Nancy's Journal

[nancys]

did going off drugs help did u try many drugs. are u still n drugs. did ptsd cause any brai pain or just drugs

[RubyTuesday]

I went off & on & off again many drugs too quickly which was a major factor, I understand now, (although not then) causing the brain pain. I figured this out after reading this site & others. I am not sure if ptsd actually caused my brain pain or threw my adrenaline firing system into a panic so often that my brain started to sort of convulse or contract, the latter is what it felt like. In any event, processing the original traumas has helped immensely, and combined with acupuncture helped me calm down enough to begin to sort out which part is the trauma and which part is the drugs.
I had to reinstate onto 3 different psych/meds and I am tapering off the AD which makes me feel worse.

[Sheila]

OK, nancys, just to be sure – tell us the mg of fish oil on the bottle and the mg of EPA and the mg of DHA.

I am thinking about your brain pain and I will let you know if I get any ideas.

[nancys]

825 epa
550 dha
but was never on this until less than year ago
was on effexor xr and seroquel at time of wreck. severe brain pain after wreck. but also brain injury and stress disorder(probably)
got terrible cold/flu saturday 1;00pm. brain had started hurting tuesday after spending 5 1/2 hours with people and getting sleepy, figured same cognitive fatigue brain pain feel when overdo it. but lingered more days than usual i felt on friday. but then cold saturday. brain hurts less as horrible cold lessens a little. also realize now i did feel small crackle in ear day or two before felt cold come on. So this could all be related to the cold. not sure. will have to wait out. but has improved as cold improves.

[Luc]

Looks like this cold, Nancy, has worsened your symptoms a lot. It has temporarily thrown your system off of balance. Most people in WD experience the same. The more you will be improving from it, the less painful the symptoms will be getting.

Do you take Vitamin C? It helps a lot - you just need to take it not only when you have a cold, but on a more regular basis - it will help prevent colds. Here's the Vitamin C thread, there's lots of good info in it; http://antidepressantwithdrawal.info...p?45-Vitamin-C

[Sheila]

OK, so you’re sure you’re taking 3000 mg of EPA + DHA? As opposed to 3000 mg of fish oil?

I’m forgetting if we have talked about this, but there is a lot of research coming out practically daily now about high dose Omega-3 for TBI. Did you read our Omega-3 thread here? And this is another good site to look at –

http://www.brainhealtheducation.org/

[nancys]

oh messed up on omega amount
i take 3450
epa is1650
dha is 1100
other omegas is 700.
the amen clinic told one gal i know with brain injury and stress and depression to take 6000 a day . wasn't sure if i should or not.
thanks for info

[Sheila]

Those are high potency pills you got there. Each one is 825 EPA / 550 DHA? And you’re taking two pills?

I’m going to ignore the “other” Omega-3, because I don’t now what it is, but if it’s not EPA or DHA it might not be as bioavailable. (If it’s ALA it’s not; if it’s DPA, I don’t know).

So, that means you’re getting 2750 mg EPA + DHA per day now.

Well, take a look at the two resources I gave you and then let’s talk. I am at 12,600 mg EPA + DHA for AD-related neuro problems, and still going up slowly. If I had TBI from a MVA, I would do the same.

[nancys]

yes it is liquid. that is is tsp and i take 2 tsp.
i have looked a tiny bit at the resources. but concentration is my brain injury problem so i can not read much. so it is very hard for me to research how to help myself. i will try to look at the resources periodically. but i cant look much. all my doc has said is get omega 3's no amount stated. and the amen clinic told someone 6000. thats all i know. but i really would love to know what you know about higher doses.

[Sheila]

OK, so 1 teaspoon is 825 EPA / 550 DHA and you are taking two teaspoons now. Is that right?

I totally understand the difficulty you’re having with processing info. But, a lot of what I know is in our Omega thread and in that brain institute link I sent you. Can you try to read one post per day from the Omega thread? Then, if you have any question about what you read, just ask us.

I think you will find this info very inspiring and encouraging. Not dry at all. And, it's neuro-rehabilitative to push your cognition gently if you can tolerate it.