Controlling autoimmune hepatitis naturally?

Hello @humbug, There is another discussion that you may want to scan through to learn what others have shared:
-- Autoimmune hepatitis: Any special diet I should be eating?
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/autoimmune-hepatitis-7/
While you wait for members to respond, I thought you might find these references helpful if you haven't already seen them:
-- Alternative Treatments and Supplements | AIHA: https://aihep.org/alternative-treatments/
-- Patient education: Autoimmune hepatitis (Beyond the Basics): https://www.uptodate.com/contents/autoimmune-hepatitis-beyond-the-basics/print

Have you discussed any alternative treatments with your doctor or care team to see if they may have some suggestions?

Thanks so much for these links. They are really helpful!

Hi!
It’s so rare to find someone else with this!
I was put on imuran , what about you?
But , having RA also, I’ve embarked on a plant based gluten and dairy free diet. I would love to wean off the Imuran! The naturopath I see has started me on Low dose Naltrexone to help as well.
I’m hopeful.

Thank you for your response! I'm pretty newly diagnosed so just trying to accumulate as much info as I can re: people having lived expeience with it. I know doctors always rush to the pharmaceutical approach, but I always wonder about other approaches that may be effective and are more natural.

I'm currently on a low dose of prednisone and my doctor just added Imuran early January, and I have my follow-up mid-February.

I'm definitely noticing fatigue once I started on the Imuran. Did you experience this on Imuran? Prior to that it was insomnia with the prednisone.

I've seen differences in enzymes in a very short time, even just with the prednisone and hope this continues as, ideally, I would like to take the natural approach re: diet and lifestyle once my enzymes are stabilized, so was curious if others had accomplished this.

Really appreciate your insight and info!

I get it, and yes, prednisone made it impossible for me to sleep as well, and fatigue with Imuran. How much Imuran do you take?
I started at 50, then up to 125,
now at 75..
I was so alarmed at having AIH in the first place, and I stabilized pretty quickly as well. Now I make sure to stay active and not give in to the fatigue, although some days that’s not possible. But I hear that livers can repair rapidly, so , I hope that’s us!

Okay, I wasn't sure if fatigue was a common effect of Imuran, but looks like it might be. Did you notice more fatigue when your Imuran dosage was increased?

They started me on 50mg of Imuran about three weeks ago along with 15 mg of prednisone (this was reduced from 20 mg after my enzymes had gotten better), and I noticed my fatigue started when Imuran was prescribed. I didn't have it when I was solely on the prednisone. If I'm getting fatigue with 50 mg, I really hope they don't increase it. I thought medication doses usually go down with stabilization, so I wonder why they increase the Imuran if things are trending downwards.

How long did it take for your AIH to stabilize? What a relief! It's really helpful hearing about your experience as it sounds similar to mine in some ways, so thanks so much for sharing.

Feel free to message me privately if that's easier!

Hi!
I bet they won’t increase your Imuran if you’re stable.. they did mine to try to help with RA..
I’d like to get back down to 50 as well, especially since it doesn’t seem to help the RA.
It didn’t take long for the AIH to stabilize, similar to you.
I actually went to a Naturopath for vitamin B12 IV and that’s helped with the fatigue!
Like you, I would love to find remission and be drug free!