milk thistle and vitamin D

Hello Milkthistle and welcome to HealingWell. Some members have taken milkthistle whom have some form of liver disease with good results and some with no results. I can tell you what my husband's hepatologist told us. ( It can't hurt.)

We do have lot's of members with AIH here who can relate to exactly what you are going through. We are glad that you are here.

Take care...........

Hi Milkthistle and welcome to a great forum where you can learn much, and offer much as well.

Pink Grandma and hep93 are right. Always consult your hep doc first, but it can't really hurt since it's not a med.

My partner takes Milk Thistle, and it has helped.

I am healthy, but I also take Milk Thistle as a precaution.

I haven't heaard about Vitamin D as a treatment, but I know that 20 minutes of natural Vitamin D (the sun) is healthy and recommended by doctors.

I was in Toronto recently, where they have underground sidewalks, and the health concerns are high because people don't get their sunlight.

I am taking azathioprine 125mgs daily for autoimmune hepatitis and apart from this take pentasa as I also have crohns. Just to add a little spice to the mix, I was also diagnosed at the same time as the AIH and crohns , with haemachromatosis. (2005) Interestingly enough, I received Hep B vaccine back in the 1980s. As a health professional, I was persuaded into having this. I regret this now, and will always wonder if there was a causal link. I have done significant research, and as a result have questions. I know that you get an IG E response with the aluminium adjuvant and that can trigger autoimmune responses link ed to allergies and autoimmune diseases. I am not in the blame business, but feel it is imperative to seek answers, if not for the sake of others. I am in remission for all of the above and feel truly blessed.I know this can change, but try to keep the stress levels low in my life, and seize ther day. I am into organic food and have a great vege garden. Cheers to all replies.

Post Edited By Moderator (hep93) : 7/23/2010 7:24:30 PM (GMT-6)

Mer, hemochromatosis can also be acquired, but is primarily an inherited disorder.

CGR, it's not always true that OTC or herbal supplements are safe because "they are not meds."  They are not regulated by the FDA and  can have serious interactions with certain medications or be harmful in certain diseases.  In addition, because they are not regulated, there sometimes can be mistakes in the manufacturing process, such as in the case of L-Triptophan manufacturered by Showa Denka in the late 80s, which caused a multitude of serious muscle and neurologic problems and  37 deaths.

Hugs,

Connie

Hemochromatosis is an overload of iron in the body.  Although primarily a genetic disorder, it can also be caused by taking excessive iron supplements.  It can damage the liver (or worsen liver disease) by causing the formation of free radicals.  Liver disease patients should take multivitamins WITHOUT iron.

Hugs,

Connie

Hi Milkthistle
I am new to the form as well. I have aih and take 5m pred and 100mg aza. I am interested with your statement " I know that you get an IG E response with the aluminium adjuvant and that can trigger autoimmune responses link ed to allergies and autoimmune diseases". I also have a belief that my aih was triggered from overstimulation of vaccinations over a short period of time (polio, smallpox, tb and then a big dose of chicken pox with a passing influence of glandular fever). Within 3 months of my body challenging all this I was diagnosed with aih. Your reference to IGE may suggest innate and acquired immune system. Are you familiar with this? The innate being the original part of our immune system and allergic and autoimmunity being linked to the acquired part. People with autoimmune disease have to be careful about vaccination which affects our acquired part. I am not sure there is much "out there" pertaining to this theory. I am still looking and searching for answers (which will probably go on forever). In the meantime, I am avoiding any vaccine and strictly adopting good cleanliness and lifestyle management.
In answer to your question, I take Milkthistle (silbum mariaanum) but I confess, I probably don't take enough as the recommended dose (maybe something I need to address). The recommended dose is 1 tablet (140mg silymarin) x 3 times a day. It is thought to assist the liver function (not reverse or heal the liver) - anything to help my liver function!! There have been no known negative side affects but of course you should run any new supplements past your hep.
Hope this helps. :)

Glad to hear that, Rob, though I would think you would as you seem like very intelligent people.

Teatree, welcome to the forum.  As a new member, it would be best to start your own thread (just click on New Topic) to introduce yourself to the others.  I don't have a lot of knowledge about AIH, but we do have some members with it and some are very knowledgeable about it. 

Connie

I started on milk thistle and my liver enz drop to almost normal i have it mild but it had start to go up soon as one month i took a blood test and it had gone back to normal level ...