New Jersey Woman’s Scary Experience with Turmeric Supplements

A New Jersey woman has made a firm decision to avoid supplements after a wellness pill almost cost her liver. Katie Mohan, who is 57, started taking turmeric back in March after spotting a recommendation from a doctor on Instagram, claiming it could alleviate inflammation and joint discomfort.

She bought the supplement online and began taking it daily, convinced it would enhance her health. But just a few weeks in, she started experiencing stomach pain, nausea, and fatigue. Alarmingly, her urine began to darken—a serious indicator of potential liver issues.

Mohan’s concerns grew when she learned of a man with similar symptoms who ended up hospitalized due to liver damage from turmeric. “It was a light bulb moment for me,” she recounted, realizing, “Oh, my gosh! I wonder if this is what’s wrong with me?”

Worried, she rushed to the emergency room, where tests revealed her liver enzyme levels were 60 times the normal range. Doctors informed her she was “one step” away from liver failure, a situation that could have led to needing a transplant.

The turmeric supplements she consumed contained about 2,250 milligrams of curcumin per pill, a dosage approximately eleven times higher than what the World Health Organization recommends for an average woman weighing around 150 pounds.

Generally, turmeric is safe to eat, especially in meals, and has gained popularity among arthritis sufferers who believe it can aid in reducing inflammation and joint pain. However, medical professionals caution that the supplement can harm the liver, possibly triggering an immune response.

Mohan was hospitalized for six days and required an IV drip, but thankfully, her situation wasn’t worse. Dr. Nikolaos Pyrsopoulos, a hepatologist at NYU who treated her, noted, “It was very serious. Katie was actually on the brink of full liver failure, which would have necessitated a liver transplant.” The liver’s unique ability to regenerate aided her recovery.

Reflecting on her experience, Mohan asserted, “I’ll never put another supplement in my body again.” She described her symptoms as a general feeling of unwellness, and she noted, “Despite drinking a lot of water, my urine was still darker.”

Current estimates suggest that around 11 million Americans regularly take turmeric, particularly those suffering from arthritis, hoping to alleviate joint pain. Nevertheless, there has been an increase in liver transplants attributed to supplements.

A study from 2022 found that the number of people experiencing liver failure due to supplements had skyrocketed eightfold from 1995 to 2020. Turmeric supplements have gained significant traction online, with claims that they can reduce inflammation, soothe pain, enhance memory, and even combat cancer.