Posted by Lao Tzu on June 10, 2008, at 11:39:30
In reply to Fatty acids and depression, posted by Lao Tzu on June 10, 2008, at 11:01:39
I find that, at least for me, I feel better if I take omega-3s and omega-6s at the same time (morning or afternoon) as opposed to taking them separately during the day. If I take just the fish oil, I kinda feel a little lethargic. If I take evening primrose oil by itself, I have more energy, but I just don't "feel" right. Taken together, they seem to balance each other out. For me, this is what I do with fish oil. I take 1 capsule (180mgEPA:120mgDHA) with 1 capsule of evening primrose oil (or borage oil) in the morning or early afternoon. If my energy drops, I'll take one more capsule of evening primrose oil, but no more fish oil. That same day, I'll take 1 capsule of fish oil at bedtime, and then I'll skip one night without fish oil the second day. On the third night, I'll take 1 fish oil again at bedtime, and so on and so on...
I'm just experimenting with the fish oil and how much to take during the day and taking 1 capsule every other night at bedtime, so don't use this technique as gospel. I don't know how well it works just yet. Now, a lot of people need to take many grams of fish oil everyday to control mood, and it works well, but in my case, I can only tolerate a very small amount of fish oil per day, otherwise I become too lethargic and this makes my depression worse, rather than better. That's why I always suggest to people taking fish oil that they try a low dosage first to see how it affects them, then increase the dosage until you get relief from your symptoms. A year ago, when I did research on fish oils, none of the websites mentioned that it might be a good idea to also supplement with omega-6s (evening primrose oil and borage oil) when taking the fish oil. I think this is irresponsible. Also, many of the studies done use mega mega doses up to 9 grams of fish oil per day. Only one website said that bipolars taking 360mgEPA:240mgDHA(2 fish capsules per day) had improvement in their symptoms. I guess the majority of those depressed people do better on the mega mega doses??? Makes you wonder, doesn't it? I also wanted to mention that I've been taking a prescription mood stabilizer for two years, so that might be a factor in whether you would do better on mega mega doses of fish oil or a low dosage. Hope this helps.
poster:Lao Tzu
thread:833968
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20080326/msgs/833976.html