Just diagnosed with pbc

[Franky007]

Hi I am wondering if anyone uses Isagenix to help with energy levels instead of taking all the vitamins.

Or is anyone juicing?

If yes to either have they helped with fatigue?

[jimbo1952]

Juiclng

[Hidden]

Why are you taking vitamins for energy levels?

[Hidden]

Hello Franky007.

Have you been informed that you are lacking in certain vitamins at all. Either due to PBC or not. I know back in 2010 the year I was diagnosed I had a full vitamin and mineral check and mine were shown to be fine at the time. I have odd times been slightly lower in ferritin (iron) so have had short courses of iron, my last one was end 2013. I've since been fine. I had a Vitamin D check at diagnosis and it was said to be 'a bit low, but not bad' and the reading was on the line. A recheck 6 months later proved it to be perfectly normal but we had just gone through summer in the UK so I made as much use of the sun as I could when we had sunny days.

Personally I am a bit dubious about attempting certain supplements and herbal remedies unless they have been something that has been used over time. Milk thistle is reputed to be good for the liver and I have had my own experimenting but can't say it made any difference to the bloods.

Unfortunately for some fatigue and less energy seems to come from having PBC. I never thought anything of it back in 2010 but I was suffering from fatigue quite badly. But after starting urso Dec 2010 and making as much of a change to lifestyle as I could at some point during 2011 the fatigue left me. I do get tired later afternoon frequently due to broken sleep during the night as I itch at night.

I find that in the winter in the UK energy levels in even normal people can slump so I expect it will feel that bit more leaden to us with PBC.

Now I have been an advocate of juicing and blending for quite some years but I wouldn't say it was every day thinking about it. I tend to use one for fruit that is starting to get ripe and that won't get eaten otherwise. I do own a hand blender, a juicer and also a citrus juicer. Simple cheap gadgets that I use on their own or use to make a smoothie type drink utilising the 3 in one use.

I did however see a programme on tv beginning this week and it was stating the sugar in fruit when juiced alters and becomes something known as extrinisic sugar, due to the processing. It was stated it can be a bit heavier going on the liver due to the concentration so it has made me have a rethink. I do like raw fruit and vegetables and apparently raw fruit is best eaten that way due to the sugar being natural and known as intrinsic.

I will however still use my citrus juicer for grapefruit, lemon, limes and oranges. Yes I k now some out there will say grapefruit hasn't to be consumed with certain meds but for urso there isn't anything I've read there (patient info leaflet) regarding grapefruit so I will have them odd times (saying this probably only juice a grapefruit half a dozen times a year anyway).

Hope some of this has helped.

[Franky007 in reply to Hidden]

Thank you for the reply, I am still learning as this is all so new to me. Can I ask you what you did regarding lifexstyle changes? I am trying to drink more water and excersise. I just started urso. I am also Gluten free and dairy free so I have to take vitamins. It has also been a very cloudy winter. So my dr told me to take vitamin D. I am going to start juicing, trying this to see if I even like it. I am getting a bone density scan to see where things are at. All I know is that've shad been a whirl wind and ant insight I can get will help me understand all this. Hope you are doing ok and again appreciate your reply.

[Hidden in reply to Franky007]

Hello Franky007.

Well in early 2010 I was working as a full-time Acting Manager in a small shop. I was running single-handed due to my colleague being on sick leave for 6 months. Time off was scant and I found myself going in much earlier than opening time of 9a.m (sometimes 7.30a.m) in an attempt to catch up on what tasks were to be completed that day. Sometimes I found myself there until gone 6p.m. when we closed at 5p.m. I struggled for cover from other shops in the county and when I started itching early March I just thought it was due to overworking. I was fatigued at the time but didn't think much of it. I was 45 at the time and thought the itch was due to stresses and strains.

I had met up with my husband only 14mths prior and we married May 2009 and before our first anniversary I was itching and in the GP system for at the time this unknown problem.

When my colleague returned to work July, I managed to get just 10 days holiday off work. My hsuband and I took off on a holiday in Yorkshire camping and for part of the holiday I was just flaked out. He took it upon himself to say enough was enough, he'd seen me go from an easy-going domestic part-time job to full-time manager and said it was taking its toll. He has a pretty decent job, I own my house (I was a widow for many years prior to remarriage) and he suggested that I finish on my return. That took some deliberation but by the end of the holiday I decided I would quit. Two months later I had finished my job nad still didn't know I had PBC. I found out I had PBC early Dec 2010 and started urso.

I was asked to return voluntarily to a local Hospice charity shop where I had worked for over a decade in-between paid employment and I did do that. I am fortunate that I have a small pension from my former late husband for life so I do have some income.

My husband took some time to make changes along with me but one thing he decided he wasn't going anywhere. We took the decision that as we will never know how it will go with PBC we would enjoy what freetime we get together and make the most of everything.

I was never much of an alcohol drinker so I didn't have any following my first abnormal LFTs early 2010. (I did have a small drop of whisky in a pot of tea over the festive season when it was cold, a rarity.) I always tried to keep a check on what I was consuming and I don't buy foods with MSG in it for eg., nor do I have artificial sweeteners (to me you might as well just have the sugar version). I go for quality over quantity.

I try to have a pretty routine sort of say eating. I don't overfill a plate with food as I know I'll struggle to eat it all. It's said in PBC to eat little and often. I find for myself I feel better eating at certain intervals. I have breakfast (usually a basic supermarket equivalent of our Weetabix or porridge) and then an hour later I tend to have something else like toast or a few dry biscuits with a coffee. I did read that coffee is supposedly good for liver boost so I have 2 cups a day. I was never a big coffee drinker anyway but I feel it somehow helps.

I try to cook our meals from scratch or know what is in the food we are eating. I also eat fresh fruit and vegetables too.

Some say that gluten-free is a good thing. I have tried due to my grown-up son having a bowel problem a few years ago (it was temporary - thought to be due to over-use of antibiotics), can't say for me it made much difference to the LFTs or how I feel with PBC.

I believe the itch can be controlled to a certain level but not altogether if you are on urso for PBC. I have over the last 4yrs noted how I've been at times when the itch hasn't been as severe and I know it is due to digestion. One reason I find I feel better if I have a cut-off of food following the evening meal. I think then the system can get to work finishing digestion and I feel I then get a break from the itch. I tend to find the itch has gone around 5a.m. and I seem OK until around 7p.m. when I start to feel a few prickles. By 9p.m. I know I am going to start itching and then at 11p.m. I do know I am.

I used to juice and blend and even make smoothies myself. I recently saw a programme on tv about sugar and 2 descriptions - intrinsic and extrinsic - were mentioned. Apparently fruit contains intrinsic sugar due to it being in a natural state. Once you juice a fruit or process it the sugar breaks up and becomes extrinsic which I have read it can be a bit heftier on the liver. More than likely due to a more concentrated form of sugar. Figures to me as doubt I for one would be able to consume 3 apples say in one sitting but juiced a different matter. I'll continue to just juice citrus over the weekend now, my apples are going to be in the raw form.

I did read that there is Vitamin D in oranges. I keep a tub of skimmed powdered milk in my food cupboard so I have for tea/coffee if I run out of the skimmed liquid milk. This has added Vitamin D in it as well as A. In winter if there is sun out and I am out and about, I will take it slower to walk home so I can absorb a bit more of the rays in the hope that it can boost my Vitamin D levels over the winter months.

[Sonia40]

Hi, I never took anything for

Fatigue, however I have been drinking fresh lemon juice with maple syrup and a little cayenne pepper, this is widely known as a cleanse, add this with water and I've sipped it all day between healthy meals. And I must admit my energy levels are amazing, I have more get up and go. But if you google master cleanse lemon and maple syrup, it does say helps with fatigue .

[Hidden in reply to Sonia40]

Hello Sonia40.

Yes I've heard that lemokn is supposed to a good system cleanser. Apparently if a fresh squeezed lemon is added to hot water in the morning first thing and drank it is supposed to be beneficial.

Maybe it is the fact that lemon is somehow washing through the system and in turn aids the liver in what it does.

I have lemon freshly squeezed with grapefruit also freshly squeezed and oranges the same way too with breakfast over the weekend. I bought a cheap citrus juicer and have found it to be a good bonus.

Expect the maple syrup is that instant energy boost so if taken throughout the day that rush of sugar is perhaps where it can help with fatigue.

[RoseM]

I've been using Iasagenix shakes and bars for a year now......cholesterol better....liver functions not the worst I've had but we think they are not so good as the Ursofalk may no longer be working. Not sure if this is helpful.

Fatigue is erratic......