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Medicines That React to Fish Oil

Sep 1, 2011 | By Carole Anne Tomlinson

Fish oil can benefit your health in several ways, although the most common use recommended by doctors is the treatment of high cholesterol. Specifically, fish oil, an omega-3-acid ethyl ester, works to lower the levels of fats in your blood called triglycerides. Reducing triglycerides can help lower blood pressure and prevent heart disease. You also may use fish oil supplements as anti-inflammatory pain relievers. Omega-3s can give you the same kind of relief from pain caused by inflammation, such as that found in arthritis, as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Some medicines can react to fish oil, so you need to seek your doctor’s advice about potential interactions before using the supplement.

Anticoagulants

You take blood thinning medicines such as warfarin, anisindione and dicumarol to help keep your blood from forming dangerous clots. Usually, your physician or cardiologist will prescribe an anticoagulant if you have had complications from heart surgery such as atrial fibrillation. She also may prescribe anticoagulants for other medical reasons. Atrial fibrillation means your heart does not beat properly. This can result in your blood pooling and becoming thicker, potentially producing clots that can lead to strokes or heart attacks. Because fish oil helps to open your arteries by reducing and limiting blockages called plaque, it can increase the effect of an anticoagulant. Drugs.com notes that researchers still are unsure exactly why this may occur. The cumulative effect of fish oil and anticoagulants usually only happens with large doses of the supplement, but you should tell your cardiologist you take fish oil supplements if she prescribes a blood thinner.

Diuretics

Hydrochlorothiazide and other diuretics work to reduce your blood pressure by removing excess fluid from your blood and expelling it from your body through urination. Less blood in your body means your blood pressure decreases. Because fish oil and other omega-3 supplements reduce blood pressure by helping to clear your arteries of plaque, they can increase the effect of anti-hypertensive drugs such as diuretics. This can produce a dangerously low blood pressure. If your blood pressure falls too far, your body parts do not receive the proper levels of oxygen. This can make you feel lethargic or tired. It also can cause confusion because your brain becomes oxygen-starved. Your doctor will need to monitor the additive effects of fish oil and diuretics.

Oral Birth Control Medicines

Common combination birth-control medications, including ethinyl estradiol and norethindrone, as well as levonorgestrel and ethinyl estradiol, may react to fish oil supplements by decreasing its effectiveness in controlling triglyceride levels. MedlinePlus notes that medical evidence suggests this effect. Your doctor may want to use some other form of triglyceride-controlling medication if you use these forms of birth control.

Weight Loss Drugs

Orlistat, a drug sold in both prescription and over-the-counter strengths, works to keep your body from absorbing fat. People use it to help them lose weight. Because orlistat blocks fat, and fish oil is a type of fat, the drug may react with fish oil by preventing your body from absorbing it. This means you may not get the full effect of fish oil’s triglyceride-lowering benefits, MedlinePlus indicates.

References

Article reviewed by GlennK Last updated on: Sep 1, 2011

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