Got my mom taking fish oil and it’s helped some of her long-term nagging health issues. Her doctor told her to stop taking the fish oil because of surgery scheduled on the 23rd.
Sounds as foolish as saying not to eat seafood before the surgery. Just an oil. Opinions on this, anyone? Facts?
Thanks for the help…
Josh
Some people have told me that “too much” fish oil can cause blood thinning. I’ve never heard of that before…but maybe her doctor thinks its true.
Or i could be wrong.
It’s pretty well known that fish oil thins the blood, not sure as to how much, especially in comparison to aspirin. I think the doctor is right.
Then you shouldn’t be eating salmon and other high-omega seafood either, I suppose? It just seems that the benefits would outweigh this claim of “blood thinning.” I can’t find anything concrete in my research. Just opinions and not solid statistics. Do you know of any?
[quote]Thrown wrote:
Then you shouldn’t be eating salmon and other high-omega seafood either, I suppose? It just seems that the benefits would outweigh this claim of “blood thinning.” I can’t find anything concrete in my research. Just opinions and not solid statistics. Do you know of any?[/quote]
I’m sure if you were an alaskan eating it every day, then yeah.
But for most like us that just take a shit load of fish oil, then it acts as a blood thinner. Either way, I’d listen to the doctor.
It looks like it’s just omega 3’s in general that do it.
Like MSD said, it’s better to stop the fish oil because of blood clotting issues. 99% of the population don’t eat enough fish oil in order to have a negative impact. The benefit of your blood being able to clot during surgery outwieghs the benefits derived from taking fish oil. It won’t kill her to stop taking it a few days before surgery.
Since Professor X has gone, it will be hard to get a proper opinion… like fat-burners, i say cut it 2 weeks before surgery.
[quote]sjfou wrote:
Since Professor X has gone, it will be hard to get a proper opinion… like fat-burners, i say cut it 2 weeks before surgery.[/quote]
X has just recently started posting on the forum, again.
Fish oil isn’t as bad as it appears:
"The results of this study suggest that fish oil supplements might prevent some of the reperfusion injury that occurs after coronary artery bypass surgery. They further suggest that this protective effect is not due to the anti-inflammatory properties of fish oil. Despite concerns about the anti-clotting effects of fish oil on blood loss during surgery, excessive blood loss due to fish oil was not observed in this study. "
This one is the summary statement from a subscription-only article:
“According to a study, fish oil may be effective for parenteral nutrition and shortening recovery time in the hospital for patients who have undergone major abdominal surgery…”
Finally, blood thinning is not an accurate description:
“Blood thinners are part of a class of medicines called anticoagulants. Although they are called blood thinners, these medicines do not really thin your blood. Instead, they decrease the blood’s ability to clot. Decreased clotting keeps fewer harmful blood clots from forming and from blocking blood vessels.”
Thank you for that, Yorik. Finally something from a reputable source like Bastyr. I simply can’t find any case history of someone having surgical issues that they thought stemmed from fish oil consumption. I hope nobody taking this supplements get a cut and bleeds to death because their blood can’t clot.
[quote]Thrown wrote:
Thank you for that, Yorik. Finally something from a reputable source like Bastyr. I simply can’t find any case history of someone having surgical issues that they thought stemmed from fish oil consumption. I hope nobody taking this supplements get a cut and bleeds to death because their blood can’t clot.[/quote]
It is unlikely to be a problem, but it is standard practice to tell you not to take any blood thinners or clotting agents for at least a week prior to surgery. IMO it’s really not a bad idea, or much of a sacrifice. I do find I tend to get more nose bleeds taking fish oil, but no other obvious clotting issues.
The list of things to stay away from would include aspirin. I think they say fish oil, and not ‘fish’ because it’s easy to overdo fish oil - there are a number of people taking 20-40g/day of concentrated fish oil! That’s a lot of salmon to get the equivalent omega-3 dose.
I certainly wouldn’t delay a surgery simply because I’d been consuming fish oil though!
my doc said stop taking it 3 days before, then start up again a couple of days after
[quote]legend wrote:
my doc said stop taking it 3 days before, then start up again a couple of days after[/quote]
It’s no secret that I do not have the high regard for the medical profession that many do. However in the case of a surgical procedure I’m not going to be the one to second guess them. Do what the doctor says. There just may be something he knows that we don’t.
Also, I’ve heard it recommended that Vitamin C intake be slowly reduced prior to surgery because at higher intakes it can interfere with the anesthetic.
From what I’ve read, the body develops more efficient (“bigger”) pathways for Vitamin C metabolism when you consistently take it in high amounts, and going cold turkey effectively starves you of it in the short term, causing a mild form of scurvy.
All I know is nobody likely to post in this thread is qualified to countermand the word of a surgeon who is going to open this guy up. This is not nutritional or exercise advice.
[quote]Tiribulus wrote:
All I know is nobody likely to post in this thread is qualified to countermand the word of a surgeon who is going to open this guy up. This is not nutritional or exercise advice.[/quote]
Indeed. Best to talk to the doc and get all the questions answered.
[quote]RhunDraco wrote:
All I know is nobody likely to post in this thread is qualified to countermand the word of a surgeon who is going to open this guy up. This is not nutritional or exercise advice.[/quote]
Thing is, I doubt anyone who IS qualified to give such advice wouldn’t consider doing so over the Internet.
I’m sure the surgeon is at least a LITTLE more informed as to the woman’s medical history than any one of us, not to mention experienced enough to know what he/she is talking about.
If there is even a slight chance of it complicating the surgery, why risk it?
Anyhow, it looks to me like she went under the knife today. Hope it went well.
For those of you who are still interested, these are straight from PubMed. Only took me about 10 minutes to find these.
Expert opinion: omega-3 fatty acids and bleeding-cause for concern?
WS Harris; Sanford School of Medicine of University of South Dakota, Sioux Falls, South Dakota 57105, USA.
Abstract:
"Omega-3 fatty acid ethyl esters have well-known triglyceride-lowering properties and were shown >30 years ago to inhibit platelet function. With the recent US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of these agents for treating severe triglyceride elevations, concerns about excess bleeding naturally arise. However, an objective assessment of the evidence for clinically significant bleeding reveals that such concerns are unfounded. As such, the benefits of triglyceride lowering with omega-3 fatty acids more than outweigh any theoretical risks for increased bleeding." (emphasis mine)
PMID: 17368278
Safety considerations with omega-3 fatty acid therapy.
HE Bays; Louisville Metabolic and Atherosclerosis Research Center, Louisville, Kentucky 40213, USA
Abstract: “It has been suggested that the potential antithrombotic effect of fish oils may theoretically increase the risk for bleeding, which may be a safety concern for individual patients. However, clinical trial evidence has not supported increased bleeding with omega-3 fatty acid intake, even when combined with other agents that might also increase bleeding (such as aspirin and warfarin). Another potential safety concern is the susceptibility of omega-3 fatty acid preparations to undergo oxidation, which contributes to patient intolerance and potential toxicity. Finally, large amounts of fish consumption may result in adverse experiences due to the potential presence of environmental toxins such as mercury, polychlorinated biphenyls, dioxins, and other contaminants. The risks of exposure to environmental toxins and hypervitaminosis with fish consumption are substantially reduced through purification processes used to develop selected concentrated fish oil supplements and prescription preparations. Thus, in choosing which fish oil therapies to recommend, clinicians should be aware of available information to best assess their relative safety, which includes the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) advisory statement regarding fish consumption, the meaning of certain labeling (such as “verification” through the US Pharmacopeia) and the differences in FDA regulatory requirements between nonprescription fish oil supplements and prescription fish oil preparations, and how all of this is important to the optimal treatment of patients.”
PMID: 17368277