Milk Thistle Supplement – could this be a game changer for Liver/digestion problems?

 I have been suffering for years with Digestive problems. I have Diverticulosis/Diverticulitis and GERD
(which I am taking Zoton Fastabs – lansoprazole for) . I had a Ultrasound and CT on my liver last year and it showed some lesions. 

so although I have lesions on my liver I hardly get much pain in that area (Top right of abdomen) – and although I have Diverticulosis in my intestines (pockets in intestine walls but not inflamed) a lot of the time its fine and I don’t usually get pain in that area (in my case bottom left of abdomen) , its very rare it turns into Diverticulitis (inflammation).

So I have been suffering for a long time with abdomen pain , a gripping pain anywhere between my belly button to the tip of just underneath my rib cage (what is called the xiphoid process) so in the centre midline of the abdomen.

I had a Ultrasound in 2020 and it showed/flagged up something in that area

But when a follow up CT scan was requested nothing was found on the CT scan.


in 2024 similar thing happened , an incidental 9cm mass was found

… but yet again nothing showed on the follow up CT scan about a week later.

to stop pains in my abdomen I started having Motilium (domperidone) OTC , Paracetamol and Ibroprufen (for the pain – although NSAID’s are not really recommended when you have liver problems I think, but i used to take Ibroprufen if the paracetamol alone didn’t help with the pain ) Motilium because it felt like stuff was getting stuck in my abdomen/intestine and bloating. – sometimes it worked (relieved) sometimes it didn’t)

So anyway back to present day and my abdomen pains (gripping feeling) I had decided off my own accord (seeing as medical people were next to useless for prescribing something for it and just saying that if nothing showed up on a CT scan it was most probably an artefact of the ultrasound or gas and refusing to do a follow up scan or Mri scan in 2025) I took it on myself to buy some Enzyme hard capsule supplements with peppermint. I seemed to be getting what I thought was some kid of relief. – Then I run out of Enzyme supplements. Without not being without any supplements I searched through an old drawer and came across some of these effervescent Milk Thistle extract supplement from Holland & Barrett:

trouble is that they were 2 years out of the best before date. But they were in a tub and stored away in a drawer for all that time and I though what is the worst that can happen , they just most probably work is about the most that would happen. But I had one with a fatty dinner (I think i had a piece of rare steak with chips) I put some in a glass tumbler full of water and drank it while I was eating dinner. They wasn’t very effervescent and took ages to dissolve and even then they didn’t dissolve fully.

But that evening where I would have normally been dying with pain in my abdomen as my stomach was trying to digest the fatty steak I noticed I felt OK , no gripping pains and didn’t feel bloated as normal.

Its been around a month now I have been taking the milk thistle extract effervescent tablets from Holland & Barrett dissolved in a glass tumbler full of water with my main meals (especially ones that contain a lot of fat like steak and fry ups) and I personally have been feeling a huge lot better on them and cutting down on Motilium and feeling a lot less bloated– along with it (because maybe they are helping my liver/digestive system) I have noticed (as well as others in the family) that my mood has changed for the better and that I have spent less time complaining of a stomach ache – this is the only thing I have changed I have just been on these Milk Thistle Extract supplements – I shall carry on with them and give an update on my blog later on.

Thanks for reading and if you have any experience with digestion problems or take Milk Thistle extract and want to share your experiences please comment in the box below I would love to hear from you and your verdicts about them.

Effervescent Milk Thistle Extract Supplement are available from Holland & Barrett shops priced at €6.50 for 20 tropical flavour effervescent tablets to me taken with water. Suitable for vegetarians & vegans

https://www.hollandandbarrett.ie/shop/product/holland-barrett-effervescent-milk-thistle-extract-100mg-tropical-flavour-20-tablets-6100005085


NOTE: – The experiences are of my own circumstances and they may not be suitable for everyone so, as with any other supplements, please do your research and chat with your GP/ Healthcare worker before taking Milk Thistle Extract or any other supplements as they may interact with your medical conditions or interact with your present medication you are on.