Alternative treatment question to all HEP C sufferers

[Tweetie2]

Have any of you ever searched the internet for alternative action against this horrible disease? I've been using herbals the past 6 years but am ready to be rid of this disease...are ya'll? I found this website where people can post their experiences with something called Colloidal Silver. According to these accounts, this stuff is curing HepC. Any comments?

[nygirl7]

Everything Kalio posted above is 100% correct.

Please...pay attention to what she is saying.  It is the truth.

[nygirl7]

It's so sad that you've been snookered by something like this.  It WONT help you to clear the virus as you will soon learn.

Please - try to understand that if there was ANY chance that this MIGHT work...we would all have done it LONG ago.

It's just not possible.  I wish you all the best and hope that you hang around this site to learn the things that people who've come before you have to share.

They saved me a LOT of money and each time I later checked with my doctor...they were right.

There are just so many people out there who don't care and will prey upon sick people to make some money. Disgusting.

[mikesimon]

I am trying to remember you but I'm not having any luck. Was your name Treetie back then? Anyway I am doing well and I thank you for asking. I hope that you're feeling good and I do wish you good luck. Be well, Mike

[Jakied]

Don't put any faith or money in colloid silver.  it is a waste of both.  Trust your doctor.  he knows best.

[Tweetie2]

I thank you Bill, most of my thinking was actually.....hoping!  I did take the first dose yesterday morning and last night my liver ached. It scared me! Not sure if I'm going to continue but I'll keep you posted. The stuff actually didnt cost that much at The Vitamin Shoppe but the 1st herbals I took did. It was 7 different products together as a wellness program. That's how I did the colon cleanse. I "do" believe that helped my other organs breathe. But.........everything in it's place and I believe it was partly that "preying" on a sick person for money.
I will keep you all in my prayers and please do the same for me.
Tweet

[Bill1954]

Hi Kathy;

Naw, this was a sunrise sermon from Sacramento. I

[Kalio1]

Have you had a biopsy? Do you know the true condition of your liver? What herbal things are you taking? I would be very careful what you are taking. Im a big advocate of nutritional supplements and SOME well researched substances  for liver support but some herbals can be very hard on your liver, be careful.
Viral loads fluctuate all the time all on their own. The fact that someone who takes "herbal" remedies has their viral load decrease means nothing at all, it could easily increase or decrease regardless of what you take or don't take. You can have a low viral load and have extensive liver damage and you can have a high viral load and no liver damage, having a low viral load doesn't indicate all's well or that your Hep C is "better"  The same is true of liver enzymes. You can have normal or near normal enzymes and have extensive liver damage. Take it from me, that happened to me, at first I was encouraged by the close to normal enzymes and thought it would mean my liver was OK but that isn't the case, some people have normal or near normal enzymes and have advanced liver damage and some people have "high" liver enzymes yet do not have a large amount of damage. Don't be fooled by low readings of viral load OR enzymes, make sure you have all the tests done especially that biopsy so you know for sure where you stand.
The only way to know that is through a liver biopsy and extensive blood testing.

[mremeet]

What kalio said is right, viral loads naturally go up and down all the time. Sometimes people who start taking herbal/alternative remedies later see their VL drop and mistakenly associate a cause and effect relationship between the lower VL and whatever it is they're taking. Also, what she said about the enzymes is right on too, be real careful about what you take and how long you wait before treating without a biopsy. A biopsy is the only reliable way to get a handle on whether or not you have the luxury of waiting on real treatment or not.

[Tweetie2]

Yes, I also had a biopsy 6 yrs ago too. I had no damage at that time to the surprise of the doctor......he said since I drank alot in the 80's. I really took this disease seriously from day one. My Gastroenterologist is the leading guy on the east coast right now and doesnt reccommend treatment at this time. SO I have been taking herbals and eating and living right. I "do" have a burning sensation in the liver or stomach area from time to time but other than a little fatigue, I'm doing good. I've even thought it might be the herbals making my stomach burn. Cant get any definately answers from the docs on that one. I had a colonoscopy and endoscopy too to see if tyhere was anything wrong with the stomach or colon.....nope!  Supposedly healthy!  I just get scared that if I dont get rid of.........it.........soon, it will get the best of me, and I'm not a quitter. So that's why I'm always looking for that one thing that might do the trick. Ya know?
By the way.........I know you mikesimon from 6 yrs ago when I first found out I had HepC from this site. I remember your posts. I hope you're doing well!  
Thanks guys!

[Tweetie2]

Thanks for the responses guys. I was just wondering. As for my hepc, I have a viral load of 3mil and my liver enzymes are VERY close to normal, mid to mid-high 40's. So I "do" think the herbals are helping, at least to a minimum. But I also stopped drinking 6 yrs ago and eat pretty healthy. At least one green veggie with every meal. LOL!  Actually, the guy that suffered silver poisening took a huge overdose of the stuff. I saw the pics on the internet. The FDA even says they cant find adverse reactions to colloidal silver evcept in large doses. They just say the same thing they say about herbals....."no actual value". Could this be to some point our gov't not wanting us to find cures for things like HepC and Cancer?????  
I will tell you this:  I started on the colloidal silver today. I bought it from The Vitamin Shoppe (THEIR BRAND) in de-ioinized water. It says take to teaspoons a day, I will start with a half-tsp twice a day and just.....SEE!  I said a prayer to God before taking it and asked him not to let this stuff harm, but heal my body.   I will keep you all posted on my progress. Say a prayer for me, OK?
I mean even GrandmaA  said it lowered her viral load!!!!!!

[Bill1954]

Dam* spell check did a good job of inserting Euro-signs at apostrophes, but just smiled at me when I used criterea instead of critereon!

[Tweetie2]

Well here is the hope I got from this site. Go there and read for yourself. I know you can write ANYTHING on the web or in forums but if it works for me.....I'LL SHOUT IT TO THE ROOFTOPS, make a website to that effect, etc.
Thanks again!    Tweet

http://www.colloidforum.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=79

[mikesimon]

I wish you luck because unfortunately it will not clear the virus. If it were only that easy we'd all have been taking it. Cures like this one come along all the time but they never ever really work. Mike

[GrandmaA]

Please don't take it. I took Utopia silver that I found online and it came highly recommended. I took one spoonful a day for 6 months. Now whenever I try to take it my hands start to get stiff again. My knuckles are still a little puffy.  Many things affect the viral load.

[nygirl7]

Quackwatch.com tells you right there ;)

I agree with Friole when she says
If after 6 years of alternative medicines you aren't cured, don't you think it is time to try the real cure? As of now interferon and ribavirin are the only cure




If there were an easier cure believe me - we would all have done that instead.

Herbs might be useful for general overall liver health but they will NOT cure you and COULD make you have more liver damage.  Peoples enzyme levels have tripled on them - and THAT means triple the liver cell death.

Have you had any real testing done to determine what amount of liver damage you have?  Where your liver enzymes stand?

Stop with the "cures" you can find online...they are the same type remedies that were sold by the traveling salesmen in the horse and buggy days. Unfortunately there are people who love to prey on sick people for quick easy $$$$$.  

There is only one cure that works today.  Hopefully someday they will have others but for the next few years at least - interferon and ribavirin is it.

[mremeet]

Colloidal silver will not cure you of hep C, it doesn't work. Plus it can cause serious adverse side effects. Unfortunately if you have a chronic and potentially life threatening illness like HCV, it brings the human parasites out of the woodwork with their "cures" and surefire remedies (all at a price, of course). If you perform a web search on colloidal silver you can actually see pictures of people experiencing silver poisoning. I saw a pic of one guy that actually turned this grayish silver color from taking it! He had to detox using a chelation therapy if I'm not mistaken. Silver IS a heavy metal, and although it may not be as poisonous as lead or mercury, it's certainly not "good" for you. And I've never ever met anyone who's been cured by it. Ask around this forum and see if you find anyone - and if someone does claim to have been cured, look very carefully into their claim and credentials.

You can read more on colloidal silver at quackwatch.com which is an excellent website debunking this sort of thing.

http://quackwatch.com/search/webglimpse.cgi?ID=1&query=colloidal+silver

[GrandmaA]

I took colloidal silver every day for 6 months and now I have puffy knuckles. When my fingers started to stiffen up I stopped taking it. Someone said to eat cilanthro to get rid of it in my knuckles. But my viral load did go way down.

[friole]

If after 6 years of alternative medicines you aren't cured, don't you think it is time to try the real cure?  As of now interferon and ribavirin are the only cure.  There is constant research, but none of it has been proven and been accepted by the FDA.

Collidal silver is apparently bad stuff.  Heavy metal accumulate in the body (like all thar mercury we used to shine our quarters in chemistry class!).  Please think about treating.  You should not rely on testamonials.


Hey Bill -- you still on line?? Probably not -- it's only 6:00 AM in CA -- you probably wrote this in the dark hours of the night.  How is treatment going?
bean

[Bill1954]

Hi tweety,

I've never heard of any support for colloidal silver from western allopathic medicine. In fact, it's apparently considered bad stuff; by the medical community at large, as well as the HCV community.

Here is an article on colloidal silver by Steven Barrett, MD from Quackwatch:


http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/PhonyAds/silverad.html

The only actual cure (proven) at this time appears to be interferon. Other meds are in trials-some look quite promising at this point.

Best of luck to you,

Bill