Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion #1 AS Web Support Group My Rheumy visit + Omega 3 Fish Oil

I saw my rheumatologist yesterday, and we talked about Omega 3 fish oil. He was saying there was also a study done with Lupus patients who benifited greatly with Omega 3 . They actually consumed a Mackeral fish everyday for three months before improovements became obvious. He was saying that very few patients are willing to consume ten Omega 3 capsules a day for the anti-inflammatory effect. He said patients want their pain to stop immediately so offerng Omega 3 fish oil just wouldn't work. He also said if your willing to wait for the benifits of Omega 3 ,it is certainly worth it in many ways. Heart, cholesterol, blood sugar and of course arthritis. He also said the cost of the fish oil is often much higher then an NSAID. I would be happy to endorse Omage 3 fish oil, but "I fear I would be laughed at by my patients"
. He said his colleques are very much aware of the benifits of Fish Oil, but again, feel the cost, and time frame for it to work is much too long for patients. I did suggest ,why not tell them this and start them on both until the Omega 3 kicks in ? He agreed but again he said the cost of good Omega 3, which I take costs me about $60.00 per month, my NSAIDS cost me $2.00 a month from my insurance. He also said to just take Omega 3, not the Omegs 3-6-9 combo.
I am very happy with my results , with no negative side effects for my stomach ,kidneys or blood pressure.


Big Hugs
Janet

Thanks Janet - I notice a reduction in pain from taking large amounts of omega oils. I think it was when I read of a study like that, that I decided to really up my dose, and that's when I noticed it working (after a couple weeks). But maybe I'll try to just take omega 3's for a bit and see what happens.
Pricey, but costs less than enbrel and celebrex if you're paying out of pocket. Which I will be, when I move to the US.

Janet,

I take Omega 3 fish oil every day and have for about the past 2 years. I don't take 10 per day. I usually take 4 or 5 every morning. I can't say that its helped my arthritis a great deal, but I'm sure it made it "manageable" while I was off Enbrel. At the very least my cholesterol & sugar levels havebeen very good. I've gotten so used to taking them, its become automatic. Its actually the first thing I do after I arrive at work. I guess, I'd be willing to endorse the benefits, because they certainly can't hurt.

Glenn

Janet, it sounds like you had a really good visit. I'm glad to hear it.

He is so right about the cost of the Omega 3s/Fish Oils. Insurance/Benefits won't cover things like that, so unless you're in a good way financially, it is simply not feasible. I was spending over $300/month on my alternative treatments at one point. It shouldn't cost that much, it really shouldn't. When my rheumy stepped in and insisted I go on NSAIDS (12 extra-strength advil a day ontop of my alternatives to cope with the pain), my monthly costs dropped significantly and suddenly, I could afford to pay my phone bill regularly again.

Many hugs,

Hi Glen,
Your not taking enough to get the anti-inflammatory effect. Try up them and see what happens, For me in the past it took six weeks and the painful P>F in my feet and sausage toes completely disappeared.

Janet,

My cardiologist recommended fish oil to me a few years ago, but after trying it my body did not deal with it well so after a couple of weeks I gave up on it. He had said it would help the heart and help with some of the inflammation from AS. I never thought about trying Mackerel but have added a lot more fish to my diet than I used to eat. Did the doctor happen to say how much a person needs to eat per day for it to be effective?

For some strange reason my body does not do well with vitamins and supplements so I usually try each one to see how it will do. Several cause rashes or blotches on the skin while other make the pain worse or cause diarrhea like the fish oil did with me.

Brent

I first became aware of high dose fish oil when I saw the report on research done in Edinburgh:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7307298.stm
They were using simple 'coddy oil.' I can buy 1gm capsules of this in supermarket for (UK) 1.77 for 90. At 10 per day my 1.77 lasts me 9 days.

Only just started so don't know how they will work, but I'm hoping as I have to come off NSAIDs as they're causing skin and uro/genital problems.

So how much O3 fish oil are we talkin? The ones I use are the Carlson Super omega 3 Fish Oil concentrate, they have 1000mg each.

hi janet,

due to some of your earlier posts, i finally bought a jar of omega 3 fish oil. but i'd have to dig up your old post to know how much (in mg) to take. could you remind us here again?

i got the ones that aren't supposed to leave a fishy burp. figured i'd be more likely to stick to it.

figured, omega 3 fish oil is supposed to be good for so many other things, it certainly couldn't hurt to try them.

as for cost, i did buy the tablets, thought i'd be better to stick to it, but someone here did mention cod liver oil which is cheaper, so there are probably cheaper alternatives. do you think they're as good?

also, for cost, i figure, my copays are expensive, so the cost sort of balances out.

just hope i don't have a similar response like brent did. often supplements / vitamins mess up my gastrointestinal system as well...but not all.

sue

I just started using cold milled flax seed...2 to 4 tablespoons a day right now. It's been great so far. I just put 2 tbsp per 8 ounces of white milk, stir it up and drink it down. No bad taste at all, but if someone is highly texture sensitive they may have a problem with the little bit of texture it adds to the milk (not much at all). The container even says you can substitute it for eggs, butter & oil in recipes...?? Not sure how well that turns out, but if I decide to increase my starches again I'll have to give it a try.

The 2 tbsp (14 g) I just took are supposed to have 2700 mg of alpha-linolenic acid (omega-3), and 800 mg of linoleic acid (omega-6). You can add it to juice, yogurt, cereal, salads, or whatever. The one I got is made by http://www.flaxusa.com/ but they don't have it on their website. They only seem to have the whole flax seed...not the pre-ground kind. I got mine at Costco, and I'm pretty sure it wasn't more than $11.99 for 40 oz (81 servings), if that. I see somebody is reselling it on ebay for $19.58, so it has to be a lot less than that for them to make a profit ( http://cgi.ebay.com/2-5lb-Organic-Cold-M...4QQcmdZViewItem ).

In searching online just now for the kind I bought I found this blog talking about it...it seems pretty informative (but not sure of any possible biases involved...?) http://www.menopausetheblog.com/2008/03/10/designer-flax-seed-from-a-north-dakota-farm/ One really interesting thing said there was "As for [flax seed oil] capsules, I’ve been told that it takes 53 of them to equal just one tablespoon of Flax seed." She also says that one tbsp of the cold milled equals 2 tbsp of the whole seeds (before grinding).

I definitely enjoy taking this a bunch more than adding even more horse-pills to swallow on a daily basis.

~medmommy