Folic Acid - How much is right?

[Just_married]

Hi There,
I was wondering what you lot think about Folic Acid levels? Reason I am asking is my doc prescribed me 400 microgram per day, but I have a close friend who recommends taking 5mg daily (12 times as much). She is the same age as me and had a 37 wk stillbirth last year due to Spina Bifida and said her doc advised and prescribed 5mg due to her age and previous. She is now 17 weeks and all scans showing healthy baby.
I am TTC, starting month 4 and just wanting to give any embryo the absolute best start. I'm also taking iron & b12 due to a long term deficiency caused by gluten intolerance, but I had this years ago too and conceived/delivered no probs.
Thanks for your help,
JM

 

[canuckgirl]

Hi just_married! my "regular" doctor had told me that taking a multi vitamin with 400mcg was fine. but....when i saw my first FS, they gave me a prescription for 5mg of folic acid. at first i thought that was way too much considering the level that most vitamins have of it. but i guess she is the doctor, not me. i have been on that dose now for almost 10 months. fyi...i am 38yrs old, so maybe it was the age that made her up my dose. hope this helps!

 

[Junebug_CJ]

Hi there, in women with a personal history of spina bifida in themselves, or a child, or a sibling, it is recommended to take 5mg. For women without a family or personal history of spina bifida, anywhere from what's in a regular prenatal vitamin (400micrograms) to 1mg per day is sufficient! I'm a medical geneticist, this is what I recommend to my patients and these are the guidelines are pretty much the same worldwide. Although more and more, we're encouraging a dose of 2 mg per day since most women will forget to take it several times per week and this is to help compensate for that! Hope this helps

 

[BeachChica]

Just married - normally the amount you get in a prenatal vitamin should be sufficient. It depends on each person though so you would not be able to compare to what someone else is taking. Your doctor can do a blood test to ensure you are at the right level. Taking too much Folic Acid is not good either, as it can mask a B12 deficiency.

 

[Just_married]

Thanks for your replies, I think I'll just need to talk to my doctor about it as there seems to be a lot of different views. I am also taking b12 and iron as I mentioned before due to a previous reaction to gluten before food labelling changed recently, so I think my doctor might give me a higher dose of folic acid anyway, just to ensure its absorbed. I was also a little bit undernourished when i was pregnant with my daughter and my pregnancy was fine, but I think watching my friend go through such trauma has made me very wary and I'm just trying to get as much nutrients through food and tablets as I possibly can. She was on the 'normal' dose of Folic acid with her previous pregnancy and it made no difference, so that is why I was asking.

Thanks again,
JM x

 

[Butterfly67]

Completely agree with Junebug (obviously as she is a medical professional!). I did a lot of research about folic acid for a project that I was working on and yes the normal dose is 400mcg. As JB says, 5mg is prescribed because your friend had a history of a child with Spina Bifida. You shouldn't take that high a dose without your doctor recommending it as you will need a blood test for B12 deficiency (correct me if I am wrong JB). I got into a slight altercation with another forum member who was going round recommending 5mg to all and sundry

ETA sorry BeachChica you already said about b12 blood test

 

[Just_married]

Yeah butterfly, like I said I'm gonna ask my doctor. And I also mentioned a few times that I already have a been diagnosed with a slight b12 defficiency so I'm already taking b12 and iron due to undernourishment after a reaction to gluten. Just thinking if I'm already undernourished then a higher dose might be prescribed. I'll let you know what she says and you can all compare notes lol x
Thanks all x

 

[Butterfly67]

Sorry JM I didn't put 2 and 2 together (and read first post properly) that the gluten thing was a b12 deficiency! Hope you can get it sorted with your doc

 

[crystal443]

Hi I was take a prenatal plus a folic acid , I also have to take B12 because I'm deficient but I have to take it by injection monthly. If you can't absorb it and that's why your deficient you might have to take injections I have tried to take it orally and it didn't work, you can get a blood test to find out if the tablets are working good luck!!

 

[Wendyk07]

My friend has Pernicious anemia and needs to take folic acid on a regular basis as well as getting B12 shots monthly(ouch!). When she was ttc her GP prescribed folic acid. I am not sure of the strength though but i know that the 400micrograms was not enough for her. What i am really saying here is that you should talk to your GP and get the proper perscription for you.

Wishing you all the best on your ttc journey.

 

[crystal443]

WSS you really need to have bloodwork done to see what all your levels are

 

[Just_married]

Thanks guys, making appt, my mum has pernicious anemia too, so doc is always keeping an eye on me, thankfully not needing injections. Food labelling laws changed recently and I didnt realise I was eating a trace of gluten regularly - so hopefully now that I'm eating properly all my levels will get better.
I appreciate all your responses, thanks to u all! x