to make sure you eat a veg or a little fruit with it, that way you have the enzymes from the veg or fruit to help digest the bad stuff. I don't completely deny myself the sugar, I will eat an icecream once in awhile, like every 2 or 3 weeks. Not very often, I personally feel that sugar is a real no, no with an impaired liver. And of course, if you tx just eat as healthy as you can to get through it, I wouldn't be quite as concerned under those circumstances, because the meds can kill your taste buds from what I hear.

If you eat like this, I guarantee you won't be gaining weight, and you won't be dieting or anything, this will be just how you eat. I"ve already gone into a lot of detail as to what my anti-oxidant, vitamin and herb regimen is. I think there is proof in the pudding, and I've been eating like this for years and this is why I think I have such good skin and young looks. Not to be boastful. If you want to take a gander of my pic, look at my profile on Janis and Friends. I don't look my 52 years. I say this because, I think your skin can indicate your general health. When people tell me its just my genetics, yeah, that plays into it, but I have relatives that don't eat so well and they are pretty bad off in that area. Wrinkled skin can be somewhat genetic, but it also indicates inflammation in the blood. Skin is the largest organ and it can indicate what's going on in the inflammation area. That's why you'll see a lot of smokers and drinkers looking pretty wrinkled at my age. I don't say this to be judgmental, only to drive home how important it is to have a good diet and lifestyle. Cheers! (if youre still here, ha ha)

[v eggie dip]

Thanks a million for taking the time to type that!  I cut and paste it to my new folder called "Incentive"...I have promised myself that once I lost 10 pounds I will buy a new piece of clothing, maybe a tight sweater or a skimpy pair of jeans, something that someone my age has no business buying, let alone wearing, but it will make me feel younger and that's incentive enough for me!

*determined dip*

[Forseegood]

Hey, age is just a number, if you look good in something, by all means wear it! I'm not saying that I will look like Baby Jane in "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane" (you ever see that one, it's a hoot!!!!) but I have no prob wearing most things, as long as I can pull it off. But yeah, put that as your goal, if you try to change your eating habits for the better, you just get used to it and begin to get grossed out when you eat something garbagey. The body is a temple and all that. You wouldn't put really bad gasoline in your car,  all the old cliche's apply. You'll shoo the fatty liver for good. It can depend on the diet, my doc said. Good luck to you, your such a nice person and you deserve the best for yourself.

[jmjm530]

Whatever you do, the best weight loss plan is a gradual one. If you lose more than 1-2lbs per week, you'll be losing more lean muscle mass than you want. Also, lose fast -- gain it bacxk fast.,

As Forsee indicated, the best diet is not a "diet" but a change in eating habits  that you can maintain througout your life. For some people a very high complex carb diet , low fat diet works but many cannot lose weight like that and they need more protein in the diet, something like the Zone diet. You really have to experiment and see what works for you and your individual metabolism.

My diet secret is Interferon and ribavirin. I've lost close to thirty pounds so far with no reduction in calories.  However, as you know I don;t  generally recommend this particular weight loss plan unless you;re a stage 3 or 4. :)  That said, my doc told me that those who don't need to lose weight on treatment generally do, and those that want to lose weight, often don't.  Nice huh. :)

-- Jim

[v eggie dip]

ahhhhhhh you're so sweet, thank you so much! And yes, I have seen Baby Jane  hahahaha...

Not sure I can discipline myself to eat as oten as you do, maybe 2 times a day instead of my usual which is one time a day...On the weeks when my husband is in town I have to cook with meat and potatoes, but for me I will make something light..

You didn't mention seafood...I eat a of shrimp (frozen of course, haven't had good seafood since I left Boston)...

Beth

[v eggie dip]

you have had such a had time with your weight on tx...I hope you are able to maintain some kind of normalcy once you're SVR and off tx...I feel for you!!!

Beth

[v eggie dip]

need a new keyboard, just noticed my keys are sticking, sorry

[Forseegood]

As with any advice I give, take what you need and leave the rest behind. Just remember, ironically, the more small meals you eat through the day, the better your able to metabolize and utilize the food, therefore you'll probably lose more weight this way (as long as they are nutritious and small of course.) When you eat far less than this and wait a long time to eat between meals, your body goes into starvation mode and keeps more of the fat, and your metabolism gets slower. It's good for you on a lot of levels, an integrative specialist doc told me this years ago and he was right on the money. Before I went to him, I was getting panic attacks and all kinds of problems. I told him I didn't even eat till 2:00 in the afternoon for my first meal. He told me that was where most of probs were, and he was right. Changed my eating patterns and I've been able to stay at a stable weight for years.

I personally try to stay away from shell fish, they have a higher probability to have toxins because they are bottom feeders. That's just me though.

[v eggie dip]

thanks guys!

I too love feta cheese, could it eat non stop! Goof; are they cancer testing you to be proactive or is there indication there?
Will they do another bx while on tx to see if your stage was reduced?

chev:  thanks a million for the site, I will check it out...I have visted many sites already but can't seem to find anything that sounds good to me that will replace the cheese I love so much...I'm like a big mouse, can be lured into akmost anything with a hunk of cheese LOL

*soon to be svelt dipper*

[GoofyDad]

Hey Veg, that's a good question on the cheese. I'm being screened every 6 mos for liver cancer (an unlikely manifestation I'm promissed) via an Alph Feta Protein test. So now I don't know whether I should eat feta cheese, and I love my Greek Salads. So what's a Goof to do? Maybe just avoit the feta at test time, or find a low protein brand?

On the weight issue, I filled out a looooong questionaire for my current DRs office. It was like a phone book. There were a couple pages on weight, and I was feeling pretty good till I got down to the last three: What do you weigh now ('bout 165) What's your ideal weight? (Uh - 155?) and What did you weigh at 18 years? (Rrrugh-Oh. I used to fib UP to 145 on my license, reality was like 138. And yes, a fit 145 would be my healthiest). I offered to loose 10 lbs, but they told me to wait to see what the tx did.