Natural Alternatives: Eye Q for Treating ADHD Symptoms

People share their stories about Eye Q, a combination omega-3 and omega-6 supplement, and natural treatment of ADHD symptoms.

Eye Q

Hannah from UK wrote to us saying:
"Equazen Nutraceuticals has recently developed eye q, a combination supplement with high-EPA marine fish oil, pure evening primrose oil and Vitamin E. eye q's EPA content is significantly higher than that of comparable fish oil products.

The company is working in partnership with the Hyperactive Children's Support Group (HACSG). Selected families have been given samples of eye q for their ADHD child to use in a pilot study. Sally Bunday, co-founder of the HACSG, said: "Previous HACSG studies have shown that EPAs can have a positive effect on the behaviour of hyperactive children, so I am continuing to encourage families to try an EPA-rich natural supplement to complement their diet before they consider methylphenidate medication.

Dr Basant Puri, Clinical Psychiatrist at Hammersmith Hospital, London, agrees, saying: "Many parents might in the first instance prefer their children to try a naturally occurring supplement composed of safe nutrients, before opting for a synthetic amphetamine drug with known adverse side effects.

For more information on eye q and Equazen's product range visit the website at http://www.equazen.com/"

Jan 2001, Dean from UK wrote to us saying:

"We had hit some real problems with our son. You may remember that our son is at boarding school. We had moved our children to what seemed to be a fantastic school but even they were having trouble with our Son. He had stopped having any appetite and his ADHD had developed a real ODD side which was causing huge problems at school and home.

Well Christmas holidays came round and we saw that he really didn't have any appetite. It wasn't as he put it , the terrible food at school but just that he had no appetite. He had lost weight, worrying at 11 years old when he was growing upwards but getting thinner and lighter !

I read in the Daily Express about a woman's success with her ADHD son through taking Eye Q. So we took the plunge and he started taking the Eye Q 2 weeks before Christmas holidays, combining them with his Ritalin. We tried to cope with him without Ritalin when he got home and seemed to be having good results. We initially put this down to "Christmas is coming I had better behave!". However this carried on through and over Christmas and by now we had stopped Ritalin altogether. Amazingly, he would be in bed and asleep before us every night without arguments (the first time for years !)

Eye Q has a normal build up period of 12 weeks. We didn`t expect results very quickly but without doubt they started to work earlier than that. As the start of the new school term approached we started to feel that we really had hit on something and wrote to the school explaining that he was returning to school and we would like to try him without Ritalin !

The term started and (remember he boards Monday to Saturday) The first phone call came on Wednesday and it was from his teacher. He was being disruptive, but through sheer enthusiasm ! He had stopped arguing with the teacher at every chance, he was playing football at play times with the other boys (at their request !). The school cook instead of asking him to please eat something, was asking him not to take so much food as there would be none left for the others (a joke which he never would have laughed at before but would have taken as a personal slur.)

The house master who looks after the boys has commented on how well he looks, how co-operative he has become and the fact he can actually get up in the morning and getting ready without arguing and taking forever to get ready. Best of all, everyone comments on how happy he is ! Imagine our joy this week when the school secretary tells us on the phone that they have had a wonderful week with him. A word seldom used to describe our son!

This stuff "Eye Q" really works, it may not work for everyone but for us it did. The after effects of Ritalin may not have affected my son initially, and it really did save our family, through some desperate times. But after 3 ½ years the side effects really began to worry us.

We tried it and it worked, we shall start reducing the dosage down to the recommended two per day in another four weeks. ( we are only 8 weeks into the build up period so its not supposed to work yet !).

Finally we have a daughter who has real problems with reading and her memory is poor. Eye Q is advertised as having benefits for dyslexics so we are started her on it to. Could it be that they both have similar problems but they just demonstrate themselves in different fashions ?

We shall see, more reports to come and I am sure there are more success stories out there !" .

March 2001, Heidi from UK wrote to us saying:

"Hello I am writing regarding my 4yr old son who has been displaying behavioural problems since he was 6mths old. We are finally reaching the point of a dianosis which is suspected ADHD.

Having read up on this disorder many months ago I came across an article in the newspapers regarding Eye-Q. I have since started my son on this natural product to see if there would be any change in him. The product states that it may take up to 12wks for there to be any effect and I am pleased to say that after only 9wks on Eye-Q we are noticing slight changes.

Louis' short term memory has always been a problem and he constantly needs reminding of a persons name whilst speaking with them. Recently I was pleased to note that when a visitor came with her young child he called the child by his name all morning without prompting. For Louis this is a breakthrough! I have also noted that in a 1-1 situation his concentration is improving slightly and we have actually had a mealtime in which Louis has sat with the rest of the family. Also his appetite has improved which he must notice himself as he will say "mummy, I'm hungry again!" Hopefully this is only the beginning.

May I take this oppurtunity to say thank-you for how much your site has helped me recently, "

April 2001, Sarah from UK wrote to us saying:

"Just to let you know that we have used both Efalex and more recently Eye Q for my son Andrew age 7 years for nearly two years. We have found it to help him concentrate at school and I believe his reading ability has improved far and beyond what we expected.

We were offered Ritalin after he was diagnosed with ADHD, but wanted to try a natural supplement. This combined with a change in his diet - mainly omitting foods that triggered negative behaviours in his case aspartame, chocolate and monosodium glutamate has contibuted to Andrew being a little more managable. Andrew has recently been diagnosed with Asthma which means he needs to take an inhaler, this however has caused him to be more hyperactive!!

After a very bad weekend we sat down with Andrew and tried to work out a daily routine with a few basic rules so we can be consistant as parents. Andrew has a copy on his bedroom wall and we have a copy on the fridge to refer to when needed. It is early days, but hopefully this might make life a little easier."

November 2001, Helen from UK wrote to us saying......

"Dear Simon,

My son, Joseph, was diagnosed adhd 2 years ago and has been on ritalin ever since. I managed to keep him on low doses, giving him enough to get through the school day and coping with him after school as the drugs wear off. I, like many others, was scared and worried about giving such a young child such strong medication but realised we could not go on struggling unaided anymore. Once on the drug we noticed immediate imrovement in him, he could concentrate better, sit still, and generally seemed to cope better with daily life. He still had his moments and was not the easiest of children but he started to be more acceptable to those around him. He even got invited to the odd party!

7 weeks ago I heard about Eye Q and after some research and checking thouroughly its compatibility with ritalin. We started Joe on the 6 capsules a day. We noticed a change in him in the space of a week, his reaction to not being able to do something was almost normal. After a mild initial explosion he is really okay about things and goes on to something else instead of it all ending in all of us being distressed. Unfortunately he has now developed some strong ticks - eyes rolling upwards, frowning, head twisting etc. The manufacturers of Eye Q have assured me they have no evidence of it being their product and the doctors are unsure why it has started.

It may be the Eye Q magnifying the effects of the ritalin and thus causing side effects. Anyway, we are slowly reducing the ritalin dose, monitoring his blood pressure weekly in case it goes right up, in the hope this will get the ticks under control. The doctor has said if this fails or if Joe cant manage on lower doses then the next step is clonidine - the thought of that terrifys me, I seem helpless to help my baby!( my fingers are so tightly crossed the blood supply is in danger of stopping!). The Eye Q people mentioned zinc supplements so I shall look into that as well as cranial osteopathy and Dr Kaur in St Albans.

The doctors dont feel able to be able to help me with enquiries about any of these topics so I am having to do my own research and take decisions myself. It is scary but I want to help Joe now and for his future, and this feels like the only way, with the ultimate goal being Joe having a drug free life. Who knows - I may be really successful in my quest and be able to pass on my knowledge to help others avoid the difficulties we have experienced."

May 2002, Laura wrote to us saying:

" My son is 9 and has been Ritalin for nearly 3 years. I started Eye Q over a year ago having come across it by accident. Initially I thought it was the answer to it all and that we would be able to take him off Ritalin. That hasnt happened. However, I am still a great fan and he has it daily. It was hard to take - capsules are difficult for a 9 year old to swallow until they get used to them. Although I have had marginal improvements in his behaviour, the huge improvement that I've got is that he sleeps. Before he used to cat nap which meant I did at well. Now, he'll stay in his room until he falls asleep about 10 and doesnt wake up until about 6 - I feel like a human being again. I would recommend it to anyone.

Laura "

March 2003, Sallyanne wrote to us saying:

"My son was finally diagnosed with ADHD a few months ago, even though I have been trying to get him assessed since he was 2 1/2 years old. He was a very active, angry, frustrated little boy. Who although I loved dearly there were times I would just sit and cry out of sheer frustration with him. After numerous tests etc I was told that because of his age (he was just 5 years old) that I would not be able to have medication for him and Behaviour Therapy was all that was available. This might be good long term, but it certainly doesn't help short term, and I was certain me and my husband would be quite insane by then. I had been called to his school on a number of occasions due to his behaviour etc, and he was not coping with school routine at all well. Then about a month ago I was advised to try him on Eye q by a friend (who is a qualified Doctor) and it is amazing. I know it should not be working yet (but, I feel due to his age, it has taken effect alot quicker) I am already getting quite positive feed back from his teacher, and at home he is a loveable funny CALM little boy. He has not hit out for almost a week now. He is dressing himself(ish) and actually SITS at the dinner table. He is eating normally and I really enjoy the time we spend to togather. I just wish to thank the makers of Eye q, for giving me my little boy back the loveable, loving little boy who I can love without waiting for the next outburst. THANK YOU."

April 2003, A message posted on adders.org forum board from Keziah says:

"We tried it, (Eye Q) but the capsules are large & the boys (teens) find them almost impossible to swallow. The liquid version tastes disgusting. I then came across a book that said there has been no valid research on this & that all tests that have been done have not validated the manufacturers claims. I've given up with it."

We have an article by Dr D McCormick about EFAs including Eye Q, click here to read his comments

The following article was published by Reuters in April 2002 regarding Fish Oils.

Ed. Note: Whilst we have no knowledge of any problems with this product, we feel that this concern needs to be highlighted so that people are aware that even Natural products can have implications.

Fish oils could be over EU safe limit

By Nigel Hawkes, Health Editor
April 8, 2002

MANY fish oil products on the British market are likely to exceed new European Union safety limits for pollutants due to be imposed in July. A study by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland found that only one-third of the brands marketed there fell within the limits, which define levels of dioxins permitted in fish oils and fish oil capsules. One brand, Solgar Norwegian Cod Liver Oil, had levels of dioxins five times greater than the EU limits. Other brands were double or triple the limits. The best-performing was Eskimo-3 Stable Fish Oil Supplement, which was well within the limit and also contained low levels of PCBs, a related chemical. Many of the same brands are on sale in Britain. Food Safety Agency researchers found in 1997 that fish oil could make "a significant contribution to dietary exposures to dioxins". A new study to see if levels have fallen since then has been completed, but is not expected to be published until June. The Irish report concluded that nobody was likely to be harmed by consuming the fish oils according to the manufacturers' recommendations. Nor, since the EU limits have yet to come into force, are any in breach of regulations. Dioxins are a group of chemicals produced by the combustion of plastics and other chlorine-containing materials. They are toxic, and in sufficient doses, carcinogenic.

Ed. Note: Please remember, we do not endorse any treatments and strongly advise you to check with your doctor before using, stopping or changing any treatment.

next: Frequently Asked Questions About Methylphenidate, ADHD Diagnosis
~ back to adders.org homepage
~ adhd library articles
~ all add/adhd articles