Sunday Stroke Survival: Something Fishy

Omega-3 or fish oil has long been recommended to reduce blood cholesterol levels. I started on them when my body started seizing up (abdominal and leg cramps) with statins...all of them. It was later found that I could take Zetia, but that isn't a statin at all. So what was the answer to my high cholesterol levels---fish oil. I presently take Lovanza, which is prescription strength Omega 3, and four 100mg capsules of triple omega (over the counter) every day. Plus, I'm eating a Mediterranean/Almost Vegetarian  diet.

So for the cost of the prescription, the over the counter omega, and the dietary changes, has there been any change in my bad cholesterol numbers? Very little. Granted, I got closer to the magic 100 mg level on statins, but I felt like crapola. But remember my blog on alternative (Voodoo) medicine? Omega 3 is a dietary supplement according to the FDA. Hmm, it got me looking up what 4 mg of Fish oil was doing to my body. I might mention that I also eat fish three times a week also.

Fish oil is LIKELY SAFE for most people, including pregnant and breast-feeding women, when taken in low doses (3 grams or less per day). There are some safety concerns when fish oil is taken in high doses. Taking more than 3 grams per day might keep blood from clotting and can increase the chance of bleeding.

High doses of fish oil might also reduce the immune system’s activity, reducing the body’s ability to fight infection. This is a special concern for people taking medications to reduce their immune system’s activity (organ transplant patients, for example) and the elderly.

Only take high doses of fish oil while under medical supervision.

Fish oil can cause side effects including belching, bad breath, heartburn, nausea, loose stools, rash, and nosebleeds. Taking fish oil supplements with meals or freezing them can often decrease these side effects.

Consuming large amounts of fish oil from some DIETARY sources is POSSIBLY UNSAFE. Some fish meats (especially shark, king mackerel, and farm-raised salmon) can be contaminated with mercury and other industrial and environmental chemicals, but fish oil supplements typically do not contain these contaminants.

Special Precautions & Warnings:

Liver disease: Fish oil might increase the risk of bleeding in people with liver scarring due to liver disease.
Fish or seafood allergy: Some people who are allergic to seafood such as fish might also be allergic to fish oil supplements. There is no reliable information showing how likely people with seafood allergy are to have an allergic reaction to fish oil. Until more is known, advise patients allergic to seafood to avoid or use fish oil supplements cautiously.
Bipolar disorder: Taking fish oil might increase some of the symptoms of this condition.
Depression: Taking fish oil might increase some of the symptoms of this condition.
Diabetes: There is some concern that taking high doses of fish oil might make the control of blood sugar more difficult.
High blood pressure: Fish oil can lower blood pressure and might cause blood pressure to drop too low in people who are being treated with blood pressure-lowering medications.
HIV/AIDS and other conditions in which the immune system response is lowered: Higher doses of fish oil can lower the body’s immune system response. This could be a problem for people whose immune system is already weak.
An implanted defibrillator (a surgically placed device to prevent irregular heartbeat): Some, but not all, research suggests that fish oil might increase the risk of irregular heartbeat in patients with an implanted defibrillator. Stay on the safe side by avoiding fish oil supplements.
Familial adenomatous polyposis: There is some concern that fish oil might further increase the risk of getting cancer in people with this condition. (According to Web MD, NIH website)

Now some of this just sounds scary.Fish oil may sound harmless but looking at this list makes me wonder. While I don't have a lot that falls in the Special precautions or warnings, I do have a few like high blood pressure, a spongy liver leftover from my drinking days way past, diabetes (now in remission), and depression. It raises some flags with me.

Will I chance coming off the fish oils? No, not without some definite signs that it's worsening these conditions. The fear of another heart attack or stroke keeps me on the oil. Considering I've had both in the past, I sure don't want to repeat it caused by higher cholesterol. I may not survive a second heart attack or third stroke.

That's my two cents worth and with inflation...a dollar.

On a personal note, today would have been my husband's 67th birthday. A few days ago would have been our silver anniversary. A few more milestones hit in my first year of grief. "Happy anniversary and birthday, babe. I wish you were here."

Nothing is impossible.

Sunday Stroke Survival ~ More on My Waxy, Fat-Like Stuff

Have no idea what that is? It's my high cholesterol count. Not all cholesterol is bad. Your liver produces it and it has a job to do. I mean everything in life has a purpose and cholesterol is no different. It makes Vitamin D to prevent Rickets, help digest your food, and it produces hormones. Sounds like a good thing, doesn't it? Your body needs the HDL and LDL to do its job.

But like everything in life, too much of a good thing is bad for you. Too high and it leads to trouble in you arteries. I have high cholesterol. It led to my heart attack in 2006.

Meat products are to blame, usually, for high LDL (bad) cholesterol. Sometimes as with me, it's a genetic make up. My German half not my Japanese half. No matter what cholesterol lowering drugs they put me on, my number of total cholesterol is over 250. I'm on two now too. The American Heart Association recommends a number of 100 or lower if you've had a heart attack or stroke. So I basically out of luck, if high cholesterol is listed as a fixable risk factor.

Over 80% of my food consumption is plant based now. Think 1/4 of a plate in meat, and the other 3/4 vegetables, but still my number is high. My liver, where cholesterol is produced in the body, just generates too much.

So I did some research this past month on how the liver produces cholesterol. Things like sugar and carbohydrates create cholesterol in the liver. This kind of puzzled me because I'm a diabetic and haven't eaten much sugar in years. I use whole grain wheat, rice, and soy flours to bake with so where was my body getting all these carbohydrates from to produce all this cholesterol.

Somewhere I read a few years ago that artificial sweeteners reacted with the liver to form formaldehyde and diabetics were autopsied were partially embalmed, but everybody needs a little sweetness in their diet. That is something that sets my allergies off. Formaldehyde is even used in commercially produced bread as stabilizer. Reading labels carefully has save me more than once over the years. I switched most of my sweeteners to honey. Amazingly enough, I'm deathly allergic to bee, but thankfully not to honey or beeswax.

The only major contributor I could see was rice. Asking a Japanese person to give up rice, is like trying to tell an Irishman to quit eating potatoes. Although, I did switch years ago to brown and wild rices. Growing up rice was the staple in our house as pasta is to an Italian family's house. Sure, we ate pasta and potatoes too (also no-nos as far as cholesterol goes). But whole grain pastas or veggie pasta has good stuff in them too. That's my usual preference anyhow. Potatoes and bananas are a mainstay in our diet for their richness in potassium.

So I really don't see a fix for my cholesterol problem. We actually eat very healthy in this household. There's no fighting genetics, but for the rest of y'all, it might be something you might look into. What is you triglyceride count? If you have high LDL numbers then I'll bet those are high too. Mine are actually in the good range so for me, it's genetics hands down.

I eat a lot of fish and take six triple Omega capsule (Omega 3-6-9) as part of my cholesterol lowering regime. Orientals love fish too. :o)  I'm also on Zetia, but it does nothing for lowering the cholesterol in the blood stream already, according to my doctor. Only statins will do that they say. But I've had a bad reaction to all of them. I get not only severe leg cramps but abdominal cramps as well. That's with taking half a tablet every other day. The doctors have given up prescribing statins for me. Personally, I'm thankful. My muscle spasms and spasticity from my stroke are about all I can handle right now.

So I'm basically up the creek without a paddle as far as this risk factor is concerned. I'm better off working on some of those other risk factors I can change like smoking, exercise, and weight loss because lowering my cholesterol lower than what it is, is a lost cause.

Nothing is impossible with determination--except maybe genetics.