After two messages and three emails this week asking me about cleanses, herbal remedies and oils, I need to be clear about some things.

Yes, I had a liver transplant nearly 5 years ago and, yes, I am living healthier and doing things I haven’t been able to do for 15 years before transplant. That’s fantastic!

No, I am not a doctor, nurse, or chemist and have no formal education about transplants and how livers work.

My advice? ASK YOUR TRANSPLANT TEAM before ingesting things or absorbing them through your skin.

My team told me to steer clear of all cleanses, oils and herbal supplements saying that they can mask your true condition by affecting the accuracy of blood labs.

I love grapefruit but have had none in five years. Why not? It’s natural and delicious. But, something in it messes with our anti-rejection drug and makes it less effective.

“Natural” is not a synonym for “safe.” “Chemical” is not the antonym of “safe.”

So … do your research. Don’t just accept the claims of sites, articles or blogs that hope to sell you something.

You and I, as transplant survivors, walk a precarious line. We have to take a chemical compound every 12 hours to suppress our immune systems to keep from reject our new organs. If we take too much it’s toxic. If we take too little, we go into rejection.

If you are waiting for a transplant I know how much you just want to feel better. I remember feeling desperate enough that the super antioxidant, $120/month drink, with all the promises of the multi level marketing distributor pitch, were tempting.

I remember the person who offered to press on my feet with their special elixer for the “discounted rate” of $75.

There are a lot of people out there who will gladly take your money. Please be careful and ALWAYS ASK YOUR TEAM OF DOCTORS before swallowing or applying anything.

If it sounds too good to be true it probably is.