The nutriceutical (dmae/salmon) approach to brain fog & depression

elmhar

DMAE is different from fish oil. Be careful with DMAE. It's helpful to some, but can have nasty side effects. My son became almost catatonic w/the smallest dose. YMMV.

The EPA fraction of fish oil is great for depression, and has a fair bit of research behind it. Best to use a high-quality brand that is palatable & also tested for contaminants. You may need 1 or 2 grams of the EPA per day, don't go for the cheap grocery store/Walmart brands. Also, I wouldn't be stuck on the salmon issue, that's a marketing ploy, IMO.

Another really helpful thing to do is to have a thorough physical w/labs & make sure your problems are not the result of thyroid disorder or hormonal malfunction.

Best wishes.

principesa

hi there! thank you so much for taking the time to answer! with that in mind, i'm going to concentrate more on the epa amount - and try to find a reputable brand.
...if the oil being from salmon is a marketing thing, do you think it matters which fish the fish oil is from?
do you know of any that are reputable and also enterically coated to avoid an aftertaste?
i'm really shocked to hear what happened with your son - i had taken dmae a while ago and luckily never had a problem - i hope he is alright and that whatever made you look to the dmae to begin with has worked out!!

principesa

oh, p.s. i am on gov't health insurance so it's hard for me to get a lot of tests (or prescriptions). at this moment, i don't even know who my primary doctor is. ...i so wish i knew what was wrong with me. you know the feeling you get if you try to study too much at one time, like your mind is just saturated or your thinking is muddled and you need to get away from it for a bit to "reset"? well, my mind feels like that most of the time, and/or a feeling of fullness at the top of my head towards the front. i tend to think a general doctor would just refer me to a psychiatrist, but i don't feel like this is emotional. i do have a social phobia which makes it hard to go out for jobs, but there's not a lot of jobs i feel capable of doing if i ~can't think~, you know? oh well, i am going to do what i can...

elmhar

Hi Princip,

Thanks for your kind comments. The effects of the DMAE did start to wear off after about 4 hrs.; not soon enough! I'm glad you did not have a bad effect.

I've heard there are enterically coated fish oils, but haven't tried them. The brands I like are Nordic Naturals & Carlsons EPA concentrates, which are available at many health food stores & sometimes in the Nutrition section of better Dept. stores. Because these brands are deodorized & flavored, they are easy to take & the afterburps taste like lemon.

Brain easily overwhelmed, muddled thinking, social anxiety and depression. Hmm. You might do some researching or networking ... my son used a device called Alpha-stim at a psychologist's office for some of those exact things. It was very helpful, & this particular psychologist allowed you to rent it by the day or by the week, or to buy it is desired. After 2 wks. of 20 min. treatments once per day, my son's brain was 'reset,' and he hasn't needed to use it.

Other than having to pay for a one-hr. consult w/the psychologist, this treatment was extremely cost-effective. I highly recommend it.

Best wishes.