Hep C Discussion Forum

obs, wow, that's a lotta work you go thru with your allergies. i'm so glad you have done so well with it all

mine aren't eppie pen bad, just skin rashes and sinus and stomach....and feet it seems.

i miss tofu so much too  , along with a lot of fruits and veggies. 

now i am trying smaller servings of a few things to see if they work out [shredded lettuce and shredded cabbage are the new things for the week].

but not taking milk thistle for a few days made a good impact on my stomach and feet, so i'm hoping that was the culprit .

5

 

Ya, its probably not a bad idea to test for food allergies...My worst one is soy... They use that stuff in EVERYTHING from clothes and dog collars to most baked goods to jarred sun dried tomatoes or artichoke hearts, salad dressings...to skin/hair products and candles to laundry soap... its a really hard one because its hidden everywhere...

I havent been to a restaurant for more than 10 years. Luckily my son went to culinary school and Im also a good cook so we dont miss much in the good eating department ...(except I really miss miso soup) 

I was surprised about the beef because I also rarely ate it until I read my bullion jar again...I had read it looking for soy and thought it was safe...

Unfortunately for me, none of my symptoms are controllable with regular allergy meds, (except the epipen for an anaphylactic reaction to soy lecithin in chocolate one scary time) , just avoidance and some occasional detoxing drops through my god-send of a Dr. 

I also am so grateful to be cured of the horrible  HCV. These on-going things are much easier to cope with when one isnt also battling a morphing mutating monster.

i never looked any of this up before cos for me it was saving my liver; but i just did today to make sure it was still something i wanted to take. Since i am so sensitive it is worth taking into account and making sure for me.

Side effects associated with oral ingestion of milk thistle include:

• Gastrointestinal problems but are rare (e.g; nausea, diarrhea, dyspepsia, flatulence, abdominal bloating, abdominal fullness or pain, anorexia and changes in bowel habits) (R).
• Headache (R).
• Skin reactions (pruritus, rash, urticaria, and eczema) (R).
• Neuropsychological events (e.g asthenia, malaise and insomnia) (R).
• Arthralgia (pain in joint) (R).
• Rhinoconjunctivitis (nasal congestion, runny nose, sneezing etc) (R).

-- Edited by 5-1-18 on Sunday 28th of October 2018 07:28:44 PM

the next supplement i plan to try during my vacation is L theanine

Most known for helping people relax, L-theanine has many other potential health benefits, including:

I suffered with terrible crippling arthritis too.  After treatment, it got a little better but it was still pretty painful most days..  I also have pretty bad allergic reactions to a number of foods and environmental things...although my allergies got somewhat less severe they still dictate my life.

A few months ago, I was getting my Dr to check if I was reacting to pistachio nuts (my legs were frighteningly swollen after I ate some Turkish baclava)....I asked him to check for other common foods that I might be allergic to....anyhoo....short story long, I am very allergic to beef and pork...I didn't eat a lot of those meats but I used a beef bullion in every sauce, stew, gravy etc...so even if I was eating chicken, I was still getting some beef...

 

 

...Now,  I realize you arent talking about allergies here

but  although I was looking for relief/understanding of my immediate, gastrointestinal and immune system disruption type of reactions .....(which I got)

about 2 weeks after I eliminated beef/pork,  I all of a sudden realized that  my arthritis was also about 75% less....some days I dont have any swelling or pain

Both my allergies and my arthritis came from my having HCV for 3 decades

So, Im now wondering if your arthritis could also be made worse by some common food and could you get a Dr to test you for allergies?

A

 

hubby was allowed the vicoprophen for his arthritis, i was allowed the valium for sleep. we didn't take it at the same time as the pill . we both took harvoni.

Decided only the Havoni, PPI and bp meds. I hurt something awful from the arthritis thing I have going and and gonna check w my Dr tomorrow when I call to check in if my glucosamine and chondroitin is ok to take. Also the tramadol. First pill is down the hatch w lots of water and 3 cups of coffee! Thx everyone!

Ok, I'm back!  

hahahha Tig! - ... but, but, butt ...!

Lamassu - Hi stranger!, nice to see a few words from ya - talk more, missing you!

Karyl - I love, love your kitty pic/avatar! And, nice job on the sig line BTW, it came in a couple of tries and fits and starts but it reads very well indeed now - sig. lines are always a welcome bit of info to have at a glance - helps so much in ongoing conversations to have the pertinent reminders so easily at hand. So, HAD your doc already told you to go ahead and start the Harvoni just as soon as it arrived to you this weekend? I am assuming so. 

Hoodie and 5 and I and Tig and Lamassu (and I bet many others around here), including (now) Karyl, all seem to have reached consensus that milk thistle might best be stopped while on treatment. As Tig outlined, thistle itself "may" cause a drop in a ALT, that is why thistle should be dropped while on treatment, so your ALT levels (while on treatment) can be looked upon knowing they are not being influenced by any effect of the thistle, but rather your ALT changes are being affected by treatment. It is possible some docs will (and some docs will not) discourage you from taking other certain sups, but it always needs to be discussed between them and you, quite thoroughly.

If this info helps at all - just on principal (and so I would feel I had covered all bases in not interfering with my treatment) i stopped all sups when i went on treatment. I made SURE to wean myself down and off anything I was on, and some I was on very longstanding prior, and I made sure to wean myself off them a while before i started treatment. They knew everything I was and was not on. During treatment I found a growing need and wish to be back on some of my certain sups - mainly glucosamine/chondroitin - I expressly discussed my new wish with the doc and sought permission to go back on the gluc/chondroit. They let me, but they double-checked everything "extra" I took, before and during treatment, as i was in a trial. Milk thistle was never one of the sups i had ever taken in the past or now, but i do know it is popular. My ALT's (while on treatment and since cure) went beautifully low and normal, and they got increasingly more beautiful in my first year+ of cure and still remain to stay incredibly low!- I say I am cured and my liver has probably all long-finished healing itself and my liver function for all extents and purposes couldn't be better - I have NO NEED to be taking milk thistle now, as far as I have considered.  

It's very good you have some company here Karyl, fellow Harvonians (past and present) at various stages of cure-ness to be able to draw info from, like Iris and 5 whom you have already met (and of course all the rest of us various "-ians" too, who only want to help). There are so many successful Harvonians and their footsteps to follow here. I hope you have been or will be reading the old Harvonian threads, like the "All Aboard the Harvoni Train" thread.   C.

 

Heres the way I look at it, and I got this from pulling it right out of my butt so take it for what its worth:

The virus wants to live it hides and replicates and does all kinds of weird **** to ensure its own survival. We shouldnt be doing anything to minimize that while on treatment. We want the virus to rear its ugly head so we can kill it dead. 

I will wait till 12 weeks SVR to resume my milk thistle because I dont want to be in that unlucky 10% of people for whom these medicines do not work. So Ill take it exactly as directed and I will stop taking herbs that might jeopardize my treatment prospects.

I saw your post where you said youd give the milk thistle  a rest while on treatment I support that 100%. Good call. 

-- Edited by Hoodietree on Saturday 22nd of September 2018 11:24:34 PM

Makes sense . My doctor has a list of my meds and supplements and said nothing. I will stop the supplements during treatment tho.

i too believe milk thistle gave me the time i needed to get to the harvoni train. 

i quit all supplements while on tx , only tums when i needed one; at the prescribed 4 hour before or after harvoni pill 

welcome aboard the harvoni treatment train karyl

Carol,

I‘m not sure where the doctor is getting his information, but supplementation is, as a rule, strictly advised against while on treatment. The reason being, many of these supplements can interfere with the action of the treatment drugs. Milk Thistle specifically is one to avoid, because it alters the liver enzymes in a manner that disguises the true effect on your results. It can lower your ALT and AST, which isn’t exactly the true measure of your enzymes. I took MT before treatment and have recently resumed it for its antioxidant benefits. When we take MT and other hepatic supplements, we alter the testing parameters. During treatment, we want our tests to provide the actual function as related to treatment, not altered by the supplement. There is plenty of information available regarding the avoidance of supplements during treatment and for the 12 weeks afterwards. You want the results based on reality, not the potential changes, good, bad or different, from added supplements. A multivitamin, generally without iron, is all you need to be taking during treatment. I hope this helps you with your decision.