What are the opinions in here on liver cleanses? Who has done them and how did they go?
Certainly interested in improving liver function but I want to be as gentle as possible. I have done plenty of milk thistle with no clear benefit. Ready to try other things.
Posted by GretaM (Member # 40917) on :
Hmmm.... I have done liver cleanses prior to dx for lyme. I did the Hulda Clark method with the Epsom salts. The epsom salts will give you watery diareha within 2 hours of taking it, all night, and also through to the morning.
Honestly, and I'm no doctor obviously, so I can only speak of personal experience, I don't think inducing diareha is good for anyone on abx. Not only will it flush the oral abx out of you before your body has a chance of absorbing/assimilating, but more importantly it will also flush out a lot of good stomach bacteria. It also has the potential to disturb electrolyte balance.
Anyways, before lyme dx I was trying all sorts of things to feel better and I found better results with milk thistle extract and dandelion tea than with the liver flushes.
Posted by GretaM (Member # 40917) on :
Beware Milk Thistle interacts with A LOT of meds. I borrowed this from the Hep C advocate webpage.
Below is a short list of some other medications that are processed through the CYP3A4 enzyme. Levels of these medications may increase if taken by people who are also using milk thistle. This list is not exhaustive:
Milk thistle also has the potential to lower levels of the following drugs:
anti-parasite drugs - Mepron (atovaquone)
sedatives/sleeping pills - Ativan (lorazepam) hormones - estrogen
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
- Epson salts can be very caustic to the inside of the mouth, the esophagus and all the way down. Beter NOT to take internally but used for a WARM (not hot) soak. Other kinds of magnesium:
Topic: MAGNESIUM LINKS sets -
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
- Because I've had some blunders in the past when first learning about all this, I recoil at the terms, "flush" and "cleanse" as it's not so much to be an "event" but more in the manner of gentle, consistent yet assertive on-going support.
The liver is not a toilet. We can't just flush it and if we try, it can be hard on the liver, the opposite of our intent. Whatever we do or take, the liver still has to process all that and it takes time.
Of course, definitions can vary and some "techniques" can be of help at times - just be sure to not push too much and get professional advice, if at all possible, with a LL ND.
Some excellent liver "education" and product links here:
LIVER & KIDNEY SUPPORT & and several HERXHEIMER support links, too.
Best to be guided by a LL ND (naturopathic doctor). How to find one? See link included in this set. -
Posted by treeinatree (Member # 38613) on :
I'm not sure about cleanse, but I have done the "mini-flush" - a dose of Mag calm at 5 and 7 PM (no dinner) and then at 9 PM, a mix of 1 TB olive oil, juice of a lemon, a few ounces fresh squeezed grapefruit juice. Closed container, shake hard, drink and go straight to bed. Relax and focus on sensations in liver/ GB area. This is the only thing so far that has really helped my liver- area pain. Sometimes I also do coffee enema the next morning. The regular flush is more drink - 1/4 cup olive oil. I haven't tried that but have done a double-size mini. Tree