Hi Lori,

you'll find no such problems here. We're happy to discuss anthing, our primary purpose (as I see it), is to help and support people NOT tell them what to do, what to feel, waht to subscribe to and how to treat. We're not a medical OR indeed alternative forum, we're a support group.

And that means support to all.

Great to have you on board.

Much Love,

Lau

Thanks, Minerva and Nadine. I must say that I am so very grateful to have found a place where others have done some research, and have an open mind. So very different from the forum I have been posting at, where absolutely EVERYTHING I bring up for discussion is not only disputed (basically all called garbage), but ridiculed, and then I am made to feel guilty because they think I am trying to put folks off treatment, which I definitely am not. There are many people, however, who either can't or choose not to do treatment, or have relapsed afterwards, and I see no point in their being told to do absolutely nothing, and not to even look for ways to protect their livers from damage, if possible. So glad to have a place for meaningful discussions about alternatives and complimentary medicine without all the hostility and recriminations. There is so much I can learn from other's input, and I want that so much. Where I have been, others are afraid to even respond, for fear of angering the management. So glad this forum exists.  Lori 

Here is a link some might find useful. It involves therapy by a very well-respected doctor. He is the principle investigator for alpha-lipoic acid for the FDA, and consultant for the National Center for Disease Control, a federal agency here in the States. His cost estimation is a bit high by todays standard, as the 3 items he mentione can be purchased for well under 100 dollars a month now, using very high quality suppliments. Also, since this article was printeed, it has been found that the R-apha lipoic acid form is much more potent than regular old alpha lipoic acid. Personally, I feel adding vitamin C, E, Sam-e, and phosphatidyl choline to these items is helpful, as well, as ALA enhances these items. Dr. Berkson also mentions vitamin B, which is very important, as lipoic acid can deplete you vit. B scores a bit. This is not a cure for hepc, by any means, but has been reported to be highly liver-protective, and perhaps an option for those not able or willing to do INF therapy.  Thanks for the opportunity to post here, and share my views. Lori   http://janis7hepc.com/Nutrition/Berkson%20Clinical%20Study.htm

-- Edited by lorijryan at 18:07, 2007-12-12

I really enjoyed reading the research paper...and was amazed it is produced by gov agency.  I know I had good results with milk thistle for liver support, and it seemed to lessen symptoms.  It may have even lowered my viral load, although consensus seems to be that viral load is always changing anyway.  I'm glad to be on conventional tx to get rid of virus instead of just "masking" the infection and trying to live with it. 

Know what you mean, Nikki - what interested me is that these findings come from clinical research and are from an organisation which actively supports use of complementary treatments. My reading of them was that while some can help a little, there are certainly no miracle cures out there, and that any benefits may also bring a down side - of which people should be aware at least. Didn't really change my view - if people choose to use alternatives, go through someone who is knowledgeable and has experience of Hep C - and let the doctors know, just in case it has an impact on any otehr treatments/test outcomes.

Hi Nick,
interesting reading indeed!! No surprises really with the milk thistle, but the liquorice is a bit strange. On the one hand it seems amazing, but then it looks really quite dangerous. I can't quite work out what they're saying there. I wonder how long "a long period of time" is!?

Nikki xx

Hi all

I came across this the other day, which is very interesting, in that it provides links to research about some of the alternative treatments.

Well worth a look.

http://nccam.nih.gov/health/hepatitisc/index.htm