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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 10 of 10. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by oeps7 on September 29, 2003, at 9:42:24
Hi Larry,
The omega 3s come in 1000 mg does that mean you take 20 capsules a day. I am about to buy some on my lunch hour and give it a try.
Came off effexor xr 300mg and my depression is getting bad.
What else do you take.
Thanks Mary
Posted by Larry Hoover on September 29, 2003, at 11:33:14
In reply to Omega3 question for Larry Hoover, posted by oeps7 on September 29, 2003, at 9:42:24
> Hi Larry,
> The omega 3s come in 1000 mg does that mean you take 20 capsules a day. I am about to buy some on my lunch hour and give it a try.You can take that much, but I wouldn't start at that dose. I'd start at 5 caps/day, and if you tolerate it OK, move up from there.
> Came off effexor xr 300mg and my depression is getting bad.
Fish oil, or any other supplement, is not likely to be sufficient to treat your depression the way you describe it. I want you to think about seeking medical support, which may mean going on a prescription antidepressant med. You can always take these supps anyway, and they may augment the effect of an antidepressant. The most important issue here is timing. If you're sinking into depression right now, this isn't the time to rely on nutrition alone.
> What else do you take.
> Thanks MaryLots of stuff.
The core supps are the B-vitamins, and certain minerals.
You want to take a minimum of B-150/day. B-complex, a mixture of a variety of B-vitamins, is often sold as e.g. B-50, B-80, B-100, etc. What that means is that the mixture is provided in specific proportions. For B-50, as an example, that would include 50 mg of niacin, 50 micrograms of B-12, and so on. If you buy a B-50, take three times a day. Walmart has B-150.
Add to that zinc, at 30 or 40 mg/day, selenium at 200 mcg/day, and magnesium at 200-300 mg/day.
Vitamin E is important if you take fish oil. 800 IU/day is a pretty good target.
There are lots of other things, but these are core nutrients, and very often are depleted in the stressed/depressed population.
Make sure you're telling somebody how you're feeling. Talk to me. Talk to your doctor. Talk to somebody about this, so you can get feedback and support.
Take care,
Lar
Posted by oeps7 on September 29, 2003, at 12:06:30
In reply to Re: Omega3 question for Larry Hoover » oeps7, posted by Larry Hoover on September 29, 2003, at 11:33:14
Hi Larry,
I do take 50 mg of zoloft. Have been off the effexor for 4 weeks now, I came off very slowly and think the depression may be a withdrawal effect. I am waiting to see. I do feel as if I think a bit clearer off the effexor.
I picked up some fish oil at lunchtime and I am going to see if it helps.
I want to have a baby in the near future so I wanted to be med free before getting pregnant. Another reason I came off effexor is it was raising my eye pressure.
Take care and thanks for your advice.
Mary
Posted by oeps7 on September 30, 2003, at 8:21:50
In reply to Re: Omega3 question for Larry Hoover, posted by oeps7 on September 29, 2003, at 12:06:30
Hi Larry,
I purchased the fish Oil yesterday and took 3 1000mg capsules. It may be all in my head but I think I feel a bit better today, I have more energy too. My vision also seems better. Could this be the fish oil that soon?
Posted by Wolf Dreamer on September 30, 2003, at 15:47:24
In reply to Re: Omega3 question for Larry Hoover » oeps7, posted by Larry Hoover on September 29, 2003, at 11:33:14
How much vitamin E do I take in relationship to how much omega 3 I consume? The more omega 3, the more vitamin E I would need I'm guessing.
What is the absolute maximum anyone can take of omega 3?
I'm still taking one omega-3 pill three times a day, 1000mg per pill, starting last Friday afternoon. I'm going to start popping 5 per meal I think, just to see what happens, because I still have anxiety.
Posted by Larry Hoover on October 1, 2003, at 5:42:34
In reply to Re: Omega3 question for Larry Hoover, posted by oeps7 on September 30, 2003, at 8:21:50
> Hi Larry,
> I purchased the fish Oil yesterday and took 3 1000mg capsules. It may be all in my head but I think I feel a bit better today, I have more energy too. My vision also seems better. Could this be the fish oil that soon?Yes. That sort of quick response is rarer, but not unprecedented. Even if it is "all in your head", is that so bad? You're doing a healthy thing for yourself.
I'm glad you feel positive about taking fish oil.
Lar
Posted by Larry Hoover on October 1, 2003, at 5:54:44
In reply to Re: Omega3 question for Larry Hoover, posted by Wolf Dreamer on September 30, 2003, at 15:47:24
> How much vitamin E do I take in relationship to how much omega 3 I consume? The more omega 3, the more vitamin E I would need I'm guessing.
Darn good question! Yes, you need more vitamin E, the more fish oil you consume. You need vitamin E, anyway, but a crude measure I would suggest is a minimum of 200 IU vitamin E for every 5 grams of fish oil.
> What is the absolute maximum anyone can take of omega 3?
I don't know of an upper limit, other than tolerance (e.g. diarrhea might occur at higher doses).
I've spent some time studying the physiological effects of fish oil, and changes in blood clotting parameters are limited, in my opinion. To put it simply, on a typical Western diet, most people's blood clots too easily. That's why we have so many strokes and heart attacks. Fish oil reduces the tendency of blood to clot, but only in the context of correcting the over-clotting that already exists. It normalizes abnormal blood-clotting, but doesn't go further, to create a situation where you bleed uncontrollably. Your body just fixes what's wrong, and gets happy again.
The standard Eskimo diet is thought to contribute 20-30 grams of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids per day. About 40 years ago, it was found that a particular Inuit (Eskimo) population in Greenland had higher than normal mortality from hemorrhagic stroke (the bleeding kind) than did a matched population in Denmark. That's where the idea of bleeding too much came from, but it has later been discovered that the Inuit had an inbred genetic defect. They have a malformation of artery walls in the brain, and by the time they reach about forty years of age, the artery wall is so fragile that it ruptures. This has nothing to do with fish oil or omega-3 fatty acids. It has to do with the fact that the population was quite isolated, and inbreeding made a recessive genetic trait dangerous, just like Tay-Sachs disease in Jews.
> I'm still taking one omega-3 pill three times a day, 1000mg per pill, starting last Friday afternoon. I'm going to start popping 5 per meal I think, just to see what happens, because I still have anxiety.Add some B-complex, and then add in extra niacinamide. Niacinamide is a special form of niacin, and it is anti-anxiety. So is magnesium.
Lar
Posted by Wolf Dreamer on October 1, 2003, at 6:08:08
In reply to Re: Omega3 question for Larry Hoover » Wolf Dreamer, posted by Larry Hoover on October 1, 2003, at 5:54:44
> Darn good question! Yes, you need more vitamin E, the more fish oil you consume. You need vitamin E, anyway, but a crude measure I would suggest is a minimum of 200 IU vitamin E for every 5 grams of fish oil.
My vitamin E says 1000 I.U.
Omega 3 1000mg would be...I just looked it up, and it says that 1 gram is 1,000 mg.
OK then. Thanks. I mention the gram to mg thing in case anyone reading this was curious(public schools in America and the metric system don't get along very well.)
Posted by Wolf Dreamer on October 1, 2003, at 18:58:27
In reply to Re: Omega3 question for Larry Hoover, posted by Wolf Dreamer on October 1, 2003, at 6:08:08
Early this morning when I took 2 omega 3 pills instead of one, and 2 garlic pills instead of one(decided to double them up as well), my stomach felt odd, and again an hour or so ago. It doesn't happen right away. It seems to be a mild burning uneasy feeling, and a lot of gas.
I can deal with it though.
I was thinking by increasing my garlic intake as well, I could clear out any candida(fungus form) faster, since being a sugar junky I surely have that. But it is probably just the omega 3 giving me the stomach problems though, right?
I'm going to try to reduce my sugar intact as well for my candida, but I know I can not eliminated it since everything from beef jerky to orange juice has some sugar in it.
No one replied to my post about getting a permanent IV to my vein to give up eating entirely, so I guess I'm stuck with food.
Posted by Larry Hoover on October 4, 2003, at 9:40:53
In reply to Re: Omega3 question for Larry Hoover, posted by Wolf Dreamer on October 1, 2003, at 18:58:27
> Early this morning when I took 2 omega 3 pills instead of one, and 2 garlic pills instead of one(decided to double them up as well), my stomach felt odd, and again an hour or so ago. It doesn't happen right away. It seems to be a mild burning uneasy feeling, and a lot of gas.
>
> I can deal with it though.
>
> I was thinking by increasing my garlic intake as well, I could clear out any candida(fungus form) faster, since being a sugar junky I surely have that. But it is probably just the omega 3 giving me the stomach problems though, right?
>
> I'm going to try to reduce my sugar intact as well for my candida, but I know I can not eliminated it since everything from beef jerky to orange juice has some sugar in it.
>
> No one replied to my post about getting a permanent IV to my vein to give up eating entirely, so I guess I'm stuck with food.Don't take fish oil (or any oily supplement) on an empty stomach (if that's what you did). Take them with your largest meal of the day, or the fattiest meal of the day. Stomach acid breaks down the fish oil into some nasties, and it gives you a stomach ache, gas, and a higher likelihood of "rancid fish burps". Yuk!
Lar
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