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Fish oil Causing more fatigue?

sflorence

Senior Member
Messages
134
Hi All.

Found out the other week I was incredibly deficiency in all of the omegas, mostly 3 and 6.

So I started mega dosing omega 3 and also including some 6.

I take about 30g a take of NOW brand fish oil, and some plant based omega 6 supplement.

It seems that the fish oil has made my depression fade pretty nicely, but these past few days I have really been tired.

Anyone have any input?
 

Deltrus

Senior Member
Messages
271
30g is an absolute ton. Google "high dose fish oil" and check out the first few links. You only need to take as much fish oil as your body can use. More isn't really better.
 

sflorence

Senior Member
Messages
134
There are some doctors who say up to 40-50g daily for athletic benefit.
Also, Dr.Cutler recommends up to 30g for inflammation.

I am aware that it is a lot compared to the average link on google, but that doesn't really say much.
The reason I got up to 30g was that it gave me some great neurological brightening symptoms when taking them, so I just stopped when the brightening didn't happen any longer.

I also take all my oils with a enzyme complex.
 

sflorence

Senior Member
Messages
134
Taking more than 3 g of fish oil per day can be dangerous and cause a hemorrhagic stroke. You are taking 10 X that much.

Thanks for the heads up, but after researching it I am not too concerned. This is not a long-term thing I am doing here, it is a "booster phase" to try and get some omegas into my body.
 

shannah

Senior Member
Messages
1,429
It seems that I remember that fish oil reduces NK cell count. Ours are already low so lowering further can result in more tiredness.
 

taniaaust1

Senior Member
Messages
13,054
Location
Sth Australia
I have a gene mutation which in which Ive read that fish oil should be avoided. So maybe if its causing you poor affects it may not be right for you either (though in the past when i used it for osteroarthritis, it did help that).
 

GhostGum

Senior Member
Messages
316
Location
Vic, AU
Putting all that oil into your stomach, no wonder it is causing fatigue. I tend to get a little nausea from a couple teaspoons of cod liver oil, even after putting a meal on top of it and could not imagine taking 30g.

Personally I think a good fish/cod liver oil is a staple for ME, so just knock the dose back and look longer term.
 

JaimeS

Senior Member
Messages
3,408
Location
Silicon Valley, CA
Fish oil completely wipes me out, @sflorence . It's not just you.

It seems that I remember that fish oil reduces NK cell count.

That would explain a lot -- mine are both low in number and low-functioning.

Not sure of the quality of these, you'll have to look into them, but:

Brain Behav Immun. 2012 Nov;26(8):1265-72. doi: 10.1016/j.bbi.2012.08.002. Epub 2012 Aug 10.
Fish oil supplementation augments post-exercise immune function in young males.
Gray P1, Gabriel B, Thies F, Gray SR.

Uh, we may not want to augment post-exercise immune function!

However, this study says that NK cell activity (P=0.0163) was greater in the fish oil compared with the control group.

A lot of the other studies I saw said the opposite however, e.g.

Immunol Lett. 1994 Jul;41(2-3):241-7.
Inhibition of natural killer cell activity by dietary lipids.
Yaqoob P1, Newsholme EA, Calder PC.

....but this is in rats.

Now three of the studies I read were talking about NK activity specifically in the liver, and all found a reduction of activity.

-J
 

sflorence

Senior Member
Messages
134
Interesting, thanks for the info on NK.

Honestly, I have been eating heaping amounts of coconut oil for a while now, could all that fat be contributing to fatigue?

Does flax oil still cause you guys problems?
 

alex3619

Senior Member
Messages
13,810
Location
Logan, Queensland, Australia
There is a misunderstanding out there that is very common. Omega-3 oils are often pro-inflammatory. What makes them anti-inflammatory, at some doses, is they compete with omega-6 oils on a predominantly pro-inflammatory pathway to series 2 eicosanoids. They work, in this instance, by competitive inhibition at cyclooxygenase. The series 3 eicosanoids from fish oil are less inflammatory than series 2 eicosanoids, on balance. Hence there is an anti-inflammatory effect. At really high doses this might change. I would want to see clinical data from a research study and examine it closely before taking those doses.

Both series 2 and series 3 eicosanoids have a complex mix of inflammatory and anti-inflammatory factors. I am not convinced anyone really understands it, and its a focus of ongoing research so far as I am aware.

EPA might also have some brain enhancing effects due to the high EPA demand by the brain.

I first took omega-3 oils for CFS in 1993. 23 years later we still don't know how effective this is, especially in ME rather than CFS or just CF.
 

JaimeS

Senior Member
Messages
3,408
Location
Silicon Valley, CA
To support what @alex3619 is saying about omega-3 and omega-6 balance, eating actual fish is helpful for me, to the point that I crave it often.

Eating fish oil as a supplement is almost on the level of crash-inducing: it sends me straight to bed.

I do, however, take DHA without incident, and it seems to clear some of my 'encephalitic-type' symptoms.

-J
 
Messages
93
Location
UK
Be careful, I developed horrible bruising and eventually bleeding under the skin from taking the recommended 5ml daily of Eskimo oil (n3 only as I've always got plenty of dierary n6). I have a feeling it increased the frequency of my simple partial temporal lobe seizures too, plus my skin became really dry and awful, basically the same as with deficiency
 

Mij

Messages
2,353
@sflorence I was very deficient in omega 3's and found taking 1000-2000mg daily increased my levels within 2 months. My cognitive symptoms improved. My omeag 6's were decent levels so I took small amounts to balance it out.

I don't think it's necessary to take large amounts.
 

Mij

Messages
2,353
@JaimeS that's interesting about craving fish. Several months ago I stopped taking fish oils and found myself craving sardines. I was wondering whether it was the saltiness of the sardines or my body needing omega 3's again.
 

Thinktank

Senior Member
Messages
1,640
Location
Europe
I have a love-hate relationship with EPA/DHA from fish oil / krill oil.

It's one of the only few things that clears my ME-headache and depressive feeling that comes along with it. It also enhances my cognitive function, improves my dry skin and dry eyes. When i don't take it my eyes turn dry within a day.

On the other side it messes with my neurochemistry, i can get borderline hypomanic a day after taking EPA/DHA.
It irritates my small intestine sometimes. It also gives me a sluggish feeling, like it's impairing mitochondrial activity, a bit of a poisoned feeling, its hard to explain. It can also increase vasodilation which then aggravates my OI.

I suspect it's the EPA that messes with my neurochemistry and actually only DHA being helpful. I will therefore try a DHA-only supplement soon.