Milk Thistle

[jasregadoo]

I have seen Milk Thistle suggested as being helpful in detoxing. I found the following on WebMD, which suggests to me that if you take Milk Thistle, you may want to take it a couple of hours away from other drugs, as it can interfere with drugs that are broken down by the liver. Anyone with knowledge of this?

Medications changed by the liver (Cytochrome P450 2C9 (CYP2C9) substrates) interacts with MILK THISTLE
Some medications are changed and broken down by the liver.
Milk thistle might decrease how quickly the liver breaks down some medications. Taking milk thistle along with some medications that are broken down by the liver can increase the effects and side effects of some medications. Before taking milk thistle talk to your healthcare provider if you take any medications that are changed by the liver.
Some medications that are changed by the liver include amitriptyline (Elavil), diazepam (Valium), zileuton (Zyflo), celecoxib (Celebrex), diclofenac (Voltaren), fluvastatin (Lescol), glipizide (Glucotrol), ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin), irbesartan (Avapro), losartan (Cozaar), phenytoin (Dilantin), piroxicam (Feldene), tamoxifen (Nolvadex), tolbutamide (Tolinase), torsemide (Demadex), warfarin (Coumadin), and others.

Medications changed by the liver (Glucuronidated Drugs) interacts with MILK THISTLE
The body breaks down some medications to get rid of them. The liver helps break down these medications. Taking milk thistle might affect how well the liver breaks down drugs. This could increase or decrease how well some of these medications work.
Some of these medications changed by the liver include acetaminophen, atorvastatin (Lipitor), diazepam (Valium), digoxin, entacapone (Comtan), estrogen, irinotecan (Camptosar), lamotrigine (Lamictal), lorazepam (Ativan), lovastatin (Mevacor), meprobamate, morphine, oxazepam (Serax), and others.

[PhilC]

Hi Julie,
@jasregadoo wrote:

I have seen Milk Thistle suggested as being helpful in detoxing.

Milk thistle helps protect the liver. That’s its primary purpose.

@jasregadoo wrote:

I found the following on WebMD, which suggests to me that if you take Milk Thistle, you may want to take it a couple of hours away from other drugs, as it can interfere with drugs that are broken down by the liver. Anyone with knowledge of this?

I don’t go to any trouble of keeping milk thistle separate from any drugs. In fact, when I take ibuprofen, I take it with milk thistle in order to help protect my liver from the ibuprofen. When I don’t take ibuprofen, I take one capsule of milk thistle after breakfast.

If I were taking a potentially dangerous drug, one which an overdose of could have serious consequences, then I would be more careful (if there’s an interaction between that drug and milk thistle). I am not worried about taking ibuprofen and milk thistle together since my dose of ibuprofen is low (200 mg), and I don’t take it every day. If the ibuprofen breaks down more slowly its effectiveness would last longer, and that’s not a problem for me (it’s a benefit).

Phil

"Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth."
- Albert Einstein

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