Not metabolizing your own hormones? Liver stuff

Hi--

I was reading a post on skin changes caused by liver disease and how they originate from the liver not being able to metabolize natural substances in the body.  PBC, cirrhosis are the causes they list, but the hepatologists told me I have so much fat in my liver it is doing the same thing.

So this is why i'm sensitive to meds and have pigment problems and stuff. I wonder if it may be why labs are not always accurate.  You may have the right amount of a hormone or drug or whatever in your bloodstream, but cannot break it down to use it.

This perhaps is why my old endo always treated symptoms first, then labs. 

I thought this info might be interesting for those who may have symptoms that exceed what the bloodwork shows. For me, it is liver related. 

I also found out that in my case prednisone does often help my liver pressure/pain/swelling, they once thought it didn't.

It hadn't occured to me until I read about the pigmentation problems that my liver might not be able to handle my own hormones and stuff.

Hi Carol--
I thought with PBC that your liver would enlarge (inflame) then heal (go down to normal), so I don't know why they are having so much of a hard time ruling it out or diagnosing you. The current theory is that the reason that people with liver disease may have pigment problems is that the homones they produce (like tsh from my pituitary or MSH from my thyroid) can't be metabolized. My own natural hormones that I produce myself in my body! So that is why other problems occur with liver disease. Weird huh?

I took milk thistle once and it just made me sick. I don't hold much stock in milk thistle, though some people with liver disease swear by it. I think it may help those with healthy livers to cleanse, like you say, more than helping people who already have liver disease. Typically, they tell us to avoid herbals, though it has been mentioned to me before by nurses and medically savvy people. I found mushroom extract, specific mushrooms, a three mushroom reishi blend, helped me alot and there has been a little research done in Japan regarding mushroom extracts. I took it at the end of my interferon therapy as I was craving mushrooms terribly bad, and I don't like them, but once I started taking the mushroom extract, my liver function tests came down, but it could have been coincidental.

I do think if you crave something, you may need it, except for carbs!

Milk thistle can't reverse hepatitis viral infections, fatty liver, or autoimmune liver disease. These diseases are very difficult to control with extremely strong medications. I don't see how it could reverse the damage directly either, but perhaps may make the liver environment more friendly for healing.

I find it frightening when promises like that are made. I had dear friends try to sell me vitamins and herbs they swore were going to cure me and I was extremely hurt. People with liver disease have great difficulty metabolizing herbals and most medications, not to mention their own bodily secretions. Supplements can be deadly to someone with liver disease.

Also, liver disease heals, and then gets bad, just like autoimmune disease. It would be very difficult to credit a supplement for any remission and healing, which may be coincidental.

But for people with healthy livers that feel they may take lots of meds or eat or drink things that feel might harm the liver slightly, it might be useful after allowing the liver to heal on its own through abstinance, to flush the cells.

I can't metabolize herbs. Some people with liver disease cannot even use cologne because the small amount of alcohol in it can cause liver failure in them. It's hard to understand how very sensitive we are. I'm surprised I can take the meds I take, they must be small enough to pass through my liver and at low enough doses.

Tylenol and any anti-inflammatory will damage your liver with long term use and milk thistle will not repair that damage. The better thing would be to try to take breaks from anti-inflammatories and tylenol and such from time to time and let the liver heal on its own.

Water and, better yet, milk are great ways to flush the body. Milk is an antidote for most drugs as the lactic acid causes the body to flush out substances. And increasing your bodily pH through eating certain vegetables that raise the pH of your body and avoiding substances that cause your cells to become acidic is something my ex husband, a science writer who wrote about microbiology, said is definitely worthwhile.

I find milk to be helpful and water. Actually they give liver patients lactulose to help them. A glass of mild at night to clear out morning meds is a good thing, but my uncle, a dentist, said to brush after.

Thanks for the tips. I hope I gave you some ideas too. I just have to be really careful.

Oh yeah. Luckily I don't need it or I'd be chained to the toilet. A diabetic cat? Does she have to give it insulin too? That would be difficult. That's about like my horse getting an ultra sound while she was pregnant, they go in through well, the other orifice, and the vet was up to his shoulder, after cleaning her out. My mare wasn't thrilled about it either. Luckily they make special long gloves for that.

Ew, I hope it doesn't give people diarrhea. Liver disease is awful to way to end life. You fart alot, have diarrhea and lose control sometimes, you smell because your liver can't detox so toxins come out through your skin. People assume you don't bathe. You sweat alot, unless you have sjogrens, along with the odor. Digestive problems, urinary tract problems, skin problems, nail problems to where they can fall off. And while you are suffering, you usually can't metabolize pain meds well so you don't much pain meds to help you through. I hope I never get that bad.

If you know someone who's a drinker and they think it doesn't matter and it'll be a quick way to go, let them know it is long, lingering, embarassing, debilitating and awful. But preventable when its from drugs and alcohol. I don't think my son will ever be an alcoholic seeing what I go through and I don't even have cirrhosis. Unfortunately, it is hereditary in my case, but can be prevented if he stays healthy, eats lots of antioxidants, and keeps the carbs in check. At least I hope so.

Lupus is horrible and there is nothing we can do, but boy, so many people are dying from alcoholism and just never realized they would suffer so much and for so long. It's really sad, because sometimes its too late to change anything, though it is preventable. If they only knew.