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Milk Thistle (Silymarin) for Liver Protection?

I have just received my latest BCR result and am pleased to report that it remains at a healthy ZERO (that's two years now!). However, I was told of some evidence of liver stress (high enzyme count?) which may be simply due to me having a bad stomach when my blood sample was taken. I will be having another test soon to see if it has returned to normal.

My wife has suggested that I take Milk Thistle which is widely used to help maintain a healthy liver. I wondered if any fellow CML sufferers have any experience of using Milk Thistle or Silymarin. As Imatinib does stress the liver it would seem to be a sensible thing to take.

Does anyone have any relevant experience or knowledge about the compatability of Silymarin and Gleevec?

Hi John,
I would say your wife has it right. Milk thistle has not been contra-indicated with Glivec, and lots of people with high liver enzymes have found it really useful.
Good to hear you remain at zero ;o)
I had my 3 monthly appt. at HH today and 5 years on (October 20th) from my STC I am negative for bcr/abl and have a healthy cbc. ;o))

Sandy