= 27d567bc2d48d9f40e9ccc20ea370b15)
komponisto comments on Open Thread: March 2010 - Less Wrong
You are viewing a comment permalink. View the original post to see all comments and the full post content.
= 783df68a0f980790206b9ea87794c5b6)
Loading…= b715d02e85f7b3b4ae65ca3d3e450868)
Subscribe to RSS Feed
Powered by Reddit
= f037147d6e6c911a85753b9abdedda8d)
You are viewing a comment permalink. View the original post to see all comments and the full post content.
Comments (658)
Use with caution, however.
I don't understand the link. It doesn't mention fish oil but does suggest that she changed her medication (for depression and anorexia) and then experienced suicidal ideation, which she later acted upon. Medications causing suicidal ideation is not unheard of but I haven't heard of Omega-3 having any such effect.
Some googling gives me more information. It seems that her psychiatrist was transitioning her from one antidepressant to another, and adding fish oil supplements. There is also suggestions that her depression was bipolar. Going off an antidepressant is known to provoke manic episodes in bipolar patients and even those vulnerable to bipolar that had never had an episode. Going on to an antidepressant (and in particular SSRIs, for both 'on' and 'off') can also provoke mania. A manic episode while suffering withdrawal symptoms and the symptoms of a preexisting anxiety based disorder is a recipe for suicide. As for Omega-3... the prior for her being responsible is low and she just happened to be on the scene when people were looking for something to blame!
Ah, sorry, I should have checked. (I guess it seemed an important enough detail that I just assumed it would be mentioned.)
Here (18:20 in the video) is an explicit mention of the fish oil, by her mother; apparently she was taking 12 tablets daily.
The way I had interpreted it, which prompted my caution above, was as a case of replacing antidepressants with fish oil, which seems unwise. Looking at it again now reveals there was in fact a plan to continue with antidepressants. It's unclear, however, how far along she was with this plan.
In any case, you're right that fish oil may not necessarily have been to blame as the trigger for suicide; but at the very least, it certainly didn't work here, and to the extent that it may have replaced the regular antidepressant treatment...that would seem a rather dubious decision.