Rheumatoid Arthritis Support Group

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic, inflammatory, multisystem, autoimmune disorder. It is a disabling and painful condition which can lead to substantial loss of mobility due to pain and joint destruction. The disease is also systemic in that it often also affects many extra-articular tissues throughout the body including the skin, blood vessels, heart, lungs, and...

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deleted_user 10/09/2009

I know there was a tread on Fish Oil but I could not find it. I know many of you are taking low dose fish oil and not therapeutic levels. Also it can take about 6 month to get full results if you diet is pro inflammatory (to much bad arachidonic acid). I have been doing a lot of reading on therapeutic doses of fish oil. For Chronic Pain you should be talking 7.5 grams of EPA (3200 mg) and DHA (1600mg) concentrate per day. That is 8 large capsules of my fish oil. Its important that it is from pharmaceutical grade toxic free fish oil. You don't want to get mercury poisoning from these high doses. The cost would be about $4.50 a day. Some GLA and dab of toasted sesame oil might also help balance the fish oil. A example would be Eico|Rx at http://www.zonediet.com/OMEGA3/tabid/64/Default.aspx#purchase

Arthritis Today list a little lower dose but it is still more than what most people say they take.

Supplement Guide: Fish Oil

Origin: Oil from cold-water fish such as mackerel, salmon, herring, tuna, halibut and cod.

Dosage: Fish, capsules or chewable tab lets. For general health, two 3-ounce servings of fish a week are recommended. However, its difficult to get a therapeutic dose of fish oil from food alone. To treat arthritis-related conditions, use fish oil capsules with at least 30 percent EPA/ DHA, the active ingredients. For lupus and psoriasis, 2 g EPA/DHA three times a day. For Raynauds phenomenon, 1 g four times a day. For rheumatoid arthritis, up to 2.6 g fish oil (1.6 g EPA) twice a day.

From http://www.arthritistoday.org/treatments/supplement-guide/supplements/fish-oil.php

deleted_user 10/09/2009

ok this is all good and all but my question is how the heck do you keep from the fish taste coming back up???

deleted_user 10/10/2009

I have been doing this for a while because my chiropractor asked me to. I believe it has helped my RA! sara, unfortunately, I am not sure how to get rid of the taste coming back up. I had that problem for about 2 weeks and then it went away, so maybe time will help??? (((hugs))))

toby1129 10/10/2009

My nutritionist recommended 2800 mg fish oil per day but insisted I speak with the doctor first since it thins the blood. I've been taking it along with an anti inflammatory diet for months now. I don't see any difference in the RA but have seen some improvement in sjogrens syndrome symptoms. Eyes and mouth are not so dry.

BarryD 10/10/2009

look for Enteric Coated Softgels, found them at neighbohood walmart. They are coated with a special coating designed to remain intact until they reach the small intestine. Enteric coating is supposed to eliminates aftertaste. My wife and I have been taking them with this coating for about 6 weeks and havent experienced any problems.

deleted_user 10/10/2009

My husband, daughter and my self have been taking the high dose fish oil from the Zone website. The first 30 days supply is free when you register on the site. You can try it. It does not have that fishy after taste that you burp all day because it is high quality. I have been talking the 7 to 8 capsules a day. I take it also for weight loss.

deleted_user 10/10/2009

Also you can test your fish oil for purity. Here is the way to do it easy at home. http://books.google.com/books?id=xm3vI4dtnsgC&pg=PA275&lpg=PA275&dq=Testing+fish+oil+purity+toothpick&source=bl&ots=6AuFhvI4O_&sig=oA3AwClkQT2zerD0PsHoYznmYu8&hl=en&ei=Ef3QSsHsIYvYtgO7rZXwCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBEQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Testing%20fish%20oil%20purity%20toothpick&f=false

bigiblue 10/10/2009

Just remember that Fish Oil is a Fat Soluble Vitamin and can have an affect on the Liver. I had to stop taking mine when they put me on Mtx. I had to go off both meds one at atime to see which ones was causing the Dr. thought is was the mtx and infact it was the Fish oil. So be careful when taking both of these together. slso get your Liver checked before you start any ne Supplement Program.
They do have the No Burb kind at Walmart and other Health food Stores, that worked really well.I was on them for years, until I started Mtx.
bigi

deleted_user 10/11/2009

My personal preference is to not use fish oil at all, but here's one recommendation on dosage:

http://heart-disease.emedtv.com/fish-oil/fish-oil-dosage-p2.html

The same article also lists some side effects:

http://heart-disease.emedtv.com/fish-oil/fish-oil-side-effects-p2.html

deleted_user 10/11/2009

I must admit I am a Fish Oil-convert. I've been taking it for about five years now, and I have only stopped them once for a short period, and did notice the difference in overall joint stiffness. It was more prominent when I stopped the Fish Oil.

I started on the capsules, taking 3000mg a day and it was my rheumy who suggested increasing it to the higher dose of 6000mg. Over the last six months, I've been taking the High Strength Fish Oil by Ethical Nutrients where you get twice the good oil and half the bad. I take 5mls a day, taste is so/so and I always take it after a meal to prevent that aftertaste - ugh I can't stand that.

But I have to admit you cannot beat a nice BBQ'd fish with all those goodies already built-in.

p.s. It costs me about a $1 per day.

deleted_user 10/11/2009

Cheap fish oil (cod liver oil and others) is damaging to the liver because of the high vitamin A levels and toxins. This is not a problem with fish body oils, which contain very little of these fat-soluble vitamins. Good pure ultra refined fish oil is used to repair liver disease. It does not damage the liver. If your buying fish oil that has not been tested for toxins then you might mess up your liver. We can't eat enough fish to help our RA type inflammation with out getting toxins. It takes 12 servings of fish (tuna, catfish or cod) a day to get the same amount of Omega 3 as one normal dose of high dose fish oil. People with RA need twice that if your taking it for pain. You can find 5 star fish oils If your fish oil has been tested for toxins by the IFOS program it will be listed in the cunsumer report. http://www.ifosprogram.com/IFOS/ConsumerReport.aspx

bigiblue 10/11/2009

Thanks, Cinnamint I'll have to check out that site.
bigi

deleted_user 10/11/2009

Hey guys!

The best stuff I have found is called Mega red. here's a link, but you can buy it everywhere, including grocery stores: http://www.schiffmegared.com/faq.asp?a=why_is_it_better

The pills are small. One pill is equal to 3 normal fish oil pills. And there's no fish burps!! no indigestion! This stuff is truly great and clinically shown to lower CRP levels.
Hugs,
sarah

deleted_user 10/11/2009

Sara, if you compare the labels it is not even close to the same amount of EPA and DHA as you need to reduce inflammation from pain. What I am taking is EPA (3200 mg) and DHA (1600mg) yours is EPA 45 mg and DHA 27mg.

deleted_user 10/11/2009

If my math is right I would have to take 71 of the Mega Red to get the same amount of EPA. Thats a lot of pills.

Dr. Barry Sears says it has a lot to do with marketing. If the drug manufactures think you will only spend $5 or $10 on fish oil then they make the fish oil in that price range. Thats why the stuff in your stores are cheap low quality toxic oils. There is some high quality fish oils that might be cheaper but most of the real super concentrated fish oils are not in your local grocery store. Many say triple strength but you have to read the label to know how much EPA and DHA is in the fish oil. Thats what your paying for.

deleted_user 10/12/2009

Cinnamint,
You are so right! I wonder why they claim one pill is equal to 3 fish oil pills?

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