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Katie Mohan, 57, began taking turmeric supplements to help with joint pain and inflammation, but soon began to notice she was jaundiced and did “not feel well”After seeing a news report about the dangers of herbal supplements, she sought medical care where blood work found her liver enzymes were 60 times the normal amountMohan, who was taking more than twice the recommended amount of turmeric, was hospitalized for nearly a week to receive IV treatment while her liver healed from damage caused by the pills
A woman was hospitalized — and nearly needed a liver transplant — after taking too high a dose of a popular herbal supplement.
Katie Mohan, 57, started taking turmeric pills after seeing it promoted on social media as a remedy to help with wrist pain and inflammation, the New Jersey resident told NBC News. But instead of pain relief, she said, “I just did not feel well generally.”
She told the outlet that “my urine was darker” even though she was drinking “a lot” of water daily. Mohan said she noticed “a hint of yellowness” in her skin — a sign of jaundice, which can indicate liver problems. When Mohan saw an NBC News report on the dangers of supplements, “A light bulb went off in my head and I said, ‘Oh, my gosh! I wonder if this is what’s wrong with me.’ ”
Stock image of turmeric pills.
Getty
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration does not regulate supplements and they could “contain other ingredients that could be harmful,” Harvard Health says, pointing out that ground turmeric has been linked to lead poisoning. Although it’s considered generally safe, “turmeric is likely to cause abdominal pain, nausea, and diarrhea when taken in high doses.” The maximum dose that Harvard lists is one 500 mg capsule of curcumin extract — the active ingredient that gives turmeric its signature color — twice a day for arthritic pain.
Mohan was taking 2,250 mg of the supplement daily — more than twice that.
“I had no idea, like, that I could cause that much harm that quickly to my body,” she told the outlet. After seeking help at urgent care, blood work showed her liver enzymes were 60 times the normal amount. She was first admitted to a local hospital, then transferred to New York’s NYU Langone, where she underwent six days of IV treatment while her liver healed.
“Katie actually was one step before full liver damage, liver failure, requiring liver transplant,” her doctor told NBC.
“Turmeric appears to have become the most common cause of clinically apparent, herbal-related liver injury in the United States,” the National Library of Medicine says, explaining that initial symptoms include “fatigue, nausea and poor appetite followed by dark urine and jaundice.”
“I’ll never put another supplement in my body again,” Mohan told NBC.
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