Fish Oil and Fibromyalgia/Arthritis/Chronic Pain

Simba&NalasMom, LPN · Feb 24, 2010

Flax oil may be helpful but I have not seen the same results for pain as I have seen with fish oil. Flax is very perishable and is often rancid when taken as capsules. It also takes a much larger dose of flax than fish oil. When I've used flax oil with people who have pain, typically, I recommend 1-2 Tablespoons (= to 15-30 capsules) in cottage cheese or yogurt. (The sulfur containing amino acids help with transport) I like the taste of Barlean's flax oil. You are also relying on the body to convert the fats found in flax to the type found in fish (think of it as taking a prodrug versus the actual active ingredient). People with fibro so often have metabolic difficulties. I'd go with fish for a consistent therapeutic effect and add some ground flax seed into the diet to supplement.
For fish oil, look at the amount of EPA + DHA in the capsules. Many capsules are 1gm but may have only 300mg of omega 3. Others are 1gm with 950mg of omega-3. I look for one that is at least 600mg of omega 3/capsule. The preferred sources are anchovie, sardine, mackerel, herring, or halibut. The simplist (but NOT tastiest) way to get all the fish oil one needs and get the A and D would be a spoon full of cod liver oil. Carlson has some that are more effectively flavored than other brands. If you use a capsule, pierce it and taste the oil. It should taste fresh. If it has a sharp taste, it may have not been stored properly.
If you have trouble taking a fish oil due to burping, take one that's enteric coated or freeze the capsules and take it frozen.
For good info on fibro, check out the life extension foundation's website at http://www.lef.org/protocols/immune_connective_joint/fibromyalgia_01.htm
The info is good, but they are trying to sell their own products.

Ah frozen...I never would have thought of that. Thanks! :) I hate me some fish oil burps. :eek:

Nurse Reina · Feb 27, 2010

hello! i am new to the site. i have been an lpn for 10 years and was just diagnosed two months ago with osteopenia of my rt. hip/femur and fibromyalgia. i have always had pain, as a child i use to get panic attacks and anxiety everyday. i really didn't think anything of it being so young. well now knowing of these issues i look at things alot differently and say to myself i've probably had this for years and never knew. when i visited my primary doctor who referred me to my rheumy i was bent over in pain. i could barely walk and if i sat for too long i would nearly get up from sitting as if i were elderly. last summer before being diagnosed i visited the er twice thinking there was a slipped disk or an injury to my back. it would take me 3 hours to get out of bed. my back felt like it was on fire. if i were upset about anything my whole body would hurt and my toes felt like they were broken, especially if i tried to work an eight hour shift or work full-time. since then my rheumatologist has prescribed cymbalta 30mg daily, i would like to ask my doctor could he increase to 60mg so that i could work full-time. since having an increase of pain i work part-time. i can get through an eight hour shift, i still hurt, but not to the point where i'm limping. also it has decreased my anxiety level and panic attacks. i'd like to know does anyone else experience an increase of anxiety and panic attacks in the evening hours. i do everyday and i don't know what else to do or why this happens. thanks for listening.

hi everyone!
i haven't been on here in a while but i am a cna/medical assistant with a hx of back problems dating back to a 1999 car accident, then another in 2000, then a fall on the ice in 2007. i was diagnosed with mild degenerative disc disease at the age of 19. now i am pushing 30 and i have had chronic pain for some time. my therapist did research on the powers of fish oil for people like me, and i have to say either trader joe's moleculary distilled omega-3 fatty acids (odorless!) 1200 mg or nature's bounty 1200 mg is the best so far. i started with 1 times a day, then bid, then tid, now qid (i now take 2 in the am, 2 in the pm). i have to say what a big difference! i am no longer stiff and swollen, i do have pain but not as crippling! has anyone else had fish oil or other supplements for chronic pain/arthritis isssues?