Omega 3 and Fish Oil for ADD

I'm no expert on ADD or Aspergers, but I do know there is documented proof that fish oils help with the nervous system where many of these disorders may start. I believe the fish oils help reduce inflammation and I have a relative with MS who has had no progression of her disease in 7 years and actually her MRI shows the lesions have shrunk in her brain. She takes the maximum dose of fish oils every day.

You might try Dolphin gummies....they taste great and kids love them. My dd has been taking them since she was very small. You might need to start with the recommended dose and reduce it if their bowels get too loose. My dd is very small and if I give the recommended dose, she gets a watery stool.

Okay first of all, not a doctor here, but your son sounds bi-polar. It is the one disorder that seems to be diagnosed as ADHD and the problem is it reacts, well, like you just described to the meds commonly prescribed for ADHD. Not saying I am right, just saying perhaps ask.

Fish oil, I tried it on my two younger kids, no difference at all. Now our pediatrician also happens to be the father of one of my son's friends. He said he does it because it doesn't hurt him and has marginal improvements.

What it does not do is cure anything, just on top of meds may make things a bit better.

I am not sure where you are getting the idea that the meds would make anyone hyper focus. I am on them, I don't hyper focus any more on them than off. Given to a normal person they are like speed, that is not focus, that is pure undirected energy.

Time connects some neuro-pathways but there is no cure, you don't grow out of this. I can assure you my son is better at correcting his behavior than his father is and that man is 47. I am 45, and I am an accountant and a few other cool tasks, I could not function in the office environment without my meds.

Please speak with your doctor, give them feedback, listen to what they say. It seems to me you have been given a mess of bad information.

No change with the fish oil, if only it were that simple.

It sounds like your son's meds are all wrong. If the doc isn't willing to see that it's time for a new one.

There are quite a few reputable studies done that show fish oil/omega 3s can play an important supporting role in heath and emotional maintenance for children with ADD or ADHD, but there are none that show it can eliminate the need for other medicines. None. Wish we could say it was otherwise, but omega 3s won't be enough.

Like everyone else, I agree that you need to go back to the prescribing doctor and work together to find a better combination of drugs to help your child. The side effects you write about are severe and not typical.

You might want to check out the ADDitude website to see if you can find a podcast they did earlier this year about nutritional supplements. The expert did say that kids with ADHD need a specific ratio of EPA to DHA fish oil. I logged into that webcast a bit late so I didn't hear the entire thing, but he did stress using it many times.

My son is on Daytrana and his only side effects are loss of appetite and some increased anxiety (mostly related to having bowel movements--so perhaps he has some GI discomfort too).

Ditto Flaming Turnip's post.

Also another vote for seeing no benefit from Omega supplements. Our son has severe ADHD and we saw not one tiny bit of benefit or change, even after years on them. We continue him on them just for the health benefits. However, there is some scientific evidence now that they can help in milder cases. I would take a look at CHADD's website for info. ADDitude magazine is also likely to have some info. on the research.

I think you need to have a sit-down with a specialist to determine which diagnosis is the primary one in need of treatment and start there.

I have ADHD, anxiety and mild SPD. I only treat my ADHD. Treating the ADHD helps reduce my anxiety and SPD symptoms so that I don't really need anything for them.

Perhaps you might consider (discussing with his doctor) taking him off the anxiety medication and trying a reliable ADHD medication alone, like Vyvanse or Adderall. It may very well be that the combination of anxiotropic and stimulant medications just aren't working well together.

As for your question about Omega 3's, they really aren't known to be successful in severe cases. However, it's always worth a try and who knows, you might see some improvement. Remember....it's a supplement, not a cure. Also, it takes about 3-4 weeks to build up in the system.

Good luck!

C. Lee

It may be the combination of anxiety and ADHD medications that is causing the reactions, or the reactions could be a sign of mis-diagnosis, as Jo (Flaming Turnip) suggested. If you haven't been back to the doc who manages his medication to have them look at this with fresh eyes, I would urge you to do so. My husband was thought to have ADHD and depression for many, many years and it turns out that his depression was really mild bi-polar. He still has ADHD as a trait separate from his mood disorder but it is all much more manageable with the more refined diagnosis.

Anyway...my oldest has ADHD and I can tell you honestly that on fish oil, there was no discernible change in his behavior or ability to focus. What did seem to make a huge difference was a supplement for adrenal support - when we added that to his regimen, he noticeably improved.

With your son's issues, he body and mind are in a constant state of stimulation, which depletes the adrenals, and the adrenals control literally everything in your body. Without strong, functioning adrenals your brain is foggy, your nerves are shot, and you have a never-ending list of physical problems. My guess would be that your son's gut health is also poor, possibly due to undiagnosed food sensitivities to things like grains or dairy. Something to consider looking into for sure. The wrong food can be so damaging while the right food can heal so much.

If I were you, I would find a natural health practitioner who you can trust. Ask around for recommendations and call several for phone consultations until you find someone who sounds like a good fit. Chiropractors are often well-schooled in nutrition and supplements, as are naturopathic doctors. Someone who knows what he or she is doing can recommend dietary changes and/or supplements that are custom tailored to your son's medical and mental health needs. Insurance usually doesn't pay for this, but I have found that most practitioners charge around $100 for the initial appointment and then $30-40 for follow up visits. In the beginning you may have follow ups once a week for the first month or so, then they stretch out as you see results and get things stabilized a bit. You will also need to pay for supplements. Many chiro and NDs use high-quality supplements that you can't buy on-line or retail (Standard Process is one such brand) so you do have to buy them there but they're not outrageously expensive. All together my son's supplements were less than a month of ADHD medication before we met our deductible for the year.

With the severity of symptoms and complexity of his diagnosis, I think it would be well worth your time and money to have an expert guide you through the supplement and diet process vs. just adding random things hoping they'll work. I remember being totally overwhelmed with all of the advice out there for my oldest son and got to a point where I just wanted someone to tell me what to give him, how much, and when. And through a chiropractor, I got that info.

It helped my son a little. I was alos going to try st johns wort, as that has helped me a lot when I am anxious. So I am researching that.

My son has the same combo of ailments, plus he is epileptic. so he is on heavy meds for that already. I am always trying to figure out natural things to try.

Hi, C.:

Do you have your son on a exercise program?

Running, jumping, tumbling

There are Asperger groups to offer support. Check your area.
If meds make your son sick, they are not good for your son to take.

Go to your local health food store and review the book: Prescription for Nutritional Healing. Look up ADD/ADHD and see what they suggest.

Good luck.
D.

Like most ingredients or nutrients, it does not work in isolation. So just giving a child DHA through fish oil/Omega 3s or in small quantities as an additive in a grocery store product yields minimal results. You may see some items on the shelves which are going to have limited effect at high cost, for several reasons. A pre-mixed liquid doesn't have a ton of shelf life, and certain compounds (not all) break down over time. There's also limited absorption in most people - so what you ingest (or your child ingests) is not the same as what is actually absorbed into the cells. Some products (and this goes for vitamins, minerals and many other supplements as well as nutrients in food) don't withstand the effects of digestion or are not fully absorbed for a variety of reasons. One factor is whether a nutrient is eaten with its other necessary "partners" - the interaction of vitamins and minerals, trace elements, and other nutrients is highly complex and most of them don't work without all of the others. That's how nature "provides" nutrition, but with our processed foods, as well as natural foods grown with heavy fertilizers and transported for thousands of miles out of season, and toxins added throughout the growing season or after harvest, the actual make-up of our foods has changed. That's a big part of the reason why, over 25-30 years, we have seen a huge increase in the issues you list and others: ADD, ADHD, Asperger's, autism, sensory processing problems, and more.

DHA provided in full balance with other nutrients to assure higher absorption is very helpful, and we have clinical as well as significant anecdotal evidence to support this. The DHA and the other nutrients have to be high quality, free of contamination, pre-tested and provided with a certificate of analysis to ensure potency and quality, and tested again during and after manufacture. Very few nutrition companies do that, and the FDA does not require it. However, if a company has the FDA Good Manufacturing Practices designation, or if it has a patent on the product (entire formula, not just an ingredient or two), or ideally if it has both, that's a great sign. It's hard to find but not impossible. I can make a referral for you if you like - there is a company that has you tie your order to a nutritional consultant with training to help you. (There is no fee for the consultant - you just pay for the products).

Nothing is an overnight success, so it's important to follow the advice given and try to be as consistent as possible. Results build over time, and it's hard to know how soon a given child will respond. Progress is usually incremental - you may see some improvement in 1-2 weeks, but full results can take longer. Usually you want to make a commitment (at least an "emotional" commitment) of 3 months and then really work with any obstacles to achieve success. For example, there are different ways to get the kids to take it regularly - although the best products are delicious and easy to mix in water or milk or whatever other liquid you give them, or mix into yogurt or pudding. If a child has sensory issues, sometimes there has to be a little subterfuge, but it can easily be overcome with a little work.

St. John's Wort and other ingredients that people will suggest, may have some benefit, but again, hardly ever as a single nutrient.

By and large, single nutrient regimens are not highly successful. Comprehensive plans, with guidance, yield the best results.

This is a food-based approach and does not interfere with any medical or pharmaceutical approach. I'm not surprised by the list you give, and while irritability and sleepiness can be managed, I'm concerned about hearing voices and having hallucinations.

There is significant work being done on epigenetics, which is the "switching" or expression of genes. The genes are inherited, obviously, but the switching (this gene off, this one on) that helps to differentiate cells and their functions (brain cell vs. nerve cell vs. skin cell vs. bone cell and so on which all have the same DNA but which function and look very different from each other) is what is impacted, sometimes severely, by environmental influences (toxins, food additives, pesticides, herbicides, other pollution), trauma (including disease and accidents), nutritional deprivation (because of depleted soils and processed foods), and drug interactions. Tremendous research over the past 16 years has shown there is simple work that can be done using a natural ingredient to restore proper functioning (I think it's difficult to use the word "cure") and boost the potency of a full-spectrum supplement.

I would be happy to work with you more if you like. There is a whole network of parents and also adult sufferers to whom you can be connected for advice, support and great success stories.

I have heard and read a lot of great information on EPA/DHA. A lot of children with ADD/ADHD are lacking many minerals and essential fatty acids.

For a while I bought fish oil supplements for the kids. My son (who has mild ADHD) had atrocious handwriting and I noticed that after a few weeks of being on the fish oil his teachers were telling him that his handwriting was improving. He was also happier.

The fish oil supplements at the drug store are not going to cut it. That is why some may be saying it doesn't work. It has to be high in EPA and DHA.

I hear that Carlson's fish oil is the best quality. I can't always afford it, but I have seen positive results.

Also try magnesium and a simple B complex for focus and attention. It also helps with anxiety.

I am a behavior therapist. Have u tried getting him aba. I also have a son the DS and have started him in aba. It is so great at teaching skills that we as moms have a tougher time getting them to do.

I've can't say I've ever heard of this many side effects from one med. It could be a combination of all of them.

Ask the pharmacist what he'd recommend. Sometimes they know that the meds a patient is given can have side effects like this.

I once started giving one of the kids some allergy meds. They had almost immediate behavior changes. The pharmacist told me that one on of the most common side effects. It wasn't listed on the sheet inside and I asked why. They said that since drying out the sinuses was the desired effect that when it dried the sinuses out too much to the point where it was painful and caused kids to act out wasn't unexpected...WHAT!

So sometimes some side effects are not even listed because it's an expected thing.

I'd say that if the pharmacist can't figure out what is going on then it's something in the meds themselves. I can't take Tylenol gel caps. I turn red from the rib cage up and pour sweat off my face, I never sweat so this in one of those odd side effects.

It's the filler in the med. Not the med. I take liquid Tylenol just fine. So I just don't take the med in the form that doesn't work for me.

I can't take the pill form of Prozac but the liquid form works fine.

What I'm trying to say is that if you go to a normal pharmacist, one that isn't so overwhelmed with nothing more than filling prescriptions like at Walmart or Walgreens but a real pharmacist that compounds meds and does more intricate work on a daily bases you might be a pharmacist that knows/remembers more med information off the top of their head.

Is your son seeing a psychiatrist for the meds? or the pediatrician? Because truly, the pediatrician should be referring something like this to a professional who's job it is to treat ADD/ADHD and knows every single med for this brain disorder. It's like going to a cardiologist for a Neurological disorder instead of a Neurologist.

They're both very good doc's in their own field and they did do some training in that area during med school but they didn't focus on this and they have more than likely forgotten more about it than the doc who's job it is to work with it every day.

So make sure the doc that is prescribing the meds is fully qualified to do so for the illness they are treating.