Acupuncture and Herbs from a chinese Dr Medicine/ naturopath together with Ursofalk

[Tramezzini]

Hi PBC friends

i went to a acupuncturist and a dr in Chinese medicine

He knows a lot about autoimmune diseases and recommended me to take two herbs and that they would work very good with the ursofalk

anyone has similar experience?

thank you

[Odieweb]

I go to a chinese doctor regularly mainly for accupuncture but she sometimes prescribes herbs. I take other supplements as well. My liver specialist supported all the other supplements but said she couldn't comment on the Chinese herbs. I've had no ill effects from them and look and feel well, considering.

[nonnies in reply to Odieweb]

Which herbs do you take?

[Tramezzini in reply to Odieweb]

what herbs did you get? Do you also take urso? Where is your condition at? Do you have scarring, NAFL etc

[2bear in reply to Odieweb]

hi can u say what herbs was recommended.

[genj65]

I NEED MIRIACLES FOR ITCHING MY LIFE IS RUINED I WILL EVENTUALLY HAVE TO STOP WORKING 😔

[butterflyEi in reply to genj65]

Sorry to read this genj65 I had chronic itching. After trial and error I now take Rifampicin, Gabapentin, Sertraline and S-Adenosyl-L-Methionine (SAMe), I have removed all processed sugars from my diet but I still eat fruit. Some people who have intractable itch will only find relief after transplantation. I hope you can find a balance of medicine/s that will bring you relief.

[ujackson679 in reply to genj65]

I have to take sertraline 100pmg every day to stop the itching from driving me around the twist I hope this helps

[genj65 in reply to ujackson679]

Thx I've tr7ed serialize 100mg for 3 months didn't help my itching..

[ujackson679 in reply to genj65]

Try sertraline it's the only thing that helps me it does make me feel subdued in mood but I would prefer that to the intensity of the itching

[danaLL]

Earlier this year I started seeing an acupuncturist regularly who specializes in gastro. The day after I first saw her I had almost all normal labs (except slightly elevated alk phos) for the first time since I was diagnosed with PBC in 2010 and AIH in 2018. She did give me an herbal medication but it seems to have negatively impacted my labs so my hep told me stop stop ASAP. With what little research I could do (it’s all in Chinese) it has risks for people with fibrosis/scarring, which I do. Everyone is different, but when I was hospitalized for Covid in 2021 and could not take my medication with me, I stopped taking all supplements and my hep even dropped my Imuran from 150/day to 100. Since then my labs have continued to improve and I was able to get off my steroids and stay at the 100 mg dose of Imuran. I take no supplements, but regularly do deep tissue massage, acupuncture, infrared light therapy, Pilates and just generally try to be as good to my body as possible, especially keeping stress levels low. Everyone is different but I hope you find this helpful.

[Tramezzini in reply to danaLL]

thank you for sharing

I didn’t take any herbs as i am too scared, even though he said it is ok, but was curious if anyone has had any good outcome.

[islandanonymous]

I wouldn't take anything other than what my doctor recommends. I had a very bad experience with Chinese so-called herbal medication...in fact, it's quite likely it caused my cirrhosis in the first place. I had taken something called Jin Bu Huan for about 10 years (for insomnia). I found out that it had been banned in Canada about two years before I stopped taking it because it was found to cause liver, nerve and brain damage. Great.

Many years later I saw an herbalist who recommended a combo of herbs. I specifically asked if it was safe for someone with liver disease. She assured me it was. It had comfrey in it, and as it turns out, this can be toxic for the liver.

So I don't trust anyone or anything anymore without careful research. People can make all kinds of claims.