Hi SF and welcome to our group,
Where are you being treated? California is home to two of the Comprehensive Care Centers (Oakland and LA), and the best care is available there. With that said, I am sure that even those doctors would recommend interferon/ribavrin treatment for hepatitis. However, I know far too many patients who have tried this treatment, only to find that the treatment's side effects were too harsh to continue (Lisa, our founder, was in this group who could not handle the side effects), or that the treatment flat out did not work (Poirot). On the other hand, I know many patients around the world that have kept hepatitis under control with natural methods, with milk thistle and nigella being the main herbs used in this treatment. Both are common herbs. Nigella is commonly used in cooking (I've been using nigella seeds in soup instead of various masala mixtures-yes, I am an American and use these spices...LOL...and no, I don't use nigella for its medicinal value...it just tastes really good!) Did your stomach quiet down? I can't see any reason it would make you feel a burning (acid?) feeling, as it is a commonly used spice. I would not recommend taking it on an empty stomach though, as most any herb is concentrated enough that it isn't something to take by itself. Did you mix it with honey? And a side note for people wanting to use nigella. Try it as a spice. You get both its medicinal value and it is a great spice. I am so glad to have learned about it, thanks to Ambareen. If you use it as a spice, you can skip taking it separately for that day, too.
Milk thistle has a long standing history of use in hepatitis. I know at least 3 Aussies who have used it to keep hepatitis in check and they have done well. Our member, Aston Dialo, uses it and his hep has been under control for years. It is an extremely mild herb with its only known side effect being that of a mild laxative, which for most iron overloaded people, is a blessing, as iron causes constipation. Milk thistle is easily available in the US from numerous vitamin and herb companies. I am biased towards Puritan because they have great quality products at very good prices. You can see milk thistle at this link.
http://www.puritan.com/herbal-supplements-005/milk-thistle-250-mg-004548Now, your doctors may scoff at herbal treatments, but I do actually know far more patients who have had success with the herbal route than who have succeeded using interferon and they also avoid the horrible side effects of interferon. I would give this a good try before doing anything else, imcluding an invasive liver biopsy. Yes biopsy is usually safe, but again I am biased, as a friend of mine was one of those who are that minimal one per cent statistic, where complications arose after a liver biopsy. His liver biopsy unleashed an embolism (blood clot) which killed him the next day. He was only 30. I know the risk is low and many patients have no pain (many do) but unless absolutely necessary, any invasive procedure should be avoided, as there is always a small risk.
Colostrum may have some promise as an immune system booster, which would be good as you battle hepatitis. It is safe to use with everything. It is the most natural food, as it comes from mother's milk.
There is a complicating factor with hepatitis in thalassemics and that is iron overload. Iron deposits decrease liver function, so when battling hepatitis, you must also battle iron overload. If your iron levels are high, you need to make a commitment to aggressive chelation. No herb or drug can work as well as it should if your liver does not function well, so removing iron has to be part of the battle. Our member dallaschick, who is also originally from Pakistan and now in Texas, slacked on chelation and found herself in the ICU with congestive heart failure. Using a combination of desferal and Exjade, she was able to reverse this and is now doing quite well. Although this is not officially approved, I do know a few people who have used this combination with no adverse affects, and with a good effect on lowering their iron levels. One other aspect of this is that even when iron levels are too high, you can offer your organs some protection by using antioxidants like IP6 and vitamin E. They do help to protect your cells from iron oxidation and the related damage. Sharmin's son is our poster boy for the positive effects of antioxidants and the use of these antioxidants in her son has been credited by none other than Oakland's Dr Eliot Vichinsky (in my opinion, THE top thal doctor in the world) as having protected her son even in the face of weekly transfusions brought on by an autoantibody issue.
Please continue to read through the appropriate threads on this site. There is much information that can help you lead a healthy life. Using natural methods to improve one's health is very important for thalassemics, as thals are deficient in almost all the major vitamins and minerals and do need to supplement to counter this. This isn't the same as it is for non-thals. As a non-thal I do feel that supplements greatly improve my health, but thals have serious deficiencies that cannot be corrected by diet alone. This is a fact. Dy Vichinsky is a leader in the research that has shown the importance of supplementation and has incorporated it as part of the comprehensive care guidelines that the comprehensive centers are supposed to be following. Some other vitamins to consider are vitamin D (maybe the most important of all) and magnesium. Magnesium is far more important than recognized and if you are taking calcium, you should also be taking both vitamin D and magnesium. Magnesium deficiency may be implicated in the development of gallstones and also lead to higher ALT results, which sometimes leads doctors to believe that hepatitis is at fault when in fact it is the gallbladder. Magnesium is needed for the walls of the red blood cells and deficiency may lead to their premature destruction.
If you are willing to make an ongoing commitment to chelation and supplements, I do believe you can avoid many problems associated with thal and also correct problems you already have. We are here to do what we can and frankly, we are proving to be far more helpful than most of the thal organizations on earth. Much of that may be due to my background in political science which has led me to avoid the many pitfalls that orgs encounter, as I learned early on, that formal organization attracts those who are obsessed with organization and rules and procedures, and to me, it's a pile. We forget that waste of time and just get down to the real matter of helping people who need help. It's what this group is all about and it is the true legacy that Lisa left us.
Please continue to ask every question that comes to mind.