EDIT: this got to be longer than I thought so I moved this up: My suggestion -- cut down on some of the intake and see and also you could try adding some L-Arginine (up the NO production) as this could be an interference point (fibrate research is pretty weak).
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Libido is very complex. Fish oil does boost up testosterone and it does so (from what I've read) partially by interference with conversion from THT to DHT (similar to how Propecia works). Flax from what I've seen tends to up LH and actually reduce testosterone (again, by how much I can't say).
So it's theoretically possible and individuals are literally that -- INDIVIDUAL. It's wise not to use fish oil and flax/borage/udo's not exclusively but in combination with each other. It seems that you are doing that already -- so you've kept the rest the same?
Eicosanoids are varied (much more than people think) and the body's enzymatic machinery has to come up with a lot of these pretty rapidly. Flax serves as a good set of building blocks for these, whereas fish oil concentrate tends to provide a number of the "finished products" (a crude analogy).
That's great unless you need something that the mid-products won't provide or else your enyzmes or feedback loop is a little off kilter. Or if the one you need is an intermediary and taking in EPA shuts off the valve...so the needed intermediaries don't get made at all.
For example, ethyl-eicosapentaenoate (Omega-3 fatty acid) is implicated in relieving depression and libido drop but we all know too much of a good thing can sometimes reverse it.
See the following and note the 2g/day group did not benefit further, whereas 1g/day did. So going beyond the minimum required doesn't seem to help (it's deficiency you're trying to avoid) and may actually be a problem.
Sounds like you may have found out something interesting for yourself. For example, like this guy who is using sesathin -- big drop in the wood:
http://216.239.59.104/search?q=cache:uXOCqH17R7MJ:forum.avantlabs.com/topic8766_180.html+%22fish+oil%22+%22reduction+in+libido%22&hl=en
: Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2002 Oct;59(10):913-9.
Related Articles, Links
[size=+1]
A dose-ranging study of the effects of ethyl-eicosapentaenoate in patients with ongoing depression despite apparently adequate treatment with standard drugs.[/size]
Peet M, Horrobin DF.
Swallownest Court Hospital, Sheffield, England.
BACKGROUND: In depressed patients, low blood levels of eicosapentaenoic acid are seen. We tested the antidepressive effect of ethyl-eicosapentaenoate in these patients. METHODS: We included 70 patients with persistant depression despite ongoing treatment with an adequate dose of a standard antidepressant. Patients were randomized on a double-blind basis to placebo or ethyl-eicosapentaenoate at dosages of 1, 2, or 4 g/d for 12 weeks in addition to unchanged background medication. Patients underwent assessment using the 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale, and the Beck Depression Inventory. RESULTS: Forty-six (88%) of 52 patients receiving ethyl-eicosapentaenoate and 14 (78%) of 18 patients receiving placebo completed the 12-week study with no serious adverse events. The 1-g/d group showed a significantly better outcome than the placebo group on all 3 rating scales. In the intention-to-treat group, 5 (29%) of 17 patients receiving placebo and 9 (53%) of 17 patients receiving 1 g/d of ethyl-eicosapentaenoate achieved a 50% reduction on the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale score. In the per-protocol group, the corresponding figures were 3 (25%) of 12 patients for placebo and 9 (69%) of 13 patients for the 1-g/d group. The 2-g/d group showed little evidence of efficacy, whereas the 4-g/d group showed nonsignificant trends toward improvement. All of the individual items on all 3 rating scales improved with the 1-g/d dosage of ethyl-eicosapentaenoate vs placebo, with strong beneficial effects on items rating depression, anxiety, sleep, lassitude, libido, and suicidality. CONCLUSION: Treatment with ethyl-eicosapentaenoate at a dosage of 1 g/d was effective in treating depression in patients who remained depressed despite adequate standard therapy.
Publication Types:
- Clinical Trial
- Randomized Controlled Trial
PMID: 12365878 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]