Milk Thistle

[michelew]

I bought two bottles of milk thistle (600 mg capsules), after having learned from all of you, how beneficial it is for the liver. I've been hesitant to use it,as I'm not sure how much, and how often I should give it to my son.

 

He has been on heavy antibiotics for going on 6 months, and we've recently started giving him ibuprofen, so I would like to give him a supplement to help his liver, but I wasn't sure how much, and when I should give it to him (should I give it 2 hours after the abx, for example?). I have read that it can sometimes interfere with the effectiveness of certain medications, so I want to make sure it doesn't stop the antibiotics & ibuprofen from doing their jobs.

 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks! Michele

[LNN]

I've not seen anything higher than 300 mg, so I can't really advise on 600mg. My kids and I take (1) 300mg capsule each at dinner. I don't think time of day matters. Milk thistle helps clear toxins and can change the way your liver metabolizes certain drugs. In some cases, it slows down the metabolism and therefore you can end up with a greater concentration of a medication than intended and in other cases, it could speed up the metabolism of a drug and you could end up with too little. Most of the antibiotics I've looked at in conjunction with MT end up in the former category, so you end up with a bit more abx in the system. But to be safe, google your particular list of meds + milk thistle to check. We take ours at the same time as abx, but if you were concerned, you could take it at the same times as probiotics instead.

 

From Univ of MD http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/milk-thistle-000266.htm

 

Several scientific studies suggest that substances in milk thistle (especially a flavonoid called silymarin) protect the liver from toxins, including certain drugs such as acetaminophen (Tylenol), which can cause liver damage in high doses. Silymarin has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, and it may help the liver repair itself by growing new cells.

Possible Interactions:

 

If you are being treated with any of the following medications, you should not use milk thistle without first talking to your health care provider.

 

Antipsychotics -- includes butyrophenones (such as haloperidol) and phenothiazines (such as chlorpromazine, fluphenazine, and promethazine)

Phenytoin(Dilantin) -- a medication used for seizures

Halothane -- a medication used during general anesthesia

Birth control pills or hormone replacement therapy

 

Milk thistle may interfere with the following medications, because both milk thistle and these medications are broken down by the same liver enzymes:

 

Allergy drugs -- such as fexofenadine (Allegra)

Drugs for high cholesterol -- including statins such as lovastatin (Mevacor, Altocor)

Antianxiety drugs -- including alprazolam (Xanax), diazepam (Valium), and lorazepam (Ativan)

Antiplatelet and anticoagulant drugs (blood thinners) -- including clopidogrel (Plavix) and warfarin (Coumadin)

Some cancer drugs

Drugs broken down by the liver -- because milk thistle works on the liver, it may affect drugs broken down by the liver, of which there are many. Speak with your health care provider.

 

Again - the word "interfere" means that it can either speed up or slow down the metabolism of these drugs. So it's not necessarily that milk thistle makes them not work at all, but rather that the dosing ends up being "off" one way or the other.

[colleendonny]

So, is milk thistle recommended for our children who take a lot antibiotics? I know probiotics is.recommended,.but wasn't sure about milk thistle...

[michelew]

So, is milk thistle recommended for our children who take a lot antibiotics? I know probiotics is.recommended,.but wasn't sure about milk thistle...

[michelew]

Colleen-I learned that it's excellent for the liver, thanks to the smart Mommas on this forum. This is important, since we know that our kids' livers are most likely being taxed with all of the antibiotics they're taking.

 

Michele