My suppliment usage and a bad liver panel

OK--that goes right to the top of my "things I REALLY need to know" list. Thanks! Since you posted your reply, I've read your article regarding DMAE and I've decided to completely remove it from my supplement mix. I had originally included it in an attempt to work on a Ritalin-free approach to dealing with my ADD.

Again, many thanks for the heads up!!!


Strateg0s-
My doctor has blood work done once a year as part of my general health care. In the past my panels have always come back fine (using the prescription meds and working out). As this is only my second PH cycle, I've had no "baseline" test taken immediately prior to beginning my first cycle and thus they were my major concern. If the test on Thursday doesn’t look good, I'll show her my supp. list, including 6OXO and brace myself to the disapproving looks

Ronn

Back off on that Beta Carotene.

See below:


From: http://nutritionfocus.com/nutrition_supplementation/vitamins/beta-carotene.html#7

BETA CAROTENE - SIGNS OF TOXICITY
50,000 IU's (provitamin A) daily may be toxic, 18,500 IU's (provitamin A) daily for 1-3 months toxic for infants, 25,000 IU's (provitamin A) can produce liver damage, large doses lead to anemia and gout, anemia, blurred vision, bone pain, diarrhea, fatigue, gout, hair loss, headaches, irregular periods, liver enlargement, nausea, vomiting. Prolonged excessive intake results in abnormalities in skin, eyes, and mucous membranes, blurred vision, bone fragility, deep bone pain, enlargement of liver and spleen, reduced thyroid activity, skin rashes, thickening of long bones. If toxicity is detected, the symptoms will disappear in a few days after the vitamin is withdrawn. (An International Unit (IU) of Vitamin A is equivalent to 0.6 mcg of beta-Carotene)

Additionally, ingestion alcohol exacerbates any toxic effects.


You should consider backing off all that DMAE as well.

Err...i was under the impression that it was not a hormone...

Right there may be your problem. Did you take it the day before the test?? I was taking presciption anti-inflammatories (=about 1000mg of ibuprofen/day) and took them about 4 pm the day before my bloodwork. Tested the next morning (fasting) & my liver values came back 4.5-5 times the normal levels. I stopped taking it & took milk thistle and retested a month later & was right back in line.

Doc said any anti-inflamatories can bump your liver levels way up while on them. That's why it says dont take for more than 7-10 days on the bottle.

Just my experience for what it's worth.

"What is interesting about the 5AR inhibition caused by saw palmetto is that it is prostate-specific. Not only does saw palmetto inhibit both types of 5AR in the prostate but not in other tested tissues (epididymis, testes, kidney, skin, and breast) in vitro [20], the active ingredients of saw palmetto concentrate in the prostate as opposed to other tissues after oral administration to rats [21]. This is in line with human studies indicating that saw palmetto extract preferentially reduces prostatic DHT and does not alter plasma DHT or sex hormone levels [9, 22-23]. This explains the lack of side effects in clinical trials. It also means that saw palmetto is unlikely to prevent hair loss."


--Ripped from article on site.