Tuesday, May 11, 2010 Sparky22 asks

Q: Fish oil causing elevated liver enzymes?

I just returned from my Rheumatologist and my ALT liver enzymes are signifigantly higher than 3 months ago. The only change that I've done is I'm taking 3,000 mg of fish oil a day starting a week after my last blood test 3 months ago. At that time my GP recommended it for high triglicerides. Has anyone else had or heard of this? I know there is a new "drug" out called Lovaza, which is esentially concentrated fish oil and one of the warnings is elevated ALT. I'm taking Enbrel and wellbutrin and vicoprofin. Any thoughts? Thanks.

Answer This
Answers (1)
Lene Andersen, Health Guide
5/12/10 1:25pm

I did a quick search in Google and found a number of mentions of these liver enzymes increasing in connection with fish oil, so it's possible that the two may be related. I'd recommend you consult a licensed doctor of naturopathic medicine - they specialize in supplements and herbal remedies and often know more about their side effects and interactions with other drugs than your family doctor might. However, in the meantime, you may want to consider stopping the fish oil to see if that helps.

Reply
5/12/10 4:06pm

Thanks Lene.  I spoke with my GP today and he does not think it's the fish oil, but I'm stopping it.  I have an appointment with him in about 4 weeks and will get another blood test just before that.  He did mention he thought it could be Enbrel, which really surprised me.  Has anyone had enzyme increase from Enbrel? Thanks for your help.

Reply
Lene Andersen, Health Guide
5/12/10 7:11pm

I did another quick checking Google and did find some mentions of elevated liver enzymes with Enbrel. I'd recommend you contact your rheumatologist to discuss the issue.

Reply
Answer This

Important:
We hope you find this general health information helpful. Please note however, that this Q&A is meant to support not replace the professional medical advice you receive from your doctor. No information in the Answers above is intended to diagnose or treat any condition. The views expressed in the Answers above belong to the individuals who posted them and do not necessarily reflect the views of Remedy Health Media. Remedy Health Media does not review or edit content posted by our community members, but reserves the right to remove any material it deems inappropriate.

Ask a Question

Get answers from our experts and community members.

Btn_ask_question_med
View all questions (3514) >
By Sparky22— Last Modified: 12/25/10, First Published: 05/11/10