Folic Acid for liver health

[montgo63]

Has anyone taken Folic Acid to lower high liver enzymes. I hear it's quite effective.

[Hidden]

Yes. My husband has PMR polymyalgia rhumatica for which he is on weekly doses of methotrexate and occasional boosts of prednisolone. The side effects of which can cause reduced liver functions and the risk of cirrhosis, therefore he has to take a weekly dose of folic acid and have regular blood tests checking for any liver damage

[montgo63 in reply to Hidden]

Thanks for the reply. I hear good things about taking folic acid for increased liver function and lowered ALT enzymes. Fingers crossed!

[Hidden in reply to montgo63]

Yes definately, if its prescribed or recommended by your doctor then do take it. He actually has to take it daily

[Snorkers65]

I have ELD/Cirrhosis and take Folic Acid daily as part of my medication. Not sure of it’s effect, I always joke that it is because I am pregnant - being a 54 year old male!!

[montgo63 in reply to Snorkers65]

Hi - thank you for the reply. Do you mind if I ask what dosage you take. Are your doctors tracking or doing tests to see if it is effective?

[Snorkers65 in reply to montgo63]

Hi - I take 5mg daily and have done for 12 months. The Consultant is tracking and tells me it is helping, I am of the opinion she knows more than I do..

[montgo63 in reply to Snorkers65]

Good to hear it's working!

[Hidden in reply to montgo63]

My hubby also takes 5mg per day

[Radnor]

i took it for several years but prescribed because I was on methotrexate.The metho damaged my liver . I stopped taking them a while back, not seen any evidence they are beneficial for cirrhosis. Ask your lier consultant. is my best advice Hazel x

[Hidden in reply to Radnor]

Hi Hazel. Yes it in imperative that you take folic acid for as long as you are on methotrexate. It reduces the possibility of the metho damaging the liver. While obviously not a cure to liver disease it is beneficial as it replenishes the folio (dont know if thats the correct spelling) which the body naturally expels while taking the drug.

Are you injecting your meth or tablet form orally?

When the blood test showed hubbies liver was being affected, he came off metho for 6 weeks and once they were happy all was ok again they switched him from oral to injecting and hes had no problem since(touch wood) as its now not going through his digestive system. Also this meant he could have a lower dose as his body is now absorbing it all and none of it leaves his body as waste💩

Laura

Xx

[Radnor in reply to Hidden]

I had no indication on my blood tests, at all. It worked really well on both my psoriasis and psoriaitic arthritis. After 5 years use I was sent for a fibroscan which showed fatty liver. I lost some weight and my liver fat reduced by 25%. The following year I was diagnosed with fibrosis. I did have discomfort in my upper right side and was sent to check for gall stones. Negative. I found I was constipated and dehydrated and ensured from then neither happened so no re occurrence. My dermatologist wanted confirmation that I was ok to remain on Metho. Injections as had tried oral meds and they didnt agree with me. The gastro Dr said no. He should have followed up on me but didnt. In the letter he sent he said I had severe fibrosis. I came off it but it was not explained at all how serious this was. I only discovered it when I tried to get travel insurance. I asked my GP and he agreed to send me for a 2nd opinion at Royal Liverpool as they have a dedicated Liver Unit. My fibroscan was done the same day before seeing the consultant. In 2.5 years I had gone from fatty liver to cirrhosis!. My bloods are still normal. I have zero symptoms. I have lost weight and I went back in March. The consultant I saw this time said yes the fibroscan does show cirrhosis BUT he isnt 100% convinced. He also suffers from RA and had tried Methotrexate. He described it as 'evil'! I am due to have an ARFI scan on 31st.I took the folic acid without fail. On the metho I felt zero side effects once my body was used to it. Apart from the 4 times I contracted shingles. It is extremely dangerous for people on Metho and its important to get anti viral meds immediately. Injections still can damage the liver, as I now know. My bloods were checked every 3 months, it didn't show. Been off it for 16 months now. I wont risk any meds for my psoriasis or PA. Any I am offered will have to be approved by my liver consultant.

Its a 2/3% chance of Metho causing liver damage, I am just unlucky I guess. I hope your hubby keeps well, it does work well on the pain, well reduces it to a 5/10 instead of 11/10 lol. It is worth asking for a fibroscan, just to ensure its not affecting his liver.

Hazelxx

[Hidden]

Wow Hazel, its been awful for you.

I know when hubby was 1st put on methotrexate and they said about blood tests (he does have yearly fibroscans too) as 1 of the side effects is liver damage I waded straight in saying you better keep a close eye on this 1, I've lost 1 husband to cirrhosis and Im not losing this 1 .... maybe that helped haha !

It also caused a blood clot, so now on blood thinners for life. You're right it is evil stuff, its a cancer drug and yes they are vicious. They have said there's another drug he could use instead but carries risk of blindness, so its like .... take your pick !

Look after yourself, you've got a lot to contend with there.

Laura xx

[montgo63]

Hi Hazel and Laura, what a lot you've both been through! What I find concerning is that blood tests keep coming back normal even though things are far from normal. It's hard to understand how liver enzymes supposedly remain normal when there is cirrhosis. Do you mind if I ask where you have been having fibroscans? Thank you

[Hidden in reply to montgo63]

Hi. We live in Norwich so it's the Norfolk and Norwich Universty Hospital. They have a 'fibroscanner' Got to say both husbands have had remarkable care despite recently hearing the hospital is still in special measures. Xx

[Hidden]

I think a word of caution is required here. Firstly the liver doesn't need any help to do it's job, and is quite capable of repairing it's self. The use of Folic Acid could be dangerous for other parts of the body, and has been linked to bowl cancer.

I have come across a 2007 NHS case study, which is well worth readying. I hope this helps: nhs.uk/news/pregnancy-and-c...

[montgo63]

Thank you for the info - very interesting.

[Hidden]

I forgot to say hello montgo, please forgive me. I just wanted to say something about the liver blood tests as there is often a bit of confusion surrounding these. The Liver Function test, merely gives a present snap-shot of what the liver is doing at that particular moment. It can't tell if there is any liver damage, not tell you the extent of any damage. This then can often give a false impression that all is well. It could also indicate that your liver enzymes are fine, when in fact the liver could be at the fibrosis stage.

Because the liver doesn't have any pain receptors, it can't tell you when it's being damaged or is diseased. This is why for some people, they don't realise they have a problem, until they wake up one morning and find a yellow tint in the whites of their eyes.

There is a fairly new type of blood test which is now becoming more available here in the UK. This is called an, "ELF test, with markers". This is a far more reliable test and can show both fatty live, and liver fibrosis: bmj.com/content/354/bmj.i44...

I hope this helps.

[Hidden]

Mixed messages..... Folic acid is found in broccoli and recommendations in general are .... eat plenty of broccoli to help PREVENT bowel cancer. Also highly recommended in pregnancy and hubby has been prescribed a 5mg dose of folic acid per day to help counteract the side effects of methotrexate. We are encouraged to eat vegetables so it seems right to me to take it. Im sure if hubby liked green veg he would eat broccoli aswell as or instead of in tablet form but he has a real aversion to anything green going in his mouth! So far so good in our experience though, hope it continues. 🤞

[montgo63]

Thank you so much Richard. I really want a definitive test that can tell me how my liver is doing. I've been a heavy drinker for years now - traumatic childhood etc etc. About 4 years ago, I was diagnosed with a giant liver hemangioma (congenital present from birth). I had liver function tests - all were normal. Then I had an ultrasound and the hemangioma was discovered - I even asked the ultrasound operator if my liver looked healthy otherwise, no scarring etc. He said it looked absolutely fine. I then had a CT scan and CT scan with dye to ensure that it was definitely a benign hemangioma - which it was, phew! The CT scans didn't flag up anything else. I'm thinking of having a fibroscan ..........