NOTE: for more recent posts, please scroll down. I have been taking eight grams of curcumin for almost 4 years (=in January 2010), and can report no harmful side effects. Quite the opposite. However, I have read or been told of a few side effects that are worth reporting. First, my experience.
In what I call the pre-curcumin era, I could barely climb the stairs in my house and was frequently tired for no apparent reason. I had fever-like aches in my legs, especially at night, recurrent night sweats and constant night-time PN (peripheral neuropathy). All of those symptoms have now almost or entirely disappeared. Another positive and unexpected side effect is that my (high!) cholesterol decreased by more than 50 mg/dL between January and September 2006. In the same period, my triglycerides went from 99 to 73 mg/dL.
Another thing that I had in the pre-curcumin era were chronic infections (yeast infections). I haven’t had ONE since I began taking curcumin. Such a relief!
Curcumin has also had a beneficial effect on my asthma. I have had asthma for years, and have never left my house without my Ventolin inhaler. At night, I had to take a couple of puffs on a cortisone inhaler, and sometimes a couple in the morning as well. I have now almost forgotten what my Ventolin inhaler looks like, and I take only one puff of cortisone (only as a precaution) before going to bed. This has been a huge change, clearly for the better, for me.
Warnings
My advice for those who are currently undergoing chemotherapy is to consult with their haematologists/oncologists before taking curcumin. I read that curcumin may lessen the anti-cancer efficacy of some chemo drugs, such as doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide. In other cases, however, it may enhance this effect, as with dexamethasone (see the April 2004 Blood study). In any event, it’s best to be on the safe side. Check with your oncologist. When I began taking curcumin, I consulted my haematologist, and I wasn’t even doing chemotherapy.
People who have obstructed bile ducts or gallstones should NOT take curcumin, although curcumin prevents the formation of gallstones (it increases the production of bile and stimulates the gallbladder).
I have also read warnings about people taking blood-thinning drugs such as coumadin. Curcumin is a blood thinner and should probably be avoided in that case (although Prof. Aggarwal told me that this blood thinning business has been observed in vitro and in animals but NOT in humans). Some MM listserv subscribers have asked about my platelet count, and I can report that it has actually increased a bit in the curcumin era. So…who knows. But again, best to be cautious.
If you have a stomach ulcer, you probably shouldn’t be taking curcumin. Ask your doctor, or write to Prof. Aggarwal.
There are now a few studies on the antifertility properties of curcumin: it inhibits human sperm motility. So if you are considering pregnancy, best to avoid curcumin. Here is one of the studies, but you can check PubMed from time to time to see if more have been published: http://goo.gl/cE6iVR
If you experience stomach rumblings after you take curcumin, eat a piece of bread (or two), or take it a half hour before you eat, or even with meals, if you really must. I can report that I did have some stomach rumblings when I tried mixing curcumin powder with flaxseed oil. All I had to do was eat a piece of bread, and they stopped. An easy solution to a minor problem. Should you have continuous trouble, though, do ask your doctor about it.
April 3 2007 update: a new curcumin-taker from one of the MM listservs wrote to tell me that he developed diarrhea after he began taking 8 grams of curcumin. He wrote to Prof. Aggarwal who informed him that diarrhea is a potential side effect for some. This is the first report I have had to that regard, but thought I should post it. My advice: if you experience diarrhea on a higher dose, cut back. And write to Prof. Aggarwal to see if there is anything you can do to solve the problem. I have second or third-hand information: an MD Anderson nurse told a listserv friend of mine to cut back on fiber intake to solve this problem. Yes, that might help.
May 30 2007 update: a good listserv friend reported breaking out in a nasty rash, and asked me if it could have been the curcumin she was taking (three grams). I looked it up online and was surprised to discover that rashes and hives are potential side effects of curcumin. She stopped taking curcumin, and the rash went away. She is going to try it again, though.
March 29 2013 update: If you are thinking about starting a family, you probably should NOT be taking curcumin. Check out the link in this post: http://margaret.healthblogs.org/2013/03/19/pap-test-result-and-and-better-than-a-condom-what-next/
Last updated: May 31, 2015
I just started curcumin today. Really tired of NSAIDS and shouldn’t be taking them as often as I am…also don’t want to go to a higher class of drug either. I was wondering if it helps with headaches and migraines as well as just swelling pain? So far it has helped some with muscle swelling, but not with nerve pain(Sciatica). Have you heard anything on Curcumin helping sciatica? Have you heard of dizziness/lightheadness as a reaction to curcumin?
Hi, after a car accident 12 years ago I’been suffering of sciatica for that time , not able to sleep without pillows , and not able to sleep on my right side , so 1 week ago for completly different problem I went to the chemist and bought liver detox with turmeric because I also have Dyspesia , and to my surprise , my sciatica pain on my thighs and bottom parts is gone , I couln’t believe it , after takings no many anti inflammatories and ruin my stomach , my stomach pain is not gone completly but its just been 1 week so lets wait and see , I keep you posted , when I finish that detox I will buy WILD RED KRILL + CURCUMIN apparently its a great anti inflammatory as well. I still need surgery on my spinal cord but that another story . I hope it help someone
After 4 months of intense sciatica pain , I was told about turmeric. Within two days it has nearly gone. But I am experiencing fibromyalgia symptoms all over my body! Tingling ,soreness,tender ago touch. Any help with this reaction?
I have been taking Curamin (2caps) for one week…I have not noticed any improvement with my stiffness, foot, leg and hand pan, my hands are still tingling. The women at the health food store said to start with 2 due to the antioxidants which might cause sleeplessness. How long shall I stay at this does to see if it helps my symptoms? I finally had to take Advil last night to get some relief..is that safe to take along with the curamin? Thanks for any insight you might give.
I have been taking Curamin (2caps) for one week…I have not noticed any improvement with my stiffness, foot, leg and hand pan, my hands are still tingling.
I am not aware of Curcumin helping tingling. It is mainly an anti-inflamatory
“2 caps” is an unknown qty. I take Curcumin that is standardized to 95% (concentrated) 850mg x 4 a day. I have noticed a big reduction of pain in my rotator cuff (shoulder).
If you have tingling… perhaps a B6 or B12 may work better for you.
Try Acetyl L-Carnitine HCL 400 mg & Alpha Lipoic Acit 200 mg. Since I begun using the Spring Valley brand, taking 1 capsule/day my nerve pain and cold in a foot just stopped.
How long did you take it to feel it working? I have the same problem.
I take R Alpha Lipoic Acid for the pain/damage of my sciatic nerve and tingling toes. Regular ALA did not help, but the improvement with R ALA is great, I don’t awaken with pain in my leg. And I just noticed that my rotator cuff pain is almost gone, I’ve been taking Curcumin for a couple of weeks. I didn’t realize it was a blood thinner so i have to contact my doctor since I’m also taking other meds, inc. 10 mg. statins (from the cardio interventionist) and Resveratrol (from me) for cardio stents in April. It appears my bladder problem is almost gone in the past week, also, I’m not sure why but sure glad! Doc told me to take curcumin with pepperine, which intensifies the absorption by 2,000%, I read. Good luck!
TBH you need to give it 3 months to see an improvement when using herbals. One week is just not enough time.
You can’t just take any Curamin. What is the brand etc that you are taking? Some brands don’t work at all.
My Doctor told me to take only tablets, not capsules.
Bit concerned about tablets as apposed to capsules as the tablets have binders in them and I have been told that makes them more difficult to absorb. Not sure on this but maybe worth the research
I started out with taking 3 capsules/day, but very quickly went to 9 capsules/day and even 12 caps on some days. I have had extreme neck pain for over 30 yrs. after a car accident. I have taken anti-inflammatories everyday since. A couple years ago my doctor told me I had to cut down, because my kidney results were coming back bad. Finally, my doctor said I had to quit completely. That’s when I found out about Curcumin and have been using it ever since. I use the ‘Terry Naturally’ brand called ‘Curamin’. Something else that helps is ‘FruitFast’ Tart Cherry Juice Concentrate. It also helps with pain and inflammation. I haven’t noticed any sleeplessness with the Curamin or any other side effects.
I Just bought bottle curcumin capsules says take 1 a day. Iam concerned because I also take Ramipril for my blood pressure 2 tablets aday is it ok to take both
Hi
I take ramipril too, could you tell me how your getting on. I’m seriously thinking of taking curcumin for other pains
Many thanks
Chris
I would hope that you have your own BP machine and check your BP a couple of times a day. That is the best way to find out if supplements you are taking are working with or against your BP medication. Five years ago I eventually weaned myself from my BP medication, which had terrible side effects including rapid onset of Type II diabetes. When the supplements began to show a regular pressure I extended the time between the prescription pills. This showed me which items helped, there was no single supplement that dropped the pressure enough. Curcumin was one of several that together kept my BP at or below 117/70. My doctor was NOT enthusiastic about my efforts or the curcumin, but he has finally said that I seem to have accomplished my goal of no prescription to control BP.
I am 72 and was in constant pain from a fall 6 years ago. Could not bend due to back pain or do up a bra without being in agony or turning bra around and doing up from front. After taking curcumin for two weeks the pain has gone. I have been gardening (digging) can put on bra without wincing and feel really great. I have not experienced and side effects and have been taking Curcumin for 6 months now.
My brother took Curamin extra strength 2 pills daily for 2 wks without improvement. He called the health food store who told him to increase. He is now taking 4 a day and no pains
good to know. just started taking this today for severe sciatica pain and muscle spasms that prevent me from having full movement. 1st day took 2 tablets and pain and spasm greatly reduced. However, spend most of the time in fetal position in bed so I am not sure what percentage of each is contributing to the lessening of pain.
thank you for sharing.
Mary…I have not started on curcumin yet, however, your symptoms of leg, foot, hand pain and tingling in the hands caught my attention. I started those symptoms in 2010 first in the hands. It continued to a crippling stage before I was diagnosed with CIDP (Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy). It took going to a second Neurologist who diagnosed my problem right away.
My wife use Gaia Herbs turmeric with krill oil and it helps her CIDP (an auto immune disorder disease) .She have more balance and walk faster. It works faster and cheaper than Life extension curcumin . She takes two capsules per day and two capsules of krill oil per day with prednisone and cellcept. She said that this turmeric easy to take and she love its Chinese medicine smell .I will update the progress
I have osteoarthritis in my fingers and they are badly deformed and have chronic pain.
Can you tell me what would be the correct dosage.
I am familiar with turmeric and us e it all the time.
I have osteoarthritis in my hands/fingers. Good pain and some stiffness relief with 1 capsule/ 400 mg per day C3 Curcumin Complex from Ecological Formulas which I order from pureformulas.com . Am also taking one or two 500mg Bromelein capsules with meals to further reduce swelling. Alkaline diet is necessary with arthritis. Sugar and refined carbs are irritating. Gluten not good for arthritis sufferers either.
Good points Ursula. I’d also add that I started green juices 5 mornings a week for other reasons and was surprised to find my arthritis and my husbands disappeared. Now i only do a maintenance of twice a week.
All that green juice worked for me! I am now taking curcumin but wasn’t at the time.
Just querying regarding juicing with greens – do you use organic vegetables only?
Sue
Please share what is in your green juice
Thank you
Danica
I started yesterday being 01/29/2015 and i too have experience stomach rumbling. In reading yur post I will eat some bread. Now i was tsking a shower and did experience lightheaded, but it went away as fast as it came. But I will be more careful. I have sever arthritis on my right leg. Both knee and hip. Im hoping curamine will help so i dont take so much 50mg of tramadole 4 to 5 times a day plus 50mg of ketoprofen 3 to 4 times daily.
Im also taken ZYFLAMEND whole body. At night, Loed willing it will help.
I have Fibro and been taking Curcuma since December 2014. Started to have stomach cramps and gas… now is really bad diarrhea, cut the dose in half but still at it left a message to my doc but so far no return call 🙁 this was helping my pain ….
Fibromyalgia can accompany a wheat allergy. The gas, cramps and diarrhea are all symptoms of wheat intolerrence. I have both Fibro and Wheat allergy. Curcumin has helped me with the pain but I only have the diarreha if I go off my wheat free diet. I had kidney cancer and am not allowed to take enseds. Without Curcumin I would be unable to live a normal live. I am so thankful for it, it is impossible to find the words to express my joy.
I took Curamin( which has bosweillia in it also) for sciatica and it worked perfectly. I took the regular capsules, 1 three times a day.
I ‘ve hear vitamin B6 is good for the nerves I also suffer from nerves pain and jjust started taking it will keep you posted.
Hi margaret,
I am really enjoying reading your blogs for I have learned a lot of things to know and to do regarding good and bad for MM.
By the way I am an MM patient and in remission (Praise GOD). Just want to ask something, because I’ve read some of your blogs regarding the benefits of curcumin.
I just started taking curcumin, its been a week now. Im taking one capsule a day. But I am still in Thalidomide 100mg a day. As per one of your blogs, thalidmode and curcumin is a great combination in killing the myeloma cells. Is my understanding correct?
And also, how about taking green tea? I did not find any post by you regarding this. Is alright for us to take this?
Anyway thanks to you margaret, your blogs really helps a lot! Contnue in sharing this kind of infos.
GOD Bless always.
che
Hello Cher,
Did you get a reply from Margaret. I am on 50mg of Thalidomide and about to start Curcumin. I have Multiple Myeloma and obviously reading all I can about the combination of both. I would be very interested in your results.
Kind regards
Carol
can this promote wweight gain?
Please check out nih national institute health. liposomal curcumin on cancer.
You will find some very interesting facts. My wife is on 1000 mg of 95percent curcumin.
Pituitary tumor and all cancers. It’s absorbed into the blood in the intestines.
Can anyone tell me how young you can be to take curcumin? My daughter has been diagnosed with abnormal cells in her cervix and has just had a biopsy – her results won’t be through for 6 weeks, so if I can get her on curcumin now, hopefully, it may help in the depletion of the infected cell before her next visit which could be up to 12 weeks away. The problem is that between her having her 1st smear to her biopsy was 8 weeks and the diagnosis went from abnormal cells to advancing and all in such a short space of time.
Any information would be appreciated.
Thank you
Lorraine (a very worried mommmy)
Lisa: curcumin does have an anti-inflammatory effect, so it should help…theoretically, at least! I had a quick look online and found this study, too: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1950845/pdf/AJHGv81p438.pdf
As for dizziness, hmmm, no, I have never heard of that as a side effect. On the contrary, curcumin should help with that condition, too. Do you suffer from low blood pressure?
Cher, some of my blog readers took curcumin and thalidomide or revlimid or velcade at the same time and reported beneficial effects. These are, of course, only anecdotal reports. As for green tea, I have an entire Page on EGCG (extracted from green tea)…look on the right of my homepage. Just one thing: if you are on Velcade, don’t drink any green tea on your Velcade day. Otherwise, it is fine (according to Dr. Durie).
Lorraine, I don’t think there would be any problems, but perhaps you should check with Prof. Aggarwal (his e-mail address is readily available online, or you can ask me privately via my Contact form) at MD Anderson. He is THE world authority on curcumin. Fingers crossed!
Hi Margaret,
Thank you so much for the reply and I will read more of your blogs to gather more information.
Thanks again & GOD Bless
che
Hi Margaret everything you said about curcumen is true for the past year withing 6 months apart my doctor run a blood test for me and was diagnosed with Lupus I cried so much then I said to myself I’m not going down without a fight since lupus runs highly in my family so I was scheduled to see a Rheumatologist I hanged there and did my own research so I strat using turmeric extract standardized from the brand Nature’s Way with 95% Curcuminoids within a month I went finally went to see the Rheumatoid doctor he did 3 blood test for me when result came back he told me I don’t have Lupus and my information rate went down from 49 to 36 although I have Fibromalagia he told me he is not going to put me any steroids and keep doing what I’m doing to bring the inflammation down to 20 I told him I’m taking turmeric and have osteoporosis too with arthritis truthfully I’m haven’t had no pain since I start this tablets I’m calcium (Alendronate Sodium and vitamin Do 50000 unites for osteoporosis and Savella as a muscle relaxer so my rheumatologist said I’m barely on any meds for my illnesses so continue doing what I’m doing and told to come back to see him in 2 months I mean wow I use to have so much pain tendinitis and pain all over my body that I had to ware a boot cast in other to walk now thank God I got no pain anywhere in my body except I’m tired from time to time especially after a long day on my feet though I don’t get enough sleep even though I’m using Melatonin but I’m so good and looking good thanks to you guys for putting herbal remedies online and now I need a doctor on herbalists or homeopathic anyone that can keep me away from big pharma sorry I don’t write proper English I didn’t go to far in school:(
Hi there
Where can I purchase Curcumin? I live in Aberdeen and can’t find it anywhere.
Thank you
Lorraine
Maybe a bit late – just read about Curamin on an insert from my local health food store – obviously they sell it. However, an online search reveals it is sold by many online retailers, including GNC, Vitamin Shoppe, Etc. I do want to point out the best price I found was from Amazon.com. So, if your budget is tight, I recommend using a web search to find your source. My wife has ongoing pain and endurance issues, and I am encouraging her to try it.
Hope this helps!!!
Can i take cialis while i using curcumin and high blood pressure
medications
tryng to find the best place to by 95% curcumin. please contact me if you can help. I live in the uk where it is expensive. and not usre whether to get the capsules or powder. would get capsules with some pepper if choose that. you can mail me at rychhmo at aol dot com please
I have recentlty heard about turmeric capsules. Is that the same? I bought some at Holland and Barrett in London, England.
Not sure as I have PMR POLY MYALGIA RHEUMATICA and they started me on steroids.
Any info would be of help.
Thanks. Marian
Hi Marian, you may get relief with 5000 IU vitamin D daily. I also heard of great pain relief from evening primrose oil.
Ebay has a myriad of suppliers at great prices.
How many do you take per day? Someone told me to take 3 in the morning and 3 at night because the 1 I’m taking three times a day is doing nothing for my nerve pain. TIA.
I buy my curcumin from Piping Rock, have been taking 1500mg with bioperine and olive leaf extract. I have no arthritis pain anymore, one in the morning and 1 at night.
you can get it from amanzon
I have just discovered your site whilst I was researching Curcumin with Bioperine/piperine. Searching for something to help my wife who has arthritis and is unable to take nsads for pain relief. (due to being prescribed diclofenac with out stomach protection for four years with serious effects.
I’m excited at the prospect of finding something that will give her refief. I look forward to hearing from you.
With thanks and regards.
Ken
Hi Lorraine,
I bought mine at GNC health store.
che
Thank you for getting back to me so quickly – I will be in touch.
Lorraine
Hi Lorraine
I’m in Glasgow and get Doctor’s Best Curcumin online from Bodykind.com.
We have a 7y/o with autism. He has numerous food allergies and occasional constipation (which always makes his mood and behaviors worse). We’ve been giving him curcumin in the form of Enhansa and have seen a wonderful improvement in his demeanor, his verbal ability, his level of alertness/awareness, and his overall cognitive state. He still clearly has autism, but any improvement in his cognition is a blessing!
I have been thinking of introducing curcuma longa from Holistic Heal to my son and was wondering of your progress. Please advice
Thanks
Slavco
Kelly, how is your sons’ Autism? Do you feel the Tumeric/Curcumin helped? Can you give me an update. I have a friend that gives lectures on Autism & I thought your sons’ results might interest him. Thanks, Linda
Just to let you know, I am another user of curcumin. At least Itried to be, but just 1000mg a day let to immediate diarreah.
Second paragraph below “Warnings” indicates “Curcumin is blood thinner, and should be avoided by people taking coumadin”. There is no warning on lable. My professional Health Care counselor has recommended 11 cap./day; the recommended dose on lable is 1 cap three times /day. I take 4mg coumadin /day. What’s your opinion regarding use and dose of Curamin?
I am also on Coumadin for an old DVT. Currently I take 7.5mg of it 6 days a week and 10mg 1 day a week. Over the last 6 months I have been having extreme pain in my knees and also my tendon in my right foot to the point of barely being able to walk. I thought I was heading towards a walker or possibly a wheelchair. A friend told me she started the Curamin (Terry Naturally Extra Strength) and was taking 1 tablet 3 times a day for her severe arthritis in her legs and back and she has found good relief (not total but to the point of being able to tolerate and be mobile again). I checked with my family doctor, cardiologist, and also with the pharmacist that regulates my blood levels for the Coumadin and all said it was ok for me to take Curamin; however, make sure to get tested for my INR levels. I took my first Curamin pill yesterday afternoon after having my INR tested. After 4 hours there was a remarkable decrease in the pain in my knees and by evening I could feel there was less swelling in them. I did take another pill this morning (I stopped the tylenol I was taking for pain that wasn’t really working well at all) and today I can honestly say that about 85% of the pain is gone in both knees and also in my ankle/foot. I will get my INR tested in 2 weeks to see what my INR goes to. If I can decrease my Coumadin level too that would be wonderful. I am on a variety of medications (BP, Diabetes, Uric Acid) so if I can get off some of them from using something natural it would be great!
hi Margaret
do you know where I can find re
ports on Curcuma together with revlimid ?
Thanks Nathalie
I have fibroids in my uterus, cyst in my uterus, ovaris,tubes and kidneys. Also I have irritable bowel syndrom. I just want to know how curcumin can help and how much I have to take a day to be save. I tank you in advance for any help you can provid to me.Thanks
Hi there,
I was diagnosed with breast cancer stage III last year. I was operated, went through chemo & radiation. I’m taking curcumin for several months now becoz i’ve read curcumin can kill cancer cells & can prevent recurrence. I’m taking 1 cap/day. My question is, how long can I take curcumin. Does it have an adverse effect with tamoxifen. Thanks, verna
Hi Verna, I had same cancer and treatment and continue on Tamoxifen. I was diagnosed 2010 and started Curcumin X 4000 x3 capsules daily, along with other supplements for 3 months now. It would be great if you could let me know how things are for you now.××
I started a test study at university hospital in Cleveland ,Ohio I just started 8,000 mg a day for CLL.
Sonya,
what is the name of this test and how are you doing? I also have CLL and need treatment soon.
bob
I have written to some of you privately but thought that a public reply might be of help to others, too. Thing is, my comment was rejected by my own blog anti-Spam program (!), so I lost all the URLs and don’t have time to look them up again.
Therefore, I will just direct you to PubMed, which is the National Library of Medicine (great resource!). Go there and type search words such as “bowel curcumin” and “fibroid curcumin” and you (Brenda) will find a series of studies on these topics.
As for dosage, since we are all different, the dose that works for me may not work for you. You will have to determine that on your own. I take 7 to 8 grams of curcumin (D Best and NSI, alternatively) every day. But you might be okay taking 5 or 6 grams. Impossible for me to say.
Verna, do a google search for this title “Curcumin Modulates Tamoxifen Response in Resistant Breast Cancer Cells.”
Before taking any supplements, of course, please ask your doctors first. Good luck!
Hello I have a quick question I have lupus and I think this would greatly help me but my hubby and I want to try to have a child in the future. Does this effect killing of the sperm long term or just for as long as you have taken it and it’s still in your system?
TO LORRIANNE (worried mom)
Lorrianne- I have had the abnormal paps two times and both times reversed it to normal paps with the following ( this was given to me as info from my gynocologist who is a lady open to more than just meds. She says this is a well known and quite effective thing to do when first detecting dysplasia.):
Take each day:
5- 10mg folic acid
vitamin B6- 100mg
beta carotene 200,000 i.u.
vitamin C 100mg 3x a day
zinc 30mg
vitamin E 800i.u.
I did this routine for several months. It worked! I was so worried. If you do it early, it can reverse. Then go to a regular one a day with folic acid in it. Good luck ( I believe you can look this up online too for more info)
Good luck!
Mia, thank you so much for your encouraging words and advice; and to all who have been in touch. I will pass these details on to my daughter and advise her to start a diary so I can pass on the outcome.
Kindest regards
Lorraine
Do you know of anyone having hair loss from taking curcumin. A week after starting (3000mg/day)I started losing hair. I have lost half of my hair. I recently ran out and noticed a reduction.
Would appreciate your thoughts.
Thank you
Doris. I have started losing hair also since taking curcumin2K. But I have an abundance of energy.
I am a 45 years old man. I started taking 95% curcumin extract one year ago (500mg twice a day) to control my thinning hair and hair loss. but I switched to taking regular turmeric instead for the main reason that the extract is exorbitantly expensive here in the UK and also because I reasoned that there must more to turmeric than curcumin and that they must work synergically. I take 2 heaped spoonfuls a day. If I must complain then the first side effect that comes to mind is the taste and after taste so I make sure I have orange juice at hand to wash it down. The other side effect is the smell of my urine witch is very strong and earthy if I may say so. Although I don’t like the smell I wont be stopping turmeric for a long time if ever. It keeps the hair on my head.
Hello;
My wife was diagnozed with bladder cancer and had a surgery last spring. She started taking curcumin 2 months ago. Her recent lab test showed lower hemoglobin. It dropped from 10 to 8 in 4 gm/dL months. I wonder if it is a side affect of curcumin.
She first took doc’s best 4gm/day and has switched to meriva 500m twice /day + 1gm doctor’s best. Has anyone experienced this?
I recently had my blood drawn and my Dr said my hemoglobin was high and couldn’t figure out why. The only thing I take is Curamin 3 capsules per day.
Hi Larry, I have definitely not experienced anything like that. I went back in time to see how my own hemoglobin has behaved throughout the years…it still hovers around 13, which is what it was in the pre-curcumin period.
However, curcumin is an iron chelator, so it is possible that it has affected your wife more strongly. If her hemoglobin doesn’t increase with her next tests, perhaps she should try going off curcumin for a month or so to see if it goes up again. Just a thought…
request info on iron chelator?
I have been takeing curcumin for one month , with less pain but am short of breath and tired.
Hello Margaret! I have Uterine Fibroids. I wanted to try Herbal Supplements that would slow the growth of my fibroids so the I could hopefully avoid having another Myomectomy. I have had two of them and hopefully I wont have anymore. Anyway, I went to Vitamin World last weekend, and the sale lady recommended to take 1000 mg of Turmeric Curcumin and 50 mcg of Selenium. I purchased the supplements but I have not yet taken them. I have discussed the with my Gyn Dr. and I am waiting on him to give me the ok. He is also doing some research on this supplement. I am nervous and a little scared to take this. Do you think 1000mg too much to start?
Angel, I would be interested in what you find out. I also have them on one side (the other side was taken out when one on my tube exploded & sent me into emergency surgery). I don’t mean to scare you, but I would be interested in your info/results.
I have been taking 2 grams of curcuma with piperine for the last six months and after having repeated bouts of overactive bladder, I am beginning to wonder if the pepper could be the culprit. Has anyone had any negative reactions to too much pepper? Pepper is an irritant I would imagine. I will be very disappointed if I have to suspend my curcuma/piperine supplements- especially as I have just bought a large supply!
Yes I also take Curcumin with Piperine. 5 grams per day and have been taking it for a year or so. Lately I have noticed that I have a burning feeling in the throat and upper chest area and can still feel the pills (even thought I have tried swallowing two cups of water) for a while after taking them. I have tried reducing the amount I take and yet I still get this feeling. I must say that I haven’t tried eating bread. I also have a large supply!!!!
The Piperine is used to enhance absorption of a variety of supplements. And yes, it is an irritant that some people can’t tolerate due to nausea or more commonly diarrhea. If you want to know for sure if its the curcumin or piperine then try a comparable dose of a curcumin product without the Piperine and see what happens. If no further diarrhea then you have your answer. If you still have diarrhea then you are having a reaction to curcumin.
Can you please recommend a brand of Curcumin without Piperine?
Hi, Lorraine:
I came across curcumin as a natural anti-canceral agent that induces apoptosis (cell death) in cancer cells. I have started on 2×500 mg capsules 2x per day.
I have been vegetarian for over 30 years. I haven’t smoke or drank, yet I was diagnosed with adenocarcinoma of the stomach (stomach cancer). It could be because my father had it, though.
Any other suggestions as to anything natural I could take would be appreciated.
Patti
Hi Margaret,
My father is very ill with aggressive myeloma. He is 60 and they don’t give him long. However he has suprised them both twice in the last month when they told him he wouldn’t last night both times and he did!
He has low platelets and low hemoglobin levels. Would curcumin be safe for him to try and if so how much?
Do you know of anything out there that can increase platelet levels?
Thanks for your time
Kind regards,
Sarah
Hi, Margaret,
Do you know if curcumin will help GIST (GI stromal tumor located in the Stomach)?
Thanks for your time. I really like your blog.
Kind regards.
Dear Michelle,
Do you have any updates in your tumor growth? Did this help you? Hope so!
Thanks,
Tina
Hi Margaret.
I was wondering if you have see nthis study: http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/71980/title/Worms_live_longer_with_thioflavin_T
They gave Curcumin and Thioflavin T soo some wormes and it prolonged life on the worms alot. I have bought Curcumin because I came across this study…I have no illness but I sleep less and are more active since I started taken them(noticed effect after 4 days). Im 30 years old and in very good condition(well trained)
My suggestion is that you try thinflavin T if you Curcumin helped alot on the conditions you have since they seem to be same type of substance. I have been unable too fund it though, soo if you would find it somewhere please let me know and send the link:)
Maybe Thioflavin T can some other people here as well…
Best Regards A. Ingwall
I was diagnosed with MS in 2000.
About 6 years ago, I started taking turmeric daily after researching anti-inflammatories on Google.
The disease stopped progressing. I now take no drugs at all for MS. or anything else.
It also stops nerve pain from MS better than NSAIDS or anything else I’ve tried.
So I went from taking a drug that costs $3700/month, to a spice that costs around $8/lb. Basically, it helped me get my life back.
Is there anywhere else I can find out more on this??? I’m really curious about the interaction of MS with your taking Turmeric.
I was also diagnosed with MS Rheumetoid arthritis triennial neuralgia carpal tunnel hypothyroidism among alot of other things and found that taking doctors best Curcumin c3 500mg one time daily has helped me with all of my symptoms but seems to have made me develop diarrhea but that is ok if I can walk open doors cook and take care of my family. I am almost totally symptom free but wonder if I need to stop taking it or not. I read you should take it for two weeks but its hard not to take it because I have to use my extremities all the time. I have no other help so I hope it’s ok to take long term.
I want to report my interesting side effect. Since I’ve been taking curcumin regularly (2007), I’ve had remarks from my dental hygienist about how plaque-free my teeth are. I’ve done nothing different in my tooth care regimen. I’m thinking that the curcumin had impeded the collection of plaque somehow. They hardly have to scrape anything off. It’s been great!
I Do Not have cancer But my younger sis has Breast Cancer Twice (Was NOT Clean for 5years) Now she has Bone Cancer Does anyone think this may Help Her life!!!!
Hi Deana,
I am sorry to read your post.
My dad hast bone mets… so I was wondering what did you do to reduce pain?
Thanks a lot.
Hugs
I have had Chronns since 2002, with a fistula, have lower back pain lately, tried Bioglan Curucumin, turmeric 15,800mg , 1 tablet a day and wake up ok, I think it has helped in lower back pain, not sure about Chronns as take methotrexate weekly, hoping for better result. Been in ok remission for 3 yr
I have psoriatic arthritis for the last 15 years and have been treated with all possible medicine available now. I had to stop these medicine after 3-4 years because of their side effects. Rheumatologist has advised me to start anti TNF treatment which i am reluctent to use.
I read that Curcumin is natural source of ant TNF drug, can i use this? where can i buy it does it has severe side effect…. CAN SOME ONE HELP ME Plaease.
can i use curcumin for the treatment of psoriatic arthritis.
Hi, Naz
I buy it from supplementspot.com use the code THM11 when you buy, then you get 10% off.
Curcumins side effect is generally diarre. It’s a spice soo just as some people get a diarre from spicy food some get it from curcumin. Just decrease the amount of curcumin if you get that sideeffect until ur body gets used to it(the stomach that is)
Don’t know if it works or not on psoriatic arthritis but you might as well try it, you got nothing to lose…
Hello margaret, I too am a little scared of trying curcumin, have just bought a bottle…quite expensive, but worth it if it helps! I had a botched epidural years ago and had a chemical meningitis because of it and have had health problems ever since, so even though I look after myself I am always a little nervous about try ing something new! I have a hiatus hernia and sometimes get a bit of inflamation of tummy . will I be ok to use curcumin? Kind Regards, Mary Green
I also have a hiatal hernia…Have had Chemo & Radiation simultaneously & then double Chemo after 2 mos break. ( diagnosed w/ SCC of the ovary, associated w/ endometriosis )
I had battery acid coming up my throat & going out my back side
Of course the doctors wanted to treat with further drugs……I live in the US where Big Pharma is in power.
I chose to use my digestive enzymes & did very well on them. Standard Process has two good ones : Zypan & Multi-zymes.
I’ve stumbled onto this site to gleen more information on Curcumin benefits for staving off further cancer & presently , hopefully knocking back my sarcoidosis in my lungs….Without the steroids & immune suppressors.
Signed, SCC of the ovary # 38 in the World !!
And for ALL of you fighting the battle, I’m ONE of less than a handful of women in the World to still be here…Four yrs later.
KEEP ADVOCATING FOR YOURSELVES & YOUR LOVED ONES !!
Lynne,
I am a stage III Ovarian Cancer survivor (diagnosed in 2008) who opted for no traditional treatment except surgery. Afterwards I went through 2 years of Gerson Therapy combined with Essiac. This is what worked for me. I was diagnosed with Sarcoidosis in 2009 and my research supported by my Homeopathic physician indicated 21 mgs. of Melatonin every night at bedtime stops Sarcoidosis from progressing. Ultrasound exams of my lungs each year and my annual exam from an Ophthalmologist show it has not progressed.
I had a gamma knife prosedure, can I take curcumim?
Hi Margaret, My husband has been diagnosed with StageIV lung cancer and is completing his second round of chemo txs. They consisted of docetaxel and carboplatin. My question: is it safe for him to start curcumin now? I have read so many articles about the good things that curcumin does for cancer pts.
Hi Margaret,
I had my Gallbladder removed several years ago and I just had a Umbilical hernia repaired on May 13, 2011. Can I us Curcumin?
Frank
Hi Folks, I’m a Complementary therapist awaiting results of tests on a “lump” discovered recently; and just found this site. I hope the following info. is helpful to everyone as these are avenues I am following also.
Allimax.ca (parent company in UK) a wide ranging treatment capsule
Another is IP6 + inositol.
Jason Vale and benefits from juicing/raw food etc.
I sincerely hope this helps many of you and thanks go to you Margaret.
Very best wishes to everyone and their families. Rod
I started taking one Doctor’s Best Curcumin C³ Complex with BioPerine (1000 mg tablet) daily about two months ago. I’m a 65-year-old man and was told I would need surgery on my right knee and right wrist because of recurring pain. Since taking the curcumin the pain in both areas has completely disappeared and surgery is no longer needed. I feel healthier than I’ve felt in years and plan to continue taking curcumin. I’m also happy to report that I’ve had no noticeable side effects from the curcumin. I’ll be going for my yearly physical in November and am eagerly awaiting my cholesterol results to see if it has gone down.
Dear Margaret, I asked a question about taking curcumin and hiatus hernia, but did not get a reply, appreciate you must be busy….do you have the e-mail address of the expert on curcumin ( sorry can’t remember the name of gentleman) kind regards, mary green
Mary, i hope you received your reply by now, but if not I believe you’re referring to Prof. Aggarwal,world curcumin authority. Try Googling that. Good luck!
I am taking NSAIDS drugs for my arthritus. Can I take curcumin along with them or would it be best to discontinue the NSAIDS when taking this supplement.
Well, my husband with pancreatic cancer is now in month 15 and our doctor JUST told us about Curcumin. Of course I have had him on it since the week he was diagnosed and also had found out it was NOT contraindicated with his chemo. He is doing well, last CT scan 3 weeks ago, clean, normal and tumor markers low normal. i believe in Curcumin!! My question for a friend also with Pancreatic cancer, is how do you know if Curcumin is contraindicated with a certain chemo? He is having Folfirinox and his doctor is not open to an alternative therapy and he is too intimidated to ask. I tried googling it for him but can’t find it. Does anyone know? Thanks Janet
hi my partner has pancreatic cancer they say there is nothing they can do for her could you recomened what to start her with first thanks
Hi Janet,
I know this is 5 years late but I thought I should reply. I’m a doc whose mom was diagnosed with early stage pancreatic cancer. She had the whipple procedure and chemo/radiation therapy. Folfirinox chemo protocol was administered to her. I had my mom take between 300mg-600mg Theracurmin (Swanson brand) daily during radiation treatment (30 days). I wouldn’t bother with standard curcumin due to the lower bioavailability. I didn’t give her Theracurmin during chemo-only treatment. If the patient is on a clinical trial, then it can confound results. If the patient is using standard of care, then Theracurmin might be ok (discuss with your doctor!!!). My mom tolerated Theracurmin well. I plan to give her a maintenance dose after all her medical treatment is completed. Thankfully she is 18 months out and doing great! Best wishes all!
Thank you for this blog. I have shared it with a group on facebook all dealing with pancreatic cancer. You are helping so many people with this information!
Reversed 100 FAP polyps in my eldest son over 2 years with 2-3 grams a day – 60% reduction of size and numbers using Sabinsa.corp “curcumin C3 complex” ( sold as many brands names like Dr Best)
Two other children with 60 and 100 polyps have been taking Curcumin at lower doses 1 gram and 1.5gram a day. From 1st to 2nd scope these doses have prevented polyp numbers increasing, but has not prevented one polyp increasingin size on 1.5 grams, and 16 polyps of the 60 increased in size on 1 gram a day..
We can conclude 2 grams a day is the minimum effective dose in teenagers with 3grams a day is the safe recommended dose for colonic polyp reduction.
I have been taking Doctor’s Best Curcumin C3 with Bioperine for 3 weeks. I started using 4 grams/day this week. This week I have started experiencing shortness of breath and a pulsing sensation in my ear. I have read that the shortness of breath could be an allergic reaction. I really want to keep taking the Curcumin, I have small bowel cancer that did not respond to chemotherapy. Should I stop taking Curcumin or go with a lower dose? Will the shortness of breath go away eventually? I’m having abdominal surgery in 2 1/2 weeks, I have read that I should stop taking curcumin 2 weeks before surgery because of bleeding risk. So I guess I’ll stop taking it for a while anyway. Any comments would be helpful.
My wife and I have been taking Curcumin tabs for a few weeks with good results 600mg twice daily
A friend told me Curcumin will not work unless taken with encapsulate Merivar C3
could you comment
Could you also comment on Curcumin as an anti Dementia agent?
Don
I had my gallbladder several years ago. Can I take curcumin.
Sorry, I meant to say that I had my gallbladder removed several years ago. Can I take Curcumin?
Are there any concerns using curcumin with a condition of lymphatic edema? I am hoping to control restless leg syndrome. Thank you
I had restless legs and violent legs which would go straight up at a ninety degree angle while sleeping. I take 200mg of Magnesium at @9am & 8pm. My sister and granddaughter control their restless legs with Magnesium spray and a cream respectively, as needed.
margaret you say you take 8 grams per day of curcumin
that is 8000 mg…am i correct? I take 450mg twice a
day..am I taking too little?
If it works that’s enough.
I’ve answered some of you privately…but I thought it would be useful to answer some queries here, too. Let me start by stating that I really know ONLY about myeloma. I am essentially a stranger to other types of cancer or ailments, so if you don’t hear from me, that’s probably the reason (in addition to my lack of free time…argh). Apologies!
However, I might have a helpful hint. If you want to see if your particular ailment/cancer could possibly be helped by curcumin or anything else for that matter, have a look at PubMed, which is an amazingly useful resource: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/ Type your query (e.g. “hiatus hernia curcumin”) into the Search box, towards the top of the Page, and hit Enter. And you can also contact Prof. Aggarwal, whose e-mail address can be found online. Just look up one of the studies he has co-authored.
Yes, 8 grams is 8000 mg, Richard. And yes, 450 mg, twice a day in my opinion, is verrrry little. That’s less than one gram. My parents and husband take almost 4 grams a day, which is 4000 mg, for preventive purposes.
As for other types of chemo with curcumin, try checking PubMed, Janet. I didn’t find anything specific for Folfirinox, though. In that case, I’d write to Prof. Aggarwal…He might know about possible problems. So happy to read that your husband is doing well! 🙂
Hope this helps! 🙂
Hi margaret.,
I was diagnosed with MM three months ago and have been on dexamethasone, cytoxan and. Velcade. The dex destroyed my muscles and gave me cataracts in both my eyes so we stopped that. Now I take the other two drugs with occasional injection of epopoetin to increase my hemoglobin.
I want to stop all the chemo and start taking Curcumin. The velcade is giving me peripheral neuropathy.My question is, have you been able to maintain a normal kidney function and normal hemoglobin levels (no anemia) on your Curcumin regimen. I would love a response.
Would Curcumin help a diabetic who is on insulin, are there any contraindications in a diabetic patien?
Hi there. I came across your site while researching curcumin. I’m taking it for a benign brain tumor. I bought capsules made by Jarrow Formulas; Tumeric Concentrate Curcumin 95. Each capsule has 500 milligrams. Yesterday my acupuncturist told me that tumeric can’t work unless it is heated and taken with some kind of fat, like olive oil. How are you ingesting curcumin? Are you taking capsules or are you cooking with it? Do you know if there is there a tremendous difference in Curcumin and the tumeric used for cooking? Thanks so much for taking the time to reply.
To Lisa:
If you have Cancer espacially some serious like brain tumor you should watch this video, at least the first 3 min… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0ibsoqjPac
Hope you live near Houston, good luck
Best Regards
Is there any other place to view this. It is no longer on utube?
Hi. I’ve written on this site before.My husband, diagnosed with Pancreated cancer in 5/10 is still alive and almost in his 17th month after surgery, chemo and of course Curcumin..which I credit for him being in the 5% still alive after one year. Here is my question. I have given him 8 grams a day with bioperine and fish oil. Here is my question. Is it best to take the fish oil and bioperine a few minutes before the Curcumin? I also in addition, give him organic pepper fresh ground on a cracker about five minutes before. I want to do anything I can to increase the absorption. Our oncologist at Sloan finally is talking to her patients about Curcumin. I found out about it on this blog and I want to thank you once again as well as asking the above questions. Thanks..Janet. PS My husband just had a CT scan which was normal and all his tumor markers are LOW normal!
typo…meant pancreatic cancer…
I underwent right nephrectomy due to 5cm x4.5 cm x4 cm tumor which was diagnosed as lieomyosarcoma and had metastasized to RT lung. PET scan showed all areas clear except lungs. Two senior oncologists confirmed that the LMS will not respond to chemotherapy and nodules in lung are too small (largest being 14 mm) to risk radiation. Advised ‘wait and watch’ Prof. Aggarwal of MD Anderson suggested ‘CURCUMIN’ which I am taking for last one month. No negative side effect. On the flip side, blood sugar became consistantly normal. General condition has improved drastically, , bowel movement has become very normal, good appetite and and digestion. Awaiting next CT scan which due to in December. Eating veg.meals , feeling good. – lal
Dear Janet,
It is so encouraging to read your husband’s experience with Curcumin.
My wife has endometrioid ovarian cancer and the typical chemos have not worked for her. She is currently on a trial with a pi3k inhibitor (targeting pi3kinase mutatation and a mek inhibitor (targeting KRAS mutation)
She is also getting treated at sloan kettering; and was keen to learn from your experiences. What chemo is your husband on and did your husband’s oncologist agree on him taking curcumin along with chemo? How much curcumin is he taking along with which chemo drugs?
Margaret – I was keen to know from your experience / vast knowledge if combining curcumin with a pi3k inhibitor and mek inhibitor (targeted drugs) would be okay ?
thanks a ton
Andrew
Hi Andrew – I totally believe Curcumin has made the difference. My husband was on Gencytobene and Oxyplatin (not contraindicated with Curcumin) He takes 8 grams per day, with fish oil, milk thistle, bioperine, vitamin c and resveretrol. We also did research on acid/alkaline theory that cancer and illness grow in an acid environment. We bought test strips and found we were both acidic. We simply bought apple cider vinegar and ate salads twice a day (just tomatoes and cucumbers) drenched in the apple cider vinegar and also started brushing our teeth with non aluminum bakind soda and within a week we were green on the test strip (alkaline!). Google it..makes sense to us. My question to Margaret is that there looks like there is a new Curcumin which is time released. Is that better? I picture the 8 grams going into my husband system and BAM hitting those cells..don’t know anything about the time release but if you think it is better we’ll buy is – they sell it as 1000mg with bioperine, I think its Ageless cures.
Thanks –
janet
Hi,
I’ve been diagnosed with Behcets syndrome which in turn has caused me to have fibro myalgia…I’m in constant pain but also have flare ups from time to time with my stomach..my joints are inflamed, ligaments, tendons an get a lot of ulcers in soft tissue..can any one please give me any help on whether Curcumin will help or at least not harm as I seem to throwing good money after bad on supplements and cure alls… I’ve just bought Collagen as this is supposed to help rebuild soft tissue..it has helped slightly but hasnt been passed by the food standard agency so I’m a bit concerned of any side effects.
Thank you in anticipation.
Jo
Can anyone help me?
Is curcumin safe to take with SSRI’s [especially paroxetine [for anxiety, depression] @ 40mg/day? I’m happy to cut down [slowly!] to 20mg/day, but I’m scared to go off paroxetine completely.
Has anyone used curcumin AND a SSRI?, and what were the effects/side effects? I’ve searched the internet, and found very little regarding this.
Also, if I [slowly] go off paroxetine, how long before I should start curcumin, and will the curcumin ‘kick in’ fairly quickly? Thank you. ?P
I have been taking curcumin, 1000mg a day w SSRI and SNRIs for about 3 or 4 months with no adverse reactions.
Can you tell me please what the amount of curcumin there is in a tea spoon of tumeric powder, and is it ok to take this herb with my aspirin and blood presure tablets. I do also take anti acid tablets and have been taking tumeric powder for a few days now with no side affects, and there has been a great improvement in my arthritis pain.
Many thanks David
please notify me by emailmany thanks david
Hi Margaret, Hi Janet,
I want to buy the Curcumin. However, I got confuse by the name like:
Turmeric extract-raw, Curcumin standardize, Curcumin powder, or Curcumin Complex (Curcuma longa, rhizome standardized to 95% total curcuminoids).
Which is that we should buy? Also, can you please help to know how many grams of raw fresh Turmeric is equal to 8 grams of curcumin standardized 95%?
I thank you very much for the answers. My wife has liver cancer and a potential bone cancer and I hope you can explain a little bit more for me.
Regards,
Tom
Hi Tom
The curucumin that Margaret takes is the C3 Complex Curcumin. If you look on her protocol it will explain it all to you there
Does anyone know where to order nano curcumin?
Apparently 60 x increased absorption- so 1 capsule is enough. MD Anderson studies are with nano- curcumin. There is a place in San Diego, that claims this technology, but they sell liquid, and all their products taste the same , little alcoholic, so I question that that products contain what they claim.
This is the pill I am currently taking for fibromyalgia. I am starting to get some bruising and wonder if it is also thinning my already thin blood. Also, am I taking enough of this? Do you recommend a specific amount? I am feeling much better and have been taking it for 4 months now. Appreciate any advice you can offer. Thanks so much!
faye
Curcumin Complex (Curcuma longa, rhizome) (standardized to 95% total curcuminoids) Typical Profile: 875 mg *
Curcumin (73–83%) *
Demethoxy Curcumin (14–24%) *
Bisdemethoxy Curcumin (2–4%) *
Bioperine® Nature’s Thermonutrient® (Piper nigrum, fruit) (standardized to min 95% piperine) 5 mg
If you are bruising, please go to a lab and check your platelets. you can find my story elsewhere on this blog. Myrto
Hi Margaret, I did contact you some time ago regarding a ” threat” to start treatment for my myloma, which didn’t happen. Just to say I started taking C3 complex about 2 years ago, eight 1000mg tabs a day, reduced to four a day to regulate my over enthusiastic toileting. I am still hovering on the limit of treatment with little or no change in levels much to the suprise of both the hospital consultants and my GP. Some of my readings are worse than those of people who have reached treatment level. Why ? Is it the curcumin – I don’t know, but I am not stopping taking It !! I haven’t told the GP or consultant I am taking curcumin in case the tell me to stop. Do you think I should? Regards, Jeff
Interesting article on how to make your own Liposomol Curcumin in your kitchen which gives up to 15 times the bioavailability of the normal oral consumption.
http://www.pdazzler.com/archives/1005
Sorry!! The above link shows how to make a combination liposomol product of Vitamin C,Resveratrol and Curcumin.
If you just want to make some Curcumin liposomol then this youtube video shows how. Just use Curcumin instead of Vitamin C.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SeU–wadrMY
Hi Margaret,
Thought you would be interested in an article published in the Seattle Times on Tuesday 11/1/2011 titled “Military Rations Take “Gourmet” Turn”. It covered the military food scientists located outside Boston, MA who are transforming the field rations called “Meal Ready to Eat” (MRE). A spokesman for the Center is where every item put into an MRE is tested and tasted. “Military technologists are lacing the MRE food with omega 3’s and CURCUMIN (which acts as anti-inflammatories)” was quoted. “Officials stated that the MRE has gone gourmet – or as gourmet as can be for food that has a shelf life of three years at 80 degrees and can withstand an airdrop from 1000’s of feet.” It appears that you were light years ahead of our Military regarding curcumin. Regards,
Rita Billson, Fidalgo Island, WA, USA
I have just completed second stem cell transplant. Now day 19 and feeling absolutely great. Wondering if it is wise to recommence my curcumin tablets at this stage or best to wait till we get the 90 day readings in which tell if the myeloma has gone into CR this time. First transplant we got protein readings down to 1 from 60 at diagnosis. any info about this?
Thanks Keith
I am about to order the machine for making the Vit C as this is VITAL for low immunity, and prone to colds etc, I was just about to enquire if it possible to also do this for curcumin, and here you have answered the question. .
Keith I found this good also for the 5 nutrients required that are ALL hard to absorb and this totally solves it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=ysStPNN2cvgblogs
Paula
You may find the cheapest way to buy the electronic cleaner used to make the liposomal C or curcumin is Ebay. Lower shipping charges as well coming from Australia.
http://www.ebay.com.au/sch/i.html?_nkw=jewellery+cleaner+&_cqr=true&_nkwusc=jewellry+cleaner&_rdc=1
Can you tell me as well about GIST (Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors) and if you’ve read or other reader’s know of Tumeric’s w/Curcumin benefits. Also, any data regarding PN, Autoimmune disease’s?
Our Cat (Miles) has chronic Pancreatitis and I read on a Vets website that the dosage is 1/4 a humans because of Cats absorption rate. Do you or anyone you know use it to treat your animals? He has secondary diabetes because of Pancreatitis.
Thank you for your Fantastic Blog!
Check out this page, Teresa: http://margaret.healthblogs.org/antioxidants-and-chemotherapy/pets-with-cancer/ There are a few stories there, and some links that you might want to check out. Sorry to hear about Miles…poor sweetie…:-(
Keith
You are a darlin
I was going to check ‘Trade Me’ in NZ.
Paula
Make sure that any Oz Ebay suppliers ACTUALLY export to NZ before ordering.
Sometimes “free delivery” on Ebay just means in country of supplier!
Keith
I was not going to buy on Ebay, but purchase a 2nd hand one from ‘Trade Me’ in New Zealand.
Did anyone answer Pat on the anti-anxiety and curcumin. I too am on but suffer from joint pain and have only recently seen the reports on curcumin. I would love to know more. I am 50 yrs old, overweight, taking effexor and have joint pain and swelling in my legs. Could this be an answer for me? I also take a calcium blocker for high blood pressure. Tired of taking 600 mg of Nsaids 3 times a day.
My Mayo Doctor recommended I take curcumin with bioperine. I consulted him about neuropathy. Is there any evidence or is anyone taking it for neuorpathy and if so, did it help.
Hi Roberta,
I know about having anxiety, but I don’t know much about alleviating it. But I want to comment on taking the Nsaids, which I did too for sciatic and other pain. Turns out I have significant kidney damage, but not, they think, from my myeloma. We don’t know if it’s from the Nsaids, but they do have a bad effect on your kidneys, and I’ve been told to avoid them completely. Not what I wanted to hear. And not what I want to tell you, but just in case, you should check with your doctor, a nephrologist is best, about taking that much. Doesn’t it just floor you the number of things that are involved in and effect myeloma?
gabriel,
I started taking curcumin, based on what I learned from Maragaret’s blog, to help stabilize paraprotein levels. Within a week, my neuropathy symptoms had all but disappeared. This was in late September…I only have the occasional twinge in my feet now instead of burning, pain and constant tingling electric jolts.
Paula:
That is reassuring, however, I have not had any result yet. I hope I can get some meaningful result as you. I have been taking it a week or so. Thanks. Anyone else?
Wanted to know if curcumin is safe having gallbladder removed in the past
Thanks
Also just received some correspondence from Dr Aggarwal’s office that stated that curcumin with bioprene made no significant difference. I would appreciate any comments on this. The office also gave a supplier in Italy with a product with 50x bioavailability.
Happy Holidays Everyone! I have learned so much from this site and want to thank everyone for their amazing information. My husband, who has pancreatic cancer, is starting month 20 with no evidence of disease. I attribute this to Curcumin. I am going to follow the links above with the machine (liposomol). I am still giving him 1100mg every morning with bioperine. I also saw that the doctor doesn’t feel bioperine doesn’t make a difference. This is hard to believe since I have spent many hours grinding fresh pepper over cream cheese for the fat and pepper combo. Aarrrgh!! If anyone is on facebook you can find me under Janet Shapiro Maday, please friend me. I’ve put a lot of the info I’ve learned on the Pancreatic cancer page. Invaluable info. Thanks again! Love, Janet
They are evidently recommending the meriva product for the increased bioavailability.
any feedback appreciated
Thanks Ron – still have three bottles of the Ageless Cures, but will definitely check out the product you suggested. Happy Holidays – take care…Janet
Hi Janet
I am not recommending this product, only seems that his lab made a point of referring to it for the bioavailability factor. Margaret would likely have some thoughts on this. I think their studies in the past used the C3 complex which is what I am taking, but had just started it.
Looking forward to more discussion and opinions regarding this.
There is also a sustained release form of meriva product available and I wonder if this would be advantageous
Here is a link to the company in Italy that developed the Meriva formulation. http://www.phytosomes.info/public/meriva.asp
Margaret, have you looked into this? Meriva seems to have been around and paired with curcumin for a while. Both Swanson’s and Vitacost offer supplements.
The Meriva increase in bioavailability of curcumin may be better than the other way of adding Bioperine.
I have a few questions about it though. Looks to me, they are combining different curcumin analogs than the C3 complex. But, will that be better in fighting MM? I remember Margaret mentioning that the BioCurcumin supplement she took did not work. I’m sure it was tested for bioavailability; but, was it the same as C3? Apparrently, more bioavailability was not what mattered.
What would be the dose of Meriva? Margaret has said the 8g C3 for her may not be what is needed for others. And, how many times has she said, “less is more.”
I don’t know what the dosage should be. I think taking any supplement should be in a monitored setting as Margaret is doing it with periodic lab tests to see how it is working. Even Curcumin.
Here is a link that is interesting. Margaret, what do you think? 8g was mentioned as well as addding 20mg of piperine incresed bioavailability 2000 times. So would a lower dose of C3 with an added supplement of Bioperine be sufficient for good results? DNA damage doesn’t look good.
http://toxsci.oxfordjournals.org/content/91/2/476.full?sid=6cf90a3a-98ef-4a68-ac5e-7404e27c8b40
Mike
Good points. Meriva seems to have a much higher concentration of curcuminoids in the trials at a much lower dosage. Thorne research offers a product of meriva in a sustained release form which would give a more stable level of curcuminoids at a less frequent dosage.
Very interesting comments, everyone, thanks. This has turned into a sort of readers’ forum, which is fabulous! 🙂
Mike, I’m on holiday and don’t have time right now to read that DNA study, but I did contact Prof. Aggarwal yesterday about it, and he answered that chemo and radiation also cause DNA damage (and, I would imagine, much worse damage than anything curcumin could do, and probably at very low doses). I suppose that high doses of ANY substance might interfere with DNA, but that is pure speculation on my part, of course. Anyway, I have made a note of that study (which is fully available online, btw) and will have a closer look at it asap.
In the meantime, if anyone (with a good head for numbers et similia) would like to try to figure out what the doses given to those cells would be in “human” dosage terms, please go right ahead! That would be a huge help. Thanks. 🙂
Margaret
Enjoy your holiday. I am new to this site and you have put together an amazing site with much time and hard work.
Ron
Mike,
The study references Human Hepatoma G2 Cells which are liver cancer cells. So you WANT DNA and Mitochondrial damage to these cells by curcumin!
Eileen
What interested me in the study was their remarks in the discussion section that high doses of curcumin should be avoided and coingestion of piperine should be limited. To me, it appears their concern is broader than the HepG2 cells. To a lay person, These studies are a bit confusing. I thought the replacement of the piperine with Meriva may be a better choice if it has the same MM fighting abilities. And, that I do not know.
Hello,
I just wanted to report some side effects i had from taking curcumin. I was taking it intermittently over a couple of weeks, and then i developed severe diarreha. My GI system was in distress. its a couple of days on now, and i am still having loose bowel actions, and when i do, it triggers off all the spasming again and i have to take meds to stop it. I have stopped taking it, but am worried about when the bowel which has now become irritated and overactive is going to settle down & get back to normal. 🙁
Does curcumin help u lose weight? I’m 5 foot 4 and 200 pounds
Hi,
Fighting a battle with lung inflammation, horrible cough on top of my copd so after finishing prednazone the other day, i wanted to see if curcumin would clear out the garbage in my lungs. Tried it first time last night but had a very weird reaction – throat feels like it has spasms or something. Hard to explain. I’m positive it’s linked to the curcumin as i never get this otherwise. Is this a side effect and what’s going on with my throat ? I don’t want to stop the curcumin – i felt a noticeable improvement in lungs – very fast response. I tried this herbal 2 years ago – just 1 pill – and the same thing happened.
Would like any feedback or comments on this research opinion regarding curcumin possibly causing progression of mgus to mm
http://clincancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/early/2010/03/20/1078-0432.CCR-10-0218
Ron, here is my response: http://margaret.healthblogs.org/2010/04/01/about-to-leave-for-rome%E2%80%A6and-a-few-random-thoughts%E2%80%A6/
Margaret, thanks for the response. I am currently taking 500 mg of Meriva in the form of Meriva-SR 250 mg twice a day. I am a mgus with a 1.2 m spike, and had spoken with Dr Aggarwal and he suggested starting with 500mg of the Meriva and upping dose as needed.
You do a fantastic job with this blog and it is much appreciated
Ron
Ron, are you still MGUS?
Just diagnosed with MGSU. Is NATURE’S WAY TURMERIC STANDARDIZED – 95% CURCUMINOIDS good to take
does curcumin interfere with any Alzheimers medications-namenda, exelon patch?
Ma’am margaret thanks for your blog, just want to ask, my wife has a history of cervical cancer and she BEAT THE CANCER!, but after 2 years dr. found a mass on her lungs and they’re advice for biopsy and ct scan for further evaluation, Is it good for my wife to take a curcumin capsules? and if good how much dosage she can take?
Thank you and God Bless
Hi Margaret,
My mother was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, stage 4, with metastasis in liver. 10 days ago her gallbladder was removed also. Wondering if curcumin could help in this situation. Would it be possible to get an email address of Professor B. Aggarwal? I have several questions to ask him.
Thank you so much,
Nataliya
I’m taking chemo (Xeloda) and doctor recommended also curcumin. I was told to take 2 x day 2 pills of 750 mg each. I was taking it for over a month now but since 2 days I’m getting rush after taking it- I will lower the dose and consult the doctor on that during my next visit. I would also strongly recommend to all of you to check yourself for gluten intolerance. I believe that it is what gave me the colon cancer since I did not know I was gluten intolerant and was eating food containing gluten. Often gluten in our diet is the first silent problem. Best wishes to all.
Your doctor (oncologist or physician) told you Curcumin can be taken while on Xeloda?
I have tried curcumin for pain and stiffness and the result was amazing – pain and stiffness disappeared almost immediately BUT it seemed to cause diarrhea. How can I continue to take this supplement without getting this side-effect??
Is Meriva Gold a good brand of curcumin? Anyone out there used it? Is 500 mg. twice a day enough? I had ovarian cancer 3 years ago and don’t want it to come back. Please help! What brand is recomended?
Hi, Margaret,
I am a 40-year-old man, and I was recently diagnosed with Kennedy’s Disease (a Motor Neuron Disease variant), which is no-cure as said by the western doctor. However some reports say taking curcumin may help. I am currently taking one pill (600mg) a day. After reading your article, I have concern about the antifertility properties of curcumin. I have never known this before. Could you please refer me to this article? The link http://tinyurl.com/2r2ubs is broken.
Also I would like to know whether taking 1200mg curcumin per day is too much. My brother takes 1200mg and he wants a baby.
I look forward to your help.
Kind regards!
Sheng Zeng
Can anyone give advice on up set stomach caused by curcumin. It rally helps inflammation of the prostrate and I would hate to stop taking it. Would appreciate any advice. Thx.
I had the same problem and also diarrhea. I solved the problem taking turmeric in infusions or mixed in milk.
Hi Mark
Unfortunately in some people curcumin does cause and upset stomach. You may need to lower your dose and eat less fibre in your diet if you want to continue taking curcumin, its a tough one that, and is one of the side affects that they saw on the clinical trials.
Did anyone research the effects of curcumin in a paste to be aplied on a specific area for inflamation? The benefits could be to have it concentrated over the needed part of the body instead of diluted all over. I have pain on some joints… great blog, tks a million!!!
I have had chronic pain for the last two months, the doctors tell me that I have a virus in my muscles, and I must take a 9 anti-inflammatories a day, I went to my chiropractor and told him I can’t take those pills, so he mentioned Curamin. The first night I took one pill and did not wake from pain, but, because it was time to get up. After two days I am in the 50-75% pain free, range.
Hello everyone, I have decided to increase my Dr’s Best c3 intake for the next round of labs in July (i am presently smoldering), plan to get to 8g per day. I also want to try adding Nigella Sativa. I want to try the supplement form…can anyone share their experience with the supplement? I don’t know how much to consume at a safe level. Thanks in advance to all who reply and have a wonderful day.
Hi Dana
I take my Dr Best in the morning and evening before meals, 4g each time opened and mixed with yoghurt. With that I take 1g of Nigella Sativa Oil, then at lunch time I take a 500g tablet of Nigella but the seed this time in capsule form. I also cook with the seeds every evening, I buy 50g a week and mix them with 25g Cumin and 25g Coriander, this makes a nice mix and I add it it everything, the more spices the better. Will get my labs at the end of next month to see if this has made a difference. Good luck
Hope you know that the spice only contain 0,05% curcuminoids… soo no point in cocking with it if you want more curcuminoids. I take Revgenetics Sky curcumin. Costs alot more, but its micronized soo that’s why the cost is up.
Hi Libby,
Thanks so much for your reply. Is there a particular “brand” of the oil and capsule form you buy? I hope you see results at the end of the month. Please let us know !
Hi Dana
I get mine from vitacost, it is called black seed, it comes in oil and powder, there are not many to choose from, i just took the one with the least additives in. The one is 9 dollars and the other about 14, so its not too expensive. Good luck
Libby
hi all,
Just sharing what type of curcumin i take. Mine is known as Genus Serum solubilised curcumin which is sold in 15ml bottles. Its 100 percent curcuminoids without any additive. A friend of mine who has ovarian has consumed this GS for 2 weeks and said her body is providing positive answers. My spondolysis is also not giving problems since I consumed Genus Serum..
Pardi hi,
Is this stuff you´re taking possible the same
as they use in trial Margaret just wrote today?
Where do you buy it from?
inge
Hi Inge,
I am not sure of the brandname Margaret is referring but substance-wise sounds about the same. Best that u surf the Genus Serum website which on the bottle states genusserum.com. BTW, my brother who has osteoathritis tried this curcumin together with his prescribed glucosomine, celebrex and vitamins ACE, and discovered amazing results after a week.
Pardi.
thanks to you Pardi, I´ll check the website.
Interesting, isn´t it and today let´s go to the
garden and pick some dandelions!
inge
Can you take curcumin if you are currently taking Tarceva for Lung Cancer? Also, after reading thru all of the info–I am confused as to what to buy and what to add to it, etc. Where can I find that info?
Greatly appreciate any and all guidance.
Thanks,
Linda
Linda,
One study using mice has found that curcumin increased tumour size for lung cancer. They surmised that it was not suitable for those with lung cancer who were smokers or ex-smokers.
http://www.carcin.oxfordjournals.org/content/30/6/1016.short?rss=1
Milk Thistle has been found to help kill LC cells.
Keith
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/11/111115145236.htm
It seems quite a few LC patients take milk thistle with Tarveca as well.
http://www.iherb.com/Now-Foods-Silymarin-2x-300-mg-100-Vcaps/802
You might also like to check out Inositol which is found in our food and is available as a dietary supplement. Its undergoing clinical trials at the moment for lung cancer by NCI and Mayo Clinic.
The dark side of curcumin
Dear Margaret
Most of the clinical studies are showing and stressing the beneficial properties of curcumin.
This is an article from Spain (2010) which is focused on the potential negative effects of curcumin
Burgos-Morón, E., Calderón-Montaño, J. M., Salvador, J., Robles, A. and López-Lázaro, M. (2010), The dark side of curcumin. Int. J. Cancer, 126: 1771–1775. doi: 10.1002/ijc.24967
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ijc.24967/pdf
With the best wishes
Ralph
Hi, it sounds like all the original symptoms were that of MSG or Glutamate consumption. I was just researching glutamate blockers and found Curcumin could help and was directed to this link.
This could be worth investigating, as all these problems seem MSG related
since I start taking Curcumin drops 25-30 gtts. twice a day with meal I develop some irritation inside my mouth. I usually mix curcumin gtts. with 8ozs. of juice or tea. Is my dose ok.? Thanks,Alita
The warning about gall bladder issues should be taken seriously.
I tried to start taking curcumin again about 6 months ago, but started having severe upper right abdominal pain which sent me to the emergency room. Ultrasound showed that my gall bladder was seriously enlarged due to ‘slush,’ and it had to be removed. The surgeon said it was one of the worst inflammations she had seen.
I am certain that the curcumin triggered the problem, and I wish I had known beforehand that I had gall bladder issues.
Wow, I’m so sorry to read about what happened to you, Frank 🙁 But I’m equally glad that you’re okay now. Yes, the gall bladder warning should be heeded, no question about that, since curcumin increases the production of bile.
Here is a possibly helpful list of tests used to diagnose gallbladder trouble: http://www.webmd.com/digestive-disorders/tests-diagnose-gallbladder-problems
On the bright side for curcumin I’d like to suggest that my 8grams a day has virtually banished my need for a hat to cover my bald head in sunshine. For thirty years I’ve been very susceptible to the sun burning me, even half an hour in the UK in summer giving me a very painful head and subsequent peeling. Now, after a year on curcumin, I go out and work in the garden in full sun without a care in the world. What other reason can there be?
Hi John
I know that Vitamin D protects us internally from the sun, I guess it is quite possible that Curcumin does the same, I know that I feel so much better taking it and it seems to help with many symptons, Go Curcumin!!!!!
My father is suffering from 4th stage cancer in th lungs.He is undergoing chemo & has already completed three cycles.I was recommended curcumin ,by someone who has similar problem.
But before i recommend this to him,I would like to communicate with Dr Aggarwal at MD Anderson.Can any one please provide me his mail ID,as the ones I have ,their is no response.
rajvinder
Please check back to my reply of 2May to Linda who asked about Lung Cancer and Curcumin. One study showed it increased tumour size in LC patients. Milk Thistle appeared to kill off LC cells in lab tests.
Hi Margaret, I was diagnosed with MGUS in Jan 2011. My IGG was 1700. Eight months later in Sep 2011 it had climbed to 2100. Then four months later in Jan 2012 it jumped to 2480. My hematologist told me it was accelerating and that by May or June it should have passed the 3000 mark, and we would then do a biopsy to see if my plasma cells were at or over 10%, meaning I had MM. Right after thet, I started taking Curcumin. I reached 6 grams a day, taken in 2 doses, each with a fish oil capsule ( Vtamin Shoppe Triple Strength Tumeric Extract 900mg with Bioperine 5mg). About a month ago I started taking 3 grams daily of Parsley Leaf split into 2 doses(Nature’s Way Parsely Leaf 450mg) and 3 gms of Dandelion Root split into 2 doses (Nature’s Way Deandelion Root 525mgs). I just went for another blood test, and my IGG was actually lower, at 2258mg/dl. My IGA is 64 and my IGM is 97. No real change on both of those. My Free Kappa light chain is 4.64mg/l and my Lambda is 5.95mg/dl. The KL ratio is .78. My regular doctor gave me the numbers, and I see my hematologist next week. These supplements have to be the cause for the decrease, as it seemed it was increasing more rapidly. The only problem I had with the Curcumin is some changes to my stool, which is an annoyance, but I can deal with it. I considered upping to 8 grams a day. Has anyone had any real problems at those levels? Thanks for your time and the valuable info, as this has to be the reason for my good news. Bill
I’m so glad that your numbers have improved, William. I just wanted to point out that even if your plasma cells are > 10%, it doesn’t mean you have MM. That’s super important!
If you have no CRAB symptoms, then most likely you have smoldering myeloma, which is what I have. And, if you’re smoldering, that means the following: NO TREATMENT (no chemo, that is).
Anyway, good job! 🙂
Prof. Aggarwal’s e-mail is readily available online, so I can post it here, too: aggarwal@mdanderson.org
Thanks Margaret. Actually, I made a typo. The sep-2011 IGG was 2001, not 2100. So the jump from then to Jan-2012 was even greater, showing a faster acceleration. The fact that the latest showed a drop is even more exciting, as I fully expected to be way over 3000. I am only hoping this last reading is not an aberation. Again, the only thing that changed were the supplements. I’m going to up my curcumin from 6 grams a day to 8. Hopefully I can tolerate it. This gets expensive, but a Hell of a lot better than the alternative. Thank you again. If I had never seen your blog, I never would have tried this. Bill
Hi Margaret
I too have smoldering myeloma but my levels are rising and I have recently tried taking Resveratrol 150mgs a day since I read it was good for MM but I have found it gives me leg cramps and weak upper arms,I was wondering if you have any experience of this supplement ?
Many Thanks
Faye
I am taking Curamin, it contains curcumin. Will I receive the same benefits as taking curcumin?
Feeling kind of alone with MGUS here. Diagnosed 12 years ago and only went once to an onco. Bence Jones was fine. I never went back. I recently confided in new Dr. (GP) of my 12 year “secret” due to my fear (I completely freaked out!) Guess I just hoped it would “go away” since I had no symptoms. Dr. referred me to a hemo but have not picked up the phone yet (that fear!) So now that “monster” has been brought to light again by confessing to new Dr. IgM stays around 950-1000. I take Res and Curc and pray lots. Looking for what works to keep it at bay. Thank you all for being here and sharing. Sorry for long post!
I have read through all the blogs and still did not see an answer concerning if you can take Curcumin if you have had your gallbladder removed. Does anyone know the answer to this?
Terri:
If you’ve had to have your gall bladder removed I’d strongly advise not taking curcumin, as it could make the original problem worse.
FrankH
Frank
Could you explain what you mean since most people have GB removed due to stone formation
My personal experience is that curcumin contributed to my gall bladder filling up with ‘sludge.’ Sludge and bile are generated in the liver, and will continue to be even if the gall bladder is removed.
I have only taken Curcumin for a month for back and nerve pain. My problem is that I was just diagnosed with diverticulitis and was wondering if there is any connection to the curcumin.
I have had problem w/ bad sciatica& I had had accupuncture done before & take flaxseed,OPC 3,MSM,Glucosatrin,Type 1 11 & 3 collagen,befotiamine,bromelain,calcium citrate,vit d3,cinnamon,magnesium ,ubiquinol for so many years now due to my SLE. Every now & then,I get a setback but I bounced back easily. The sciatic pain had put me a very debilitating situation in Jan 2011 due to a respiratory problem as well as bad reflux from the hiatal hernia. Now,I started taking turmeric 2gms per day for 2 days & I can say how much difference do I feel now. Maybe this will help me to recover soon so I can take care of my sister in law in Canada who has terminal slow growing cancer,diabetes & neuralgia on the face. I have believed so much in holistic approach to my ailments.
I have smm for 3 years. I am on no medication. I checked with my Dr at MD Anderson re curcumin and he has no opinion. Should I try curcumin or leave well enough alone. I am 83 years of age. I leave reading your material.
Gloria,there are several docs at MD Anderson using curcumin in trials currently Fu Siqing Md is one. he is currently heading a study with Theracurmin. Curcumin certainly is worth a try as it also seems promising in Alzheimers and heart studies.
Ron
Margaret I have smoldering MM. Iasked my Dr at MD Anderson (Dr Wang) about curcurin and he had no opinion. I am not on any medication as yet and it has been 3 years. What do you think about me taking curcurin? Thanks
I find the comment on the rash interesting because I tried taking Tumeric liquid drops for fatigue and developed a hive-like rash. Is it possible that Tumeric is associated with sulfa? I have the same reaction to sulfa antibiotics. This is off the subject but may help someone. I tried taking glucosamine and chondroitin and had a horrible reaction…..severe nausea and vomiting after 7 days (a long-term reaction to sulfa). Some people get a rash right away with sulfa allergy and sometimes a reaction (like I had) develops once so much has built up in your system. Does anyone know if Curcumin has sulfa?
I was diagnosed with SM about 2 months ago and immediately began a curcumin regimen after all the research I did and all the wonderful help from blogs like this. I built myself up to 8 grams a day taken all at once with 2 grams of fish oil for better absorption. Feeling pretty good but did notice that I’m starting to get excess gas and belching a lot. Not that big a deal but at times it feels like the gas buildup is causing pressure against my diaphragm and causing shallow breathing. I also saw that excess gas can place pressure against the vagus nerve and cause weird heart rates. I’ve noticed a bit of fatigue late afternoon mostly and wondering if it has anything to do with this? Anyone see any of these side effects as well?
PS also beginning to add 2 grams quercetin and 200 mg apigenin taken together 12 hrs apart from the curcumin. Any comments about the total package?
I recently consumed a few (maybe 6 or 7) Galaxy Minstrels (chocolate sweets) only to develop stomach and abdominal pain very shortly afterwards. This lasted for several hours. I know that I react badly in the same manner to Paprika Extract and Annato (both in the E160 category) so I had a look at the ingredient list on the packet. Apart from lecithin, there was only one other item, a colour that I did not recognise: curcumin.
I’ve checked various allergy sources and it would appear that E100 (Curcumin) is not linked with ‘allergies’. Of course that presumably does not rule out intollerace which is technically different to allergy but can also be thoroughly unpleasant. I note from the above comments that some on here have had unexpected and undesirable recations including gall bladder problems, abdominal pain and bloating after consuming curcumin yet others seem to tollerate 2 or even 8 grams which is far more than would be found in the covering of a handful of chocolate candies.
I’m a bit confused therefore, so can someone tell me a) curcumin cause allergic or intollerant reactions? or b) completely rule it out as a source of such reactions?
This has become a large forum and I have not read it entriely and so my question may already have been answered – please forgive me. I am currently taking warfarin, Ecotrin and Crestor for a clot which developed in my leg. I also have some small but painful sites of rheumatoid arthritis. The vascular specialist I consulted advised me against drugs like Celebrex to relieve inflamatory pain whilst on the above. Will curcumin, in combination with the above-mentioned medication, provide safe relief?
hi is it possible to get doctor Agarwals email id,god bless……
can you take Curcumin when you take plavix??
I have a question..
I have recently read about the preventative effects Curcumin has for Alzheimer’s.I am a 34 year old women,
My Grandfather had Alzheimer’s,and now my Mother has been diagnosed as well.
I want to start taking something but am a little weary after reading this blog…
Is this something I should try in smaller doses?
Define smaller doses?
Most people only take 0,5 mg-1 mg a day, unless they do have a disease.
Alzheimer people all have a really high level of Beta Amyloid in there brain, Beta Amyloid is a substance that gets created when a protein in your brain called APP breaks down, it breaks down in everyone. These particales are called Beta Amyloid and they are very sticky and form big clumbs together with each other. They form a “plaque” on the outside wall of the cell (only cells in the central nerve system) this plaque is removed by your immune system if you eat curcumin.
Why is becuase the curcumin also get sticky with beta amyloid and when it does the immune system reacts and attack the beta amyloid, and therefore it gets dispelled from the body.
You should start giving it to your mother, although she might need higher doses, but start with 1 mg for her. It’s important to take it with fat/meal since curcumin is not that easy to absorb for the body. But it is fat soulable soo empty stomach with water is completly useless…
I think AdamI may may have the dose of curcumin a bit mixed up. I think he means a dose of 500mg (.5gms) to 1000mg (1gram) The most common capsule size by most manufacturers is 500mg. The FDA has determined it is safe to take up to 8-10 grams a day of curcumin. A preventative dose of two 500mg caps a day would be considered a low dose. However there are bioavailability ( product absorbtion) issues with curcumin so it is recomended to take some oil or fat at the same time,that maybe fish oil from the bottle, also a good source of omega 3 fatty acids or some have a little tub of yogurt because of its fat content. Research this website well as there is a vast amount of very helpfull info on it.
savannah
I think your wise to be concerned about Alzheimers if you have had 2 previous generations who suffered with AD.
This article goes into all the latest research on possible causes and a list of natural supplements that have been shown to lower beta amyloid plaque.
http://www.lewrockwell.com/sardi/sardi156.html
indeed I mean 0,5-1 gram,
I have heard Omega-3 is not the kind of fat that curcumins needs, more like the generally bad fat. Like butter and icecream(pork)
Thank You!!
You have all been VERY HELPFUL!!
I am very concerned and any information is greatly appreciated!
Has anyone with gray hair noticed it turning yellow, especially in flurescent lighting while on curcumin?
No Fred but I do think that some of my thinning spots are filling in, unless its just wishful thinking lol.
I do think though that I may be one of the unluckys that are having stomach issues with it. I’ve noticed a tremendous amount of gas and bloating in my stomach and wondering if anyone else has come across this? I saw a few articles about the possible effect on the gallbladder but nothing really to narrow it down. I’m going to stop taking it for a while and see if it subsides.
For 2 years, my husband has had an oozing ulcer on the bottom of one of his feet. Would Curcumin be prudent since he does use aspirin theory & takes Carvedilol (Coreg®)?
I wasn’t sure where to post this but I wanted to pass on some good news I received from my doc that hopefully will be encouraging for people.
My story is recent diagnosis with SM about 4 months ago and at the time my initial labs were IGG of 2947 and an m spike of 1.9. All my other crab symptoms normal and not a single health issue, plasma was over 10% so he gave me SM instead of MGUS.
I was fortunate enough to run into this site as part of all my research and immediately set myself up with a regimen. I worked myself up to the following over a two week period and have taken this daily ever since :
morning
8g C3 Complex
2g Omega3
evening
2g Quercetin Complex
200mg Apigenin
8000 iu D3
Went back for labs this last week or so and CRAB totally stable on all accounts but the shocking news was a dramatic drop in IGG to 2365 and mspike down to 1.7!!! Needless to say I was very happy and so was the doc (although he doesn’t attribute it to the supplements lol). I figured that’s what he would say so i took it in stride. Bottom line I feel great and he doesn’t want to see me for labs for another 6 months. I will stay on this regimen until then and see what i get. Stay tuned all.
Richie
Richie; We seem to be pretty much on the same ‘track’ so I’m interested in your supplements. My only difference is Quercetin and Apigenin. What are these and what do they add to aid our issue? I’ve read of people taking IP6 and Inositol but hesitate to add them if no real advantage. Is there with the 2 you are taking?
Please …any help….do NOT want to advance from Smoldering. Thank You…. Lyn Franklin
Hi. I’ve been reading “Margaret’s Corner.” I would like to know if I’m a candidate for Curcumin or at least a Turmeric supplement. I have plantar fasciitis and tarsal tunnel syndrome. I also have skin issues (atopic dermatitis) and muscle/joint pain. I DO NOT have a gall bladder as of 2002. If I am, I’m totally confused on what brand name / amount, what to take for absorption, etc. Thank you so much.
I apologize. I meant to add that I’m highly allergic to sulfa. I also take one low dose aspirin, one fish oil capsule, two calcium and two vitamin D pills daily. I was concerned about the blood thinning properties, since I take a low dose aspirin. Thank you again.
Hi, My 20 year old daughter had grade 3 (out of a possible 4) Endometriosis. She had to have surgery to remove as much as possible and still has some symptoms during her monthly cycle. Does anyone know if Curcumin could help to reduce her inflammation and if so what dosage? thanks
Dear Margaret
Hopefully you can help me with the following question
using natural dietary supplements that are recommended
on your site I try to slow down or even stop my kahler
disease process.
Is it possible that my endocrine system can get immune
for these supplements when longer uesd?
Is this a reason for a temporary stop or a variation in
dosage?I look forwaed to hearing from you.
Marion Rebel
Thank you for such helpful and informative advice on curcumin.
I was reading the above post and someone posted about her daughter having abnormal cervical cells …..I was wondering if you could curcumin as a vaginal suposority? Or if you had skin cancer, would it not be beneficial to apply it topically? What about breast cancer? Could you not add some coconut oil and rub it into your breast/underarm? Yes, it would be messy, but I keep reading about stomach acids destroying its potency, so its not as active once it hits the bloodstream…..Any thoughts? 🙂
Hi Ian D., I just googled the problem of your daughter and found something very interesting (Curcumin arrests endometriosis by downregulation of matrix metalloproteinase-9 activity), have a look at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19374255
and, please, do a search on Google Scholar site with the keywords endometriosis + curcumin. Best luck!
Dear Margaret, Thank you very much indeed. I will keep you posted in the coming months.
Hello Margaret,
your blog was indicated to me by Carole G. I am now 64 and I was diagnosed with MGUS type IgM on March 2008.
I would like to contact you directly by email to share some experimentation i did and some ideas.
Can I write in italian? It would be easier for me …
I hope to hearing from you soon
Thank you
Pietro
Hi Pietro
I too have a similar diagnosis and would appreciate you sharing
Danica
I am very impressed with the amount of information in this blog.
Hi Margaret, im having cold skin allergy and im suffering from inflamation so may i use curcumin? If yes in what amount of dose i have to use?
I take Tumeric powder 2-5% curcumin With Moringa leaf is it best to get curcumin by it self or is it the same as the tumeric and how much of each should I take a day of the tumeric power? or take it in a pill? I have Gere disease and hight blood, Hep-c auto-immune, a degenitive spine and tumors. I also take medical cinnamon.I get a lot of smelly gas. I seam to stay dizzy and mental confusion was also why I started to take it these nutritives.
WHAT A WEALTH OF INFORMATION. just been told that my uterus has cancer cells. Waiting on result of ctscan. Started Jarrows curcurmin one week ago. 500mg per day. Dont want to go on chemo. It is comforting to read all these blog. Will update on my results
Hi. My husband has Myeloma .He already had a stemcell trans. In 2008. His numbers are going up and some of the drugs that worked before aren’t now. They want to try him on a new chemo and we want to add this. But don’t want it to make it worse. We did some other natural thing and think it might have messed. Him up. His lightchains tripled in 2 months. What dose do u think would be good for him? Should we get the kind with black pepper? Getting really nervous. Please email asap. He is young and we have young kids. Thanks so much.!
Hi – I need the email address for Prof. Aggarwal. I am taking curcumin for multiple sclerosis 800 mg a day and I am having a lot of abdominal pain even thought it is helping with my ms spasticity. I am concerned about internal bleeding. Thanks, R
Horrible allergic reaction to curcumin. I started taking curcumin July 2012 and after 1 wk started noticing what appeared to be mosquito bites on my ankles. However, after 3 wks these turned into itchy, painful blisters so I discontinued use of curcumin. as time passed the blisters moved from my ankles to lower legs, progessed to both forearms and to the back of my right hand. As of Jan 2013 I am STILL having problems. Been to the dermatologist; taken 3 rounds of anti-biotics; had 3 shots of Kenalog (cortisone); taken 1 round of Prednisone and 1 round of methyl-Prednisone; used Tea Tree Oil – NOTHING HELPS! – I look like I have Leprosy and must wear long pants and long sleeved shirts to work. The fabric on my shirt sleeves irritates the sores and I have pain daily. HAS ANYONE HAD A SIMILAR REACTION? CAN ANYONE MAKE SUGGESTIONS THAT MIGHT HELP MY SITUATION?
If i take curcumin do u put weight on. Does it help with digestive system i dont have a gall bladder so some foods dont digest with me. Or do you have another product u can recommend that i take too. Thanks. Mira.
but U did use cortisone gel during this whole time right?(thin layer)
Because shots of cortisone and antibiotics aren’t that specific. U will be treating the whole body with that.
Hello- could you please tell me the e-mail address of Dr. Aggarwal? I have a question I need to ask… Thank you very much!
I had Back surgery on Nov 5th,2012 and I have been in more pain than anyone could of expected my pain level from 1-10 is a 25 I cry everyday because I hurt so bad.
it ranges anywhere from my left side of my stomach to shooting and constant pain in my legs. the Doctors sent me to a pain clinic just to find out there is only 2 things that might help, a spinal stimulator or putting a resovor in side of me with morphine inside of it. not to thrilled with either option.. a friend of my wife suggested that I take 3( Turmeric Curcumin) Turmeric ( Curcuma longa) (Root) 450mg and Turmeric Extract 50 mg 500mg and a vitamin called Alive have you ever herd of this?
Hello. Have been so blessed after finding this page while searching for a solution for my condition. I have diabetic (Type 1) gastroparesis and was put on domperidone to help with the nausea and to help the stomach empty and bowels to move properly. However, long term large doses of domperidone affect the pituitary gland and cause increased production of the hormone prolactin. One of many unpleasant side effects is hair loss. I am a 51 year old female so not happy at all about this. I have ground turmeric in my pantry but have never used it. It has passed its expiry date so will have to replace it! With a limited income as not able to work, taking the spice is the best alternative at the moment. How much should I take of the powder initially please? I have reduced the domperidone to lower the side effects but my bowels are no longer working properly and the hair continues to both recede at the temples and fall out all over. I am considering going on a completely liquid diet in order to stop taking the domperidone as the side effects have affected my quality of life and the “benefits” are cancelled out. Any suggestions are most welcome. Thank you.
I have been reading through a lot of these stories and can’t seem to find an answer to my question, which is: Is vaginal bleeding a side effect for anyone else? I started taking Curcumin 500mg twice a day in April. The effects were immediate in that my constantly aching knees, ankle, and hip became nothing more than tense with the first pill I took! But within two days, I started lightly bleeding. I thought nothing of it, it was about that time of the month, but it just didn’t stop. The curcumin certainly made my cycle easier but it continued on for 19 days, until I quit taking the curcumin. I’ve tried Curamin, which doesn’t cause that problem, but it also doesn’t work as well. My legs are bothering me again, so I went back to the curcumin and, just like last time, I started spotting within 2 days. Any advise would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
I am experiencing the same thing. I have more then spotting when i take 500 mg of turmeric tablets twice a day. I realize ur post was 2 years ago, but have you found out a solution or a reason why it happens only for some of us?
I used to take 500 mg of turmeric tablets once a day and it did wonders for my inflammation problems. Even my skin issues. But more than that causes vaginal bleeding.
Would really be grateful if you could get back to me.
Thanks
Jay
I have been reading your blog on curcumin which the nurse practioner on my Mayo team recommended to me, a SMM patient. I purchased Viramin World Double Strength Plus Bioperine Tumeric Curcumin 1000 mg. with 100 mg of Tumeric extract standardized to contain95% curcuminoids. I was wondering before I start if I am on the right track with this brand or should I seek out Doctors Best? I have been reading on Curcumin and find myself confused. Thank you.
Hi,
My dad is suffering from Congestive Heart Failure due to Cardiomyopathy and Heart Valve Leakage. Due to this his liver has also become cirrhotic and his kidneys have been affected as well. Creatinine in the range if 1.8 to 2.8. Total Billirubin is around 3. Uric acid is high as well.
Would Curcumin help? Please note that his BP is 80/60 almost all the time. His ejection fraction is 25%.
Looking forward to your expert advice.
Dear Margaret,
I would like to ask you if Turmeric is safe for washing teeth on the long term. I have used it twice already and it had fascinating even after the first us!
Is there something in it that could be detrimental to the enamel?
Thank you for your answer!
I have ben taking plavix,75 mg a day for seven years. I was recently diagnosed with erodive rheumatoid arthritis and gout. I do not want to take the biologicals as they can cause cancer. I brew celery seed and drink the water every day. I,recently purchased curamin for inflammation. Can it create problems if i take the curamin with the plavix as it further thins the blood. I would ask my cardiologist but they are woefully ignorant on these natural medicines. He did tell me he did not think omega threes would thin my blood enough to cause problems. I need the curamin for knee pain.
Margaret, I am so pleased to have found you via Facebook. I was diagnosed back in March 2013 with SMM and would have launched into immediate treatment had I not listened to my daughter, who is a nurse, and my GP. Both insisted I should get a second opinion and thankfully I did as I have no CRAB symptoms and will now be doing ‘watchful waiting’.
I have found your articles on curcumin extremely interesting and positive and I would like to start taking it but I have two questions that perhaps you could help me with. The first is which brands carried here in Vancouver, Canada are recommended as safe. We just had a big expose on supplements being tainted with everything from pesticides to e-coli!
My second concern is a gallbladder issue. I had mine removed in 2004 and it was a very nasty operation as I had been left far too long. I’m wondering if not having a gallbladder, which comes with it’s own set of issues, could make taking curcumin a problem. Perhaps you have read or heard something about this and could pass the information on.
Thank you so much for any advice you can give. Take care and thank you again for your great web site!
I am currently being treated at the Royal Marsden Sutton, UK under Professor Gareth Morgan. Currently on Pomalidomide, PredMeth and Cyclophos (as aspirin)
Over the years (and more so recently) i’ve noticed there’s been a lot of hype/discussions about the benefits of taking Curcumin supplement / Turmuric as an aniti-cancer drug.
I have taken the supplement many years ago when I first stubbled upon Margerets blog!
Well I was keen to re-introduce Curcumin supplement into my diet. So I thought i’d double check with the Marsden, Sutton, UK.
I thought I would share the feedback with you – I was particulary shocked to read that “High doses of antioxidants are not recommended whilst a patient is on chemotherapy as they may stop the chemotherapy from working so well” ! this was news to me!
Have you been given similar advice?
Feedback from Marsden
· Preliminary research suggests that curcumin might have antioxidant and immunostimulatory effects.(1)
· High doses of antioxidants are not recommended whilst a patient is on chemotherapy as they may stop the chemotherapy from working so well.(2)
· Curcumin has antiplatelet properties, therefore in may not be appropriate if the patient has a low platelet count and is taking aspirin.(1)
· One database stated that dietary turmeric (curcumin) inhibits cyclophosphamide- induced tumour regression in animal studies.(3)
· Not recommended that a patient takes a curcumin supplement whilst on chemotherapy.
References.
1. Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database accessed via http://www.naturaldatabase.com [accessed 25.7.13]
2. RMH Patient Information Leaflet – Vitamin and mineral dietary supplements (available via the intranet)
3. Memorial Sloan Kettering – About Herbs accessed via http://www.mskcc.org/mskcc/html/11570.cfm [accessed 25.7.13]
A co worker that had tumour in her breast got curcumin from her doctor… so seems not to be a problem more on the opposite side of things it’s good to take. This was in Norway
I have been experimenting with curcumin C3 Reduct for topical application, with some interesting results. The problem is I cannot find any over 100 mg. I have been suspending seven capsules in peanut oil.
Sabinsa suggests 400 mg for oral use but can not find a source. Any help out there?
Regards to all!
Hi, Len Walde.
There is one skin Cream that I use that contains curcumin. There is also curcumin that is Micronized, Micronized means that one have used microwaves in the production to shake the molecule lose from each other. So the bioavailablity increases(the body takes it up easier). But since u are using it on ur skin I Think u definately should use some micronized curcumin for that since the skin doesn’t let much through is… sky curcumin is one brand u could buy which is micronized. Good luck.
Curcumin was recommended (verbally) by one of the most famous oncologists in Israel for my dad’ pancreatic cancer stage 4.
Started from 1 gr daily, increased by 1 gr/d every next week up to 8 gr/d
Hello, I currently started taking kyolic curcumin because I have fibrous dysplasia in my skull. They reduced the bone on my frontal bone and my left sphenoid. But they don’t know if its going to grow or not.
My doctor gave me Anti-inflammatory medicine so the bone doesnt grow anymore, the medicines side effects are too harsh so I hope that this natural supplement works!
Thank You.(LV,NV)
I’m curious if we can further find other means to a permanent cure with curcumin, My husband was diagnosed at age 45 years old a 1 year ago with a brain tumor later determined it was cancer call analplastic astrocytoma grade 3, he had no symptoms until he had 5 seizures and was rushed to the hospital and told at the ER that they had found a mass in his brain in the right thalamus, he was weak but was able to function normally, we weren’t told of the potential risk and under went a routine biopsy surgery a few days later, routine test of several blood analysis, 1 MRI and 3 spinal tabs the results of the spin were negative but the biopsy wasn’t, devastated and shock of the bad news we didn’t let it bring us down, we are still fighting towards the cure, and the good news my husband brain cancer has decreased dramatically we believe there is hope despite the bad headaches, between diarrhea, and constipation, sinus infections and blood clogs,induced diabetes and all the health issues due to the harsh treatments my husband remains strong and doctors are very surprise to see his remarkable improvement which he has made so we are grateful to see this tumor completely disappear we can never loss hope and faith.
Margaret, do you or anyone else know if it is safe to take curcumin with anti depressants (SSRI). I believe that curcumin is considered a MAO-A/MAO-B inhibitor. I have been having trouble with anxiety since my diagnosis of Smoldering Multiple Myeloma. Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
I have been suffering for over four decades under a rare illness called Dercum’s Disease. The most prominent symptoms are lipoma in all sizes spread over and in the entire body, massive weight gain and severe pain. (Dercums is considered the second most painful illness there is) These deposits are caused by an ill functioning lymph system. What benefits would I have from taking curcumin? Should I then eliminate the two blood pressure medications I am presently taking? Otherwise I am on three different pain killers. I would very much appreciate any suggestions.
For those of you interested in knowing more about, please look under http://www.lipomadoc.org
Thank you and cheers,
This is a 2012 study I found interesting Curcumin Blocks Small Cell Lung Cancer Cells Migration, Invasion, Angiogenesis, Cell Cycle and Neoplasia http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0037960#s2 My Mom has lung cancer and it has shifted into her brain so I’m thinking about trying her on the Curcumin, her lung cancer is stable its the brain cancer we are worried about. One responder gave the link to a study where the Curcumin increased lung cancer tumors, however more studies have been done showing a decrease in size instead.
HI Margaret, I started my mother on curcumin last week. she suffered a stroke in 2005 resulting in Vascular Dementia along with Alzheimers and Diabetes. I was her caregiver until last July when she fractured her hip and pelvis again.
Unfortunately, I had to place her and she continued to deteriorate at an alarming rate.
Since starting her on the curcumin she has started to regain her memory and personality. All of the staff are quite impressed and are surprised to see the real person.
The day I started her I could see improvement within an hour and the next day I was a little worried because she was almost speaking in tongues with the memories rushing back in parts without any timeline, I wondered if I had made a terrible mistake and had made things worse.
Lo and behold the next day, when I went for my daily visit the first thing she said was to ask me if I had eaten? This was the first time she had asked me about myself since she first got sick, I was almost in tears I was so happy.
I have increased her dosage to 2 pills a day, one w/ breakfast and the other with supper, a total 850 mg of Clef des Champs Curcuma. When I see her doctor next time I will add another at lunch. I have tried to spread the word but people are reluctant, I only wish I could give it to the other residents, I know it would help them as it has my mother,
On the other hand I personally had an episode in which I suffered a mini stroke 2 months ago and was in really rough shape. I was deteriorating rapidly, to the point I couldn’t rememeber what I went into the room for. I was lightheaded, dizzy, blurred vision and my front left lobe was throbbing. I went to the emerg. for an EKG and C-scan but both were negative although I went home I continued to get worse.
I took 2 curcumin and that night I literally could feel tingling in my front lobe, I have continued to take a pill a day and was feeling quite well until yesterday when I took 2 pills at supper to alieviate some constipation but instead of having a BM I filled the toilet with blood, today I am trying to fill a 24 hour urine collection to check my kidneys because I have A systematic proteinuria, I was hoping after what I had read that the curcumin would help my kideys but instead I am unable to urinate more than an ounce or so at a time and in eleven hours have only discharged less than a cup. If I am not better tomorrow, then back to emerge.
PS my mother has experienced no side effects and I am very grateful to you Margaret for your blog. I wish I could climb to the top of a mountain and shout out to anyone with a family member afflicted with the devastating Alzheimers about curcumin the miracle drug.
All the best to you and god bless.
Dan in Montreal
have you ever had patients who have dementia show any slowing down or decreased in the disease that normally comes with this issue. Also if you do have gallstones what effect can taking Curcumin have on your biliary system or gastrointestinal system?
I have been taking Curcumin for a few years now and it has really improved my health, we barely ever get any colds or flu anymore and my joint pain and stiffness is pretty much gone. I feel much healthier and look younger than before I started taking it, a very substantial good side-effect of its daily usage is greatly improved mental clarity and being generally less “foggy” in my head. Something great is going on with this stuff, whatever it is I am going to keep taking it twice a day. I’ve always used the Life Extension brand with the BCM-95 Curcumin extract, it’s only like $20/bottle through the link at http://www.CurcuminPills.com I used to buy it locally but now it’s over $30/bottle at Vitamin Shoppe so we definitely save a lot buying online and they ship free too. I recommend taking it with food always and just make it part of your regular routine, it is very well tolerated by almost everyone and I have not had any adverse effects after taking it for over 3 years now. I love Curcumin, honestly I don’t know how I ever survived without it previously! 🙂
I suffer from osteo arthritis which is heightening as I get older. I am 67 years old. I cannot take anti inflammatory drugs due to stomach ulcers many years ago, and thought this natural product for pain relief may be my saviour. I am taking CURAMIN which contains curcumin, boswellia, DLPA and Nattokinase. I have read on the net that people who take a blood thinner should not take curcumin – I take Clopidogrel daily. I also take fish oil and Krill oil which thin the blood as well) Do you think it would be dangerous to take CURAMIN. Would it be beneficial to talk to a naturopath or a GP. Thanks in anticipation.
I really appreciate your blog. Thank you.
I have a few questions:
1)where do you have a summary of your complete program of black pepper, etc. with Curcumin.
2)I have started Natural Factors’ CurcuminRich 300mg Theracumind, which is supposed to increase absorption through nanotechnology. Is this new super absorption form what is spoken of in the blog at 8000 mg per day? That’s a lot of pills. Is anything better or is this good?
3) What is to be taken with it or what protocol to enhance it?
4) Was interested to find that Drugs.com’s interactivity checker does not even know what curcumin is. Should I insert it in that program some other way to run their check with my other meds?
Thank you for your promptest reply.
Hi margaret,
I am really enjoying reading your blogs for I have learned a lot of things from here. have a benign tumour behind my knee which is cannot be operable according to the surgeon. since 6 yrs ago, i have been eating tumeric powder…. 1/2 tablespoon a day.
no effect on the tumor n its growing slowly from 1.5cm to 4.5cm.
appreciate ur urgent advise what i should eat to shrink d tumour. GOD BLESS
I have high blood pressure and a high cholesterol can I take turmeric with curcuming and what dose I should take
I have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and suffer from constipation. Should I take curcumin2k and what dosage I should take?
I have had an interesting side effect to taking first Doctor’s Best and now theracurmin. For years I have had a “trigger” right thumb. I have had cortisone shots and they did work. Then it all came back after a few years. The doctor now recommended a surgery to push the bone back into the socket. Well, I never had the surgery– I found curcumin instead. Trigger finger is all gone as are some of my ordinary aches and pains.
I too have more energy and i also have some rash. I am still holding to my dose, however. Am just monitoring it all.
Thanks for all your comments
20.07.2014
Hi, just discovered this site. What a huge amount of info! Thanks ever so much.
Unfortunately I have quite a few health issues (not too strange for 70 yr old)
1.Hiatus hernia, no gall bladder, zero oestrogen, No thyroid, taking Eltroxin, severe arthritis, using wheel chair, ulcer from taking anti-inflammatories for more than 30yrs! Stopped them. Pain unbearable. Any chance I can try Curcumin? Sip approx 500ml Apple Cider Vinegar, and make a fresh ginger tea every day, helps tremendously with reflux. Allergic to Codeine (perhaps just as well)! Any help out there. So sad to see so many folk with such serious problems. I had cancer 34 yrs ago, and still going!!!! I never stop thanking my Heavenly Father for His mercy. I live in South Africa!
greetings and thanks L.
i have severe stiffness and joint pain and would like to try curcumin but i also have stage four kidney failure
would this product be safe to use life would be so much better without pain thanks Corey
I have been taking Curamin for about 4 weeks now, Terry Naturally brand that the lady at the health food store recommended to me as I needed relief from pain in my lower back & hip. We were going on vacation & the last time we took such a long trip is when my hip got inflamed in the first place and it has hurt now for almost a year. I started taking 2,000 ml a day about 4 weeks ago. It has helped a lot & I don’t have pain in the day. It’s at night the pain wakes me up. Thanks for your blog as now I see I need to take more at night with supper.
Thanks again for your blog.
I was wondering…if you could enlighten me…I have allergies to black pepper and garlic…would I be safe in taking Curamin ?? My Chiropractor has recommended it for me do to my Fibromyalgia. I am leery to try new things due to my allergies. Thank you for any information you may be able to offer,
Lori, if I were you, I’d ask my doctor about that. That said, I did go check out Curamin, and I don’t think it contains any pepper extract or anything connected to garlic. Still…better be safe than sorry!
I think that this product has been making me hazy. I cannot remember things and my head feels like there are marbles in it. I only take one capsule per day but I stopped. Please let me know if any one else has experienced similar side effects.
I have had Osteoarthritis for 20 years and recently sprained my right ankle again for the 2nd time in 21 years. The pain became progressively worse in my right foot and left knee and almost had to crawl up and down the stairs and walk very slowly. I bought Bell Curcumin 2000X for another condition and to my surprize the pain in my foot and knee went away within about 2 hours! I take 3 x 680 mg per day and this works miracles for me and I have lots of energy now. My Chiropractor says it must be taken with oil for proper absorbtion and Bell contains Vitamin E.
I have had a gastric sleeve and am unable to take anti inflamatories, e.g. Mobic. Can I take Curcuminoids 500 in its place. Bobby
How does Curcumin apply to someone with neuropathy? Is it effective? Does it relieve the symptoms and pain?
Hi, I live in the uk and was diagnosed with MM in 2004. I am now on my umpteenth line of treatment and running out of options apart from clinical trials. I’ve been taking two high potency turmeric tablets daily with my current chemotherapy treatment (pomalidomide, prednisolone and cyclophosphamide. I am also taking a multitude of prophylactic drugs and attend hospital monthly for infusions of privigen and every two months for zometa. Is there any benefit to be gained from the turmeric with all this other stuff going in?
Not even sure what dosage to be taking anyway. I’d appreciate any advice.
Thanks
Monika
Hi Monika,
I’ve been looking through Margaret’s blog to see whether she’s written anything about curcumin interacting (or not) with cyclophosphamide or Melphalan, as I’m due to have a stem cell transplant soon and the consultant is crossly telling me I have to stop taking curcumin but says he “doesn’t want to do any research” on whether or not it interferes with either drug.
I haven’t found much info so far, but according to Margaret’s latest post, researchers have found that it DOES interfere with cyclophosphamide:
http://medicalxpress.com/news/2015-03-curcumin-effective-combating-cancer.html.
So I guess I will set it aside while I’m on that – perhaps you should, too…?
I was previously treated with VTD (Velcade, thalidomide, dexamethasone) for early-stage MM following a solitary plasmacytoma 5 years ago. Having read on various links provided by Margaret (thank you, thank you, Margaret!) that curcumin actually POTENTIATES the action of Velcade and dex, I started taking it a few weeks into treatment. I’m now back in remission. PET scan clear, no paraproteins visible. They say the SCT should consolidate things; I blimmin well hope so…
I believe I’ve also read that curcumin also interferes (negatively) with either pomalidomide or lenalidomide. I suggest you do a search!
Best wishes,
Charlotte
Hi, I have been taking Haltia’s Nano Curcumin for the past 3 weeks and have been passing sticky dark stools.
Does that mean my body is rejecting the curcumin or it’s actually doing something positive?
Brgds, John
I have been suffering of osteo-arthritys for few years plus a deterioration of both my knees and painful upper leg muscles that make me stop walking every 100 mts. I have been using an analgesic Panadol-Osteo at 6 tablets/day(2,2,2) with mixed results, from very good to other days with pain. By adding Astaxanthin 8mg/d I found an extra improvement. Now I have discovered CURCUMIN and I just started to take Nagestic-osteo-acute as CUMERONE at 3 tablet/day and eliminating the 6 tablets of Panadol-Osteo. Each tablet contains 12.148 mg Curcumin extract. I feel after reading all the above that I am not taking enough and I am very confused with dollars and cents (powder ln g and corresponding extract in mg). Please give me a rough comparison between raw curcumin powder and the enhanced extract. Many thanks. Regards, Eraldo.
Hi,
My wife and myself started taking Curcumin 500mg TDS, about 2 months back. We have encountered no side-effects. Our experience is that it is helping in Osteoarthritis and also bringing down blood-sugar levels. Though it is costly we do want to continue but we do not know how safe is it to continue for a year or two? Further, if we start taking Turmeric powder, which is available at grocery stores, what should be an ideal daily dosage.
I will be grateful for your response.
Dawinder
Hi,
I have read through this blog but couldn’t actually find anybody who has rheumatoid arthritis, which I have. I am on Methotrexate 15 mg (which is a chemotherapy drug) and now only 1 mg of Cortisone. I am following the Margaret Hills Diet (their vitamins and protein powder, and Apple Cider Vinegar and Molasses. I also have to have Epsom salts baths 3 times a week. I started taking fish oil, some VitD, Vit C, and of course Curcumin. I am taking 4 tablets (4000 mg). I am not sure how much active Curcumin is in those (Physician Naturals). Here in Australia they have to write it on the label. I also take high doses of Zinc, Manganese, Magnesiuml, B6 because I am Pyrrole positive.
I can’t really say that any of those supplements helped my arthritis yet. However, I changed to a grain free and dairy free diet and noticed already after a couple of days that the inflammation in my knuckles was getting better and is still getting better after 2 months.
I am just wondering if anybody out there has any experience with rheumatoid arthritis. I would especially be interested to chat with people who were able to stop taking Methotrexate.
I also am confused about the ‘active curcumin’, so e.g. there might be written on the label: 1000 mg curcumin but only 90 mg active curcumin. I was told not to use the ones which don’t state the active part.
Hi Helga,
I have RA and multiple myeloma. My first oncologist was certain that there is link between them –
both anti-inflammatory. My RA numbers went to normal after working my way up to 8000mg of
curcumin and following Margaret’s protocol. Dairy products are the worst for me – so acidic – I too
am dairy and gluten free. My gut is better, my inflammation is under control. I refused the meds for RA,
years ago. I took the epsom salt with baking soda (ph level) baths for relief. I am into my 4th year of MM treatment – possibly heading to trial. Have been on curcumin for over two years –
Hi Helga , I have rheumatoid arthritus as well, I am going to start taking tumeric or curcumin, Goin to just start on the tumeric first. Its really cheap. Then go to curcumin ,expensive later. yeh im suffering lately. interesting you are saying about grain and dairy. would you like to keep in touch? Cheers
I was wondering if you knew if I could take this while breastfeeding? My doctor said he couldn’t give his advice on natural supplements because they have too many ingredients.
Pls help me also.i want to know if i can take raw turmeric juice.
: gallbladderless for more than 1 year already
: liver enzymes slightly elevated at 85 due to antibiotics taken for pneumonia
:iron deficiency anemia : ferritin levels at 6.5, hemoglobin normal, rbc slightly elevated, platelet slightly elevated
Before coming across information relating to the results of turmeric testing for lead and other compounds I had started to ingest about .5 of a teaspoon daily. We simply purchased labelled turmeric from a local grocer and also an Indian grocery store.
Please tell me which brands were not found to contain lead or other contaminants and had high concentrations of curcumin. I also wonder about mod in the powder. Can one simply buy and eat turmeric root in the store for the same benefit?
Many thanks. I hope to receive your ideas.
ABSOLUTELY INSANE! For the past 5 years i have been suffering non-stop. I am 45 years old and around 39 i started having horrible dizzy spells. I was going through menopause and my GP and Gyno kept telling me that it was all menopause related. Then i started having excruciating joint pain followed by cramping of the feet, dizziness, low blood pressure, memory problems and i gained weight. I became instantly depressed and i was exhausted all the time. Trying to talk to my husband was frustrating at best and i’m the first to admit that my support system is virtually non-existent. I have had numerous CT’S and MRI’S through UCLA. Then the nerve pain started to progress, lost feeling in my hands and feet, my leg strength started to deteriorate. I started to think i was experiencing MS. I was referred to a NEURO, had doppler’s of both arms and legs…..all these tests came back normal. I was sent to a RHEUMO, all tests came back normal. Then i was diagnosed with Osteoarthritis as well as Fibro. Now i am being sent on May 13th to do a EMG. A friend of 20 years recommended NATURE MADE BRAND TURMERIC AND CURCUMIN. I thought it was going to be BS……………………..I am here to tell you IT IS NOT! I started taking on cap a day them increased to two. INSANE……I am not nearly as in pain as i was. MY MOOD GOT BETTER, MY ARTHRITIS IS BETTER, I CAN BEND AND PUT MY SOCKS ON……….THIS IS A MIRACLE MEDICINE. I am the biggest skeptic in the world and i am here to tell you it helps alot! GOOD LUCK OUT THERE!
Lauren I noticed your post is from last April. I’ve had some of your symptoms but the worst issue has been tingling & numbness in my hands and feet. Recently though I’ve noticed my blood pressure is too low. The curcumin seems to be lessening my neuropathy symptoms but the low blood pressure seems like a recent thing.
How are you doing now?
PS. If your still taking curcumin, how much are you taking? Btw I’m using “CurcuminRich-Theracurmin” by Natural Factors. 1-30mg capsule 3x a day with meals
I have tried Curcurim 2K for one month. Two caps per day. I have sever arthritis in my hips and knees. I am 75 years old and anything that can give me relief is welcome. With-in the month that I have used it I had begun to feel a day long light light headness and nausesa . I also felt a very low energy. I then looked up what the side effects were. It is not recommended for anyone ( like me ) that has a stumuke ulser, I also found that it is a blood thiner (not good for me . IN addition it also stimulates the gale bladder witch produces to much bile . Which gave me stomuck rumblings and deep belcheches . I read that some get diaria and rashes , which I did not get . It is not a healthy thing for me to take, It may be good for some people , but it just made me feel sick.
I’ve been suffering from peripheral neuropathy in my feet, hands and sometimes legs for the past year and a half. I started taking 30mg 3x a day of Theracurmin (Natursl factors). I have noticed a significant decrease in the numbness and tingling.
lately I’ve noticed weakness and feeling a little faint after just 20 or 30 minutes of light exercise. The last couple times I checked my blood pressure was much lower than usual. 92/65 & 86/63. Could they be connected?
I have had a TKR three years ago and since have had knee swelling problems ever since. I do not take any other pills. I do take a multivitamin every day. I have blood work done once a year and it comes back OK but it tells me that I have a low-cholesterol count. I would like to know if Cucumin would help with the swelling?
Thanks
Curcumin really helped me particularly with my knee and feet pain while waiting for my operation. I was in such severe chronic pain I was taking one Currumin tablet every 3 to 4 hours just to help me walk at the age of 30.
Unfortunately after the operation when I had titanium put into my feet it was no longer strong enough but I do keep taking it as it’s supposed to be a great anti imflammatory which will hopefully help the healing process quicker.
I’m in Australia and I find most of the good brands come from the health store and not the chemist. But if you want a product that is very powerful be prepared to pay extra and experiment with different products.
After taking 500mg of Spring Valley (Whole Herb) Turmeric Curcumin for 3 days I experienced really bad diarrhea. Will have to rethink taking this for pain and anti inflammatory. I would appreciate any new ideas.
Hi Suzy,
I am very skeptical about Spring Valley products for strength and purity. Here is why.
Last September my very food motivated 9 year old Belgian Malinois broke through the living room gate and went up to my bedroom where I had been filling a months worth of meds and supplements into my pill boxes before work. I needed to double check so left the bottles and and boxes on my bed. She ate at least 400 of the 5000iu of VD3 which should have been fatal. Vit D causes their organs to turn to stone at a much lower amount if ingested. I wasn’t aware of this for a week even though I had checked on toxicity so I made the appointment to have her blood tested and ultimately euthanized. The vet was astounded because her labs were totally normal and she is still healthy.
One has to assume there was very little, if any, actual Vit D in either of these unopened brand new bottles. Dogs have died eating about a tbsp of outdated 10 year old creams that contained Vit D for eczema. SHE SHOULD BE DEAD!!!!!
I will NEVER buy any products from Spring Valley ever again and it taught me a valuable lesson to only buy my supplements from companies that have a good reputation such as Vitacost, Drs. Best etc. Margaret and others have posted on the brands they buy and kinds of curcumin so there is good information on this blog so you can be sure that if you are taking a brand it has helped others and it gives you the best chance to help you. All the best to you.
Hi. I take a baby asprin daily per my doctor. Do you think that I cold start taking this and drop the baby asprin? My doctor doesn’t know anything about holistic medicine so he won’t be much help to me. Thank you for your time!
I couldn’t take aspirin because of ulcers – I take 8,ooo mg of C3Curcumin and it keeps my gut in check. My oncologist follows me with the curcumin use and tells me to KEEP taking it!
Hiya Margaret, I first want to thank you for the wonderful work that you do here!!! You are a beacon of hope and a true inspiration.
I am a 41 year old female and have just been diagnosed with MGUS which scares and terrifies me to death every minute of the day as I go to sleep and wake up!!
I am taking each day in strides and have not come to terms with this diagnosis as of yet. I have a knot each day in my chest and tears are never ending.
My question to you is.:
What do you eat as far as your diet to maintain a healthy meal intake?
What supplements have you been taking and brands would be helpful….
If anyone here can respond I would be most appreciative.
T
hanks so much
Hi Jan
I remember this place – it is scary and filled with unknowns. First thing is to learn to breath – in and out.
You will need to use your mindfulness breathe to get you through the moments when it is all you have.
Next, learn all that you can about this disease and treatments. On diagnosis, my acupunturist told me to do everything that you can. You can’t do it all at once but slowly add supplements, food cHANGES, social support etc as you can. I know if I had started the C3Curcumin when I was at MGUS – I would have never progressed – that was six years ago. I have never been in remission, had SCT, every chemo they recommend and nothing helped me – but I had my foundation of daily care and I continue to build it up. Find what works for you – Cut out Dairy and any other INFLAMMATORY foods – that is your strart… You will be amazed how strong you are. Take good care Bethe
Thank you Beth. …..hi are you feeling now? ?? How are you progressing. Funny thing this if I knew then what I know now saying. I’m doing much better still taking each day in strides and trying to live. I have totally changed my diet and cut out the dairy, processed, and meat less than 2 a month. Im now fruit n veggies and I take 3 curcumin tab per day from the brand Dr best along with some along with other supplements.
Hi, my son is 21 years old. He was diagnoised with crohn disease since 14 years old. I heard tumeric is good for crohn. He is now on 50 mg of azatjioprine tablet once a day. Can he take tumeric capsule. If ues which type should i buy. Thank you.
I have psoriasis and everything that goes with it – arthritis, dragon skin, pitted nails, low platelet count, etc. I’ve just started taking Blooms Chemist Curcumin 600 Plus capsules. It’s been exactly one week on 2 capsules every evening, but I have definitely noticed that I’m not taking as much pain medication as before. Fingers crossed…
Lisa, i have a little bit of psoriasis on each elbow. I started the curcumin protocol (no more than 4g a day) about a year ago, within 6 months of starting it all disappeared, leaving a skin texture and tone just like nothing had ever been there. If i miss out on curcumin for longer than a week (which has happened with vacation) I can see it coming back slowly with the skin getting dry. Getting back on curcumin solves it again.
I did not change anything to my diet for the last 12 months besides a 4g intake of curcumin.
Hi Mike,
Thank you for posting. I am thrilled to hear that it’s worked for you and I’ll definitely keep on this regime.
Good luck with your ongoing treatment.
I am currently taking terry naturally curamed. I have found a lot of arthritic pain relief. My question is can I combine it with super primrose oil? It is also an antiinflammatory with a blood thinning response.
Can Curcuma NF-kB cause loose bowel movements? Have taken two days second day had several loose bowel movements.
Please give me the name of the curcumin you take and how much should I take dailt? Thank you.
Hi Christine,
Organic would be best but either will help remove inflammation. I grow silver beet and celery because they are soooo easy to grow and take such little care. I use them mostly because they are cheep and organic, but throw in other bits and pieces.
I just found this page through another patient with cancer. I have suffered four years with MM in unbelievable pain, since I have lesions in my hips, and ribs. Most recently I started seeing double because of myeloma cells were pressing my optical nerve on the base on my cranium! I want to start to take curcumin, but I have found many forms, dosage etc. and I don’t know where I should start. I am currently in inmunotherapy (Darzalex) and Ninlaro, two of the most recent approved drugs.
Please someone can give me guidance as to what to take? powder? capsules how many mgs?
Thank you for your help.
Ana Cecilia
Hello
I have just seen this web site.
December 2014 I was diagnosed with cervical cancer which had unfortunately gone into my lymph node .
25 sessions of Radiation with adjuvant chemotherapy cistaplatin then bracyotherapy.
I believed that I had won the battle with cancer.
January 2016 on my birthday this year I was diagnosed with metstatic cervical cancer as there were 2 cancerous lymph nodes higher up in my abdomen.
35 sessions of Radiation with adjuvant chemotherapy cistaplatin.
It believed that I had won the battle with cancer.
November23 2016 ( just a few weeks ago) had a type of twitch shooting pain above my left collar bone found a lump. Terrible news there are 2 and both confirmed cancerous. Lymph nodes supraclaviculaire. Metastatic cervical cancer in supraclaviculaire lymph nodes.
Will start treatment on 26th December. 10 sessions stronger radiotherapy ( maybe 25 weaker ones) and 2 sessions adjuvant chemo cistaplatin THE CHEMO STARTS 2ND JANUARY.
Since 26 th November I have started taking Curcumin C3 Complex standardised to 95% curcumonids ( 750mg c3 extract 712.5mg curcumonoids )it is with bioperine to improve absorption.
I have ordered a curcumin product longvida which has far less curcuminoids per mg but apparently far superior absorption and according to various articles can pas the brain blood barrier. Apparently it is the only curcumin supplement that can do that. It should arrive tomorrow . Also order theracurma
I intend to use this one to up to 8mg (approx 10 capsules) it should arrive tomorrow.
My cancerous lymph nodes the first control was an echography 24th November 2016 which saw a few swollen lymphs and they were measured . So I have now organised another echography on 22nd December ( the latest possible date before the start of radiotherapy – I start Mondat the 26 December) for the same area . This will show in MY case did the types of curcumin supplement at the doses I took make a difference. I have not taken 8mg . I started with 2 capsules 144mg then increased taken that amount twice per day now I take 3 capsules twice per day so just over 4mg. I will take 10 capsules a day of the new produvt longvida it should arrive tommorow. Also after reading your blog and others to make curcumin more absorbant , more gastro friendly and because omega 3 is also supposed to be goood for fighting cancer I have been taking 2 hemp oil gels and a smoothie with carrots, broccoli , spirulina powder and wheat grass powder ( wheat grass is supposed to be more alkaline trying to counter acid in stomach ) .
PS To make curcumin more absorbale and not converted to get it passed the stomach why not just put it in enteric ( gastro resistant) capsules – ( you can buy them on the internet) .
This way the encapsulated curcumin will pass into the intestines unconverted and have a much better chance of FREE CURCUMIN passing into the blood stream .
Update from previous post of 17 December 2016
My echograohhy on the 22nd December 2046 showed that the lymphs had not grown larger and that there was no detected lymph node spread.
Hi Margaret and everyone
A year ago I was diagnosed MM, but after 2 months I was classified stage II a. This means no CRAB symtoms. But I had 2 pneumonias and my imune system was very bad. Then I found your blog and started taking curcumin C3 complex. During the whole summer I was never sick und everything was stable. I had hoped for more. Then there was a big discussion on bioavability in the German Forum.
They proposed Micelle-Curcumin. i wanted to try this out and bought from this new formula.
After two months my ritz arthrose in my thumb started hurting again and I got a really bad cold with some fever. So I switched back and after 3 days my thumb does not hurt any more. I also hope that my cold goes avay without pneumonia.
I wish you all a happy New Year
Trudi
Hi Margaret,
Six years ago I had a sinus surgery to improve my breathing and headaches problems, but after the surgery, I started to experience pain in the sinus that has now turned into a chronic pain. After the surgery my right nose and jaw has been hurting ever since the surgery.I am 25 years old but I have seen so many doctors that can not find what really coursing me this pain in my jaw and sinus area. With the pain, My muscle in the jaw area gets so tight and I sometimes feel like my jaw is expend. I have seen dentist that said it may seem like TMJ. Please, I wanted to ask you if the curcumin with the turmeric could help me. My doctor has put me on muscle relaxer and nerve pain medications but it does not seem to work plus these medication had cost me constant constipation problem as well.
Thank you
About 9 months ago I had a very minor heart attack and had one stent placed. I am taking the requisite drugs. I have very painful arthritic hands that at times is so intense it wakes me out of a dead sleep. With the anticoagulant I am taking my choice of painkillers is limited. One daily aspirin does virtually nothing for pain. With the other drugs I am taking, I chose not to use Tylenol due to its impact on the liver.
I began taking curcumin, with pepper extract formulation, about 7 months ago starting with 1 gram twice a day. I began to get noticeable effect at about 4 grams per day. Pain wasn’t gone but I could pick up a large glass full of liquid without having to use both hands. I have increased my dosage to a level of 5 grams every 12 hours. My hands, particularly at the base of my thumbs, continue to be slightly sore, but I am no longer driven to the ground in pain when shaking hands! I am not waked in the middle of the night by stabbing pain in my hands (stabbing is not an exaggeration) because I slid my hand under my pillow.
My cardiologist doesn’t believe me because “there is no valid scientific test data” that supports my “claim.” I have NO side effects that I can attribute to the consumption of Curcumin. No diarrhea or headaches or rash as some say.
When I am not hurting, sometimes I forget to take my next dosage. Within 12 to 15 hours, the pain in my hands comes back with a vengeance. Taking the the dose then starts to ease the unrelenting pain within 30 minutes, but it takes a second dose 12 hours later to re-establish full comfort.
Cucumin is not my only supliment, but none of the fish oil, Hyaluronic acid, Vitamin C, astaxanthin, D?, or resveratrol has any impact on my arthritic inflammation pain like has Curcumin.
You take your s with food . I will try that maybe those spots will not come.
Hi everyone. I am 66 years old and retired. I hope all of y’all are well. I am taking 1000mg of Tumeric with Curcumin. I take 2 capsules in early morning and one around 4-5 pm. My Rheumatologist said to take stuff that I did not want for my OsteoArthritis. It hurts a lot. I drop many things also. I bought these capsules at Amazon. After taking them for 4-5 days I could really tell a difference. My goodness these help so very much. I have taken them for about 4 months. I always take them with food. I would love to hear comments. I just want to share my thoughts. Take care everyone.
Hi
Can I safely halve a tablet of Curcumin 15,800mg (Bioglan) . I have just started taking it for sciatica and other pain but am having diarrhoea, problems, taking 2 per day. Thought I would cut down to just half a day. I am allergic to MSG and only recently realised so have been cutting out a lot of products that were causing bowel problems.
Thank you to everyone who has contributed to this site, it is very helpful.
Dorothy (Australia)
Thanks for sharing.
Those story of kidney stone and curcumin becoming pro-inflammatory at high dose had me scared.
I started taking 5-6g of curcumin 95% extract every morning ~30min after 20mg of piperine.
How much piperine did you take? (everyone is welcome to answer that question on here)
I’ve read a study saying 3600-8000mg of curcumin per day for four month was apparently safe, except for some mild nausea and diarrhea in some. I read another stating a one time dose of 12g was harmless.
Still, there is no mention of piperine in those studies.
Hard to be sure 100% that 5g of daily curcumin after 20mg of piperine is safe regarding kidney stones and actual anti-oxydant effect (and not pro-inflammatory).
I guess I’ll go on feeling. Any report is welcome though.
I found this article about a recent study about curcumin. “With respect to curcumin/curcuminoids and in vivo studies and clinical trials, we believe there is rather “much ado about nothing”.” What do you think?
http://www.nature.com/news/deceptive-curcumin-offers-cautionary-tale-for-chemists-1.21269?WT.mc_id=FBK_NatureNews
http://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/acs.jmedchem.6b00975
Hi Ollie, I published a few posts about this bit of nonsense back in March. All you need to do is go to my blog’s “Search” box and type in the words “essential medicinal,” and my posts will come up, so you can read them.
It is simply astounding that a group of researchers couldn’t have done a better job and backed up their claims in a truly scientific manner…Makes one wonder what’s behind it…
Anyway, happy reading!
🙂
Margaret
Margaret, I read all the articles and was surprised at the choice of the form of Curcumin selected for the study. And, I could have missed it, but I saw no reference of curcumin compounded with piperine while there was much comment about poor bioavailability and absorption.
Thanks so much! My mum suffers from Osteoarthritis and Multiple Myeloma. She’s taking chemo at the moment and it may affect her treatment, so I’m going to talk to her haematologist as she suffers with a lot of pain and the Curcumin sounds like it would be great help for her. Thanks for your input here.
Hi,
My first post here. I have CLL and I decided to give the tumeric tablets a go. Worked up to 4 grams a day and really felt the benefit in terms of aches and pains. However, tumeric has increased my body temperature and caused my leukaemia sweats to increase. So, I have had to stop taking the tumeric for now, but hope to get back on it again when things normalise. Apparently being on HRT doesn’t help as (I’ve read elsewhere) that tumeric can make estrogen sensitive issues worse. This may also be a cause of the increased sweats. I’ll post again when I have had a break for a couple of weeks to see what happens.
Hello,
I already was taking 25 mg of HCTZ for BP and 32 mg of Candesartan originally for Migraines secondarilly for BP 16 mg in am 16 mg in pm. I have been taking Butterbur 75 mg twice a day for Migraines, now for about 2 months and just started the Curcamin 500 mg twice a day. Today I woke up with a BP of 88/43 and felt really lightheaded. That is an extremely low BP for me. I haven’t been monitoring ldaily ately but the lowest I’ve gotten in the morning is 108/69 which has been pretty much the norm. I haven’t been able to get it up past 106/67 but it keeps going down again. currently it is 97/52. So I guess my question is could the 500 mg twice a day of the Curcumin affect my BP that much with the 2 BP medications in the course over a month’s time? I have an appt to see my PCP on 9/1 I am also going to get my labs don and have my liver enzymes checked to make sure they aren’t elevated from either the Butterbur on the Curcumin. Can you shed some light?
Thank you,
Laura
I started a BP medicine in april losartan. my goal is to get off. i’ve dropped 50lbs. anyway i have inflammation in lower back, sciatiaca and was going to take the Curcupro Cr the health store said it was fine to take but online says no and some say yes. Was wondering if i can take the 2 together just not at same time
I need to know if curcumin side effects is blood in the urine, making it look like coffee. does being a blood thinner have anything to do with it.?
So what else are you taking besides curcumin? Have you been drinking beet juice? I am unaware of any urine color change from a pure curcumin, with piperine. BUT, if you think curcumin may be actually causing blood in your urine, STOP TAKING IT! Discontinue it for two weeks, while making no other changes in your supplement regimen.
If the “coffee” colored urine stops, you MAY have found the culprit. But, the full test is to then begin taking the curcumin again at the same dosage you had previously. If after a few days the color does not come back, continue. If the color does come back, stop, and go see your doctor because I believe something else is wrong unrelated to curcumin!
Like Bruce, I am unaware of blood in the urine being a side effect of taking curcumin. This would be a first. If you have blood in your urine, my advice would be to go to a doctor to have it checked out ASAP! It sounds as though you might have a urinary tract infection. In any case, urine that looks like coffee is certainly not normal…You need a doctor.
I am just starting my curcumin protocol. You said to have blood test taken before I start so that I can monitor the changes. Specifically what should I be looking at?
Has anyone tried curcumin complex c3 for women with Volvadina. My wife has had it for about ten years. .She takes amatripalin and pregabalin not sure if it really does any good. .whoud be very interested if curcumin has been tried. .Thanks
Hello,
As I read, I suddenly realize that curcumin has an anticoagulant effect. I take one gelule (95%) a day since 2014 (with butter bread breakfast, no piperin).
I also read that two Japanese studies (2006 and 2012) showed that vitamin K2 induces apoptosis of myeloma cells (I do not know the doses).
So I take Vit K2 for a year (a capsule 100 mcg per day), also useful for bones (with vitamin D3). My Stage 1 MM is stable elsewhere.
But K2 is coagulating.
I wonder, because on the internet they sell curcumin + K2 complexes.
I do not understand anything anymore.
An 82 year old man from India told me to go to an Indian store and by Tumeric (26 oz bag for $6.99) mix half the bag with organic honey until it becomes a thick paste. Take every morning , lunch and evening one teaspoon, after one month increase to 2 teaspoon 3 times daily. I had very bad osteoarthritis, carpel tunnel, ulcerative colitis for over 40 years and high blood pressure. After 6 months all my pain disappeared, my blood pressure is fine and no more pills after 10 months and the best part I have no more problems with my colitis and I’m off the colitis pills. I talked to my gastro MD (he is also from India) and he told me to continue doing what I’m doing because my test results were all great. I was told by this wise man that Tumeric is good for all inflammations, cancers, infections etc. and all sicknesses start when inflammation is high in your body, he said avoid milk products, all sugars, red mead, take Milk Thistle and Chlorella. I did read to let the your doctor know that you take Tumeric if you are on a Blood thinner medication.
Hi! I’m Nancy from NY and new to this blog! First off, my sincere gratitude to Margaret for starting this forum and to everyone else for sharing their stories and information! I want to share my curcumin (or more specifically, bioperine) experience. But before I do, I’ll give you some background: I am 56 years old and was diagnosed exactly one year ago with MGUS. My M-spike taken this past March was o.24 and my FLCs were within normal range. Initially I presented with severe pain in back of my right shoulder and neck (which ended up resolving on its own in a few weeks). MRI showed 3 herniated discs and neurologist prescribed some PT sessions. She had taken some labs to rule out any “inflammatory markers”, such as Lyme, etc. Blood results came in a date later and they told me that I should see a hematologist right away. My hematologist at Memorial Sloane Kettering has made it clear to me that I’m very low risk as all of my other tests were good and I have no symptoms. All of my labs (and then some!) were done again at Sloane. I also had a pet scan, 24-hour urine analysis and bone marrow biopsy, all of which were normal. This was all quite a shock to me as there is hardly any cancer at all in my family (my dad had a brief stint with prostate cancer in his early 70’s and it was easily “cured” with surgery. He also had a little bit of melanoma on his bald head! Anyway, I read up on curcumin for MGUS and MM, as well as for treaing pretty much any type of inflammation. Last November or December I started taking curcumin with bioperine. I think I was up to 6 to 8 grams a day. I felt great! Not that I was feeling bad, but I get the occasional aches and pains and some stiffness. I also get mild sinus pressure stuff going on once in a while. Long story short, I had my annual routine physical with my GP in late January. He called me when my labs came in to discuss very high liver enzymes, which were about 50 TIMES the normal range!!! (AST and ALT). I never had any such issues ever before. I went through a battery of tests to rule out the Hep viruses, liver disorders, etc., and all were negative. My doc then asked if I had taken any high doses of Tylenol, etc , the week of my physical. I then remembered that I had taken some Tylenol, exactly as prescribed, over the course of several days that week. He said that would not affect my liver so dramatically. I did tell him that I was taking curcumin. He didn’t know much about it, but told me to stop it until we identified the culprit. I actually already had stopped it on my own when he initially went over my liver results. We re-did my liver panel and they were the same. He told me to re-do them again in 2 weeks. In the meantime, I did some research on curcumin and elevated liver enzymes. All I found was good information in that curcumin is good for the liver. Then I did a search on bioperine and effects on the liver. BINGO!!! Essentially, in very basic layman terms, bioperine inhibits the filter function of the liver so that the body can absorb the curcumin. However, if you’re on certain meds, including Tylenol, pain meds, as well as a myriad of other meds, the liver will not filter out in its normal fashion which leads to toxicity levels from these meds!! I had noticed, by the way, that my urine had become quite dark and I was getting rather dark circles around my eyes…I felt fine, so I didn’t pay much attention at the time. Two weeks later, my liver enzymes had dropped a bit. We continued testing every 2 to 3 weeks until they normalized, which took about 6 weeks or so. I have not taken curcumin since. My hematologist said I don’t need to be on it now and we can re-visit it down the road if she thinks there’s a reason to. I have, however, been taking fresh, organic turmeric almost daily. I put a piece about half the size of my thumb in my smoothie with 2 teaspoons of organic coconut oil. I will see my hematologist in a couple of weeks for my annual check with updated labs.
Hello Nancy,
Your story begins a bit like mine.
Two years before being diagnosed with MGUS, I had a problem with ASAT ALAT Gamma GT (liver enzymes) very high . I do not drink alcohol at all, and my doctor sent me to do an MRI of the liver.
Result: nothing but a hemangioma.
The doctor never gave me any medicine but I took Desmodium, and other good plants for the liver (Chardon Marie-Silybum marianum-, etc.)
My ASAT, ALAT have become normal after a while but the GGT are still a little high. I still do not know why, the doctor either.
It was late November 2010 that I was found MGUS by hazard.
I had no treatment at the hospital.
In 2014, I went to stage 1 of gammapathy, and there I started taking turmeric, vitamin D3, and so on. I have also been taking Sélongénine since May 2017.
I am stable even with the not kind translocation t (4; 14).
Still without treatment (I refused bisphosphonates)
The dysregulated liver may be a starting indicator of immune system failure?
There are several assumptions for the MGUS …
Rest assured, the MGUS overwhelmingly do not evolve
Jacqueline
IGG kappa
stage 1
Paris, France
I have symptomatic IgG lambda myeloma (anaemia) diagnosed by chance in May this year and I have been taking 8g of curcurmin with bioperine since 17/06/18. This lead to an initial reduction of paraproteins of 30% (as posted at the time) but subsequently the paraproteins yo-yoed somewhat up and down over the next three blood tests. I lost my nerve fearing the development of lytic lesions so have started down the chemotherapy route. At the end of my first cycle of velcade, lenalidomide and dexamethazone (& 8g curcumin) my paraproteins are reduced by 50% from their max level, 40% from the start of the cycle. All good.
However the alanine transaminase level (a liver enzyme) has gone from ‘normal’ 17 (should be under 40) to 92 at the end of this first cycle suggesting that my liver isn’t coping with the drug bombardment. My diet is healthy and I’m not drinking alcohol.
Could this be the drug combination? The effect of the bioperine?
Does anyone have any advice?
Just an update, I’ve continued on the curcurmin with the consultant’s approval. He thinks the ATL increase is due to the velcade. A liver scan suggested all is OK and the ALT level over last 2 tests is decreasing, although still over normal limits.
Further update
Liver enzymes now in normal range although much higher than they were before chemo. I have been given omeprazole to protect my stomach from high doses of steriods. I have read that curcurmin reduces the effectiveness of omeprazole and similar drugs but I haven’t had any indication of a problem so far and take them 12 hours apart.
Jane
What mg of curcurmin is recomended for restless legs/neuropathy?
Hello Margaret,
Thank you so much for initiating and running this amazing site. I am male and 60. I have been diagnosed in Jan 2017 with 4.7 g/l, MGUS IgGL with light Chain Ratio of o.83. The monolconal increased to 7.9 g/l in Jan 2018 and the light C R went down to 0.58. I started taking Curcumin then at 8 gr/day, all in the morning before breakfast. The marker went down to 7.1 in June 2018 while the light chain ratio remained stable at 0.55. In last week test, Jan 2019, the light chain ratio went down to 0.34. The Dr. had not prescribed the monoclonal text this time?? I need to watch for the Light chain ratio so it does not go lower than this.
I was wondering if you had any suggestion for stabilizing the light chain ratio? I have another appointment with the specialist next week, but I do not expect any solution from him, not that he does not want to help, I guess there are no solutions in the text books yet.
Have a nice day!
JohnRaza
does eating big amount of Tumeric make you sleepy?
so i was diagnosed with smoldering multiple myeloma more than 3 and half years , and stayed SMM , drug free all these years, one of my weapons is to cook with tumeric, if i cook then i use about 60 grams of raw tumeric added to cooked vegetables, or fish, ..etc and i eat it as a meal.
i usually feel super sleepy and cant keep my eye lids open after eating this dose, what do you people feel after consuming Tumeric?
My mum has smoldering myeloma and after reading your blog I told her to start taking Curcumin C3. Her markers have stabilised but she has been getting headaches which she thinks is from the curcumin.
Do you know of anyone else experiencing this side-effect from taking high doses of curcumin? Or any suggestions that could possibly help?
Thank you,
Lauren