Posted by Sarah T. on July 4, 2005, at 21:21:45
Hi folks. I have been taking fish oil for several years. I've tried several different brands, some expensive, some inexpensive. Every once in a while, I thought it might be helping me, but in looking back, I've concluded that I thought it might be helping me because I wanted desperately to believe it was helping. At this point, I believe I'm wasting my money, just as I have on so many other supplements. I continue to take it because it's supposed to be healthy and good for other things besides depression, but I will probably not buy any more when I finish the current bottle. Every few years, some alternative med comes out that's supposed to be the cure-all for everything from cancer to heart disease to psychiatric illnesses. I'm sick of falling for all the hype. I feel like a fool.
A couple of years ago, I bookmarked another post from PB about fish oil supposedly preventing adrenal activation and lowering cortisol. I've taken huge quantities of fish oil, yet my cortisol levels keep rising by the month. I'm currently under the care of an endocrinologist, and I know for a fact that my urinary cortisol just gets higher and higher.
First, exactly how is fish oil supposed to help depression? I thought it had something to do with increasing membrane permeability, but now I don't know.
How has fish oil helped you? Does it really help you, or do you take it because we read how healthy it's supposed to be? If it has helped you, can you explain in some detail how it has helped you?
A few weeks ago, one of our members, KaraS, posted a very encouraging message on the medication board about a visit to a new doctor who does rEEG. He told her that fish oil causes EEG patterns to look a lot like EEG patterns of patients on Neurontin. I did horribly on Neurontin, so perhaps this might explain why I don't seem to benefit from fish oil.
When you have a moment, please try to answer some of my questions, and explain, being as honest with yourself as you can be, exactly what fish oil has done for you. Has it really and truly helped alleviate your depression? If it has helped, are you sure this isn't a placebo response? Sometimes I fool myself into thinking something is helping because I've invested so much time and money on it, and it's awfully difficult to admit the truth to myself.
Thanks very much for your help.
poster:Sarah T.
thread:523532
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20050612/msgs/523532.html