Good news from OSU with lab results back to normal including all my liver tests for my CLL (chronic lymphocytic leukemia) Ibrutinib Trial

As some of my readers may know, my liver tests were slightly elevated and then climbed a little higher on a second blood test 3 weeks later for no good reason.

Spoiler alert: they are back to normal, and not barely normal but back into the low teens again.

I refuse to take any blame for why they rose (I don't drink, have no known toxic exposures, take no high risk drugs, have not been sick, and have a very low risk lifestyle for any type of hepatitis), but I will take all the credit (along with my wife) as to why my transaminases normalized.

Before I share what I did with my wife's help, please understand I am not recommended this for anyone else. Your mileage may vary. Please check with your doc before making any changes.

So what did I do?

First I stopped Co-Q10 that my dentist recommended- that didn't seem to help. They continued to climb.

Next I stopped verapamil for my blood pressure- it can significantly raise the blood levels of ibrutinib, but ibrutinib has a very wide therapeutic margin so I am not sure a high level is a bad thing. Anyway, it is not associated with liver inflammation as are other kinase inhibitors such as idelalisib.

My BP is fine off the drug as I suspected, so I am staying off.

Next I started adding fresh home ground and juiced organic turmeric and ginger and garlic to my usual daily green juices. And I noshed on some dark chocolate covered coffee beans (better than the Gershon method of liver detox by coffee enema). Word to the wise: some of these herbs can have a mild blood thinning effect.

My spicy concoction should cure what ails you, whatever ever it is.

And just to be sure, I added in some organic milk thistle tablets whose liver calming effects are celebrated in the alternative medicine world and doubted in allopathic circles. However, they all agree it is pretty safe. I think the data is convincing that it works for some liver issues.

Would my tests have fallen on their own? Probably, but I'll never know and it's empowering to do something as long as it's safe and approved by your treatment team.

My other lab results were good too.

My CBC remains healthy with no anemia, and no real abnormalities. My ALC (absolute lymphocyte count) was 2.1 which is high for me, but is in the bottom half of the normal range.

The rest of my chemistries were good except for a mild elevation of the LDH that is not worth worrying about. It is trending down and is just a touch high.

The fancy tests that may carry heavy prognostic import are pending and will be for weeks.

I am talking about my flow cytometry and the special testing for the mutations that might lead to ibrutinib resistance.

There will be more to share as more results come in, but I wanted to rush out my good news.