A woman claimed a high-street supplement turned her skin yellow 'like Marge Simpson' - and almost left her needing a liver transplant.
Amber Heimbach, from Pennsylvania, US, declined prescription medication for her pre-menopausal symptoms and decided to go for an off the shelf alternative as a more 'natural option'.
The 39-year-old - who was suffering mood swings and heavy bleeding - went and purchased some menopause relief tablets from the high street.
Inside the tablets was a herb called black cohosh and it initially alleviated her symptoms for nearly two months.
Advert
However, the mum-of-four began to feel unwell as her skin and the whites of her eyes had turned bright yellow.
She was told that her liver wasn't functioning properly as she developed an enlarged gallbladder with elevated liver enzymes, with the fear of a liver transplant.
Five days after noticing the symptoms in mid-November, Amber was admitted to hospital to undergo further testing.
She said: "They were trying to figure out what was happening to me. There were a lot of conversations about getting a liver transplant and also keeping an eye on my gallbladder.
Advert
"They were more concerned about my liver at this point and that my liver was seeping over into my gallbladder.
"I just kept thinking 'what is happening to me?' I'm a very healthy person, I never go to hospital, I go to the doctor once every five years.
"It was scaring me. I was scared about being away from my family and having to go through a liver transplant and whether my body would accept it."
She told her doctors that the high-street supplement could be behind the symptoms, adding: "Taking the supplement was the only thing I'd changed or done differently with myself.
Advert
"They started doing a bit of research about the tablets and told me about how black cohosh stood out to them because they have done other clinical studies of how it affects the liver.
"They were pretty confident that the black cohosh was causing all these issues. All the other tests they were doing came back negative."
According to a 2020 study published by The United States National Library of Medicine (NLM), black cohosh had been implicated in a few cases of liver injury - ranging from moderate liver enzymes elevations to acute hepatic failure and death.
Thankfully, after she stopped using the product, Amber was discharged from hospital as her enzyme levels began to return to normal.
Advert
She explained: "The big joke was that I looked like the highlighter in the family. Some family members said 'why don't you get a blue wig, you could be Marge Simpson'.
"They were very loving and trying to help me get through it.
"If you pull my eyelid down you can still see a bit of yellowness but without doing that, you can't see it anymore now.
"I just feel so blessed I didn't need a transplant. Any woman considering taking supplements, do your research and consult with your doctor.
"I'll never touch it again in my life."
Topics: The Simpsons, Health, US News
Anish Vij