For years I've had veins burst in my thighs and leave big bruises, maybe happened 6 times a year. Now that I'm taking flax seed oil, evening primrose oil, mag-cal-chrom. supplements, its happening like 5 or 6 times a month!!! Starts with a burning, itching sensation turns REAL hot and then kaboom!!! Big bruise by morning. Any ideas? Anybody?

Sounds like you're thinning your blood out too much...you might want to cut back on one of the supplements...not sure which one, though. This is a question for our resident pharmacist!

What does your doctor say?

Zelma

You should stop the flaxseed oil, that can affect the blood. I don't know about the other things. Excessive bruising is a sign of low platelets, that can be serious so you might want to check with your doctor but stop the flax right away, you wouldn't want to get a dangerously low platelet count.

sberz,
You should definitely see your doctor, especially if it is happening this often. This can be a sign of low platelets, which in turn can be caused by many things. But it is not normal, and it is not caused by menopause. It might be the supplements, but I would not wait to find out as you are basically bleeding for no apparent reason. Please see your doctor to make sure everything is okay (don't mean to scare you, but it is important in this case).

Did you find out what was causing the bruising? I've had this for years since puberty. I'm using flaxseed oil and I've not noticed anymore bruising...on the other hand my daughter who just started taking flaxseed has a bruise on her thigh. She said that it started out itching as if a bug had bit her...now she has a bruising in that area.

I'm really curious to know what is causing this.

Thanks ladies of being such a good source of information.

Omega-3 (flax oil and EPO) is known to thin blood and weaken blood vessels walls, and this causes cappilaries to burst. I had nose bleed daily when I took flax oil, so I just stopped it. Also, have CBC w/diff. tested to make sure everything is ok.

MYFaith and Iradan - Thanks for responding to my question about the bruising. Like I said I have has this bruising thing for years, very possibly since puberty. I stopped taking flax seed oil and (knock on wood) I haven't had a new bruise!!! Just out of curiosity I've decided to try flax seed again to see what happens. Yes I did have blood tests back in May and they were all in normal range. Shelley

Hi Iradan, you seem to be very Knowledgable.
My son has had nose bleeds and it seems maybe I got it in control since I put him on a Bioflavnoid called Rutin and a multivitamin with Vit k in it do you have any other suggestions. He doesnt take flax seed oil just the two things I mentioned. Thanks in advance if you read this, Tinks
PS My hubby and I and my other kids have had them as kids also might be hereditary (spelling)?

Hi everyone. Now I'm really confused! I thought flaxseed oil was a suitable replacement for cod liver oil, which I can't take as I'm veggie. I take a supplement of omegas 3,6 and 9 daily because I thought it helped to keep blood vessels healthy. Now I'm learning from your posts that it might actually weaken them, which is worrying as that can lead to a bleed in the brain, causing a stroke. I've not had any suspicious bruises, just the usual threadveins which are unfortunately inevitable as you get older, and I had them before taking flaxseed oil.

I also grind flaxseeds and add them to food. Is this also not reccommended does anyone know?

Tinkybug,
Kids tend to have nose bleeds, however, mine never had it and I did not when I was a kid, I fo have it now ocationally. This may have nothing to do with weak cappilaries, and could be due to dry and hot weather, AC, dust, dry skin in general, and picking nose too hard too, LOL.
Supplementing with vitamins does not hurt, but also good nutriotion is helpfull. Buckwheat (kasha) and apples contain rutin, and green veggies (think broccoli) contain lots of Vi.K. I would also make sure he has enough betacarotin: carrots and squashes, sweet potaotes (orange colored) eaten with REAL BUTTER! Butter is high in Vitamin A and this does the trick to help absorbing betacarotin. Same goes for green veggies, otherwise, it's just a bunch of fiber, that goes through.
May be this is why veggies only taste good when eaten with some sort of fat, especially sw3eet potaotes.