B6 and Magnesium Vitamin Therapy for AS?

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Omega 3s are DHA and EPA

So when you take high DHA or EPA supplements, you are taking Omega3s. It is more important to look at the particulars of anything labeled Omega to find the levels of the DHA or EPA. So it isn't the "Omega" you should be paying attention to, it is the fatty acids DHA and/or EPA. The higher the EPA level, the higher mood benefit, the higher the DHA, the better the mental acuity. You can look up recommended levels, but my kids take 740mg of EPA and 475 or DHA each day. The "other" omega3 fatty acid in my product is 185 mg.

OK, having looked into the topic a little more, I am giving my son some additional b-6 + magnesium. The b-6 dosages involved are high, but not nearly as high as in the ADD/ADHD trial I cited earlier -- 25-50 times the RDA as opposed to hundreds of times the RDA. And the idea behind it is along a line I had experimented with myself -- the balance between glutamate (the principal excitatory neurotransmitter) and GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid, the main inhibitory neurotransmitter).

To grossly oversimplify, glutamate is involved in making neurons fire, and in large amounts, may cause them to keep firing when they shouldn't. GABA is what usually regulates glutamate, and keeps things from getting out of hand. When there is too much glutamate, the body normally converts some of it into GABA, maintaining balance in a very tidy way.

For a couple of years, I had considered the possibility that OCD sort of behavior might be mitigated by increasing GABA, and had tried giving my kid 500-1000 mg. of GABA a day. It seemed to help a little, but didn't do anything dramatic. B-6 is a critical component in glutamate->GABA conversion, so if there is a bottleneck in the process which can be remedied by large amounts of b-6, you have a neat solution to the problem, reducing excess glutamate by converting it into its antidote.

Anyway, I'm giving it a try. The usual form of b-6, pyrodoxine, is normally converted into P-5-P in the body, but I'm giving him some of each in case there is any snag in the conversion process: 35 mg. of P-5-P and about 75 mg. of regular b-6 a day, spread out in 3-4 doses. Around 2x the RDA of magnesium also. He's at least 60 pounds, so these are not dosages that are likely to do anything detrimental to his nervous system, even if they are maintained for months or years.

Over the first couple of days, it has seemed like it may have helped him some, but a couple of days isn't exactly a big sampling. I will post an update later, when I have a clearer idea of what (if anything) it's doing.

Remember, magnesium needs to be balanced with calcium because they move through a coupled receptor. B6 furthers an imbalance of more magnesium to calcium. Generally, to avoid problems, a 2 to 1 ratio of calcium to magnesium is good, although there are many exceptions to that rule.

Update: I'd always given my kid the RDA of magnesium, and a moderately hefty dose of B-complex vitamins (5x-15x the RDA for B2, B6 and B12), but tried upping his B-6 to about 50x the RDA, and increasing his magnesium to more like 2x the RDA (always with some calcium too, that was a very valid point aspiebegood made).

After a few weeks of it, I think it's done some good, but it wasn't something which made an extremely obvious difference. Maybe a bit better focus, slightly better mood, a little less frustration. But I couldn't swear to it.

On the other hand, when he doesn't get his traditional dosage of B-complex + DMAE for more than one day, he predictably melts down over his school work. Two or three hours after taking them, he's fine again.

So my thoughts are: if you're not giving your aspie kid at least a little extra B-complex, or haven't tried giving them 50-100 mg. of DMAE a day, do give it a go. As for a full 100 mg. of B-6 a day, I guess it's worth a try. Like most of these things, it probably works better for some kids than others.

I did order and gave ds Attentive Child supplement (which has DMAE in it) but I stopped. We had our appt with the doctor and he was put on Concerta. It has helped tremendously with his school work. In his Reading class he has to do "books in a bag." It's a small non-fiction book and they have to do a pre-test based on their opinion, then read the book, then answer the questions and cite where in the book they found the answer. They have to do 20/quarter. He used to take 3, sometimes 4 days to do one and now he is getting one done a day basically. I am so happy with it and he doesn't have to take it on the days he doesn't have school or when we need him to be in focus.

I do give him a multi-vitamin every day as well. I will check with the doctor to see if he recommends giving both. I don't know what his stance would be. Have any of you used DMAE in combination with prescriptions? If so, what has the result been and would you recommend it?

Yes, I give DMAE in addition to prescription medications for ADHD.