after a month of fish oil... | Autism PDD
Rozone, I don't think putting the fish oil in a juice bottle would ruin its effect, but I think a lot of it would probably get left in the bottle as an oily coating. It might work better to mix it with yogurt, if your nephew eats that.
The dosage is usually small, like a spoonful. It tends to leave an oily stain on clothes, so I would suggest putting a bib on the child when trying it for the first time.
There are also a lot of different flavors and formulations, so it might require some trial and error to find one that the child likes. Unfortunately, these products can be a little pricy, so you might want to read what other parents recommend before buying. Various products are described here on this topic and elsewhere on this forum.
This is a heart-smart supplement in addition to being good for brain development, but it's important to choose a brand with high purity standards to be sure that the fish oil is free of environmental toxins.
Hey...can anyone tell me how they administer the fish oil to their kids?...My 4 yr old ASD nephew is still on a bottle..YIKES! Can we give it to him in his juice?...I know its not a miracle thing...but it wont hurt him or to try...how much of a dose?We have seen dramatic improvement from Ben on fish oil and vitamin supps to the point that even his teacher can tell if he has missed a day of them. He has better control of himself and is more in tune with everyone around him when he has been taking them. We noticed a huge difference after only two weeks and if he misses two days he is a totally different child---withdrawn, screams instead of trying to talk, aggressive. I doubt its the miracle drug either but I'm not going to doubt anything that helps even a little ya know. Fred, glad about your results and hopefully long term you will see even more.I have to agree with the difficulty with determining what drives progress. the month before we started a GFCF diet study my son had one of those miracle months, where the stars aligned and his progress was amazing. We could find no explanation. We were just glad that the spike happened before we had started the diet or we would have thought the diet was a miracle and been stuck on it for life. In reality the diet was of no benefit to him
Fish oil seems like one of those things that can only help , even if it can't be quantified
Yes you have to be concerned about vitamin A & D levels. Vitamin A should not exceed 9900 IU's.....Vitamin D should not exceed 200 IU's.Andrewsmommy - I thought your example was interesting. My iron levels were so bad after I gave birth to ds (I bled a LOT as he was over 10 pounds) that they wanted to give me a transfusion! I refused (thankfully) and went on Vitron-C which is iron mixed with Vitamin C to help the uptake of the iron. The doc took my levels 2 months later and they were back to normal. I went from a 7 to a 12 in 2 months - she had never seen that happen before! So, I used them for another month to be safe and then went off. I was nursing and was concerned that the iron would constipate my ds (which interestingly enough it didn't really). Anyway, ds also has low iron levels, but when I give him the same stuff (which is what the sleep clinic physician prescribed) it really constipated him. Which we have never had problems with before and he gets TOTALLY cranky when he is constipated. So, we have just been trying to get him more red-meat and more iron-rich foods instead along with a lot of fiber. Unfortunately, we can't control his diet at Head Start because they serve two meals there. Not that I'm complaining - it is great that they feed him twice!
Sorry for sidetracking this post... We saw huge strides in my ds shortly after starting the fish oil. Perhaps it was a "growth spurt" in development, but I just don't think so. His attention is much better and his interaction with other people is much improved. Now if only the meltdowns would stop...
Someone asked earlier about excessive vitamin A. If you are taking a multi vitamin and cod liver oil, there will be too much vitamin A. The omega 369's though do not contain too much vitamin A.
Fred, we have also found the omega enriched eggs to be a nice addition to Aidan's diet.
Either way Fred, EFAs are good for any person in terms of general health. I know several parents who are using Coremega as a recommendation from their doctors. We actually received a few from a friend to try it out on the kids. The hope is that I can use both Coremega and Nordic in various foods and drinks...just to offer a variety. The liquid Nordic DHA Jr. acutally has slightly more DHA and EFAs, but both are pretty much the same inb quality.
Good that you are increasing it in the diet. Your girls are so cute. Abigail sounds like Helon, who also loves to draw. She draws activities in vaious landscapes. For instance, Mommy w/ a baby in my tummy, Daddy, Helon and Phillip are all holding hands standing next to our house and car. When she draws a baby in my tummy it is a stick figure w/o a skirt because it is a boy w/ a smilie face. She will draw an airplane in the sky next to clouds, sun and rain with a super long ladder leading down to the green grass, pond w/ a fish in it and flowers. The drawings are extremely detailed. Needless to say, this is what the therapists and teachers focus on to encourage development in other areas. Anyway, just sharing a Helon story.
Fred, I am glad you have seen improvements. Have you tried increasing the dosage in Evie? That might help or you can find other foods that are high in Omegas that you can add into her diet. Great news. Interesting about the soy. Eitherway, it is good to hear the little improvements.
Cod Liver Oils are generally high in Vit A because it is extracted from the liver. Most regualr fish oils aren't unless they are supplemented with it. We use Nordic Naturals which does have Vit A, but no or very little Vit. D. It is a strawberry flavor and has absolutely no fish flavor. I usually add it to their drinks or their soy ice creams - just give a stawberry flavor. You can get them in chewables or in a liquid. It is called DHA Jr. bu Nordic Natruals. They have a website and are based out of California.
Dr. James Adam wrote a paper about autism and fatty acids: http://www.eas.asu.edu/~autism/Research/FattyAcids.doc
http://puterakembara.org/rm/EFA.htm
little bird,
I almost bought the Nordic brand last night, because they were out of the Coromega. The kids love the Coromega, so I probably won't switch - do you know if Coromega's product is well regarded?
I also started giving them breakfast cereals that are high in flax oil, another good source of Omegas. The soy, as you know, is loaded too. These changes, with the suplements, have really increased the amount of these fatty acids that they are receiving.
Again, it could very well be a placebo effect, but both DW and I have noticed an increase in eye contact, mood, and social interest from Abigail. She's been very playful and she's been joking and goofing around. She doesn't have much stereotypical behavior anymore (even before the supplementation), but she's drawing other things besides monster houses (her obsession), now. Yesterday she drew a family of turtles and some dinosaurs, but no monster houses :). We both say she'd pretty much 'caught up' with Evie at this point with language, and surpassed her with motor skills. Poor Evie - need to start working on her, now!
I should also point out that Abbie is receiving an extra hour of private language therapy that Evie is not receiving (Evie's language test indicated that she does not currently need any extra S&L).
Who knows what's doing it, but they're making good progress.
So glad to hear encouraging progress in the girls~such sweet angels:) Makes me want to get Sarah back on the fish oils again:) The only thing we never gave her that came recommended was the gyconutrients Ambrotose(friends daughter spoke full sentences after taking this) and Carn-aware which our Dan doc had encouraged but I wanted to hear others that have taken it first..didn't really pursue it much with either because they are costly. Fish oil is cheap:)
Shelley
Coming into this topic a little late but, I don't know about Fishoil(haven't tried that one yet) But when I put my son on liquid vitiamins.....it took a month or so, but I sware by them now. Not only does it give me piece of mind that he is getting the vitamins that he doesn't get from the foods he refuses but YES it has helped in his overall health, alertness, and his launguage and other areas have improved as well, not to say that its due to the vitamins but all of our children our picky eaters and are probably lacking in some vitamin somewhere so whatever helps!!From what I have read Omega 3 will certainly help everyone so there us certianly benefit in my child with ASD also
I tried giving my kids the Nordic Naturals DHA fish oil. Great strawberry taste!! Yeeeahhh...they took it one time.
Then I tried to sneak it into their toaster scramblers. Nope. They won't eat the toaster scramblers now. 
I requested a sample from Coromega. We'll see.
About Omega-3s- (I've supplemented for a couple of months, and also take them for myself)
You don't have to order an expensive product over the Internet if you would rather get them from a drugstore or Wal-Mart. Spring Valley now carries concentrated Fish Oil with more EPA and DHA per capsule.
The EPA dose found to be effective in adults using Omega-3s for mood regulation in published scientific studies was 1g daily. In the less concentrated fish oil pills, this is 6 a day, since the EPA in the pills are about 180 mg.
Another Omega 3 besides EPA and DHA (present in fish oil) is ALA. This is also know as Flaxseed oil. ALA converts to EPA and DHA. ALA is a powerful antioxidant that works in both fatty tissues and non-fatty tissue. Because of that property, it works well in the brain and the liver and helps to de-toxify. (ALA is used in conjunction with L-carnitine to prevent Alzheimer's in older people. Studies have shown that the brain cells of older rates rejuvenate with a combination of ALA and L-carntine. Having said that, I am not aware of any studies on the use of L-carnitine supplements in children, and I plan to ask our doctor about it).
I also buy Barilla Plus pasta that has the ALA Flaxseed oil Omega-3. I think it takes great and the kids like it too.
I *thought* I saw a subtle improvement in mood and socialability after several weeks (near the end of our first month's supply). They also gained appreciative coordination at the same time on their own (see my post about the 'trikes' in updates and successes). I'm 90% sure that this is just due to a normally scheduled cognative growth spurt, but the supplement seems healthful, they like it, and it's cheap, so I'm keeping going with it. I've never noticed behavioral or cognitive improvements during the periods when I've given our kids fish oils, but that is no reason not to give these supplements. They're heart smart, and worth giving for that reason alone.
[QUOTE=jen78fl]Only took a few weeks for me to see a difference... [/QUOTE]
what kind of difference did you see? I'm not sure what I should be looking for, Ryan has been on it for over a week now. He is taking Nordic Naturals DHA for kids
hi, i'm new to this site. my dd is 2 1/2 and is speech delayed. she was diagnosed w/ "borderline" autism in dec 06. is coromega safe for her and if so, is it just 1 packet a day?? on the box it says child 4 yrs old and older. any other recommendations to improve her speech?? she gets speech therapy 2x/wk and occupational therapy 1x/wk. any suggestions or advice is greatly appreciated as i'm still very new at this.
thanks,
momx3girls,
Kids here in Norway are recommended to get a fish-oil supplement (ie cod liver oil) from the time they're babies. However, if the Coromega package says 4 years old, I would either find a different product or consult your pediatrician or a nutritionist. There could be an issue of overdose of fat-soluble vitamins in the product, such as Vitamin A.
As far as the speech goes, www.speechville.com is a good place to browse and learn, but if you can tell us what aspects of her speech need improvement, I'm sure someone here can give you some suggestions.
Good luck with everything.
what kind/brand of fish oil can i give my picky 2 1/2 year old?? she says about 15 words (half of them are animal sounds) and 8 months ago had little eye contact.now eye contact is much better and will even take her older sister's hand to play on the computer, very affectionate. i have never tried any supplements. has anyone heard of zeolite and glutamine?? they are detoxifers?? Hi all. Well Im curious, for those of you giving your kids coromega, have you seen good results? I am giving my son nordic naturals omega 3, 6, 9 but Im wondering if the coromega would better, and possibly be less likely to cause stomach upset because it doesnt seem like it would be as oily.. Any advice on this? Thanks all!I just ordered my 1st batch of coromega a few minutes ago. Thanks to all for the helpful information.
I plan on giving it to both kids. All I'm telling my dh and my nanny is that I ordered "new vitamins" that were recommended to me without providing any other details. (I'll eventually tell them, but I need their unbiased opinions of whether it's doing any good before I tell them what it is and what it is supposed to do.) I'll let y'all know how it goes!
I bought fish oil yesterday... I got the soft gel form (drained in his juice this morning) and yesterday put the flavored lemon-lime gel kind in his juice. I wasn't confident that he would take it willingly. I hope its okay that way. How long does it take to see a difference. I feel I already see one, but that could just be me .Only took a few weeks for me to see a difference... Momx3girls, I use nordic naturals brand for kids. It says its' for kids8months and older.
It's strawberry flavored and is easily mixed into any berry flavored yogurt or
smoothie. Jasper likes the juice/yogurt "smoothies" you can buy at the
store. I just add 1/2 teaspoon and shake it up good.
We call it "Secret Ingredient"
thanks mamakat, i just ordered a bottle today. have you noticed any improvements with your ds while taking this? my dd is a very picky eater and thus only likes to drink apple juice. will she notice a big difference if i put it in her juice?
When supplementing with fish oil, should we be concerned about
excess Vit A and D? Fish oil has both, and if you give a regular
multi vitamin as well, the A and D dosage may be quite high. And
if I remember correctly, excess A and D is toxic for the body.
Anyone knows what's the maximum safe dosage of A and D?
My autistic son has taken cod liver oil off and on since he was a baby. He was just learning to stand when he polished off his first bottle. It helped if I mixed in a couple drops of fruit-flavored liquid vitamins.
When I've slacked off on giving him fish oil (sometimes months fly by at a time), I haven't noticed any improvement in his behavior after starting on it again. But fish oil is HEART HEALTHY and really, everyone should take it. I prioritized taking it myself during my last pregnancy, until it started giving me heartburn.
My NT son has always been a picky eater, and I could never get him to take fish oil. I recently bought a bottle of Smart Fish Omega 3 with orange flavor. It has a creamy color and texture, and Mickey Mouse on the bottle. He was extremely skeptical the first time I gave it to him, and I pretty much had to force him to finish his spoon. But the second time he actually decided it tasted good. I showed him the picture of Mickey and said Mickey was proud of him. Big breakthrough here.
Smart Fish is a Norwegian brand with high standards of purity. They say it is available in Asia, Europe, Africa and America, but I would assume not necessarily in every store. Their website is www.pharmacologica.no. Their website is in English.
P.S. Day 3 my son the picky eater he wanted more! Day 4 he asked for it for breakfast!! I am so glad I found this product!
Fred,
Can these pills be chewed or put into a skittle candy? That's the only way that BN will take pills. She's not ready to swallow them with water yet. Just curious.
Thanks!
RA
The supplement comes in little condiment packets and has the consistency of pudding. It tastes like orange sherbet. She might just take it voluntarily! You can get a free sample from their web-page.
nupurb, there really isn't much A and D in this supplement.
Looks like they have a new kid's formulation:
I've had my twins on Coromega for about 2 weeks now. Both kids think it's candy! I haven't seen any major changes in behavior, BUT I am starting to notice that they smell like fish!!!
I do have a sensitive sense of smell, but just thought I'd share this "side effect."
I wish i could get my older son to eat either the coromega or the children's dha but he wont. I cnat mix it with any drinks since it rises to the top or mix it in his food because he is verrry picky and inspects everything before he eats it. My twins will take both though so i am keeping them on it.
I know what you mean about now knowing if something is working. After having my asd twin on the omeag-3 supp for four weeks i started him on the listening program. It is an 8 week program and he just finished it two weeks ago.
I have to say in the last month he has made excellant progress but i dont know if it is the omega-3, the listening program, the fact that he started ABA therapy five days a week, the rest of the therapy, or that he is just maturing. He is only 19 months old.
I wont stop anything because he is making great strides. So i say if it isnt hurting them. then continue
Been supplementing for a month, now - just got through the first box of Coromega and need to re-stock.
Let me say, that I do believe in the placebo affect and I also believe that the progress that our kids make is too often attributed to therapies or interventions, and not to maturity.
I'll just put out there, though, that Abigail has become noticably more alert and conversational in the past week or 10 days or so. DW and I agreed (until, of course, I said that I wondered if the supplements were helping - she's skeptical of that).
So, I'm going to keep giving them this supplement as it's pretty cheap and easy, and, of course, because some noticable progresses is occuring.
Haven't noticed much of a change in Evie, but she was operating at a little higher of a level than Abbie, so it's sort of hard to tell.
We will always wonder if all the supplements/ diet made such a big difference or in our minds..since ABA was started too at the same time ...we will never know but still am glad I chose to do these things for her because we never saw the huge progress we saw like that first year of doing everything since so I have to believe she needed it. I still think of putting her on diet and supplements 3 years later just to see the effects without the ABA and how she responds. They say to do the diet/biomedical things and not tell people/therapists so you get a more non-subjective opinion..I never was able to be closed mouth enough with people I saw everyday so I never got the unbiased remarks~She was improving and that was enough for me to continue it. Good luck and I hope so much that your girls improve with it..many have dramatic results! Keep us posted!
Blessings,
Shelley
I just started my 3 year old son on fish oil a few weeks ago and I have to say I have noticed a big difference! Before he was not babbling or anything and now he is babbling all the time and Im hearing a few words here and there. I would definitely say it is helping!!please, could you write name of that and also ingredients? so I can try to find something similar here.
thx
Here is the Kirkman site for you to search more on their products. We have used the omega fish oils, enzymes and supra nu thera vitamins but they have more "kid" friendly products compared to 3 years ago when we did this for Sarah.
http://www.kirkmanlabs.com/products/fatty_acids/pro_dha/DHA_ JR.htm
I am under the impression that fish oil supplements help with overallgeneral brain function as well as mood regulation. I would be surprised if
any one saw radical and measureable results with these supplements. I
think it would be just a general overall sense of the child being able to
self regulate, reduced anxiety or aggression, and a better ability to attend
to tasks. Which is just what many of our children need. It is a
supplement, a valuable one, but not to be mistaken for some sort of
miracle drug. I take it as well. My Dr. prescribed it to me along with
vitamin b supplements to help with stress and mood regulation. I take it
along with my prescribed anti-depressants. I notice better energy, focus,
and reduced anxiety than when I took mt meds alone. I think it has more
to do with how I feel inside, rather than any quantifiable differences in my
behavior.
I really believe in vitamin and fish oil supplements for everyone to help
support overall health and brain function. Especially in children to
support overall development. Just know you are giving your kids "brain
boosters" when you give them these. You are helping their brain
development whether or not you see any major behavioral changes. Your girls are beautiful. I don't know what kinds of supplements you've tried but my friends have had luck with the nutrition I give my children with their autistic children. I'd be willing to share the stories, and the opportunity to build an income for them if you're interested let me know.
When we tried the fish oil the lemon was the only flavor and it was very difficult to give unless I mixed it with syrup..eewww! I also was encouraged to give it to her for her delayed myelin as it was the only treatment for it. I noted better eye contact, awareness of surroundings and her focus was much better:) The orange flavor one sounds so much nicer.. The supra nu thera was nasty and she spit it out no matter what I mixed with it...I would like to give her vitamins but she won't take the gummy ones, chewable ones or liquid so..I will have to wait till a patch comes out:)
Blessings,
Shelley
This is really interesting. I think I'm going to try it as well.
Well I will be starting that too. I figure it can't hurt. I will say I agree with your statement that some of this progress may just be maturity. I will notice huge strides in my kids, and often at times they aren't receiving any therapy at all. Sometimes out of the blue things just click.
Yeah, you're right MK - just to be clear, no miracles, here. It's subtle, and like I said, could very well be placebo effect, or I've just times (by coincidence) the introduction of the supplements with a regularly scheduled growth spurt (in Abigail). Things I *think* I notice are better mood, more consistent eye contact, less senstive, more conversational. Her gross motor skills are also progressing all of a sudden, and this is indisputable, because I just compare her to her sister, who she's leaving in the dust all of a sudden!
I forgot to mention, we also greatly reduced are dairy intake during this time (nothing radical, just replaced regular mile with soy milk - which is itself full of fatty acids).
Someone asked what I was using. I'm using Coromega, orange flavor packets. It tastes pretty nice. The kids call it "orange frosting" and consider it a treat! They have a web-page www.coromega.com.
I will be starting Andrew on Coromega in the near future. Thanks for the topic!
We all should remember, that any supplement takes time to replenish diminished stores of vitamins, minerals, nutrients, etc. It can take weeks, months or even longer perhaps.
When I treat patients who have chronic iron deficiency anemia via diet and iron supplementation, it can take months to restore their blood count to normal. This is especially true of women of child bearing age for obvious physiologic reasons. I know this isn't exactly the same as supplementing our kids for ASDs, but I'm just trying to use this scenario as an example.
Well its really very simple to see if its actually the fish oils that are helping. Just stop giving them and wait and see. It would take a few weeks for it to work completely out of her system and for her to "go back" to what was before. Up to you to decide if you really want to know or if you'd rather just continue giving them.
I don't believe anyone has ever stated that biomed is a miracle cure or fish oils a "miracle pill." I have seen miraculous things happen when children are put on the diet and supplements...but have never seen a "cure" from it (at least not personally).
Just wanted to add on to Ryansmom's post that you do need what to purchase the fish oil or cod liver oil from a company that provides quality products. You also want to look at the ingredients to see if there is anything else added besides the fish oil. We also use Nordic, but there are other companies that are good too and provide it for kids such as Coramega and Eskimokids.
In terms of when you will see improvements...it is purely based on the amount of EPA/ DHA in the oil, how much you are giving the child and the child. I have to admit that I didn't immediately notice a 'big wow' improvement, but I sure as heck noticed a regression when we would run out of CLO and the kids weren't taking any. CLO also helps with eye stimming, as well. Not sure if it is the Vit A or if it is the DHA, which a friend of mine discovered (either in an article or book) is something some of the parts of the retna (sp - sorry 8 in the morning, can't spell). Some of the improvements you may notice, besides the reduction in eye stimming, is improved attention to his or her surroundings. They become much more aware of what is going on and eventually will start responding to it (appropriately or not). As a result, their expressive and receptive language may also improve.
I think I may have already posted this, but here is a paper by James Adams about Fatty Acids - http://www.eas.asu.edu/~autism/Research/FattyAcids.doc
Keep in mind that you can also get Fatty acids from food, particularly Omega 3s. You don't want too much Omega 6s or 9s.
Please be careful of where you buy it from..I would go with nordic naturals..you want to be carefulCopyright Autism-PDD.net