Mac790 and Milk Thistle Experiment

[mac790]

Hey All, I'm about to start 80% standardized extract of Silymarin, 450 mg. per day next week. At Stage 5, I am willing to try most anything reasonable to stay off the implant list, and hopefully address these bothersome ( and ugly in appearance) lower limb symptoms. Uneven hair growth, large swaths of purplish/brown flaking skin, poor toe nail growth, exaccerbating the existing painful neuropathy. The right leg is the worst, the left leg is much closer to normal. I suppose I should feel fortunate I have no varicies in my trachea or ascities in my abdomen. I haven't had the new EchoSens tests, just the traditional core liver biopsy and ultrasounds. I'm due for another U/S next month. I'm hoping, perhaps foolishly, the milk thistle extract will, over time, help the blood/serosanguinous fluid flow to and return from the lower limbs. I know silymarin has been clinical trial tested, but I'm unsure what strength extract they were using, and the results were ambigious, at least as I interpreted them. Some patients improved, some did not, but that could have been simply from abstaining from ingesting any hepatoxic subtances. I'll keep the board posted as to my milk thistle experiment results.  mac790

[Idyllic]

There are other threads on here related to this topic
http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Cirrhosis-of-the-Liver/milk-thistle-is-effective-for-liver-cirrhosis/show/2108032

http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Hepatitis-C/What-should-you-eat-with-HepC-and-Liver-Damage/show/1798683

[flyinlynn]

I have edema I have been taking Spironolactone since 2008

I was diagnosed with grade 3 varicies in 2012 and had 4 sessions of banding to eridicate so far not returned. I was not a candidate for Beta blocker because they want to lower your heart rate to about 60 BPM and that is my normal heartrate now sometimes even below 60.

I also have a small amount of ascities only detectable on ultrasound

Also have basically lost the majority of my body hair.

No purple brown flaking skin or special toenail issues thank goodness

I tend to thing I am borderline Child A Chlid B due to my symtoms

Good luck to you as well mac

Lynn

[mac790]

Hey, CDM can back me up on this, but I think all you have to do is register on Medscape. There is ( I memory serves) a box to check that says for occupation: "Student/Other", or something similar. There is no fee, and once registered you can have access to the great articles CDM pointed you to. I would also add to your reading list Healio.com. Free registration, and a world of medical knowledge. You can even have access to each month's "HCV Next" publication, with breaking news on HCV tx and related topics. "Bridging portal fibrosis and marked inflammation" I regret to say sounds a lot like my biopsy results, it means simply your liver has taken a beating. A lot of it has the consistency of gristle, and is interfering with the portal blood flow valve in the liver, which controls the lower limb ciruclation of blood and serosanguinous fluids. If you don't have edema, hairless spots, ugly purplish/brown areas of flaking skin, and painful toenails w/ improper growth, you are lucky. Also keep up with your Hepatologist to see if the dreaded varicies are not forming in your throat, or ascities in your abdomen. Those are real trouble signs.So far, I have avoided them, but have the lower limb issues big time. I hammered my liver mercilessly for decades, and am now having to pay the piper. Good luck to you.   mac790

[Idyllic]

I'm hoping, perhaps foolishly, the milk thistle extract will, over time, help the blood/serosanguinous fluid flow to and return from the lower limbs
________________________________________

Is this considered venous insufficiency?

If so you might want to post on the cirrhosis forum as there might be other options to consider.

[flyinlynn]

Thanks Can-do

hrsepwrguy when I asked "So what is bridging portal fibrosis and marked inflammation?"  I was trying, baldy, to ask this relative to these other more precise scales being discussed

Great article very informative according to the stats I should not have cirrhosis oh well. Female, infected at age 20, was a light to moderate drinker (although I will admit do getting drunk more than a few times but not very frequently). And until recently I was on the skinny side. But none the less here I am

I mean once you are F4 there really isn't much in the way of subtle graduations of degree of cirrhosis just compensated vs decompensated.

But even within compensated there are totally asymptomatic and those like myself with some symptoms but still considered compensated and still Child "A"

So here I am but trying to figure out where I stand in the world of cirrhosis.

But still standing which is the most important thing :-)

[can-do-man]

Hi again lynn. Will your cirrhosis improve? Maybe but I'm not much of a believer in this. Dead scar tissue is not going to heal. I had a Fibroscan last year and there was no improvement after about 5 years of being cured. But like you my meld score stays at 9 but my platelets still run in the 60's.

Yours in the nineties is a good sign. Like my very good Hepa told me as long as we stop the cause what parts of the liver that is not scarred will improve and it is the toughest organ we have. Also one does not need a 100% liver to keep going.

Having cirrhosis is sure a life changer and that worry about HCC never goes away. I just wish people would or was able to treat before they cross that line... Hang in there, I know where your coming from.