milk thistle

I take it all the time. I have HepC for two decades and so far so good. It is my first recommendation to anyone with a liver condition.

Hi All,

I also have read quite a bit about Mike Thistle and have been thinking about trying it for the last month my levels have been stable according to the doctor last month there were AST31 ALT 49 first time in eight months that they have been normal and close to normal last week they went up slightly to AST 40 ALT 58 doctor was not concerned said it is still stable but I am a little worried that they are on the way up again.  Do any of you get this kind of rise in levels all the time and then do they ever stay at normal.  I am currently on 20mg prednisone I was unable to take the Imuran and the doctors feel I should just stay on the prednisone and not mix it with any other medications until I achieve a true remission which they say is 6 months of normal stable levels.  Then they want to repeat biopsy has anyone had a repeat biopsy to check on inflamation?    My doctors do not think that Milk Thistle or anyone of the other over the counter drugs do anything for the liver but the book by Dr Melissa Palmer also suggests taking Mike Thistle and she is a renowned helatologist let me know if anyone has had any good results with Mike Thistle and if it lowered their levels.  Thanks again for the support would be lost without this chat line.

Jerry1

Milk thistle was the very first thing I tried when diagnosed with hep C in '93.  I worked in a building with someone who swore by it, and gave me a lot of literature.  There were dietary restrictrions, as well, such as drinking only DISTILLED water, no carbonated drinks, no caffeine, and other things I've since forgotten.  I tried it for about 6 weeks and got a sore behind; it was very irritating.  So I gave up on it, but did run into the same person around '95 and she told me she was clear of hep C.  So who knows? 

Just bear in mind with any health food supplements, they are not regulated.  The quality and quantity are virtually unknown and vary from one brand to another.

I don't see that milk thistle causes any harm, but you might want to research it thoroughly before trying it.

Connie

I have been taking Milk Thistle for my hep C. Of course none of my doctors suggested it. I do agree there is no money in it but a friend of mine that is a health professional and has read all kinds of studies and research on "the weed" has talked me into taking it. It has not long enough to tell if it's working but I am willing to give this a try.

I have been taking milk thistle since my HepC diagnosis nearly 9 years ago. My alt and ast have stablized just above normal ever since. My doctor basically told me that the jury was still out on the effectiveness of milk thistle, but "it couldn't hurt." I feel like it's helped since my levels are stable, biopsy showed no scarring or inflammation and I feel fine.

One other note: After reading an article in Prevention Magazine, I only use Nature's Way Thisilyn. It's made by a German company and, as you may know, herbal supplementals are regulated in Germany the same way medications are regulated here by our FDA. So, the way I understand it, when you buy Nature's Way you're assured that the amounts on the label correspond to the accurate contents of each capsule. This may not be true for American made supplements.

Good luck to you.