Not sure if it really makes a difference- but does it matter at all what time of day you have your blood drawn for the AA/EPA test relative to the time you last took fish oil. My concern is that if you take the sample within a couple hours of taking fish oil- your EPA blood levels may be higher as it is still going through the digestion process. It seems to me you'd want to take the test as far away from your last supplement of FO- and maybe- even for the heck of it- wait till after your have the sample taken before taking your daily FO. Similarly- how many days of a consistent dosage should you have in advance. My wife is very inconsistent at taking it- but I really want her to take the test because of depression issues. She gets depressed every year from fall till spring (and it just kicked in). We assume it is Seasonal affective disorder (SAD). Has anyone has success with FO and SAD? She's been taking between 2.5 and 5 g/day of the Sears Liquid but we can't say we have noticed an improvement. I'm wondering if she may need upto 10 g/day based on that Harvard study Sears talks about in his book. Thanks for any input. Marc

[quote:7a726122e3="stonehousemc"]Not sure if it really makes a difference- but does it matter at all what time of day you have your blood drawn for the AA/EPA test relative to the time you last took fish oil.[/quote:7a726122e3] I do not believe it should make a difference as fatty acids stay in your blood for several days. [quote:7a726122e3]My concern is that if you take the sample within a couple hours of taking fish oil- your EPA blood levels may be higher as it is still going through the digestion process. It seems to me you'd want to take the test as far away from your last supplement of FO- and maybe- even for the heck of it- wait till after your have the sample taken before taking your daily FO.[/quote:7a726122e3] There really is no need to do that. [quote:7a726122e3]Similarly- how many days of a consistent dosage should you have in advance. My wife is very inconsistent at taking it- but I really want her to take the test because of depression issues.[/quote:7a726122e3] Fatty acids remain in your blood for several days. However, if she is suffering from depression she may need to be more consistent. [quote:7a726122e3]She gets depressed every year from fall till spring (and it just kicked in). We assume it is Seasonal affective disorder (SAD). Has anyone has success with FO and SAD? She's been taking between 2.5 and 5 g/day of the Sears Liquid but we can't say we have noticed an improvement. I'm wondering if she may need upto 10 g/day based on that Harvard study Sears talks about in his book.[/quote:7a726122e3] I believe she will need a higher dosage than 5 g/day if trying to treat depression. Your 10 g/day is more in the correct guidelines. IMO, she may also benefit from an anti-depressant if the SAD is really bad. Depression is a chemical imbalance in the brain!

Thanks for the reply, it has been something I've been very curious about for a while. Yes- she is taking Zoloft which has helped immensly- however- it still is bad enough that we are conisdering moving south (Michigan is a very grey state- we get 30-60 more cloudy days per year than the east coast). I'd like for her to take the AA/EPA test and see if that helps us understand the problems. The reason she is not consistent in taking it is that it upsets her stomach- yes even the Sears liquid does that.

[quote:a4881c3f7a="stonehousemc"]Thanks for the reply, it has been something I've been very curious about for a while. Yes- she is taking Zoloft which has helped immensly- however- it still is bad enough that we are conisdering moving south (Michigan is a very grey state- we get 30-60 more cloudy days per year than the east coast).[/quote:a4881c3f7a] I can relate to the grey state living in Ontario, Canada. Winter is not one of my favourite seasons :( [quote:a4881c3f7a]I'd like for her to take the AA/EPA test and see if that helps us understand the problems.[/quote:a4881c3f7a] Perhaps you could come across to Canada and get the test ordered through a doctor by prescription. The prescription is only CDN$100 if tested through MDS Labs. [quote:a4881c3f7a]The reason she is not consistent in taking it is that it upsets her stomach- yes even the Sears liquid does that.[/quote:a4881c3f7a] Perhaps a tryglyceride base PGFO might be more agreeable. Also, she could trying taking with food and split up the dosages throughout the day.