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Post by MistyMorningPA on Jul 13, 2004 13:27:26 GMT -5
Hi, I'm pretty new here. I was told by a member of another board that I could find answers to natural treatment questions here! Let me fill in a little background first. I just recently took my daughter off Strattera. She had been taking it for about 5 months. I did not like the personality changes. Nothing drastic, it just seemed the Strattera suppressed her fun side; her silliness had dissappeared!  We tried tweaking the dosage first but nothing helped. She was too often moody & was getting a "sick" feeling in the evenings. Now that shes off of it, shes MUCH more fun & SOOOO much happier! She has the inattentive ADHD, No hyperness. She also has dyscalculia. Actually, that is the part of her problems that is hardest to deal with! OK, so I want to start natural supplements. I had done some research on this before. I was told by someone that omega 3 in the form of fish oil is the best. Is this correct?? Also, what does it mean that it can go rancid on the brain??? Sounds SCARY!! I read that there is another supplement that can prevent that from happening. What would that supplement be?? Also, What would the correct doseage be? AND zinc--I've read the pros & cons on several sites. It seems that it can be dangerous if too high a doseage is given. I dont want to start any supplements until I have all my facts straight & I was told that this is the best place to get ALL the facts! Thanks for listening. Sorry this ended up being so long! |
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Post by rosyred45 on Jul 13, 2004 18:59:50 GMT -5
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Post by catatonic on Jul 13, 2004 21:29:14 GMT -5
Hi Misty, and welcome, Omega-3 supplements typically come from 2 sources, fish and plant (ie flax). Flax is in the form of short-chain essential fatty acids which your body needs to convert to the useful long-chain form (DHA). That's fine as long as your body can do that efficiently...and maybe kids with ADHD can't and that's why so many are Omega-3 deficient? Who knows. Anyway, fish oil supplements are in the form of long-chain essential fatty acids, DHA and EPA. They are immediately available for your body to use. Research on supplementation from plant sources is not as plentiful nor as specific as that on fish oil. Unless there's some overriding reason to avoid fish oil, I'd recommend using that. Your target dose is 480mg DHA per day. This seems to be a "threshold" dose in order to achieve its therapeutic effects for ADD/ADHD kids. More and newer research appears to be indicating that you need to include generous amounts of EPA as well. Our supplement includes 760mg EPA. A couple of good resources on this subject are Jacqueline Stordy's book "The LCP Solution" which deals extensively -- and only -- with Omega-3. Also "12 Effective Ways To Help Your ADD/ADHD Child" by Laura Stevens which gives a good basic overview of a variety of natural treatment approaches. (You can get it through her website at users.nlci.com/nutrition/Breakdown of Omega-3 can produce free radicals, which anti-oxidants will help "clean up". You ought to include a 100IU Vitamin E capsule with morning and evening Omega-3 doses. (Some experts recommend 400IU Vitamin E daily, and that's still within upper tolerable limits.) Zinc might help. Might not. Depends if zinc is a problem for your child and there's no real way to tell without blood tests. (Hair analysis is not particularly reliable as it's subject to environmental contaminants and a variety of other interfering factors.) Giving zinc will deplete copper, at levels as low as 50mg zinc supplement daily, something to be aware of if you do use it. It also interferes with the proper functioning of antibiotics. Before you try the zinc, you might want to use mangesium. (Take a look at the magnesium website at www.mgwater.com ) Everybody is probably sick of me saying "TAKE MAGNESIUM", but it really is a key supplement, every bit as important as the Omega-3. So at the risk of being boring and repetitive, I'll say one more time..."take magnesium"!!!!! |
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Post by buttercup on Jul 20, 2004 11:27:38 GMT -5
Omega 3 has been my miracle anti-depressant. I still cannot believe that it is working for that, but it has been really put to the test for the last 5 months and I have had definite, remarkable success in that area. (Have tried most of the major anti-D drugs; they work for me but at a price of nasty side effects.) I take 3 (1000 mg) capsules/day. Maybe I'll try to cut back a little to see if it still works. Just don't EVER want to slip into that dark place again, so I am reluctant to cut back. It would be much less expensive if I can though. I am using Country Life brand--seems to do the trick. Anyone know about that brand?
It's the focus and hyperness that I can't still get a handle on naturally. Resorted to Ritalin and just wrote another post about that.
A Liquid B has handled my anxiety nicely, and I even stopped biting my nails. I'm a lifelong nail biter.
I have also added a cal/mag supplement.
I need to take the time and read through the other messages on this board for other information. May look into the Feingold diet also, but EEEEESH with diet planning. I am the person who needs it most and has the LEAST patience. I am SEVERELY hypoglycemic and this does NOT help. If I don't get quality food literally every 2 hours, I get faint, ornery, sweaty, and I think my adhd kicks into high gear. I think there is a definite connection. I have to make sure I eat BEFORE I'm hungry...and when I take Ritalin, it is almost impossible to want to do that--no appetite as a reminder; no appetite as a motivator. AUUUUGGGHH. I AM SO CONFUSED!!!
I will probably just need to get a very strict routine in life and remember the consequences of varying from it.
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Post by catatonic on Jul 21, 2004 8:57:55 GMT -5
Buttercup,
For focus and hyperness, I've found that magnesium is very helpful. But cal/mag supplements generally contain magnesium in the form of magnesium oxide, which is so NOT bio-available that you might as well be taking nothing at all. Get rid of it. But ANY OTHER kind of magnesium and it will do some good. And make sure that you take enough. You may have to work up to your target dose gradually to avoid temporary problems with loose bowels. For therapeutic purposes, 6mg per pound of body weight is recommended, 3mg per pound for maintenance. Around here, we take a Blue Bonnet magnesium supplement which supplies 400mg elemental magnesium from magnesium aspartate HCL. It's a reasonable sized powder-filled gelatin capsule. There are plenty of other good magnesium supplements out there, just make sure that the mg listed are the amount of elemental magnesium and not the weight of the compound supplying it.
As to the Feingold Diet...it's worth every ounce of effort that goes into it. The change in my son with the diet is little short of a miracle.
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Post by buttercup on Jul 21, 2004 10:24:45 GMT -5
Buttercup, There are plenty of other good magnesium supplements out there, just make sure that the mg listed are the amount of elemental magnesium and not the weight of the compound supplying it. Catatonic, can you help me read this label? A lady at the health food store recommended this brand "Osteoblend Bone Support" ( www.vitanica.com) The label says: Calcium (as citrate-malate) from 1136 mg. calcium citrate-malate.......250 mg. Magnesium (as citrate-malate) from 710 mg. magnesium citrate-malate....125 mg. Manganese (as citrate)....8 mg. It has a bunch of other things (D2, K, Riboflavin, B6, etc.), but does the Calcium/Magnesium sound ok? If so, I am about 120-125 lbs., so would I shoot for taking 3 capsules? Will I be getting too much calcium? Thanks, Buttercup |
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Post by catatonic on Jul 21, 2004 18:57:18 GMT -5
Buttercup,
These must be some pretty jumbo sized pills! But you are getting good bio-available minerals in them.
The weight of the elemental magnesium is 125mg. The weight of the magnesium citrate and magnesium malate compounds is 710mg, so you can see that only 17% is the magnesium itself. That's not bad, though, in fact it's pretty typical of magnesium compounds.
You're right that 3 capsules will give you an appropriate dose of magnesium, 375mg, ideal for your size. A ratio of 2 - 1 is recommended for calcium and magnesium since the two of them balance each other in your body. In the absence of a deficiency, this is the way to go, and you could easily take 10 of these without exceeding the upper tolerable limits for calcium. For best results, take any calcium-containing supplement with food, and if you're taking iron, don't take it within 2 hours of taking the calcium or your body won't absorb the iron.
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Post by buttercup on Jul 22, 2004 1:49:49 GMT -5
Ok, thanks catatonic! Will do. I'll check out the Feingold too.
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