Posted by bluedog on December 17, 2002, at 10:30:16
In reply to Re: MAOI's and Fish Oil, posted by Larry Hoover on December 16, 2002, at 16:50:09
>
> There were a couple of people reporting insomnia and agitation. I don't remember who, though.Larry
I was one of those that reported problems when I first commenced taking fish oil. I posted the following on 26 November 2002.
=================================================================================================="Re: Fish oil really screwed up my sleep
Posted by bluedog on November 26, 2002, at 21:29:39In reply to Re: Fish oil really screwed up my sleep, posted by Larry Hoover on November 20, 2002, at 19:03:12
OK. I've been taking fish oil supplements for just over a week now and there is absolutely no doubt that my dreaming has become extremely violent and vivid and my sleep has become disturbed.
I started out taking one 1000mg tablet per day (contains omega-3 marine triglycerides 300mg, EPA 180mg and DHA 120mg). Yesterday I upped my dose to 2 tablets per day so I am not taking a huge amount of fish oil by any standards.
Can anyone tell me how long I can expect this disturbed sleep pattern to last before it settles down? I don't want to stop taking the fish oil because I have definitely been convinced of the benefits of fish oil through this message board. What's more I perceive the disturbed sleep and dreaming as the fish oil somehow having a therapeutic or healing effect on my system and my brain is adapting to suddenly being given the food it desires to function properly. I simply want to know how long it will be for these effects to pass."
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I am VERY happy to report that I persisted with the supplements and for me the symptoms I reported have now passed. I have already built up my dose to 5000mg of fish oil per day (giving me 900mg of EPA daily) and I can say that my mood has definitely stabilised somewhat and I am not experiencing problems with my sleep anymore. What's more I am having a LOT less trouble actually getting out of bed in the mornings. I built up my doseages very slowly and at this stage I also no longer experience the fishy burps or loose stools that I had some trouble with initially.All I can say is that I am glad that I persisted in getting through the initial side effects period and I guess my body has now adjusted and I appear to be benefitting from a much healthier Omega-3 to Omega-6 ratio than previously. My advice is that if you do get side effects like insomnia, vivid dreams and agitation is to persist with the supplements for at leat 3-4 weeks and maybe even longer before giving up. I now believe more than ever that the side effects I experienced were actually "symptoms" of my body and brain going through a healing process!!!!
regards
bluedog
poster:bluedog
thread:131954
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20021217/msgs/132141.html