details?  I am interested in the same thing.  prolonging liver health such
as it is until next tx.

cactus jammies

Hi.  OK right upfront: traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) offers no cure
for Hep C and there is no valid  research to show that TCM affects viral
load.  Some of the herbs, especially the blends containing multiple
ingredients, have had nasty effects on people.  My personal experience:  
I have regular acupuncture treatments for nerve and structural pain in my
spine. It helps.  My traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) practitioner is
also a registered nurse, so she is not a dummy about medicine. During the
acupunture treatments she also sneaks in a few pinpricks for my liver
health, and my adrenal/kidney system, which she says is awry.  I have
spoken with her at length about Chinese herbal treatments, both in
combination with Ifn/Riba tx and/or as an alternative to tx.  When I was
on treatment I did have acupuncture treatments but I opted not to use any
Chinese herbals because medicinal herbs have strong chemical properties
there is insufficient information about herbs and drug interactions.
Medicinal herbs have strong chemical properties.  Molecules derived from
plants and fungi are the basis for hundreds of medicines used in
conventional medicine (eg penicillin, taxol cyclosporine, morphine etc).

In addition to worrying about herb/drug interactions,  I  have to choose
carefully in the area of herbal medicine because I have at least one
autoimmune condition, Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, wherein my own immune cells
attack my thyroid gland, causing it to be underactive (hypothyroidism).  So
I am uneasy about taking herbs or mushrooms that claim to "stimulate"  the
immune system, lest I stimulate the cells that beat up my thyroid  
Because I have formal education in botany and mycology, I feel comfortable
researching the traditional herbs prescibed for liver disease, and making
my own decisions.  On the basis of conventional medical research,
traditional literature and my own experience, there are only three  herbs
so far that I am convinced are safe for me.   Milk thistle comes from a
plant seed, turmeric from a root, and reishi is a mushroom.  

Imho, if you can't afford the conventional combo treatment, or relapsed
and decide to seek the recommendations of a Chinese practitioner, make
sure he/she knows about your other medical conditions and what drugs you
take.  Avoid blends that contain multiple herbs.  Find out the
scientific/latin name of recommended herbs and do your own online research
about toxicity and side effects.  Try little bits of the herb and then
listen to your body.

My acupuncture gal referred me to this California/hep C  website.
Apparently this doc is well-regarded in TCM circles.  When you read this
stuff, remember that Chinese culture evolved with a very different view of
reality and language structure, so they use some odd, almost poetic
language to describe medical phenomema.  

http://www.docmisha.com/applying/hepatitis_help/index.html

Although not strictly "traditional" Chinese, I like these books, which can
be had from Amazon .com.  The authors are primary researchers and
practitioners in their field:

Natural Therapy for your Liver / Chrisopher Hobbs

Herbs for Hepatitis C and the Liver / Stephen Harrod Buhner

http://www.amazon.com/Natural-Therapy-Liver-Christopher-Hobbs/dp/1583331328/sr=8
-2/qid=1166056891/ref=pd_bbs_2/002-1808811-6616066?ie=UTF8&s=books

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_b/102-1907731-3162525?url=search-alias%3Dstrip
books&field-keywords=Herbs+for+hepatitis+C+and+the+liver

The way I start my own online research is to go to pubmed.gov, which is a
government database of medical research, and type in the common OR latin
name of the herb.  If you add the word "review" to the search list you can
narrow the results.  

Reishi = Ganoderma lucidum
Milk thistle = Silybum marianum
Turmeric = Curcuma longa

Finally, I suspect Dr. Marshall is a hack.

Kathy
geez that was blog :-)

OK.  It's been several years since I read, and participated in, a
discussion on Chinese herbal medicine and Hep C in this news group.
The one thing I do remember is that, that stuff will probably kill you.
There is a lot of validity in Asian herbal remedies; however, there is
also beacoups of hocus pocus. . Caveat Emptor!

They lied.