Re: efa's and behavior issues

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 12/29/02 3:45:41 PM Eastern Standard Time,

roddyt001@... writes:

<< I even tried as little as 1/4 of a capsule. I then tried eyeQ and he does

great with that. >>

Traci,

Where do you recommend getting eyeQ from? We got the Proefa from Nordic

Naturals and Yes, we too experienced quite a change in behavior. We are

giving him 1/2 of a capsule a day and that seems to be better, but I would

love to try eyeQ as well. Thanks in advance.

Traci and Gavin, 3 1/2

[Guest guest]

" Where do you recommend getting eyeQ from? "

You can order it through www.equazen.com

It is more expensive and you have to wait awhile to get it (I think mine

took 6 weeks and customs tore it open), but I did get it in good shape. It

tastes good and they carry liquid or capsule form. I always recommend

checking with your child's doctor 1st. It contains evening primrose oil (an

omega 6 like the borage oil that's in proefa).

Traci

..

[Guest guest]

Thanks Traci -that is the only place now to get EyeQ -and lots of

great EFA info too!

Just a reminder -it's not brand name -all that matters is formula -

quality and dose. Any name brand formula can be made by purchasing

various types of fish oil with at times adding either primrose or

borage oil.

Again if you mix the formulas -give flax seed and and Omega 3/6

formula such as ProEFA or Efalex together -you change the formula

and ratio of Omega 3 to Omega 6 etc. which could be good -or not as

good as doing one alone. More of one EFA is not always better.

Going by anecdotal results from all of our many children -I believe

in many of our children that higher Omega 3 to Omega 6 is better -

and that in many children higher EPA to DHA is better. Only

research will prove that.

If your child is allergic to fish -I would not recommend using any

fish brand formula such as ProEFA or EyeQ or Efalex or Coromega or

DHA Jr etc. Talk to your child's doctor and use flax seed oil with

perhaps a small amount of either primrose or borage oil.

For those talking about changes in behavior on ProEFA vs. EyeQ -both

are Omega 3/6 formulas with DHA, EPA and GLA -EyeQ has a slightly

higher EPA and contains primrose oil vs. borage oil. Question is

not which one produces the best behavior -the real question is are

the early behavioral changes a good or bad sign neurologically in

regards to speech. Also -if you want to see if the change is from

borage vs. primrose oil -you could first try Efalex which you could

also purchase online or at GNC and see if the " bad " behaviors stop.

Once again however keep in mind that R. who's son is

now testing " normal " for expressive language but who has severe

apraxia as well as DSI etc. was advised to stop the ProEFA due to

what appeared as nightmares where he woke each night screaming and

in tears. Dr. Agin, myself, and even 's husband told her to

stop and go back to Efalex -which helped with behavior but not

speech for (and he was on the Efalex for around 5 months and

at an increased dosage than the one capsule of ProEFA) If has

a chance (or I remember to call and ask her to do this) she can also

tell all of us here the difference when she added the higher EPA to

's 2 a day ProEFA dosage. (well he's testing normal now and

you know that! But she can fill us in on what was going on before

the higher EPA -stuttering)

As a parent -I recommend trying the various brands and keeping

notes -long term ones so you can check progession over time. And

again check not only formula differences but dosage since one brand

may recommend on the bottle " 2-3 capsules a day 2-3 times a day " and

another may recommends " 1 capsule a day " Again (and again) it's not

brand name -all that matters is formula -quality and dose.

If in your heart you truly believe that the " bad " signs are really

bad, and not a sign that good things may be happening

neurologically, and your child's MD is not recommending anything

different such as lowering the dosage a bit -then that's all you

have to go on right now till research in this area is done. And it

will be.

=====

[Guest guest]

,

So if you were me, what would you do. had bad temper tantrums

on the ProEFA, 1 capsule a day. She has taken a generic fish oil

supplement with no problem. I would like to try the ProEFA again,

but now I'm thinking of trying the Efalax. So would you try ProEFA

at a lower doseage (1/2 capsule) or try the Efalax?

Thanks,

Suzi

> Thanks Traci -that is the only place now to get EyeQ -and lots of

> great EFA info too!

>

> Just a reminder -it's not brand name -all that matters is formula -

> quality and dose. Any name brand formula can be made by

purchasing

> various types of fish oil with at times adding either primrose or

> borage oil.

>

> Again if you mix the formulas -give flax seed and and Omega 3/6

> formula such as ProEFA or Efalex together -you change the formula

> and ratio of Omega 3 to Omega 6 etc. which could be good -or not

as

> good as doing one alone. More of one EFA is not always better.

> Going by anecdotal results from all of our many children -I

believe

> in many of our children that higher Omega 3 to Omega 6 is better -

> and that in many children higher EPA to DHA is better. Only

> research will prove that.

> As a parent -I recommend trying the various brands and keeping

> notes -long term ones so you can check progession over time. And

> again check not only formula differences but dosage since one

brand

> may recommend on the bottle " 2-3 capsules a day 2-3 times a day "

and

> another may recommends " 1 capsule a day " Again (and again) it's

not

> brand name -all that matters is formula -quality and dose.

>

> If in your heart you truly believe that the " bad " signs are really

> bad, and not a sign that good things may be happening

> neurologically, and your child's MD is not recommending anything

> different such as lowering the dosage a bit -then that's all you

> have to go on right now till research in this area is done. And

it

> will be.

[Guest guest]

Hi Suzi!

I tried everything -you should have seen all the bottles of what I

called " reject " oils! That was before I understood why some worked

and some didn't. I now know what works best for us as a family.

Is the generic you use an Omega 3/6 formula or just a pure Omega 3?

Keep in mind that pure Omega 3 formulas from fish oil contain

vitamin A if they are from the liver of the fish (like cod liver

oil) and don't contain vitamin A if they are not. Fish oil contains

a good amount of Omega 3 DHA and EPA. If it was an O3-O6 mixture -

was the Omega 6 (GLA) from primrose or borage oil? What dosage did

you give -about the same?

Tanner had tantrums when I stopped his EFAs -there are just so many

reasons for tantrums, too high or low a dosage -allergic to the fish

or GLA -starting to realize things that he didn't before and neurons

are starting to fire that never did before -wanting to do and say so

much more all at once... goodness knows some tantrums don't have a

thing to do with EFAs -even though perhaps some could.

For most children the EFAs help them calm and focus - we all know

however that in rare cases things can affect a handful of people in

the opposite way -like my boys with a cold medicine that said " may

cause drowsiness " and they banged off the walls awake all night!

Here's some info on that (since we won't for a few years -ten or

more find any on EFAs like this!)

" Codeine is a very effective cough suppressant. It can be obtained

without a prescription in two OTC products: Robitussin AC and

Robitussin DAC (contains the decongestant pseudoephedrine PE)... The

main side effect of codeine is drowsiness, although there are some

children ( and adults ) who may react in the opposite way with

hyperactivity. ... "

http://www.atlantichealth.org/cmc/patients/medicine.asp )

How long did the tantrums last before you switched to the generic?

How often were the tantrums? Most " bad " signs like loose stools and

minor stuff like that last about a week. 's son's night

crying -which was the most severe reported here and the only one

like it that I know of - lasted 2 weeks -then it stopped and

started talking. (And he's testing normal now!!) So if you see

negative results -you don't want to give it forever -but a few weeks

may not be a bad idea. Also -the general idea is when in doubt if

the good or in rare cases -bad -changes are from the new EFA

formula -stop the EFAs and see if the changes also go away. If they

do -wait awhile and then start again and see if the same comes

back. Could be a cold -new school/therapist -change in weather...

Here are my suggestions since you asked: (Run this past your

child's MD and see what he or she advises)

If the generic formula was a O3-O6 I would try lowering the dosage

of the ProEFA to 1/2 a day. If the generic formula was a pure Omega

3 -I would try either lowering the dosage or switch to Efalex. If it was

a formula with primrose oil -then again -perhaps the borage oil is

creating this -try Efalex. Can't be the DHA or EPA -so it would have to either

be the dosage or the GLA.

Just try both -one at a time -stretch it out and let us know! Good luck!

=====

[Guest guest]

The generic has Omega 3 and 6, and we think she made improvement on

it. (Either that or it was just coincidence.) I'll probably start

with a lower dose of the ProEFA.

I think that I timed the start of the ProEFA wrong. had lots

of adjustments for starting kindegarten anyway. Also, since starting

kindegarten she has been exposed to so many different viruses. She

just got over this one virus that was a pox virus (molluscum) that

caused these horrible little bumps all over her legs. She has

eczema, and the eczema medicine made the molluscum worse. She had

this virus for over 2 months, and just got over it. My point is, I

think that her little body (and mind) was already taxed, and the

proEFA pushed her over the edge.

I'm trying to decide if I'll start the lower dose after the first of

the year, or wait until summer. Right now, 's on antibiotics,

and I don't want to try anything new until she is completely well.

Thanks for the info. If the lower dose of proEFA causes problems,

I'll probably switch to the Efalax.

Suzi

> Hi Suzi!

>

> I tried everything -you should have seen all the bottles of what I

> called " reject " oils! That was before I understood why some

worked

> and some didn't. I now know what works best for us as a family.

>

> Is the generic you use an Omega 3/6 formula or just a pure Omega

3?

> Keep in mind that pure Omega 3 formulas from fish oil contain

> vitamin A if they are from the liver of the fish (like cod liver

> oil) and don't contain vitamin A if they are not. Fish oil

contains

> a good amount of Omega 3 DHA and EPA. If it was an O3-O6 mixture -

> was the Omega 6 (GLA) from primrose or borage oil? What dosage

did

> you give -about the same?

>

> Tanner had tantrums when I stopped his EFAs -there are just so

many

> reasons for tantrums, too high or low a dosage -allergic to the

fish

> or GLA -starting to realize things that he didn't before and

neurons

> are starting to fire that never did before -wanting to do and say

so

> much more all at once... goodness knows some tantrums don't have

a

> thing to do with EFAs -even though perhaps some could.

>

> For most children the EFAs help them calm and focus - we all know

> however that in rare cases things can affect a handful of people

in

> the opposite way -like my boys with a cold medicine that

said " may

> cause drowsiness " and they banged off the walls awake all night!

> Here's some info on that (since we won't for a few years -ten or

> more find any on EFAs like this!)

>

> " Codeine is a very effective cough suppressant. It can be obtained

> without a prescription in two OTC products: Robitussin AC and

> Robitussin DAC (contains the decongestant pseudoephedrine PE)...

The

> main side effect of codeine is drowsiness, although there are some

> children ( and adults ) who may react in the opposite way with

> hyperactivity. ... "

> http://www.atlantichealth.org/cmc/patients/medicine.asp )

>

> How long did the tantrums last before you switched to the

generic?

> How often were the tantrums? Most " bad " signs like loose stools

and

> minor stuff like that last about a week. 's son's night

> crying -which was the most severe reported here and the only one

> like it that I know of - lasted 2 weeks -then it stopped and

> started talking. (And he's testing normal now!!) So if you see

> negative results -you don't want to give it forever -but a few

weeks

> may not be a bad idea. Also -the general idea is when in doubt if

> the good or in rare cases -bad -changes are from the new EFA

> formula -stop the EFAs and see if the changes also go away. If

they

> do -wait awhile and then start again and see if the same comes

> back. Could be a cold -new school/therapist -change in weather...

>

> Here are my suggestions since you asked: (Run this past your

> child's MD and see what he or she advises)

>

> If the generic formula was a O3-O6 I would try lowering the dosage

> of the ProEFA to 1/2 a day. If the generic formula was a pure

Omega

> 3 -I would try either lowering the dosage or switch to Efalex. If

it was

> a formula with primrose oil -then again -perhaps the borage oil is

> creating this -try Efalex. Can't be the DHA or EPA -so it would

have to either

> be the dosage or the GLA.

>

> Just try both -one at a time -stretch it out and let us know!

Good luck!

>

> =====

>

[Guest guest]

Hi, what is eye Q? Thanks

[Guest guest]

" Hi, what is eye Q? Thanks "

" eyeq " is the name brand of an omega3 (fish oil) /omega6 (evening primrose

oil) supplement. It is made by equazen and you can read all about it at www

equazen.com

Traci