Posted by Ellie on December 10, 2000, at 8:04:33
In reply to Thats interesting Ellie, posted by missinglynx on December 10, 2000, at 4:45:11
> ied about mental illness for about 4 years, since my sisters first diagnosis. The last year I have been doing research into fish oil for an alternative mood stablizer other that Depakote. If you don't believe me, get on the internet and look it up yourself. If was first discovered in the UK 6 years ago by researches at the Sheffield University. They took blood samples of people with schizophrenia, and discovered that they had depleted fatty acid levels in their blood streams. The depleted fatty acid levels where found to be expressed through out the body, including the brain. Many people with schizophrenia also have joint disorders, which is known to be caused by low fatty acid levels. So, they decided to suppliment these individuals with fatty acids, and found that the people started to lose their schizophrenic symtoms. You see,the United States pharmacutical companies don't want you to know about this breakthrough discovery. They have too much money invested in medications that don't always work, and have many side effects. To think that something as simple as fish oil, that is readily available to anyone, can cure a devastating illness like schizophrenia is something those companies don't want to hear, and apparently, its just too good for you to believe either.
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> > The Sheffield University has now set up a labratory specifically designated to study this phenomenon of fish oil in the treatment of mental illness.
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> > Ultimately, the goal now is to produce medicines that have the same effect as fish oil, but that work at a stronger level. Medicines that inhibit the cPLA2 ensyme. Like I said, look it up on the internet for yourself.
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> > Does snake oil work as well.
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> > > > > Fish oil contains a fatty acid called EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid). This is the fatty acid that people with mental illnesses need to focus on. Researchers have found that people with schizophrenia have depleted fatty acids in their systems due to an overactive enzyme called the cPLA2 enzyme. This enzyme is tearing down fatty acids from the system too quickly. Your brain cell membranes are made up specifically of fatty acids. People with serious mental illnesses have brain cells membranes that are depleted of their fatty acid content. Your brain is made up of specific fatty acids found mainly in fish oil (it really comes from plankton the fish eat). EPA, found in fish oil, blocks the action of the overactive enzyme that is causing the problem. EPA and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) found in fish oil are also the fatty acids that make up the brain cells membranes, so by taking a good brand of fish oil suppliment, you are inhibiting the overactive enzyme, and replacing the lost fatty acids at the same time. People with mental illness do not have a brain disorder, they have a blood lipid disorder. Unfortunately, the symtoms of a blood lipid disorder come out as depression, delusions, and schizophrenic symtoms. Important to note, this in not a brain disease! The symtoms only appear that way. I know alot about this subject because I spent nearly a year researching new medications for my sister who has serious bi polar disorder. I looked and looked for something that would help her, and then I stumbled upon fish oil. Nothing helped her previously, until fish oil. You need to go the the health food store and buy fish oil that has the highest concentration of EPA that you can find. I recommend the amount that my sister takes, which is 2 grams of EPA a day. (There are 1000 miligrams in one grams) She takes 6 pills a day (her pills are good, they contain 330ml of EPA per pill). Get a good concentrated brand, not the cheap "store version". I have seen the recovery with my own eyes in my sister, and others like her who now take fish oil
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> Way to go for using your Brain Ellie. I agree with you.
> But Remember It would take a long time to feel the full effect... It has to get "built" into new cells, Maybe it has a stabilizing effect on the Nerve Cells. It could be that it makes them less reactive to allegens and viruses. I'm taking a good dose per day. I feel alot more on the SAM-e but why not combine the two?
> Thanks for the Info. Do you have to take it continually? Does you sister Feel totally recovered?My sister takes fish oil instead of Depakote for mood stabilization. She also takes Clozaril for her mania (which is severe) at night only (it helps with delusions and makes her sleep - she used to stay up for a week straight with no sleep!). By the way, Clozaril causes the levels of fatty acids to raise in the blood stream, doing the same thing that fish oil does. It has a low affinity for the dopamine receptor (only 30% compared to Haldo's 80%). So there goes the dopamine theory out the window.
Yes, my sister has to take the fish oil everyday. If she doesn't,she will start to feel depressed and alittle paranoid. She has to take it before going shopping, etc... so she doesn't feel paranoid about crowds.
Her treatment, 200 ml of Clozaril at night only (considered a very low dosage - we lowered it after she started taking fish oil) and fish oil (2 grams of EPA per day = 6 concentrated pills) gives her complete relief from her symptoms. If you met her, you wouldn't even know there was anything wrong with her. Her doctors say she is the best outcome case they have seen.
When we added fish oil to her routine, everyone including myself noticed a big diffenence in her right away. She had her motivation back, she wasn't paranoid about crowds anymore. It only took a matter of days before the fish oil took effect. You have to buy fish oil pills that have the highest concentration of EPA you can find!
I cannot emphasize enough that she was really, really sick before Clozaril and fish oil. Nothing else helped her. She was hospitalize many times. This is a list of what we tried that didn't work: Prozac (put her into mania), paxil(put her into mania), lithium (worked only for a short time), haldol (gave her severe muscular movements), thorazine (didn't work), stelazine (didn't work), zyprexa (didn't work and gave her tarditive dyskanesia, depakote (made her very, very sick and overweight).I encourage anyone who doesn't believe my info to get on the internet and look up :"fish oil schizophrenia" or "fish oil depression (or manic depression). Do the research and read it for yourself.
poster:Ellie
thread:50166
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20001130/msgs/50323.html