Folic acid question

[Mummy to be x]

I'm currently taking just normal, sainsburys brand folic acid tablets as the multi vitamins gave me awful head aches so my MW suggested just taking normal folic acid and vitamin D.

I'm 12 weeks now and am I right in thinking you stop taking folic acid at twelve weeks? I'm sure that's what I was told in 2010 when I was pregnant with my daughter.

So my question is, do I continue to take both folic acid and vitamin D?

 

[bridgetboo62]

i dont know but im curious so...stalking

 

[sethsmummy]

its most important to take it upto 12 weeks and although not neccessary after that i have always been adviced to keep taking it xx

 

[bridgetboo62]

yeah that makes sense because my sister is due in the end of july and she is still taking her prenatal vitamins (they contain folic acid)

 

[ttc126]

Since your blood volume increases so much during pregnancy it's better to keep taking it. Folic acid is one of the building blocks of healthy blood. Ask your midwife what's best for you, but with the blood disorder I have in supposed to take up to 5000 mcg of folic acid per day the whole pregnancy.

 

[Angelbaby_01]

I am suppose to take 5mg the entire pregnancy due to my losses.

 

[Mummy to be x]

So it certainly won't harm to continue taking my usual tablet? I'm sure my tablets are 400mg, does that sound right?

 

[bridgetboo62]

should be 400 micrograms! (mcg)
400 milligrams is waaaaay too much
but you cant overdose on folic acid
taking a lot wont hurt you it just wont be absorbed by your body and will be excreted

 

[Mummy to be x]

I could be wrong I just know it's 400 something, I'm going to check my tub now lol

 

[Mummy to be x]

It's not 400 mg

 

[Angelbaby_01]

400mcg is the lowest dose and usually found in pre-natals. 5mg is the highest and should not be exceeded. Don't know if you have it where you are, but you can even try folic forte ( I am not shure about the exact name). It's also folic acid in a pre-natal form, but without all the other vitamins.

 

[bridgetboo62]

i dont think i could handle 5mgs
i accidentally got 1000 mcgs instead of 400 mcgs and
it made me feel like i was so speed all anxious and twitchy

 

[ttc126]

Fortunately for me 5mg seems to not make me feel any different... maybe less tired than otherwise. It's certainly helped my blood count not be as low.

 

[bridgetboo62]

well thats good
yeah 1000 mcg gave me bad jitters and anxiety

 

[Angelbaby_01]

If you say anxiety then maybe this is why my heart is racing like a horse................

 

[NDurham12]

Interesting post.

Folic Acid is synthetic. Your body has to digest it into it's native form of Folate.

When I first started taking prenatal vitamins, I just took what ever. But after more and more research and not feeling good after taking them, I started to only take vitamins that come from natural sources.

I really like New Chapter vitamins. Part of the reason I picked them is that part of their slogan is that you can take it on an empty stomach, also they have folate in both their multivitamin and prenatal vitamin.

I currently take all my vitamins on an empty stomach, first thing in the morning and I never had any bad feelings.

If you want to just get a good folate, I use Best Folate.

As far as not taking it, I would seriously advice against it. So much of your baby's health depends on it. There is such so much more risk at not taking it. Due to my personal medical issues, I did a DNA screening and found to be deficient in 5-mthf, which causes spina bifida, so now I'm actually on 2.5MG (yes, miligrams) of folate. Crazy thing is that 40% of people have this deficiency.

There are even studies that link autism to lack of mthfr (folate). Keep taking it!!!!

 

[bridgetboo62]

yeah like that
1000mcgs would make my heart race

 

[sethsmummy]

should be 400 micrograms! (mcg)
400 milligrams is waaaaay too much
but you cant overdose on folic acid
taking a lot wont hurt you it just wont be absorbed by your body and will be excreted

its true you cant really overdose on it but it does cause effects when taken at a high dose...

Folic acid is LIKELY SAFE for most people. Most adults do not experience any side effects when consuming the recommended amount each day, which is 400 mcg.

High doses of folic acid might cause abdominal cramps, diarrhea, rash, sleep disorders, irritability, confusion, nausea, stomach upset, behavior changes, skin reactions, seizures, gas, excitability, and other side effects.

There is some concern that taking too much folic acid for a long period of time might cause serious side effects. Some research suggests that taking folic acid in doses of 800-1200 mcg might increase the risk of heart attack in people who have heart problems. Other research suggests that taking these high doses might also increase the risk of cancer such as lung or prostate cancer.

Don't take more than 400 mcg per day unless directed by your healthcare provider.

 

[Mummy1210]

I actually stopped taking folic acid when I was 6weeks with my last pregnancy, because the folic acid was making me horrendously sick. My daughter was very healthy x

 

[Hellymay83]

I've had to stop taking folic acid, it wad making me extremely ill, racing heart, headaches, anxiety, like I was on another planet. I spoke to my midwife about it, she said in rare cases women get these side affects to folic acid and recommended I take one every other day, which I did up until a week ago but was still feeling very poorly so she told me to stop 😏