Milk thistle

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many
many Member Posts: 254
edited June 2014 in Stage III Breast Cancer

My wife's USg showed fatty liver and our natural herbalist told us to take milk thistle (200) ( silymarin)twice a day she is on tamoxifen , can she take milk thistle as.i have read few reports that tamoxifen interacts with silymarinn Plz guide me if it is safe to take milk thistle with tamoxifen

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  • Moderators
    Moderators Member Posts: 25,912
    edited September 2012

    many, the main Breastcancer.org site recommends checking with your doctor before taking milk thistle, as it can interact with some chemotherapy drugs, and some extracts may increase estrogen levels. Milk Thistle info. is at this link.

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  • many
    many Member Posts: 254
    edited September 2012

    thank you Moderators

    but i need to know and understand if Milk Thistle can be taken with Tamoxifen( Nolvadex) or not

    plz guide

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  • Kathleen26
    Kathleen26 Member Posts: 210
    edited September 2012

    I did a lot of research because for a while my doctor suspected I had fatty liver, but it was finally ruled out.

    From what I've read I would not recommend it.  You should talk to your doctor but I'll bet s/he says no in combination with tamoxifen.   There's little to no evidence that it will have any effect on the fatty liver anyway so there's really no reason to risk an interaction issue.   I'm a lot more afraid of breast cancer than I am of fatty liver.

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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited September 2012

    As soon as I wake up I have a tall warm glass of water and fresh squeezed lemon juice - it helps your liver produce bile and clear out toxins and fat (it is also good for your lymphatic system which is good for us who have had nodes out).

    If you google "Warm water and lemon juice in the morning" you'll get a hundred sites which will explain it better and some medical sites which will explain it more thoroughly.

    I highly recommend it - it's helped with my liver function. Like Kathleen26, I'm a lot more concerned about BC but I'm a big believer in looking after my whole body (organ by organ) to help it fight the cancer and to protect it (as best I can) from unwanted damage from the chemo and medications I'm taking between rounds like Tamoxifen.

    Hope it helps.

    Amanda

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  • jenn333
    jenn333 Member Posts: 178
    edited September 2012

    I specifically asked my UCLA integrative oncologist whether milk thistle could be taken with tamoxifen (I wanted to use it for its liver-protective effects).  She had to research the question but got back to me and told me it was safe.  I decided not to take it in the end because my liver function is fine (so far, touch wood) and I wanted to reduce my supplement load.

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