GOTU KOLA

[catalinaohara]

I read a post from last summer about someone using this for hemoptysis with great success. Anyone else try it since?

I am at my wits end with 2 weeks of minimal but continuous hemoptysis. Want to avoid BAE at any cost so I think I'm going to try this.
Really curious if anyone out there has!

Thanks,Caitlin

 

[CyrilCrodius]

I read other people taking vitamin K too... let me see... ah, yes! According to google, gotu kola is rich in vitamin K! So it makes a lot of sense.

 

[kross10911]

prescription Vit K is what my Dr always gives me. usually 5 or 10 mg a day for 5 days. Ive never heard of gotu kola so I cant help there.

 

[catalinaohara]

Hi,

thanks - yes, i am already on lots of vitamin K. Usually it helps as well but this time is different so looking at other options. Hopefully someone else out there remembers this post from last year!! thanks

I bought the gotu kola today but havent started taking it yet.

 

[jacobus]

Hello,

Yes, I started taking Gotu Kola after reading that thread. Prior to starting it I would typically get hemoptysis most nights. The strange thing is that it only happens when I first lay down at night. I would then bring up 3 or 4 mouths full of pure blood (sometimes a bit more), however it would always stop fairly quickly thereafter. I could lay down during the day (anytime before about 6pm) and no hemoptysis. My Dr says he has heard this reported before but has no idea why it seems to occur only at night. I think it would be a really interesting study for someone to do. I've tried fasting in case it was food related, changing my routine but it still occurred like clockwork.

Although my bleeds usually stop fairly quickly, it is nonetheless a little scary and something I have considerable anxiety about. When I read about Gotu Kola on here I thought I would give it a shot. I started taking 3 x 450mg capsules both morning and night. I noticed no change for the first 3 or so weeks but from then on in, the bleeds got considerably less. I have almost completely stopped brining up pure blood altogether. Prior to taking this herb I would have bleeding at least 6 nights a week. Now I bring up some bloody mucus a couple of nights a week but that is it for the most part.

It has not been a complete cure, but I have noticed a considerable improvement. I still get hemoptysis but it not as scary or intense as before. Obviously I plan to continue taking it. Thankfully it is a relatively inexpensive herb.

Good luck!

 

[catalinaohara]

Jacobus - thanks for the reply! I'm glad you had some success with it. Were your doctors concerned at all about it effecting your liver? I have read some things that because it is processed through the liver, it should be used with caution, but my dr. just agreed that we would treat it like any other strong med that is processed through the liver and monitor me while I start it. The past few weeks have been the same for me -- only at night...and I can lie down during the day or whatever and it doesn't happen. It is so frustrating. My dr also started me on a beta blocker last week because he has had some success in it helping hemoptysis in other patients, but I haven't heard much about it outside his office, and so far it hasn't made a drastic difference, although the bleeds DO seem to be slightly less. I am not sure if it is just because I am so aware, and propping myself up, and trying not to cough too hard at night.....

I get frustrated with how they always want to treat it with antibiotics. I do NOT think this is primarily an infection problem and there are plenty of people's testimonies who prove that. I've been having hemoptysis like this since I was a teenager and much healthier, and it doesn't correlate in any real way with an acute infection at all. I know that for some people that is the case but I definitely think there are a lot of other things at work here.

Do you do anything else? Did you ever have to get a BAE?

I bought a tincture/liquid form of it that requires drops in liquid because I thought it might be absorbed better, and it was an organic version which I liked. I am going to start it once i finish this course of minocylcine and cipro that I am on (since they are metabolized through the liver too), so we'll see.

Thanks for responding!

 

[CyrilCrodius]

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote><em>Originally posted by: <strong>jacobus</strong></em> The strange thing is that it only happens when I first lay down at night. I would then bring up 3 or 4 mouths full of pure blood (sometimes a bit more), however it would always stop fairly quickly thereafter. I could lay down during the day (anytime before about 6pm) and no hemoptysis. </end quote> I get exactly the same thing!

catalinaohara : I don't think it will change anything if you are already taking Vitamin K, since it seems to be the same ingredient in gotu cola that stops the bleed.
You probably need an embolization. I had one on both sides and it helped a LOT. Ask your doc to have your lung arteries checked by an angiologist.

 

[Maverick]

Hi Guys

Have you considered Yunnan Baiyao? It is a Chinese remedy renowned for stopping bleeding and I have had some great success with it. It works quickly and I find it to be way more effective than Cyclokapron (Tranexamic acid). When it comes to vitamin K, it seems to help with the severity, but I don't find it to be nearly as effective as the above two items.

The one major problem I have with hemoptysis is that when it happens, I stop using hypertonic saline or doing proper physio for 1-2 days to let my lungs heal, but this wreaks havok and often causes me to have a big infection flare-up. With the Yunnan Baiyao in particular, I have been able to continue as normal and it has completely stopped the bleeding for me.

As with all these things, it often comes down to personal results, but give it a try, it really does work well. You can buy the capsules on ebay.

 

[catalinaohara]

Cyril- I thought it was not just the vit K in gotu kola but mostly whatever in it helps things like venous insufficiency (works as a vessel strengthener) that did the trick.

I am trying to avoid embolization at all possible costs, which I wrote above. I am going to try anything before getting one.

Maverick -- thanks -- I haven't heard of that and am going to look it up now. Yes I agree, I do not like stopping treatments and don't find it makes a diff with bleeding anyway it just makes me feel worse ...double edged sword.

thanks!