Flax Seed Oil

[franksmom]

Ok ,
I need some help here.
My son is on Flax Seed Oil-(1 tblsp 2x day)he is 10. The woman at the HFS told me that I should keep an eye on my sons stool to see when he reached a saturation point and the dose needs to be deminished. WELL, for two days my son has had stomach pain and diahreah. When the stomach pain got really bad last night we went to the ER and they thought perhaps Appendix! Well I told them about the oils ( and of course the surgeon said to me"what do you use them for and what do you think they are going to do for him?) Which I sort of expected...
They did a cat scan and NO APPENDISITIS...I sort of knew that too!
They said GASTROENTERITIS!
I kind of figured that!
Now...could it be that he takes too much oil and it irritated his stomach and gave him the gas and diahreah? I think so.
Right now I stopped all supp. and allergy meds- once he is better can I start up again at a lower dose?
How much would you recommend?
This is the 2nd bottle of oil that he has taken. The HFS said it would take a while to notice anything beneficial from the oils. I do notice an improvement - to me he is calmer BUT it could also be the NO DYES and NO HFCS.
Please comment on this...sorry it was so long -I see I went on and on

[catatonic]

While it's certainly possible that flax oil could irritate the stomach, I'm surprised that it would cause that kind of pain. A touch of loose stools, sure, if you're not used to it...

Is this the only thing you've been giving him? Because the kind of reaction you're talking about sounds much more like something that would be caused by magnesium. It's generally a good idea to start at about half your target dose and work up gradually because magnesium takes a little getting used to and can cause gas, stomach pain, and pretty dramatic diarrhea if you're not accustomed to it. Did you start magnesium recently?

Not sure how long you've been using the flax seed oil, but I know that with my son it was about 6 weeks before we saw really noticeable improvement from Omega-3. Removing artificials and corn syrup had IMMEDIATE impact, and it was VERY DRAMATIC.

I hope your son is feeling better today. I once accidentally double-dosed my boy with his magnesium and he produced the most remarkable noises and products from his hind end!!! Threw a scare into me. His brothers were no help at all, lying on the floor outside the bathroom door laughing their heads off. Kids are soooooo sensitive.

[franksmom]

No -we havent started the magnesium. I tried that twice and his behavior was odd so...I stopped it and he stopped acting weird.
The only other thing I used was Kids Calmpound(ie:scallup ariel parts and camomile...something else too but it is worn off the label
It is suppose to have calming effects...I notice a little...its herbs by herbalist alchemist.
I really thought I OD'd him on the flax...how much should I use? He is 10 and weighs 67 lbs.
Maybe this was all just a virus and Im assuming it was something I did.
I did use Valerian twice in the past 2 weeks but nothing else.

[catatonic]

Generally, the suggested dose of flax oil is 1 tablespoon per day. (Take a look at Dr. Andrew Weil's recommendations: www.drweilselfhealing.com/print_friendly.asp?iDocumentID=156&iBDC=1872 )

Others recommend 1 tbsp. per 50 pounds of body weight. You could work up to that if you want, but I'd start at the more conservative 1 tbsp. per day until you see how it goes.

[kppy3]

hey susan,

sorry to hear about your son's tummy problems. what an ordeal to have to go the e.r.!! been there...

he's had a couple rounds of yucky responses to supplements-eh?

just a suggestion... start keeping a journal of what your giving and removing each day. record what he's eating too. maybe there's a relationship between the food and supplements??? maybe a food allergy to something new? or even a new allergy. a response to the removal of food additives/dyes? kinda like withdrawl?

i don't know, but i sure hope it goes away soon! so frustrating when you're working so hard to find alternate treatments hang in there, i'm sure you'll figure it all out.

kppy