Caution about taking fish oil

[quantumleap]

For those of you who have not read my health results thread I speak about how taking fish oil has resulted in a decrease in the platelet levels in my blood. This condition is called thrombocytopenia. Platelets are what cause your blood to clot. People with low levels of platelets can have excessive bleeding or may bruise easily. This was not my case especially since I had surgery on my mouth and didn't have problems with excessive bleeding.

What I did find out is that since I was taking 3 fish oil tablets a day that this was affecting my platelet level, causing it to be slightly low. The previous year I was only taking 2 fish oil tablets a day and my platelet levels were in the normal range.

I take fish oil because it is an anti-inflammatory. I have sinusitis (inflammation of the sinuses) and fish oil helps. I decided to take 3 tablets per day instead of 2 tablets per day to see if it would help inflammation even more and it did.

When my doctor suggested I stop taking fish oil tablets to see if my platelet level went up I stopped taking them for a week and was re-tested. The tests came out that my level went up meaning that the fish oil was causing a lowered platelet level.

Lowering platelet levels is not always a negative thing. People with increased risk of stroke or heart attack can be helped by having their platelet level lowered. I just wanted to warn you guys that if you take fish oil it can lower your platelet level below normal.

Here is a link that explains more:
http://www.lymphomation.org/side-effect-throbocytopenia.htm

Doing a search on "fish oil" platelets will give you even more information.

 

[DennizdaMenace]

Interesting..May sound silly but I have a dog that has degenerative disc desease..On days he has more inflamation he drags himself around unless I put him in his doggie cart, which he hates..I have tried everything from surgery..to massage therapy..to acupucture...

I am gonna try giving him some fish oil as an anti inflammatory..may sound silly but lots of people stuff work on doggies too..


Would appreciate if you knew a couple more antis I could sneak into his ground sirloin

Off topic..I have been drinking some shit called Mona Vie my Jew faced friend has been selling me..I buy it from him (4 cases=16 bottles) for 400 bucks..Give some to granny and the Dr says cholesteral levels down...

 

[DennizdaMenace]

And yeah I feed him Nzymes the doggie antioxidant treats:drink:

 

[Jack Herer]

And yeah I feed him Nzymes the doggie antioxidant treats:drink:

Which hospital did you take him to? Serious question by the way. Just wondering where you live and which "specialist" saw him. For example, if you took him to a University Hospital or some place similar.

 

[quantumleap]

Interesting..May sound silly but I have a dog that has degenerative disc desease..On days he has more inflamation he drags himself around unless I put him in his doggie cart, which he hates..I have tried everything from surgery..to massage therapy..to acupucture...

I am gonna try giving him some fish oil as an anti inflammatory..may sound silly but lots of people stuff work on doggies too..


Would appreciate if you knew a couple more antis I could sneak into his ground sirloin

Off topic..I have been drinking some shit called Mona Vie my Jew faced friend has been selling me..I buy it from him (4 cases=16 bottles) for 400 bucks..Give some to granny and the Dr says cholesteral levels down...

Mona Vie hasn't been proven to provide health benefits outside of the benefits of fruit juice. I work for a pharmaceutical company that used to sell the Airborne stuff that was supposed to keep you from catching diseases on airplanes. It was later found out to not work.

The FDA doesn't regulate supplements. The FDA only regulates drugs. The difference between a drug and a supplement is that a drug cures diseases. Everything else is a supplement and research should be done to verify its effectiveness.

Fish oil has been proven as an anti-inflammatory. It works similarly to aspirin or ibuprofen except that it's effect is not as strong. If fish oil doesn't work for your dog try ibuprofen or Advil. I like the liquigels.

 

[GreenDoberman]

Thanks for the heads up. As long as there aren't copious amounts of fish oil in beer I should be ok.

 

[quantumleap]

Just wanted to warn you about giving your dog NSAIDs (Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, usually abbreviated to NSAIDs or NAIDs , are drugs with analgesic, antipyretic and, in higher doses, anti-inflammatory effects - they reduce pain, fever and inflammation.). Always talk to your vet before giving your animal NSAIDs.

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Can_you_give_a_dog_ibuprofen

Q: Can you give a dog ibuprofen?

In: Dog Health
[Edit]

[Edit]

With any NSAID, dosing is critical and trying to dose a dog or cat with a human product can easily lead to overdose because the size difference between humans and animals is pretty drastic, especially when you are talking about a cat or small dog.
Just to correct a bit of misinformation:
Tylenol can be used safely in dogs, but you must check with your vet first to get an appropriate dose because if it is over-dosed it can cause liver necrosis.
Tylenol should never be given to cats.
Aspirin can both be used in dogs and cats, but again you should contact your vet to get an appropriate dosage to prevent accidental over-dosing and toxicity. Cats can be easily over-dosed on aspirin just by giving it more often than once every 2 days.
And remember, just becuase these drugs are sold over-the-counter and can be used in your pet doesn't mean that they are without risk. Even at appropriate dosages, they can cause gastric ulcers, hepatic toxicity, etc. It's always a balancing act of risk vs. benefit when giving any medication to your pet.
Always contact your vet to get appropriate dosing information or if your pet accidentally eats any of these drugs as overdosing any of them can lead to death. Cindy D., Registered Veterinary Technician

 

[RobFunk]

Qauntum, fish oil makes you smarter too.

But you are already one of the smartest dudes
I have met so the last thing you need is more IQ points lol.

I use the stuff, but not as heavily as I used too my heart starting getting jumpy.

 

[sawastea]

Rob, can you tell me what happened to my post above? It was deleted. Did I cross the line on anything I said or mentioned?

 

[HatTrick]

Rob, can you tell me what happened to my post above? It was deleted. Did I cross the line on anything I said or mentioned?

theRX had some downtime and ended up losing a few days worth of posts.

 

[cd329]

Quantum,
thanks for the good info
I have a leaking mitral valve which has put me in constant afib. I take warfarin and prescription fish oil tablets to keep my from clotting.

 

[cd329]

Interesting..May sound silly but I have a dog that has degenerative disc desease..On days he has more inflamation he drags himself around unless I put him in his doggie cart, which he hates..I have tried everything from surgery..to massage therapy..to acupucture...

I am gonna try giving him some fish oil as an anti inflammatory..may sound silly but lots of people stuff work on doggies too..


Would appreciate if you knew a couple more antis I could sneak into his ground sirloin

Off topic..I have been drinking some shit called Mona Vie my Jew faced friend has been selling me..I buy it from him (4 cases=16 bottles) for 400 bucks..Give some to granny and the Dr says cholesteral levels down...

Denniz, sorry to hear about your dog. German sheperds are famous for getting the disc disease or bad hips. Its a real shame.
By the way your boy is one good looking dog. How old is he and whats his name?

 

[Whoson1st]

Human here with deg. dics disease. (the tingling in hands getting slightly worse) I saw two specialist about it ; one said surgery ther other said not yet exercise.
But about Fish oil--my main medical doctor --said for me to definately take it.
Today, I find out from an eye doctor that the pain in my right eye is caused by "dry eye". Gave me some sample of meds and changed my eyeglass prescription--eyes gotten weaker in last 3 years. BUT--this is my point: I went to Web MD to read up on "dry eye". They don't pin the cause down, but highly reccommend omega 3 fish oil.
Fish oil seems to offer more good than bad results.

 

[RobFunk]

Quantum,
thanks for the good info
I have a leaking mitral valve which has put me in constant afib. I take warfarin and prescription fish oil tablets to keep my from clotting.

Same here. I was diagnosed with mitral valve prolapse. Sucks. Took me like 6 visits to the ER thinking I was having a heart attack before finally figured out what it was. Gets worse as you get older too. This started in my early 20's.

 

[quantumleap]

Human here with deg. dics disease. (the tingling in hands getting slightly worse) I saw two specialist about it ; one said surgery ther other said not yet exercise.
But about Fish oil--my main medical doctor --said for me to definately take it.
Today, I find out from an eye doctor that the pain in my right eye is caused by "dry eye". Gave me some sample of meds and changed my eyeglass prescription--eyes gotten weaker in last 3 years. BUT--this is my point: I went to Web MD to read up on "dry eye". They don't pin the cause down, but highly reccommend omega 3 fish oil.
Fish oil seems to offer more good than bad results.

Good point Whos.

The benefits outweigh the detractions. I just wanted to point out that taking too much fish oil could cause platelet levels to drop below limits considered to be normal.

I now take 2 tablets per day rather than 3.

 

[quantumleap]

Same here. I was diagnosed with mitral valve prolapse. Sucks. Took me like 6 visits to the ER thinking I was having a heart attack before finally figured out what it was. Gets worse as you get older too. This started in my early 20's.

I have that too Rob. I had rheumatic fever when I was 6. I believe that may be what is causing my sinusitis.

I have had heart palpitations when I'm in stressful situations. Knowing that it is the mitral valve prolapse and not a heart attack really helps to keep me calm in a normally stressful situation.

 

[Masxmenos]

For those of you who have not read my health results thread I speak about how taking fish oil has resulted in a decrease in the platelet levels in my blood. This condition is called thrombocytopenia. Platelets are what cause your blood to clot. People with low levels of platelets can have excessive bleeding or may bruise easily. This was not my case especially since I had surgery on my mouth and didn't have problems with excessive bleeding.

What I did find out is that since I was taking 3 fish oil tablets a day that this was affecting my platelet level, causing it to be slightly low. The previous year I was only taking 2 fish oil tablets a day and my platelet levels were in the normal range.

I take fish oil because it is an anti-inflammatory. I have sinusitis (inflammation of the sinuses) and fish oil helps. I decided to take 3 tablets per day instead of 2 tablets per day to see if it would help inflammation even more and it did.

When my doctor suggested I stop taking fish oil tablets to see if my platelet level went up I stopped taking them for a week and was re-tested. The tests came out that my level went up meaning that the fish oil was causing a lowered platelet level.

Lowering platelet levels is not always a negative thing. People with increased risk of stroke or heart attack can be helped by having their platelet level lowered. I just wanted to warn you guys that if you take fish oil it can lower your platelet level below normal.

Here is a link that explains more:
http://www.lymphomation.org/side-effect-throbocytopenia.htm

Doing a search on "fish oil" platelets will give you even more information.

Wow QL, another interesting post.. thx. One word to say, "Fuck".

I take fish oil pills as well. Gonna read up more on this tonight, appreciate the post

 

[Whoson1st]

Bottom Line : Ask your MD that you see at least 2 or 3 times a year. They take blood and do physical exams. ONE SIZE does not fit all.