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Post by luvmyboys on Jan 31, 2005 0:17:35 GMT -5
I'm new to this board, and would like a bit of clarification on the Omega -3s.
I bought the Nordic Naturals Children's DHA gels this weekend. It states to take 4 gels a day. Each pill has 280 mg of Omega -3, 140 mg DHA and 90 mg of EPA.
My 8 year old is about 50 lbs and just started Adderall XR. I"m not sure it is working, since we haven't asked the teachers if they have seen any improvement in the last week.
Ok, with that short background, will this supplement meet the requirements? He also takes a daily vitamin. I've been giving the vitamin at night, as suggested on the board, but can I give him 2 gels in the am with his Adderall?
Boy, this ADHD is overwhelming!!!
Nancy
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Post by catatonic on Jan 31, 2005 5:23:35 GMT -5
Welcome Nancy. You're right, ADHD can be overwhelming. And there's no doubt it affects the entire family! The Nordic Naturals products are excellent. Four capsules of your NN Children's DHA is ideal, and there's no reason you can't give half of it in the morning along with the Adderall. There are no reported interactions between Omega-3 and stimulant medications.
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Post by G on Jan 31, 2005 8:20:56 GMT -5
Hi luvmyboys, Those gels sound great...are they pretty small? I bought some of the nordic naturals lemon oil and my little guy just started taking it. So far, he is not complaining. It has only been 3 days though. My older child is the one with ADHD and omega has been wonderful for her. I figured it seems so great we will all take it!! Welcome, nat
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Post by jwm on Jan 31, 2005 10:41:25 GMT -5
Hi Catatonic, I probably have asked you before but I cant remember ( ) My son is taking the Coromega Omega-3 Fish oil supplement. Vitamin C: 12mg Vitamin E: 31 U Long chain omega-3 fatty acids: 650mg EPA : 350mg DHA : 230mg stevia leaf extract :10mg total fat :2g calories 20 My son also takes a multivitamin with flouride each night. We all take the coromega each day and the kids dont mind the orange flavor at all. I just wanted your opinion on this. Thanks. Jen
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Post by catatonic on Feb 1, 2005 0:51:20 GMT -5
I'm glad you're happy with the Coromega. In order to replicate clinical studies that have found Omeag-3 effective in treating ADHD, you ought to be giving twice the amount that you list, or two packets daily. I haven't tried this product personally. We follow the Feingold Diet and couldn't use coromega because it contains vanillin (an artificial flavor), sodium benzoate (which turns my son into a snotty little spaz), and orange flavor (high in salicylates). But if it works for you, that's what counts. Just make sure to give enough. I've heard it tastes kind of pudding-like, and kids like that.
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Post by swmom on Feb 2, 2005 5:26:36 GMT -5
Tell me again which omega 3 product you use that is free of all artificial flavorings/colorings and where you buy it. Thanks again.
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DenverMom
Full Member
Science is only as good as the questions we ask of it.
Posts: 81
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Post by DenverMom on Feb 2, 2005 12:48:02 GMT -5
I'm pretty sure Cat and I use the same product: Natural Factors Omega RX. I purchase it from iherb.com. These are big gel tabs. If your child is very young or has a hard time swallowing pills, you may want to consider the Natural Factors Learning Factors instead. You have to pay more per milligram of EFAs for this, but it's a smaller tablet.
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Post by catatonic on Feb 2, 2005 15:07:40 GMT -5
The Rx-Omega capsules are big! My older kids don't have a problem with them, but the 4-yearold has to bite them, swallow the juice, then spit back the capsule. The little one can swallow the Now brand DHA-250 capsules which are very small. The only drawback is the low amount of EPA. That's not a big deal for the littler kids, though. Both cost the same. Here's a link to both: Rx-Omega-3 -- www.iherb.com/rxomega31.htmlDHA-250 -- www.iherb.com/dha2.html
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Post by luvmyboys on Feb 3, 2005 18:52:41 GMT -5
nat605,
The pills are going great. The amounts I listed of DHA and EPA in the previous message is actually for all 4 pills. I don't recommend chewing them. I tried chewing one last night, and not much strawberry essence, more fishy. My boys are swallowing theirs since they didn't like the outer casing of the gel.
Nancy
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Post by G on Feb 3, 2005 23:12:34 GMT -5
I am using the natural factors RX for me and my daughter. I took 2 out tonight ( keep them in the fridge) and GROSS they were all oily and smelled like fish!!
I dumped the entire bottle out on to a paper towel and found that two of the pills had "popped" and all that was left was the casings with big holes in them.
has this ever happened to anyone else? I had to get out the lemon soap to get the smell off of my hands.
Nat glad the gels are working for you luvmyboys, we are "so far so good' with the lemon flavored oil. I tried it , its not too bad. Just have a drink ready!
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Post by rocco on Feb 3, 2005 23:57:56 GMT -5
Another omega question....do you think you can have too much omega? Would you see behavioral changes with too much? We use the Nordic Natural Ultimate omega and were doing 2 a day. I was feeling like I was seeing some signs still of lipid deficiency, so I upped it to 4 a day. I have been noticing a slight worsening of behavior lately....a little more volatile with his mood. The only change really is the omega. Could this be it? Has anyone had a similar experience, or is this a case of you can't have too much of a good thing??
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Post by catatonic on Feb 4, 2005 5:18:35 GMT -5
Yes, this could definitely be the problem, but NOT because of the Omega-3 itself. Rather, the flavoring that Nordic Naturals adds to its fish oil is the culprit. We can't use Nordic Naturals products because the lemon oil in it makes my son more hyper and distractable. This is not uncommon with the Nordic Naturals fish oil. Try switching to an unflavored fish oil, one that contains nothing but the fish oil. This has been the topic of discussion a number of times on the Feingold diet support board, so I know that you and I are NOT the only ones to have had this problem with the product. Don't stop giving Omega-3, just buy a different type.
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Post by swmom on Feb 4, 2005 6:44:33 GMT -5
I'm starting to think that's what's going on with us, too. We started omega 3 Jan. 1. Except for the first week, it's been a hellish month. She's been acting out, angry, inattentive, impulsive, the whole nine yards, all month long. My mother passed away in mid-Jan. but, honestly, I don't believe her behavior is related to that. There's something going on chemically. Guess we'll stop for a month and then resume in March with the stuff you use cat that's free of artificial flavorings. I really think it might be the lemon stuff because we started off noticing good things, but then the more she got in her system, the worse things got. Last night, she was the child from hell. It's got to be the omega 3.
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Post by Mayleng on Feb 4, 2005 8:05:08 GMT -5
That's a real possibility swmom. Let us know if stopping the O3 or changing the brand helps.
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Post by rocco on Feb 4, 2005 11:52:35 GMT -5
catatonic, We've been on the Ultimate Omega for over a year at the 2 a day dose and no apparent problem. Do you think it's just the extra amount of flavorings he is getting with the 4 a day?
I'll go back and search cause I know you've posted what you use. Do you have fish burps with it? (That's a primary complaint with my ds and why I love the Nordic stuff.)
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Post by G on Feb 4, 2005 14:38:55 GMT -5
Rocco, I was reading the post and was wondering if you give vitamin E along with the omegas. I am not sure of the exact dose you should give but you should be using vitamin E along with the omegas. I give my dd 100iu with every omega, so she gets it twice a day. I give my ds the nordic natural lemon flavored oil and it has vitamin E in it so I don't give him any additional because he gets some in hi multi.
just a thought. nat
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Post by catatonic on Feb 4, 2005 15:27:54 GMT -5
Rocco, it could be that increasing the number of capsules pushes your child over the edge. We use the Rx-Omega-3 and don't have any fish burps with it. It helps to take it with some food, and you should always keep fish oil in the fridge to keep it from oxidizing, which also reduces fish burps. Here's a link to the Rx-Omega, if you want to take a look. www.iherb.com/rxomega31.html
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Post by franksmom on Feb 5, 2005 23:43:14 GMT -5
Catatonic........... I was just reading on the CABF site and several people commented that their BP kids started experiencing mania when on the Omega 3's. What is your experience with this? Is this something common? I didn't realize this could happen. I know about the DMAE but this surprised me. We are having a lot of trouble finding the proper meds for my son. I'm wonderfing if it could be Omegas interfering ? What do you think? Or does it take everyone a long time to find something that actually works ?
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Post by swmom on Feb 6, 2005 5:33:03 GMT -5
Since Jan. 1 when we started omega 3, my dd has been out of control, like she's not on any meds at all. Nasty, backtalking, hyper, etc. I have stopped giving it to her now, thinking it was the lemon oil she was having a reaction to. Perhaps it was mania we were seeing. Ugh.
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Post by catatonic on Feb 6, 2005 9:22:11 GMT -5
If you can get a copy of Dr. Stohl's lecture on Omega-3 in the treatment of bipolar from McClean Hospital (affiliated with Harvard Med School), it would be very helpful to you. It's summarized here: www.mddaboston.org/lect060999.htmlContact info is here: www.mclean.harvard.edu/about/contact/My understanding of the relationship between bipolar and Omega-3 supplementation is that using FLAX OIL has -- in some rare instances -- has resulted in adverse affects, particularly with respect to the manic phase. It's not a problem that's ever been noted with fish oil, to my knowledge. The most commonly cited research on the subject (done by Dr. Stoll above) is found in Archives of General Psychiatry. The researchers' conclusion was that use of Omega-3 increased the length of periods of remission. You can read a summary here: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=10232294&dopt=AbstractHere's a series of links to research on the use of Omega-3 with bipolar. All are positive: noetic.oathill.com/bipolar/omega3.htmlBottom line in my interpretation, if you have bipolar, Omega-3 supplementation from FISH OIL ought to be helpful. Do NOT use flax oil, as it may make the condition worse.
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Post by Mayleng on Feb 6, 2005 10:35:05 GMT -5
Since Jan. 1 when we started omega 3, my dd has been out of control, like she's not on any meds at all. Nasty, backtalking, hyper, etc. I have stopped giving it to her now, thinking it was the lemon oil she was having a reaction to. Perhaps it was mania we were seeing. Ugh. Has her behavior improved since you stopped giving her the O3 ? You aren't giving any vitamins that contain B6 right? My son behaved horribly when I gave him Vitamin Bs before we started meds.
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Post by swmom on Feb 6, 2005 11:21:25 GMT -5
Mayleng -
Yes, it seems to have improved a bit. As always, I'm not sure if it's the discontinuation of the omega 3, the fact she's just been sitting around for 2 days with nothing to really stress her out, i.e. school, social problems or if it has something to do with a discussion we had yesterday. We're thinking about moving to where we have a condo near the beach. We are very unhappy with the kids our dd is trying to be friends with. The only one we like has a mom with emotional problems. We see a deadend there because of the mom. The other little girl with whom my dd had a couple of sleepovers doesn't seem very interested anymore, unfortunately. My dd is so frustrated and I can see why. She loves other kids but struggles with social skills. And she's so unbelievably naive. Every now and then, she gets something going with someone with her always doing the asking but she never gets invited over to play. It's improving but very, very slowly. She does occasionally get invited to birthday parties. And that's a step in the right direction. We are working on social skills. We have a speech therapist concentrating on only that with her now. We're trying to identify a new psychologist for her to address her anxiety and depression, which we believe is getting worse. We've also been reading Jarvis Clutch to her to help understand how to fit in. But, in spite of all this stuff we're doing, the kids she's trying to be friends with are not OK. They are not nice kids and we feel like she's only hanging out with them because she has no one else and she doesn't want to be alone. The situation is not good and the only thing we can think of doing is move. So, all of that to explain that yesterday, we began to openly talk about moving with her. She, of course, didn't want to, is scared of new situations, started to cry, etc. After that discussion, my husband noticed that last night, she sort of snapped into shape, no whining, not argumentative, etc. He thinks she is doing it because she thinks that if she's good, we'll think everything's going well and we won't want to move. Anyway, I guess we'll see how she does the rest of the day. She does seem more focused, a lot less hyper, still fairly impulsive.
Also, we are not giving her any B6. I wonder why your son had an adverse reaction to that. Wonder if that's common.
Also, believe or not, we are STILL waiting for results from the bloodwork. I called late last week and asked again re: the results. Wonder if they screwed 'em up somehow and are scrabbling to figure out what to do. Monday it'll be 3 weeks since the bloodwork.
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Post by Mayleng on Feb 6, 2005 11:45:24 GMT -5
Reaction to Vit B6, is pretty common for some kids. Cat has mentioned that in a few of her posts.
Luckily for me, he was only on B6 and B complex at the time, so I knew instantly what it was. This was before I "educated" myself on meds and supplements etc.
I cannot believe the results from the bloodwork has taken this long. This is ridiculous. I would keep calling them until I get it.
I feel bad for your dd. I can imagine that change is very hard on her. We have been considering a move too (just because my hubby wants a smaller house), and my kids were freaked because of it too. The strange thing is my non-adder (12 yrs old) who wouldn't have to change school (who has a great social life) is the one freaking out more. My ADDer (9 yrs old) who has 2 friends in the subdivision we curently live in (socially does not have as many friends as his brother), who probably have to change school, is not taking it as badly as his big brother. He was funny though. He was making a big fuss initially because we said the house we want to move to is in Stonehenge (a subdivision near us but he didn't know). He freaked, and I finally figured out that he thought we were going to move to Stonehenge in England (One of the earliest monuments ever built. It is now a circle of stones in England). I had a good chuckle. This is what happens when your father is a English History Major. He was Ok, once he realised that we were not moving to England. But all this is still up in the air.
Anyway, I hope you figure out if it was the Omega 3 and also good luck with the decision to move. I would love to move to a condo near the beach.
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Post by swmom on Feb 6, 2005 12:06:15 GMT -5
The condo is near Charleston, SC. It's just beautiful down there and so peaceful. All my worries (and I have more than my share right now) seem not so important when we're there. The school my dd would attend is much better there and overall, it's a better school population. There are many good reasons to move there. It is very stressful for us where we currently are.
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Post by Mayleng on Feb 6, 2005 12:35:59 GMT -5
The condo is near Charleston, SC. It's just beautiful down there and so peaceful. All my worries (and I have more than my share right now) seem not so important when we're there. The school my dd would attend is much better there and overall, it's a better school population. There are many good reasons to move there. It is very stressful for us where we currently are. Then maybe a change for ALL of you might be what is needed. To break the cycle so to speak. Start on a new adventure. Whatever it is, children are resilient, and they will adapt.
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Post by catatonic on Feb 6, 2005 12:52:54 GMT -5
swmom, can you list all the supplements you're giving your daughter at this point? Also, are you using any dietary modifications? Might want to list it on a separate thread where it won't get lost, as this one is getting awfully long!
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Post by gubbs on Feb 11, 2005 22:12:25 GMT -5
i too have started my son on Omega suppliments after reading on several boards all of the positive reactions. However, I have noticed that my son has become very hyper in the last few days. Another post suggested that it might be time to start lowering his ADD medication. I would be thrilled to do that however, am looking for guidance as to how I should determine his new dosage. He is 40 lbs on 25 mg of Strattera and 10mg of Prozac.
i would appreciate any inputs...I'm starting to get nervous that maybe I should stop the Omega but would be much happier to lower the Strattera if I could
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Post by catatonic on Feb 12, 2005 0:28:58 GMT -5
Gubbs, How long has your son been taking Omega-3 supplements? If this is a very recent addition, then it's possible he's having an adverse behavioral effect from something contained in the supplement (such as a flavoring agent, preservative, etc.). If you've been giving him the Omega-3 for a greater length of time -- in the range of 3-8 weeks -- then it's possible that you have made inroads into correcting an Omega-3 deficiency and are now seeing the stimulant work on him more like it would a "normal" child. If what you're seeing is a negative reaction, you would need to switch brands and see if things improve.
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Post by gubbs on Feb 12, 2005 8:08:03 GMT -5
Thanks for your reply. The behavior change that we see, is that he is more hyper during the day. The positives are that he seems to be sleeping sounder and longer, and his appetite finally seems to be getting better. We have been using the Omega for 3 weeks now. I was hoping that maybe it was starting to work for him, and that maybe the Strattera dose is now too high. This morning I gave him 20mg instead of 25mg. He weights 40 lbs and he also takes 10mg of Prozac. I've also been giving him (1) e vit in the morning containing 400ie, I'm hoping that one dose is suffienct for the day. If it's a reaction to an additive, which one should I be looking out for? We are taking the RX Omega 3-Factors. Once with breakfast and once with dinner. He is getting approx 800mg EPA, 400 mg of DHA. Does the dosage have anything to do with weight?
Mayleng if you read this I know you are the board's Strattera expert. Do you think cutting down 5 mg will make a difference?
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Post by catatonic on Feb 12, 2005 9:37:31 GMT -5
Hmmmm, to me it sounds like you may be seeing results from your supplements. If your goal is to replace the medications in part or in whole with supplements, you may want to wait another 3 weeks and then try adding magnesium. In the meantime, you're using a good Omega-3 product and it sounds like it is producing results. Let us know what happens when you cut back the Strattera.
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