Hep C Discussion Forum

Christine456 · Newbie

Curcumin plus acupuncture ?

Sherri · Member

Just offering an additional consideration that is currently considered alternative. The research is hot and heavy on gut health and the immune system. They now say that the largest part of our immune system is in the gut. We damage the lining with NSAIDS (ibuprofen, etc.), antibiotics, alcohol, and possibly gluten. With a permeable membrane and insufficient flora in the gut, many nutrients and supplements will not be adequately absorbed. Also, with a leaky gut, other molecules will pass through, which can cause inflammation. Some allergies are a result of this, too. Anyway, I am fascinated by the complexity of the human body and spend waaay too much time reading about it. Food for thought!

keesotom · Member

From 'The Peoples Pharmacy' : "Many readers reported that turmeric helped their joint pain. A review of clinical trials found that turmeric based products were better than placebo and about as effective as NSAIDS such as ibuprofen or naproxen....One study showed benefit comared 1500 mg turmeric extract to 1200 mgs of ibuprofen..."

Cinnamon Girl · Guru

Hello JoAnne!

I must say how wonderful you`re looking, life after SVR obviously suits you, and I`m so pleased to see you looking so happy! Ditto what Mike said.. 3 pretty girls indeed! smile

I hadn`t hear of Phenocane before either, but after reading about it I`d be interested in trying it at night for my aching and burning feet and legs. If you do decide to try it we`d love to hear whether you find it helpful or not,. pain relief is a popular subject around here! I notice from the list of ingredients that it contains herbs, including Curcumin, as mentioned by Tom at the start of this thread, so not suitable for anyone who`s currently on treatment.

Great to see you still dropping by... we`re always pleased to hear from you!

Wishing you all the very best, do keep in touch! smile

wmlj1960 · Moderator

Hi JoAnne.

It's great to hear from you again. I like your new avatar photo. 3 pretty girls!
Phenocane may be something I would like to try for my back pain and phantom limb pain. I was using oxycodone for a long time then switched to Nucynta (tapentadol) since it's easier on the liver and kidneys. But I'd like to leave opiates alone completely if phenocane will work for me. If you give it a try tell us what you think.
Thanks for stopping in! I hope hep c free life is being good to you. Based on your smile I suspect so. smile

JoAnneh · Guru

jill,

always great to see your comments.

thank you for providing a great service for so many people.

i treasure you and pray great things for you. You look great!

Tig · Admin

Hi JoAnne,

It's so good to hear from you! JoAnne is one of our long time Warriors here on the forum. She is a true friend of us all. Those were some trying days, weren't they? The Friday Night Dart Club was a first stop back then. I recommend everyone go back and read that thread. It's an eye opener...

I had not heard abot that product until you mentioned it. I searched for it and it has some real fans out there. The price really varies, so check a few places if you try it. I'd be interested to hear what you think.

I hope you're doing well and life is treating you right! smile

JoAnneh · Guru

Welcome Thomas! This site was very valuable to me
While on treatment! I achieved SVR 3 years ago and still member of this forum.
HAS ANYONE TRIED PHENOCANE FOR PAIN? I have been reading about it
And would like to try it.

Tig · Admin

Thanks Wendy. Sometimes the easiest way to help ourselves is by helping others that may be going through the same rough patch. Experience in dealing with this is often a big help. Just knowing that you're not alone makes a difference sometimes. We never know what tidbit of information or kind word might make someone's day better! You made mine better already!

wendyo · Guru

Breaks my heart to read what you deal with daily guys. I give you a lot of credit for suiting up and showing up to life daily as well as supporting your friends and family.

Tig · Admin

The Norco is Hydrocodone/Acetaminophen. It's good, but being a veteran pain management patient, anything with Oxycodone is a bit more effective, imo anyway. I took Oxycontin for years and then switched to Methadone, cheaper and better long term than Oxy's. I was also taking Dilaudid with it for breakthrough. Used Fentanyl too. I'm a hurting puppy but lost my doctors and had to wean off all of it. Now I grit my teeth (tooth, lol) and take nothing but OTC garbage that's hard on the liver. There's no hope of my spine ever improving, so medication was all they could offer. Surgical options ran out a long time ago.

Sorry about the knees, Tom. Getting in and out of the car all the time can't be comfortable. This getting old stuff really hurts! I'm fighting to stay out of the pasture the doctors keep pointing me to. However, the longer I go, the better it looks!

JimmyK · Guru

When I stopped treatment, the Ribavirin had me so jacked up my Doctor wrote me a 30 day of NORCO. A bit better on the liver than other stuff. Works well.

JimmyK

keesotom · Member

Thanks tig,

Yea for now I am ok with it. I have a very high pain tolerance but when my sleap started suffering badly it has become abit much. I have a part time delivery job @ pizzahut, and with two knees in need of replacement that isnt helping.

But I am a very happy member of NA and loving the benifits of recovery...

Honestly I was going to suggest oxicodone- better?

Tig · Admin

Hey Tom,

I can relate to the issue with some physicians not prescribing pain meds. I have been in a pain management program since 2002. Same thing, bad spine. When I lost my pain management specialist because of the insurance mess, I couldn't find another that would prescribe pain meds and no primary care will, because of some DEA guidelines limiting their ability to do so. Sometimes you can get a week's worth of something, but that's it. You can have better luck going to the dentist with a toothache.... Pain in the butt, back and teeth!

I hope you continue to get some relief with the Baclofen. You may get some reduction in inflammation once you whip the Dragon into shape too. Any relief is welcome!

keesotom · Member

Thanks !! Went to my Dr. yesterday morning. Weather it is good or not that he is unable to (at this time) prescribe controlled substances is debateable. Anyhow he prescribed baclofen. Took the edge off my upper back pain.

Cinnamon Girl · Guru

HI Tom, I`m very pleased you decided to stay with us, and what great news that you`ll soon be starting Harvoni!

I`m sure your doctor is right that it will go easily for you, and we`ll be here with you all the way through and beyond. You`re not alone, you`re with friends here, and you can count on us to give you all the support you need... and more! smile

wendyo · Guru

Hi Tom - good luck and let us know when you begin the journey. I know there are are non narcotic pain meds but not sure how they work. I too am in recovery so very careful about what I take. Some docs are well meaning but not educated on that stuff.

I have taken tumeric for about a year now. Former trainer suggested it for inflammation when he was rehabbing my shoulder and then I learned about all the other benefits of it, so after shoulder fixed, continued taking it. But yes, always check with liver doc while on TX about supplements and herbs.

Sydhanrahan · Guru

So happy for you Tom.

Syd

Linuxter · Guru

This is all Very good news Tom!

Glad to hear that you are soon to be on treatment.

Time to get approval for the meds from insurance differs some depending on location and insurance but I'll venture a guess that it will take a month or two.

Congrats, you are on your way to being Hep C FREE!!

Dave

Tig · Admin

That's great news Thomas! Harvoni is very effective against 1B, you should be enjoying a Hep free life soon. I would accept either course of treatment, but would want the 12 week course if they give you the choice. Treatment naive, under 6 million viral load and non cirrhotic, qualifies for 8 weeks.. F3 may be a high enough fibrosis score to get you on the 12 week treatment. Either way, you're going to beat it. Confidence, compliance, proper diet and adequate hydration are the key. I know you're ready to put this behind you.

Good luck is yours and we'll be here to cheer you on! smile

keesotom · Member

Thanks to all; you are very kind !!

Just got results:

Fibrosis score: 0.61 Genotype1b

Fibrosis stage- F3

So- They are putting me in for approval for Harvoni- Dr. says it should go easily- only question is weather they approve 8 or 12 weeks.

Was told to discontinue suppiments. Thanks for the heads up on ibuprophen... a couple years back I met this crazy lady -about 25 yrs old- that was taking like 4-5000 mgs aday> God help her liver.

-- Edited by keesotom on Monday 11th of April 2016 03:10:31 PM

Sydhanrahan · Guru

Thanks for the link Thomas re curcumin. I am going back to the Liver Clinic on Friday so will ask about whether I can try it while I'm on treatment.

i have had what I thought was the beginning of arthritis in my lower back and hips for a couple of years. Before I started treatment, it became worse and now it is very bad. I'm not sure whether it's arthritis because it seems to gravitate to my knees, back to hips, in thigh muscles and is often so bad it is difficult to stop noise coming out of my mouth - sounds stupid - I mean involuntary groans and yelps!

I finally went to my local GP and she prescribed some new synthetic opiod called Palexia. I broke out in hives but thought it was the Ribaviron I was still recovering from. In the end I needed cortisone cream as was covered in hideous big rash. Then they prescribed Targin which felt bad but at least I wasn't allergic to it. Last Friday i went to see the liver dr who was annoyed I had been prescribed anything without her say so. She ordered blood test to check inflammatory markers in my blood which I get back this Friday.

In the meantime I take 2 paracetamol a day. I know it's not ideal but neither is living with this much pain.

I know it's easy for me to say, but try not to worry about the fibroscan coming up. Your Alt And Ast levels look mighty good to me.

I have learnt a lot about other important markers in the liver blood tests from guys here and know that basically my liver was in a really bad way when I started treatment and that its not possible for 17 weeks of treatment to undo 40 years of hep c and happy champagne guzzling.

Being here regularly has helped me to begin to accept that. I hope that you get more positive news about the state of your liver but that here turns out to be a useful place for you too.

Syd

Tig · Admin

Hey Thomas,

Do remember to discuss the high dose of Ibuprofen you currently take with the liver specialist. They may want to change that to something easier on the liver. The FDA released an update on the use of it a year or a little more ago. It can be hard on the body, all of the NSAIDS were mentioned. I can relate to the need for something that relieves pain. I live with it daily. I hope you are able to find something that relieves it. Let me know what you find out. It could be helpful to many of us. Good luck tomorrow!

Linuxter · Guru

"Unhinged" ... Yes, that would surly be me, among a few others nearly off their rockers at times ... Dave

Tig · Admin

Hey Thomas,

Glad to have you here. We all have our moments and I can say that everyone understands those times and emotions well. What's important is having you here.

Thanks for filling out that signature! Having it to refer to helps a lot. If there is anything we can help you with, don't hesitate to ask. Look around, we've got some seriously fun people here and it won't take you long to figure out who the comedians are! All well meaning and supportive of course! Just a bit "unhinged" I believe was the term used, lol! biggrin

Linuxter · Guru

Hi Thomas,

Absolutely no need to apologize ... hey, we're all in this together and we're glad you're here.

We all help each other here, thanks for understanding and sticking around ...

... once you get ot know us, you'll find we are VERY much on your side and here to help any way we can.

This really is a great site, it's helped a lot of us get through tough times and coming here always brightens my day.

Thanks,

Dave smile

-- Edited by Linuxter on Sunday 10th of April 2016 08:12:42 PM

keesotom · Member

Ok Im working on signature LOL. I am and especially in the last 6 weeks been having big problems with PAIN. I take max 800 mgs a day of ibuprophin a day. Think psychiatrist wants to do a painkiller script. She is aware of my compromised liver, but being an addict in recovery I am very wary

keesotom · Member

https://authoritynutrition.com/top-10-evidence-based-health-benefits-of-turmeric/

keesotom · Member

I would like to apologise to any and all for my behavior. Never an excuse but although I have made very good strides; I have had PTSD for a LONG time. I will update my signature biggrin

Sydhanrahan · Guru

Ps. I am riddled with pain for starters and want to know what curcumin is..?

Sydhanrahan · Guru

Hi Tom,

even with an old friend who went through treatment last year, I still feel very alone as most people who havent been down this road don't understand much about how it makes you feel.

The people on this forum generously and honestly share their fears, sadness, silly jokes, hopes and triumphs. It is very therapeutic and humbling to be included.

Give it another go.

Syd

Cinnamon Girl · Guru

Hello Thomas, welcome from me too! I`ve read your posts and I hope you stick around, there`s certainly no need for you to leave.

This forum gets very busy at times and although we try to keep up with all our members` posts and threads, along with Private Messages, sometimes it`s quite difficult to do that. Our purpose here is to help and to share information, and your approach to managing your Hep C is very interesting, as is the link you posted. I hope you`ll continue to post, and report back after your appointment on the 11th, and let us know the results of your fibroscan or ultrasound test.

I`m very sorry to read about your wife, you must miss her so much. I lost my husband to this dreadful disease also, and I admire your determination to try whatever you can while waiting for the opportunity to access treatment. Trying is always better than not trying, and keeping an optimistic frame of mind is very important.

Wishing you all the best of luck! smile

wmlj1960 · Moderator

You don't need to worry about ruffling any feathers around here. We are all here to help each other. Did you click the link that Linuxter posted?

How To Create Your Signature

Also, if you need definitions for all the abbreviations we use around here, like I did when I first got here, then check out this list posted by Mallani:

Forum abbreviations

Please keep us up to date on what you find out at you doctors visit on the 11th.

Welcome to the forum Thomas. We're glad to have you here. smile

keesotom · Member

I dont even know how to do a "signature" sorry. OK I will stop posting and just lurk now and then. Dont want to ruffle any feathers. Have a great rest of your lives !!

Tig · Admin

Sorry I keep asking questions. I can't look back and refer to every post to determine your history. If you could fill out your signature as requested, it would be helpful. Good luck on the 11th.

Linuxter · Guru

HERE's a Link to how to add info to your signature line.

Hope it helps,

Dave

Linuxter · Guru

Hi Tom,

Welcome to the forum.

Nobody here can remember everybody's detailed information, If you add some information like Viral Load, Genotype, stage of Liver damage etc to your signature it will help you keep from having to answer the same questions over and over.

Just a suggestion.

Dave

keesotom · Member

t is? Have you had a biopsy or other fibrosis staging performed recently.

As I have said a few times- Monday the 11th. Thanks for the help and good info

Tig · Admin

Hi Tom,

You sure did, my bad! I was in such a rush this morning I failed to notice that. Shoot, I even spoke to you that day! Can I blame it on brain fog?

I have heard of the benefits of curcumin, I hope you're gaining some relief from the arthritis.

It's not the viral load that has been receiving the scrutiny by the insurance carriers, it's the fibrosis stage. Most have required F3-F4 or F4, but they have started to rethink that strategy. Do you know what it is? Have you had a biopsy or other fibrosis staging performed recently. That will no doubt need to be determined before treatment is determined and approved.

If you get a chance, would you consider filling out your signature line with some history? If you look at some of the others, info like the genotype, viral load, ALT/AST, etc., helps us have a quick reference when replying. You can set that up on your profile. Thanks!

keesotom · Member

Hey Tig- I already DID introduce myself LOL. Well- I appreciate the fact that study results can be altered etc. I intend to bring to my specialist any supplements on Monday. I am using the curcumin NOT as any type of cure- but for its multiple health benefits especially helping with arthritic pain.

My regular Doctor told me Monday that with such a low viral load it is doubtful I would be insurance approved for treatment. We will see.

Tig · Admin

Hello Thomas,

Welcome to the forum. I'm sorry to hear about the passing of your wife from complications of this disease. You have our deepest condolences...

Your information on accupuncture and curcumin is an interesting article. Anyone considering it should be under the care of a liver specialist, while waiting for treatment to cure HCV with the newest DAA's. I don't encourage anyone to seek alternative treatments that use supplementation as a promise of a cure and we don't allow the advertising of it on the forum. I have seen too many supplements alter lab results, versus improve them. So buyer beware and discuss these ideas with your doctor first. Once you start treatment, it is recommended to stop all forms of supplementation. They can interfere with the treatment drug action and as mentioned earlier, can alter the blood test results.

Good luck with your doctor on Monday. Let us know what you find out. Please feel free to introduce yourself on the New Members section.

keesotom · Member

www.hepatitiscentral.com/news/acupuncture-curcumin-potent-duo-for-liver-health/

keesotom · Member

I got a link showing a study extolling the benefit of the correct(liver focused) acupuncture combined with Curcumin. I have started both. Loved the acupuncture; as for the Curcumin- I am feeling rapid relief for my chronic pain. I am using Doctor's Best (brand) Best Curcumin C3 Complex.

Just because- I have started a decent liver support( Liver X- MRM), A concentrate of blueberry, fish oil caps and royal jelly.

I am thinking this is surely worth a try(along with positive thoughts- and continual effort to reduce mental stress.)

I will see my specialist Monday ( April 11th) as well as get an ultrasound( fibroscan ?)

Despite having Hep C for approx. 32 yrs via a dirty shared needle my most recent viral load was 16200- too low to genotype. More will be revealed- but I am doubting I would be approved for treatment. I have never had any drug treatment. I have been genotyped in the past- 1b I think. My wife went through 3 courses of treatment from 98-2003. She had a differant genotype. Nothing worked, and sadly she died of liver cancer.

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