6 replies to this topic

[mdszj]

All

 

Thought some people may be interested in this.  For about the last couple years my AST numbers have been slowly creeping up and reached a new high of 60 U/L (ref range is 10-35 U/L) in March 2015, as measured by Quest Lab.  My ALT was high also (48 U/L vs ref range of 9-46 U/L). 

 

In my last visit in April, my local hemo told me if my AST hits 90 he is going to cut my Sprycel dose.  So then I decided to start taking turmeric and have been taking about 2-3 teaspoons total every day, with a little black pepper and olive oil.

 

I just got my latest blood numbers back in June 2015 and my AST was 33, and ALT was 24.  My PCR is still at 0.00% IS, so it did not interfere with that.

 

Now I am thinking of starting to take the daily curcumin pills like Scuba does.  Unfortunately the turmeric concoction I mix up with water tastes really bad and I have gotten sick of it real fast.

 

ALso there seem to be a ton of papers on curcumin and its prevention effects on various cancers (blood, GI, etc).  This is good, as I was just diagnosed with smoldering myeloma this past January 2015.  However, at this time it does not require any treatment (just monitoring) and so far it appears to be stable so that is good.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Trey]

No one can say for certain, but most blood counts tend to normalize over time anyway while taking TKI drugs. 

[kat73]

Mine have fluctuated over the years, but mostly stay normal.  Doc doesn't seem to worry at all.  60 and 48 are not high enough for his concern, but mine have been there, like yours.  Obviously, if there's a sustained trend upward of that, you'd want to look into it.

[scuba]

All

 

Thought some people may be interested in this.  For about the last couple years my AST numbers have been slowly creeping up and reached a new high of 60 U/L (ref range is 10-35 U/L) in March 2015, as measured by Quest Lab.  My ALT was high also (48 U/L vs ref range of 9-46 U/L). 

 

In my last visit in April, my local hemo told me if my AST hits 90 he is going to cut my Sprycel dose.  So then I decided to start taking turmeric and have been taking about 2-3 teaspoons total every day, with a little black pepper and olive oil.

 

I just got my latest blood numbers back in June 2015 and my AST was 33, and ALT was 24.  My PCR is still at 0.00% IS, so it did not interfere with that.

 

Now I am thinking of starting to take the daily curcumin pills like Scuba does.  Unfortunately the turmeric concoction I mix up with water tastes really bad and I have gotten sick of it real fast.

 

ALso there seem to be a ton of papers on curcumin and its prevention effects on various cancers (blood, GI, etc).  This is good, as I was just diagnosed with smoldering myeloma this past January 2015.  However, at this time it does not require any treatment (just monitoring) and so far it appears to be stable so that is good.

 

Don't tell Trey this - he thinks Curcumin/Turmeric is voodoo magic potion suitable for Dominican vacation rituals.

 

The Curcumin in the Turmeric is what is normalizing your liver enzymes. It is extraordinarily good for the liver. Silymarin is good for your liver as well (and NO, Trey, Silymarin is not the name of a senior rock group - don't confuse it for Sily Marin).

 

You might consider taking your concoction (the way you mixed it is excellent by the way) and mixing it with food (topping over veggies). That might make it taste better.

 

p.s. Once I started taking Curcumin some years ago, my liver enzymes became rock solid in the middle of the range. Not a blip of any kind since ...

[mdszj]

Thx to everybody who replied to this.post.

 

Scuba - I thought I saw a post of yours where you said that the curcumin also made your hemoglobin or hematocrit numbers improve into the normal range.  Both of mine are usually a little low but have never been a problem.

 

ALso what is the brand of curcumin you take?

 

thx

[Billie Murawski]

I'm on Plavix and aspirin for another problem If I ever had to go on a blood thinner like coumadin or xarelto  if I ever took curcumin I would bleed very bad if I just nicked myself.

[scuba]

Thx to everybody who replied to this.post.

 

Scuba - I thought I saw a post of yours where you said that the curcumin also made your hemoglobin or hematocrit numbers improve into the normal range.  Both of mine are usually a little low but have never been a problem.

 

ALso what is the brand of curcumin you take?

 

thx

 

Curcumin has no effect on hemoglobin or hematocrit numbers in people that I am aware. Curcumin is an iron chelator, in fact, and for people with very low iron stores, could increase anemia risk:

 

http://www.bloodjour...so-checked=true

 

"Collectively, these results demonstrate that curcumin has the potential to affect systemic iron metabolism. There are 2 important implications of these results. First, iron chelators have been shown to exert antitumor effects, both through the formation of redox-active iron complexes55 and by iron depletion.24 Thus, reduction in systemic iron resulting from the use of curcumin in the setting of a low-iron diet may contribute to the anticancer activity of curcumin. Second, curcumin may have the potential to contribute to the development of anemia in patients with marginal iron status. This may be an important consideration when curcumin is used to treat patients with marginal or depleted iron stores or those exhibiting the anemia of cancer and chronic disease."

 

Men are not as susceptible to this as women. Men, in fact, if meat eaters, usually have too much iron and Curcumin is a great modulator of excess liver iron stores and has been proven to be very effective at protecting the Liver (http://www.ncbi.nlm....pubmed/24063989) in general.

 

My hemoglobin and hematocrit numbers were always below normal (along with RBC's) during my Sprycel days. Once I stopped Sprycel, my hematocrit and hemoglobin numbers started to rise and are now in the normal range. I continued to take Curcumin throughout. I would not associate taking Curcumin with improving my hematocrit or hemoglobin numbers. Stopping Sprycel did that for me. My RBC's are still below normal, but have been rising - getting very close to normal for the first time since I started this adventure.

 

The article above cites research done on mice. My wife, who does not have CML, has a solid CBC panel with red blood markers in solid middle of the scale normal. She also takes Curcumin as I do, although in a lower dose. There has been no affect on her CBC's. 

 

I'll PM you on what I take.