question to doctors about ginkgo biloba

Asked the pharmacist in the house for you,

You can take definitely take it with fish oil. The only thing that you can't take it with, as far as my knowledge goes, are antidepressants (many supplements cannot be taken with antidepressants; consult your doctor). However, if you are taking aspirin, ibuprofen, or anything of the like, you may want to stop taking the GB (you will feel quite nauseous). As always, if you have any personal problems or disorders, it is crucial that you consult your doctor first.

Jeff, you wrote "However, if you are taking aspirin, ibuprofen, or anything of the like, you may want to stop taking the GB (you will feel quite nauseous)."

I took daily GB about 120 mg for altitude adjustment for 16 days on the JMT and also took daily ecotrin (enteric coated aspirin) and did not get nauseous. Going up Forester and Whitney, I took instead Advil, with the GB, and did not get nauseous. Is there literature on this combination effect with GB? I'm wondering why this concern?

Thanks!

I'm neither a doctor nor a pharmacist, but I have been told that ginkgo biloba does act somewhat as a blood thinner. So do aspirin and NSAIDs such as ibuprofen.

As someone who is prone to bleeding (i.e., my blood is already pretty thin), I have been told by my doctor not to take any of these. If you are already on blood thinners or your doctor has told you to take low-dose aspirin, consult your doctor before taking anything else (gingko or NSAIDs) on top of them. Also let your doctor or dentist know if you're taking any of these things before any surgical procedures, root canals or extractions are done. They may want you to go off the blood thinners for a couple of weeks beforehand to avoid excessive bleeding.

I've used it extensively in the Andes up to 6000m as an aid to acclimitization. It works well, best to take as early as possible in the morning since it can really give you crazy dream, at least it did for me.

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Roleigh,

Not to worry, you aren't "supposed" to get nauseous. It is just a possible side effect.

In Paul Auerbach’s “Medicine for the Outdoors” health blog, he mentioned one of the latest ginkgo biloba studies out of South America that made some surprising positive claims. They claimed better results with ginkgo over diamox. Those results sound too good to be true, so I wouldn’t trust the study.

Recent abstract about drug interactions of ginkgo biloba.

It is important to realize there are preparations made from different extracts of the plant, so who knows what physiologic properties and side effects each could have.