Hepamerz...good or bad for cirrhosis liver?

[richoanajess]

Hi there. hope everyone is coping well during the ongoing stressful times. Just wondered what people's thoughts are on Hepamerz (it was mentioned in another post but I hadn't heard of it before). I was taking milk thistle up until a couple of weeks ago when somebody on here told me it was not advisable, just hoped to get similar feedback on Hepamerz. To clarify, my liver is compensated and I currently am not experiencing any of the dreaded symptoms of later stage Cirrhosis but anything that might boost my liver function even further would obviously be good! Cheers 🙂

[AyrshireK]

If you are thinking of buying a product to 'help' your liver then don't. Only take things that are prescribed to you by your medical team other wise you don't know what additional stress you are putting on your system.

Hepa-merz contains the active ingredients L-ornithine and L-aspartate (LOLA) which some people have been prescribed to help with symptoms of hepatic encephalopathy - however, this is on prescription with doctor knowing exactly what is going wrong with the patient.

As your conditions is stable and compensated and alcohol was the cause of your condition the absolute best thing you can do for your liver is to maintain abstinence, eat well, exercise and generally look after yourself and stick with all the medicinal regime implemented by doctors.

Katie

[Hidden]

We would always suggest that you discuss and disclose any medications with your GP or liver specialist prior to commencement.

I have included a link to our information regarding complementary and supplementary medicines.

britishlivertrust.org.uk/in...

Trust9

[Richard-Allen]

I don't understand Richoanajess, what is it you are trying to do?

Here you have a cirrhotic liver that is working well and still able to function. It's doing everything just fine. Why are you wanting to do something that could jeopardise this? That old adage comes to mind. “If it’s not broken, then don’t try and fix it”.

You are doing everything right, by healthy eating and just doing nothing. The only thing that should be happening is having an MRI scan every six months or so.

At this moment in time, a cirrhotic liver can’t be repaired. There are no magic potions or cures for reversing liver scarring. I have a post-operative scar from when I had my transplant. That scar is going to be there for life. (I wear it as a badge of honour in respect of my donor). I am not trying to make that scar disappear. Just the same as you can’t make the scarring on the liver disappear.

This is your second post for wanting advice about taking so-called liver enhancing supplements. There is no such thing. One of the many functions of the liver is to detoxify the blood. The liver passes around 2000 litres of blood and filters it 350 times per day. The liver doesn’t need to be detoxified as some products claim. It’s simply doing its job. The only thing these so called detox remedies will do, is to detox your wallet.

Just be grateful for having a fully working liver, and be happy that you heeded that wake-up call about alcohol-damage.

Good Luck

Richard.

[Debo1]

I was prescribed to Hepamertz with a dosage of 1 sachet per meal per day for 30 days and I can say that the first night I had extreme and irregular peeing through out the night, then after 2 days I had regained some energy, doing like 5 km a day walk ,when I could hardly do 500- 1000M, on my 6th day my urine changed from coffee like colour to clear (this never happened once but had been gradually improving) on my 8 day the Dr prescribed me to multivitamins with high zinc ( VITACAP) on my 10 th day I ran out of my hepamertz medication and my funds got exhausted so I could not afford for the next 20 days, the little I had, I bought VITACAP and from 28th todate haven’t used hepamertz . Now I ain’t sure if this changes were aided by hepamertz or it was the nature taking its place as I have been on balanced diet and today marks 1 month of total alcohol abstinence. Though I could feel some itching,mild abdominal pain and some loss of energy from a far...

[Witcat]

I would not recommend purchasing this online or any other drug.

My husband was prescribed this because his HE had deteriorated and was prescribed this by the hospital consultants.

It did help him however I would reiterate again don't buy anything online and especially without discussing with your medical team.

[moonbeam4]

Hi I haven't been on here for a long time as , I've had the help c treatment that has cleared it and before that I was taking as much care of myself as possible I also moved hundreds of miles on lots of things going on so stopped coming on here ,but I had a email asking for my opinion on milk thistle as I have used it .So anyway here goes I had hep c for 30 years approx hen I found out I was told there's no treatment ect so I looked into alternatives and the one that stood out was milk thistle when I started taking it all my virus levels was high and my fine I scan was high after a couple of years taking it my levels was dropping a lot ,so much my consultant was following my progress with the milk thistle with great interest anyway to cut a long story short my fibro I went down to 7 and my virus load was very low and that was before the treatment ,so ,o know the milk thistle protected my liver from any more damage and it reduced my damage considerably, I'm now free of the virus because of it and the medication from the hospital ,but please talk to your doctor about it and if you do take it please see a person that is a registered herbalist and get it from them as they can prescribe it to you after a long consultation so you get he right dose for you .I hope this helps you and all the best for a healthy liver xx

[TT-2018 in reply to moonbeam4]

I tried Milkthistle because there is a lot of rubbish published about it, wasted a load of money and finally feel much better after my transplant.

[Peter_Plymouth in reply to moonbeam4]

Just to add to your comments - Milk Thistle was advised/supported by the head of Hepatology in Oxford - she said that it would do no harm, in my case, and possibly some good - this was over a period of 20+years and the consultant was happy with the effect and in fact my liver deteriorated at a much slower rate than the average patient untreated.

You must involve the hepatologists so that they know what’s going on and just because it worked for me doesn’t mean its right for you - talk to the experts and see if it’s worth exploring - if you do decide to try Milk Thistle there is only one brand in the UK that has been certified in the same way as regular drugs are certified.

I for one, have found it useful and believe it put of the inevitable TP much later in life than was otherwise predicted. Your mileage my vary!

Peter

[Hidden]

As l have said before ... your liver needs nothing other than you having a lifelong commitment to healthy eating, exercise and NO alcohol for it to serve you well. ANY suppliments purchased over the counter are NOT going to have any positive effects on your liver. So for goodness sake give it a break .... let it rest and recover

[Worriesalot in reply to Hidden]

Just don’t know what to do. I had bilirubin in urine according to walk in centre after Christmas. Blood test described last week as “beautiful” by GP last week. Before that 2 other GPS are convinced I’m fine. I have symptoms, Apple juice urine and constipated, this isn’t me. I walk for half an hour every morning no problems and have appetite. Sleep bad but could be immense fear I’m feeling. I was in your position but drank wine for a long time, years. In comparison to my late husband it was much, much less. I haven’t touched a drop since Christmas and I never want a drop again. I’m actually horrified at what I put away. A bottle most nights of white wine. I know I’ve got serious problem myself now but people think I’m being paranoid. GP refused to send me for scan as he says it’s unnecessary. Private Fibroscan consultant off because of Covid. So depressed.

[Peter_Plymouth in reply to Worriesalot]

Hi - sorry to hear how you are feeling - it’s always so frustrating when you feel your GP doesn’t take you seriously.

It’s great that you’ve stopped drinking - that alone will allow your body to recover. You could give it a month or so and then go back to your GP if nothing has improved and you still feel the same way - sometimes you just have to preserve to get treated seriously.

Have you thought of counselling? Not sure where you are in the country but in most areas you can self refer to counselling services - it’s always a long wait but it might help you feel better about your life.

Take care of yourself and I hope you feel better soon - Peter

[Worriesalot in reply to Peter_Plymouth]

Thank you for replying Peter. I will be speaking to GP tomorrow. A lot of people on here say normal blood panel results doesn’t mean liver not damaged. Doctor says opposite, you can’t have normal results with a damaged liver. I’m terrified when I read stories of esld. Someone on here put that it’s that stage that can present as normal most. Again, thank you for replying, I feel less alone.

[Peter_Plymouth]

Hi - not sure if you are going to see this before your GP but anyway it's still useful. You are right, it is possible to have a normal liver panel even when the liver has been damaged. It is an amazing organ and only starts to make you feel poorly once it reaches 90% damage.

So you are going to have to push with your GP and tell him your drinking habits and that you fear you have done damage over the years of drinking, unfortunately, the GP is the gatekeeper and you need to convince them.

You could just ask to be referred to the hepatology clinic of your local hospital - they will take you more seriously and fibroscan is their first port of call. If you bloods are all good and your fibroscan score is low then all is good - if they find anything else they are the ones to take it forward.

If all else fails you can always ask to see a different GP at your practice and see if you get a more sympathetic response.

Good luck and let me know how you get on today - Peter

[Worriesalot in reply to Peter_Plymouth]

I actually changed docs through moving and the new Doctors said the same. 100% nothing to refer me for further tests for. I will see how I go this next few days. I can feel weak and shaky in the morning and then easily walk with the dog for Half an hour. I wonder if doc is correct and it’s my anxiety. Wouldn’t you think GPs would have been advised of this possibility? They have all said tests were very specific as I told first doc that I feared cirrhosis.

[Peter_Plymouth in reply to Worriesalot]

Well, that could all be good news - if they have done the liver panel and your U&Es that's a pretty clear picture of your liver and kidney health.

If you wanted reassurance you could ask your doctor to go through the results with you - this would at least put your mind at rest that they all within normal values. Does your GP have an online system? If so you could look up your own results and see for yourself is anything is not at its reference value.

There is some very useful information here at the NHS site

nhs.uk/conditions/alcohol-r...

It even states that sometimes liver tests can be normal at various stages of liver disease - there are more details in the article.

You need to talk to your GP about your concerns and try to get them on side and help you - ask if not liver then what is making me feel poorly?

GP's are very much the gatekeepers so somehow you need to find a friendly and sympathetic GP. You are entitled to see your records the GP has of you and as a last resort you could request a print out of your records and then you'd know what tests had been done and what the results were.

Good luck and I hope you manage to get reassurance about your health and that all really is well - then you'll be able to stop worrying and just carry on with your life.

Peter

[Peter_Plymouth in reply to Worriesalot]

One thing I forgot - the British Liver Trust has trained nurses you can call for a confidential chat - they may be able to help you or point you in the right direction.

[Worriesalot in reply to Peter_Plymouth]

Thank you Peter, have had chat with lovely nurse, she says ask for scan, I did and doc refused, says the hospital will refuse because there’s nothing to scan. To be honest, I feel better than I did but not right in the old bowel department, could be my body reacting to 2 months abstinence! Thanks again Peter