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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 13 of 13. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by chinablue on August 22, 2007, at 23:28:16
I ate fish oil for about a month. i was a happier camper. however, it made my acne go crazy. i stopped taking it about a week ago. my pores are still enlarged. any idea how long or whether they will return to normal? i have also noticed other facial changes - i seem to have a mild moon face. am i crazy or is this possible?
Posted by Netch on August 23, 2007, at 7:46:51
In reply to fish oil side effects: acne + other changes, posted by chinablue on August 22, 2007, at 23:28:16
chinablue, I've found fish oil capsules will aggrevate/induce acne but fatty fish will not.
It might be oxidized omega-3 causing the problem.Netch
Posted by chinablue on August 23, 2007, at 21:03:47
In reply to Re: fish oil side effects: acne + other changes » chinablue, posted by Netch on August 23, 2007, at 7:46:51
hey netch - thanks for the advice. is there any other source of fatty fish other than, well, eating it?
Posted by JLx on August 24, 2007, at 5:59:01
In reply to fish oil side effects: acne + other changes, posted by chinablue on August 22, 2007, at 23:28:16
Perhaps a different brand would help. I experienced acne too from fish oil and because someone else commented on this board that a different brand helped them, I tried that too and it helped.
I currently take Natural Factors, RxOmega-3 Factors Pharmaceutical Grade Omega 3 Oils purchased online from iHerb which has the best price I've found so far. http://www.iherb.com/ProductDetails.aspx?c=1&pid=4251&at=0 This brand also has 400 mg EPA and 200 mg DHA, double the usual, so I can take fewer capsules.
JL
> I ate fish oil for about a month. i was a happier camper. however, it made my acne go crazy. i stopped taking it about a week ago. my pores are still enlarged. any idea how long or whether they will return to normal? i have also noticed other facial changes - i seem to have a mild moon face. am i crazy or is this possible?
Posted by Netch on August 24, 2007, at 8:46:18
In reply to Re: fish oil side effects: acne + other changes, posted by chinablue on August 23, 2007, at 21:03:47
chinablue, you might want to try JLx's advice.
I've tried several high quality brands without success though. Fatty fish is the only thing that works for me.Netch
> hey netch - thanks for the advice. is there any other source of fatty fish other than, well, eating it?
Posted by chinablue on August 24, 2007, at 10:11:24
In reply to Re: fish oil side effects: acne + other changes » chinablue, posted by JLx on August 24, 2007, at 5:59:01
Hi JLx:
so have you had no problems with acne taking natural factors?
Posted by JLx on August 24, 2007, at 11:38:04
In reply to Re: fish oil side effects: acne + other changes, posted by chinablue on August 24, 2007, at 10:11:24
> Hi JLx:
>
> so have you had no problems with acne taking natural factors?Not like I did with other brands. I'm a middle aged woman and shouldn't be having problems with acne in the first place, I thought! So I don't know how normal it is to have even the occasional small pimple, which is all I have now. Which may be due to some hormonal fluctuation or whatever totally unrelated to the fish oil.
I have yet to see a possible explanation as to why fish oil may exacerbate acne. I never would have noticed the connection if I hadn't read of it on this board. If we knew the why...
The different brand being helpful suggests to me that it may be something to do with impurities. Natural Factors is a Canadian company who states on their website that, "All of our products undergo rigorous testing at all levels of the production process in accordance with United States Pharmacopoeia (USP) guidelines. Our manufacturing is done according to Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) guidelines laid out and regulated by the Health Protection Branch (HPB) of Health Canada. Factors Laboratories also follows Good Laboratory Practices (GLP) guidelines."
Prior to Natural Factors I was using my local supermarket brand or NOW brand. They say to open an capsule and see if it smells rancid. I did that but wasn't sure if I was smelling just fish oil or rancid fish oil.
If fish oil was working for you, then it was the EPA/DHA that was doing that; taking a capsule with higher EPA/DHA volume will decrease your number of capsules and overall volume of the oil itself. Perhaps that alone will help -- to simply take less. It's possible too that waiting it out a bit may lessen the acne side effects.
There are other fish oils with a even higher amount of EPA/DHA, btw. Omega-Brite has the highest EPA to DHA ratio capsules, but they are more expensive. Country Life has a higher one too and if I remember correctly, so does Nordic Naturals. There may be others since I've researched this a while back. I settled on Natural Factors as it seemed a good compromise of EPA per capsule for the price.
JL
Posted by chinablue on August 24, 2007, at 17:47:20
In reply to Re: fish oil side effects: acne + other changes » chinablue, posted by JLx on August 24, 2007, at 11:38:04
Dear JL:
how long did it take for the acne-induced effects to subside after you stopped taking fish oil. i have not taken it for a week, but my acne is still bad - i am afraid that i have effected a permanent change to oil glands. what was your experience?
Posted by JLx on August 24, 2007, at 18:14:31
In reply to Re: fish oil side effects: acne + other changes, posted by chinablue on August 24, 2007, at 17:47:20
> Dear JL:
>
> how long did it take for the acne-induced effects to subside after you stopped taking fish oil. i have not taken it for a week, but my acne is still bad - i am afraid that i have effected a permanent change to oil glands. what was your experience?Sorry, I don't remember. You might search on this board for previous discussions of fish oil and acne.
It doesn't seen logical to me that you would have done something permanent.
JL
Posted by tealady on September 4, 2007, at 22:41:16
In reply to Re: fish oil side effects: acne + other changes, posted by chinablue on August 24, 2007, at 17:47:20
I think yours will too.
Same here.. tried 5 different brands over a couple of years.. all produced acne,all subsided copletely weeks after stopping. Fish by themsleves .. no acne.
I don't have the same brands over here, so I didn't try JL's recommended brand.
I thought maybe additional things in fish which are needed to be taken with the fish oil for it to work without the acne or any other side effects(acne is the one noted by females in particular)..it is usually better, if at all possible, to take the 'whole' "food" I've found.
That said, i wouln't go eating whole krill.. due to the fluoride in shell , I wonder about krill oil regarding this?
..and same with some herbs/plants etc.. some might be toxic if eaten "whole'.
Posted by JLx on September 5, 2007, at 6:45:33
In reply to A few weeks to completely subside., posted by tealady on September 4, 2007, at 22:41:16
Hi Jan,
Can you think of any explanation for the fish oil acne connection? When I looked it up online, all I found were recommendations FOR fish oil for acne.
JL
> I think yours will too.
> Same here.. tried 5 different brands over a couple of years.. all produced acne,all subsided copletely weeks after stopping. Fish by themsleves .. no acne.
> I don't have the same brands over here, so I didn't try JL's recommended brand.
> I thought maybe additional things in fish which are needed to be taken with the fish oil for it to work without the acne or any other side effects(acne is the one noted by females in particular)..
>
> it is usually better, if at all possible, to take the 'whole' "food" I've found.
> That said, i wouln't go eating whole krill.. due to the fluoride in shell , I wonder about krill oil regarding this?
> ..and same with some herbs/plants etc.. some might be toxic if eaten "whole'.
Posted by tealady on September 6, 2007, at 1:45:34
In reply to Fish oil=acne explanation? » tealady, posted by JLx on September 5, 2007, at 6:45:33
Hi JL,
I've a barely functional head at present, but I managed to type acne and tealady in the search box and foind this post
http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20050101/msgs/450227.htmlI'm not sure though.. maybe people could try a B5 perhaps with a low dose multiB supp( like no more than 10mg B6) and see if it helps them?
I just gave up re the fish oil at present.
Another person(male) taking it for a few months found it lowered theur athletic ability and they tired quicker and didn't bounce back as fast after races.. stopped fish oil and is slowly recovering. (months )
of course, it could be just a coincidence.
I did feel a bit more anxious on fish oil too I think?,but I'm not sure and don't feel up to reading thru old posts.
This thread might give some an idea of what has been discussed though..
Best wishes,
Jan
Posted by Bob12 on July 12, 2009, at 5:58:31
In reply to fish oil side effects: acne + other changes, posted by chinablue on August 22, 2007, at 23:28:16
> I ate fish oil for about a month. i was a happier camper. however, it made my acne go crazy. i stopped taking it about a week ago. my pores are still enlarged. any idea how long or whether they will return to normal? i have also noticed other facial changes - i seem to have a mild moon face. am i crazy or is this possible?
China Blue,
I have experienced the same problem with fish oil. I stopped taking it over a year ago but my face seems to be permanently more oily than it was before.
Does anyone know when this effect from the Omega 3 will go away?Bob
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