I am still having the persistent headache, along with some daytime sleepiness.
I was concerned that i was slipping out of the zone even though I am following all the guidelines religeously, and taking my omega rx, so i called the zone professional line to get advice. I might have called the right person because as I described my symptoms, she said she had the same issues when starting out.
i told her I was doing the omega rx along with the diet, and I told here I was experiencing daytime sleepiness along with the headaches, she immeadiatly asked me if i was eating oatmeal. I said yes i have two blocks every day for breakfast.
She said that some people make plenty of their own GLA and do not need to add any, so mabye I am getting too much. that was here experience, when she quit oatmeal, the symptoms cleared up within a week.
That made sense to me, except one problem, I have eaten oatmeal all my life and never had this problem before, so i brought up that. She said it has something to do with the interaction between the GLA and the Omega3s, so that could be why it only started being an issue when I started the FO. What do you all think?
I am going to cut out oatmeal for a while and see if it helps.

MT

You could ease it back in if that turns out to be the problem - maybe one block only two mornings a week to start?

Hi john, thanks, that is what she said too, I could try a couple of days instead of everyday.
Mabye, it will be kind of weird eating absolutly no grain food at all, but if it works that will be fine with me!

any opinions from the experts here?

Wow, this is interesting because I just started the Zone Fish Oil about 2 weeks ago (found it for a fair price on Amazon) and have also increased my oatmeal this past week to 2 blocks almost every morning, since I picked up some wild blueberries to go with it. I have been very tired the past 2 weeks and was just chalking it up to the time of year with less daylight, but I am going to experiment and cut out the oats this next week to see what happens. I would never, ever have thought that oats could be my problem. Glad I read this, because when I first started the diet I felt fantastic, but is definitely has went downhill the past 2 weeks.

Mari, first check to make sure that your fish oil meets all the fish oil criteria set by Dr. Sears, including the batch number on you bottle being on the IFOS 5 star reports list. If it doesn't, then (1) you shouldn't be taking it at the high doses recommended for the Zone, and (2) It could be contributing to your problem.

Sue, It "is" Dr. Sears Zone Omega Rx fish oil. Just got if for a better price than is offered here, and I am taking 6 per day to start.

<div class='NTForums_Quote'>Posted By Mari on 11/21/2009 3:44 PM

Sue, It "is" Dr. Sears Zone Omega Rx fish oil. Just got if for a better price than is offered here, and I am taking 6 per day to start.</div>

Thanks Mari. That's certainly interesting. Could you share the details with us here? I just searched Amazon, but it only directs me to this site to purchase Zone Omega Rx. Thanks!

Yep, I just ordered another bottle of 120 caps.
Type in: Dr Sears OmegaRx Fish Oil, 1000 mg, 120 capsules. If someone is interested and can't find it, I will give the name of the company selling it.

Since you mentioned you just got it for a better price, if you don't mind telling us, how much are you paying? The hits I get with that search result in $40 a bottle, which is only 76 cents less than the price here. Thanks!

Sue, The price is $40.00 + $4.74 shipping =$44.74. Here it is 50.95 + 6.95 shipping = $57.90, if you do not get auto-ship here, which I choose to not do, just simply a personal choice. That's a substantial difference, and I do look at shipping charges. It is still money out of pocket, and that's a difference of $13.00. Quiite substantial.

Thanks!

I have a bottle of liquid omegaRX I want to sell, best offer takes it. I don't like drinking the oil and I am switching to the capsules...

MT, in case you didn't know, you can return it within 30 days if not satisfied.

Hi Sue
thanks for the suggestion

I could, but I would hate to see it go to waste, would rather have someone who could use it take it.
If no one is interested, I will use it still.

Well, a week with no oats did not resolve the headaches
I am really getting tired of them.
next step. stop the fish oil completely for a week and see if that is the culprit.
i really have mixed feelings on this. I really want to have the health benefits of the omega3s but I want to feel good too ya know!

Headaches and daytime sleepiness - just a shot in the dark but have you considered sleep apnea? You absolutely do not have to be overweight to have it. After almost daily headadches that started in the morning, or in the middle of the night, I suffered an extreme 6 day headache and constant sleepiness and was 120 pounds at the time. As a last resort, and at my insistance, I had the doctor order a sleep study and my suspicions were confirmed - moderate sleep apnea. Just a suggestion if nothing else works.

Hi Mari
Thanks for the suggestion.
I doubt it, because if that is what it was , I would have had the headaches a lot longer. they didnt start til I started the zone and the fish oil.
I am going to abstain from the fish oil for a week and see if that is the culprit...

Very interesting, Michael. Please keep us posted. Are you on a high dose or the recommended dose if no issues? I am doing the high dose (6 caps) but am now debating if I really need it. It has resolved several problems, so I am going to cut back to 4 and see if I still have good results.

Hi Mari,

You'll usually need to stay at the dose you require in order to continue to be free of your symptoms. When you go off fish oil or lower you dose, they will usually return by a month or so later. When you lower your fish oil dose, it will take up a few weeks for EPA levels to lower in your body.

An exception to the above would be if you have very recently begun following a much stricter Zone diet which has further lowered your AA levels. In that case you may not need as much EPA to eliminate your symptoms.

Good luck, and please keep us updated!

I quit the fish oil about 5 days ago and still have the afternoon headaches. I suppose it will take a while to work the excess epa out of my body, if that is even what is causing them.

I am following the zone diet pretty strictly, almost no unfavorable foods, and the block method, so mabye i just over did it on the FO. If my headaches clear up in a month I might retry it at a much smaller dose. If they come back again then i will know it is the FO doing it.

Michael,

very interesting..since it's not one of the typical side effects, but certainly seems to happen..I poked around online and I noticed some info where people got headaches from krill oil. Krill are tiny anartic crustaceans. I was curious while OmegaRX is pharmaceutical grade, and so very purified, it still uses crude fish oil as it's source. That oil comes from multiple fish sources...


So, is it some broad allergic reaction to EPA/DHA in general?, or from one or more types of fish, or whatever that's in there...maybe for you, it's anchovies or mackerel. Probably a long shot, since I'm not sure with a purified concentrate like OmegaRx, if there's even any trace or signature left by the original fish source.


I'm not a doctor and so obviously, if you are under the care of a doctor, you should certainly discuss before changing or altering supplementation of any kind (my disclaimer!)..I only play one on TV..."Dammit Jim, I'm a doctor, not a physicist"..I just watched the new StarTrek movie on BluRay, so i had to get that out of my system.


What if you tried a pure single source product like wild alaskan salmon oil to see you're good with that. I don't think you can take enough of it to get the 2.5 grams of EPA/DHA you need daily, since it's a lot lower in EPA/DHA than a concentrate, but some is better than nothing. The good wild salmon oil products have a nice kind of orange like glow since they contain Astaxanthin (it's actually a pigment) which is good stuff. You want the cold pressed extra-virgin kind. Not sure if you ever shop at Costco. They have a brand of it now which is Pure Alaska Omega. Also vitalchoice.com besides having salmon oil has excellent products. I take OmegaRX and still pop a salmon oil capsule daily for the astaxanthin

Interestingly, krill oil also contains astaxanthin, but it appears more as a red pigment there...you could also try pure krill oil like Schiff MegaRed to see if it causes a headache or doesn't..in the end it could be fish oil in general, but you might be able to narrow it down or find a product that works for you.

Not trying to push other brands here (not my intent at all)..just trying to give you options. Nordic Naturals also some great products. It's possible, UltimateOmega (also a concentrate) or cod liver oil from them could work, etc..

For the record, i love OmegaRX (if love is possible with fish oil..sounds messy though)

Mike

**also, obviously, we need to get these headaches under control, so you have a good baseline established allowing to try some other options, based on my prior post. Ideally, if the headaches diminish, you may want a break first, but at least the testing will be easy to determine success or failure

Mike

Oooops, since you have the same username, i thught I had no new replies. glad I checked the date. thanks for the tips.
I wish I had a good doctor i could go to for advice. how do I find one. i think most Drs. would not approve of trying to self medicate with suppliments like rx fish oil.
I saw the new trek movie too, I loved it, probably one of my favorites

Actually, lots of doctors are pro fish oil these days.