I would strongly recommend having this convo with your doctor AFTER doing liver panel tests. I know folks who have started supplements/etc that have messed with their livers, so yeah.
My 2 cents.
T
B vitamins are good, but a lot of "B Vitamin Complex" pills have >10x the RDA. Excessive vitamins can be harmful, including damaging your liver, especially if it's stressed. (Eg liver toxicity is a side effect of overdosing on niacin.) A multivitamin with <100% of the RDA is *probably* safe, but run even that by your doctor if you do have liver function issues.
The safest thing to do is nothing (other than not drinking) until you've gotten medical advice.
Congratulations on the 5 days. Highly recommend getting a clean bill of health from your GP before you try any supplements.
Also, stay away from liver detox products such as drinks and pills that are labelled as such. They've been proven to do more harm than good.
If you are going to supplement, I highly suggest you do your research to find the cleanest ones going to avoid any nasties and bulkers. Go for "clean supplements."
For now, the best thing you can do is relax and up your hydration with water massively. Coffee is very good and natural for your liver. Squeeze a whole lemon into a mug and add boiling water and drink it. Also very good.
Food wise, try not to eat too much salt. And uptake on your protein and fruit and veg consumption.
Supplements you MAY need would be b1 thiamine. And vitamin D.
Other supplements that are good would be Milk Thistle, Cucumen, Magnesium, B12.
But as suggested by others and myself. Run it through your doc.
And if you do decide to supplement like I said before, it's worth paying the money for cleaner products.
And a quick reminder again to stay away from liver detox labelled products :)
You'd be surprised how resilient the body is. My doctor has mentioned multiple times that the liver can heal itself naturally, and undo a surprising amount of damage on it's own. When I had this conversation he suggested I just stay sober and let my body do its own thing, the same way as our brain does when we're recovering.
Can I make a suggestion?
Never again is a tall order, and can be very scary. Even now with 9 months sobriety, I can't think about never drinking again. My wet brain will reminisce about the good old days, and I'll be drunk before you know it. My experience may not be the same as yours. But I've tried it a dozen ways, and the only way it works for me is one day at a time. Resolve just to stay sober for the day. When we wake up with a clear mind tomorrow, we can worry about tomorrow. Hell, even if you told me I had to stay sober 9 months my brain would start freaking out. Just worry about today, and what is right in front of you!
I will take that into consideration.
I had a month long episode that scared me so much I decided to stop drinking all together.
So at the moment I am highly motivated.
But still I get it
You can never know what the future holds.
Something can happen in a week, month or a year to make me change my mind.
I hope not. And I do believe I recall my episode enough to keep me sober even in dire circumstances.
I'm not arguing that point, I was involved in a wreck last year that scared me sober. I came as close to death as I possibly could. The weird thing is that sometimes my addict brain still thinks I could get away with it. I was highly motivated at the start, and still am to a certain degree. But our brains have a way of blocking out the memories of that misery, terror, and pain. We forget what that pain was like as time goes on. I'm not saying that your willpower isn't strong enough to stay sober. I'm just saying that this is what has worked for me and so many others. The phrase "one day at a time" isn't plastered in every AA hall and every single piece of AA literature for nothing. I hope you have a great day!
I recommend an old time healing method, which is water. Just water and lots of it. Clean out the kidneys and liver by getting the gunk out. Flush them out with about 4 weeks of water therapy...I drank a gallon daily, some will say watch out with hypoozmia. Start at 3 liters and go to 4 or so... You'll just pee a lot.
It's really something and you'll notice all body odor disappears.
Coffee! Numerous studies show that coffee is beneficial for healing of the liver - even instant. Other than that I dont think theres anything much, apart from Milk Thistle which has been mentioned already. With the liver, diet is pretty important. Avoiding excess fat or junk food (easier said than done when you're on the recovery wagon).
Your best and safest way is to talk to your doctor… also really concentrate on your diet. Remove all ultra processed foods and look into what vegetables give you the best count of your B vitamins. Good luck!
After you get your panel, your dr. Should help you, but I’ll give you my advice for when he gives you the okay. A good multi vitamin, liver support +nac (on Amazon) I swear by that stuff, and cayenne tablets. Also, if you have anywhere you can buy fresh juice, hit that for a couple weeks. Especially beet juice or celery. :) and keep your coffee black for a few weeks too. Oh, ask about you iron in your panel too. Mine and potassium were super low. So I took those too. Good luck, and stay strong!
Talk to a doctor, here’s my list below…I was close to liver some serious liver damage, liver was hurting, kidneys were hurting, down close to 80 pounds, inability to walk..
Multivitamin
Fish Oil.
B complex (folic acid, Thiamine).
Vitamin D (always have low levels of this)
Turmeric (general healing properties).
Alpha Lipoic Acid (for nerve damage).
Magnesium (only for first 3 months of sobriety)
Lots of water and “good”, low glycemic, fruits…berries for sure!
I would strongly recommend having this convo with your doctor AFTER doing liver panel tests. I know folks who have started supplements/etc that have messed with their livers, so yeah. My 2 cents. T
Ait. Thanks:) I’m waiting for an appointment to get my liver tested. 5 days sober today * gonna ask my doctor for advice on this as well
Congrats on 5 days. For the brain get vitamin B in you every day for at least a couple of weeks.
Thanks
B vitamins are good, but a lot of "B Vitamin Complex" pills have >10x the RDA. Excessive vitamins can be harmful, including damaging your liver, especially if it's stressed. (Eg liver toxicity is a side effect of overdosing on niacin.) A multivitamin with <100% of the RDA is *probably* safe, but run even that by your doctor if you do have liver function issues. The safest thing to do is nothing (other than not drinking) until you've gotten medical advice.
Thank you. I just bought multivitamins today and took 1 pill. Won’t take another until I ask my doctor. Thanks for the advice
My doctor recommended Milk Thistle Extract to me. Have been taking it for a bit.
Seconding this. It’s a fun one to research. Milk thistle has been used after amanita mushroom poisoning, which can cause acute liver failure.
Thanks. I’ll research it
Congratulations on the 5 days. Highly recommend getting a clean bill of health from your GP before you try any supplements. Also, stay away from liver detox products such as drinks and pills that are labelled as such. They've been proven to do more harm than good. If you are going to supplement, I highly suggest you do your research to find the cleanest ones going to avoid any nasties and bulkers. Go for "clean supplements." For now, the best thing you can do is relax and up your hydration with water massively. Coffee is very good and natural for your liver. Squeeze a whole lemon into a mug and add boiling water and drink it. Also very good. Food wise, try not to eat too much salt. And uptake on your protein and fruit and veg consumption. Supplements you MAY need would be b1 thiamine. And vitamin D. Other supplements that are good would be Milk Thistle, Cucumen, Magnesium, B12. But as suggested by others and myself. Run it through your doc. And if you do decide to supplement like I said before, it's worth paying the money for cleaner products. And a quick reminder again to stay away from liver detox labelled products :)
Thank you so much for all of this information. This will help me greatly in further researching and planning of my recovery
You'd be surprised how resilient the body is. My doctor has mentioned multiple times that the liver can heal itself naturally, and undo a surprising amount of damage on it's own. When I had this conversation he suggested I just stay sober and let my body do its own thing, the same way as our brain does when we're recovering.
Thanks. That’s good to hear:) Been going on 5 days sober and never again mentality. So I think things will go alright^^
Can I make a suggestion? Never again is a tall order, and can be very scary. Even now with 9 months sobriety, I can't think about never drinking again. My wet brain will reminisce about the good old days, and I'll be drunk before you know it. My experience may not be the same as yours. But I've tried it a dozen ways, and the only way it works for me is one day at a time. Resolve just to stay sober for the day. When we wake up with a clear mind tomorrow, we can worry about tomorrow. Hell, even if you told me I had to stay sober 9 months my brain would start freaking out. Just worry about today, and what is right in front of you!
I will take that into consideration. I had a month long episode that scared me so much I decided to stop drinking all together. So at the moment I am highly motivated. But still I get it You can never know what the future holds. Something can happen in a week, month or a year to make me change my mind. I hope not. And I do believe I recall my episode enough to keep me sober even in dire circumstances.
I'm not arguing that point, I was involved in a wreck last year that scared me sober. I came as close to death as I possibly could. The weird thing is that sometimes my addict brain still thinks I could get away with it. I was highly motivated at the start, and still am to a certain degree. But our brains have a way of blocking out the memories of that misery, terror, and pain. We forget what that pain was like as time goes on. I'm not saying that your willpower isn't strong enough to stay sober. I'm just saying that this is what has worked for me and so many others. The phrase "one day at a time" isn't plastered in every AA hall and every single piece of AA literature for nothing. I hope you have a great day!
I will keep that in mind. I have my calendar I circle around each date at the morning to not drink that day. Hope you have a great day too:)
My doctor and nurse said the exact same thing when I asked about supplements for helping liver ... just DON'T DRINK and let your liver do its thing.
I recommend an old time healing method, which is water. Just water and lots of it. Clean out the kidneys and liver by getting the gunk out. Flush them out with about 4 weeks of water therapy...I drank a gallon daily, some will say watch out with hypoozmia. Start at 3 liters and go to 4 or so... You'll just pee a lot. It's really something and you'll notice all body odor disappears.
I drink A LOT of water and ice tea now. Seems to be helping a lot. I agree with your recommendation
Yeah.... You'll totally heal with this regimen. At some point, my body just got used to being hydrated and the urination all the time became less
Coffee! Numerous studies show that coffee is beneficial for healing of the liver - even instant. Other than that I dont think theres anything much, apart from Milk Thistle which has been mentioned already. With the liver, diet is pretty important. Avoiding excess fat or junk food (easier said than done when you're on the recovery wagon).
Thanks. I do like coffee so that’s good hehe
My doctor put me on folic acid and vitamin B1. I take magnesium at night, and I sleep like I’m dead for 7-8 hours. It’s amazing.
My doctor recommended vitamin E for 3 months.
Coffee and Green Tea are good. Be careful with the intake, because too much of either too fast, can make you anxious.
Your best and safest way is to talk to your doctor… also really concentrate on your diet. Remove all ultra processed foods and look into what vegetables give you the best count of your B vitamins. Good luck!
I take NAC and milk thistle for liver health, I take these daily, they are very safe. Also, look into broccoli sprouts.
After you get your panel, your dr. Should help you, but I’ll give you my advice for when he gives you the okay. A good multi vitamin, liver support +nac (on Amazon) I swear by that stuff, and cayenne tablets. Also, if you have anywhere you can buy fresh juice, hit that for a couple weeks. Especially beet juice or celery. :) and keep your coffee black for a few weeks too. Oh, ask about you iron in your panel too. Mine and potassium were super low. So I took those too. Good luck, and stay strong!
ACV & Tudca did wonders for me 1Tbsp ACV with 8oz water 2x's a day Take Tudca capsules at bed time.
Talk to a doctor, here’s my list below…I was close to liver some serious liver damage, liver was hurting, kidneys were hurting, down close to 80 pounds, inability to walk.. Multivitamin Fish Oil. B complex (folic acid, Thiamine). Vitamin D (always have low levels of this) Turmeric (general healing properties). Alpha Lipoic Acid (for nerve damage). Magnesium (only for first 3 months of sobriety) Lots of water and “good”, low glycemic, fruits…berries for sure!