Have I overdosed on turmeric?

[LadyWhineglass]

I’ve been taking a daily turmeric high strength tablet for over a year and feel great.

But yesterday I read an article about how too much turmeric can damage the liver and now I’m panicking. I checked the turmeric canister and it says for short term use only. It says it’s 20,000mg (as 500mg of extract) which is definitely high potency.

Now I’m worried about my liver.

Don’t know if anyone can shed any light on this.

Short answer, no, I don't know the answer. Who prescribed/recommended this dose to you?

I bought it over the counter from a health food shop. It stops my general aches and pains which is why I’ve been taking it for so long.

Do you mean pain from arthritis? Peri? or something else?
I assume you've spoken to your GP about it? Or a rheumatologist/gynae depending on the cause?

Could you link the article? My dad takes it for his arthritis and wondering what "high potency" is

To add, I've heard good things about green lipped muscle extracts. Along with tumeric though, these are more complementary to traditional meds/therapies and not to replace seeing a specialist.
https://versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/complementary-and-alternative-treatments/types-of-complementary-treatments/green-lipped-mussel/

https://www.tga.gov.au/news/safety-alerts/medicines-containing-turmeric-or-curcumin-risk-liver-injury

Just general peri aches and pains. The turmeric made me feel 20 again.

Bollocks.

That is great that it helped you. Have you considered HRT? Red clover extract can be helpful too. Maybe cut back the turmeric- every 2nd day or reduce to the dose to whatever is considered safe?

It says repeatedly in that article that it’s a rare effect, and that people with existing liver problems are at higher risk. Have you had any of the symptoms they mention? If not, I really wouldn’t worry.

Agree with PP about reducing your dose, though.

I don’t have any of the symptoms and I’ll definitely cut back! I was trying to avoid going on HRT tbh.

In my dad's case, the tablets were recommended by a gp and he swears by them. Gp specifically recommended this brand as something about the c3 complex makes it better? Strength is 450mg so could you find something like this?

Thank you - I’ll try that in a couple of weeks when I e got my levels back down.

This is the brand that I’ve been using.

That does seem high. I just checked mine and its 2000mg.
If you feel fine then you are probably fine! Just do as PPs have suggested and try one with a lower strength.

If you'd been taking the maximum dose of paracetamol every day for a year, you'd see warnings that that might not be good for you either.

I just put a couple of teaspoons of tumeric into every meat dish I cook. It's supposed to have great benefits.

I’d like to feel 20 again as well. I’d better start taking it

I think the label means that it is equivalent to 20g of turmeric spice powder (20000mg), which gives a dose of 500 mg of curcuma, which is the same as most other turmeric tablets I've seen (H&B, etc) - so dont worry

Thank you so much! Relief all round.

Out of interest OP, how many a day do you take and how long before you noticed a benefit?

I've just looked up an article on the Welsh NHS site which says that any adverse liver effects return to normal or are greatly improved within a month of discontinuing.

Maybe go and speak to a pharmacist.

Just bear in mind that turmeric can reduce iron absorption, if you feel fine then great but when I had low iron it was listed as something to avoid.

@LadyWhineglass How long after starting it did you start to feel better OP? I took it for 3 months and it made not an iota of difference. A lot of others swear by it.

No worries, Iron absorption is more important. Always worth reading up before taking natural remedies.