I need to do something...

[cmp]

Hello everyone, I joined this forum years ago and have had a lot of life changes since then.
I'm finally WTT and very excited about it! I don't have an exact date yet, although I'm thinking April at the absolute earliest...probably May though.

Anyway, I'm the type of person that MUST research everything to be prepared and right now, my main focus is prenatal vitamins. I would like to start taking them as soon as possible, so my body is ready and as healthy as it can be when the time comes. However, I am now horribly overwhelmed by the options! What are all of you taking now, or have taken before?
I had thought Rainbow Light would be good for me, I tend to feel sick from taking vitamins in the first place, but I have myself worried because it's folic acid and not folate. And apparently the pills are very large? I feel like ginger in the vitamins will be helpful for me as well.

Any suggestions would be appreciated...I can't believe how nervous I am already, I'm driving myself crazy! DHA and any other supplement advice is also welcome...I haven't even gotten started on that stuff yet.

Be prepared for many stupid questions from me in the future.

 

[arturia]

My gyne recommended I start taking them a month in advance.

I'm not sure folate vs folic acid matters much so long as they get processed to the same end product. I don't know off the top of my head if they do. Maybe someone else knows?

I've read that some prenatals don't come with iron. You want iron, as it's a challenge to meet that 27mg through diet. Be sure to check the ingredient list.

Be careful if you're taking other supplements at the same time as some may put you over the healthy limit when combined. Like if, for example, you are taking fish oil caplets. I've read some contain an excessive amount of Vitamin A in a form that can rise to toxic levels for the baby.

In the end, you will probably serve yourself best if, sometime prior to pregnancy, you get your yearly check-up or a pregnancy consultation with your doctor in order to check your nutrient levels, and address any concerns as soon as possible. Some can take months of supplementation to rise to healthy levels in your bloodstream.

Good luck!

 

[cmp]

I'm definitely planning on a yearly here pretty soon, I'm hoping in the next month...I have to find a doctor first. I haven't been in several years because I did not have insurance and to be quite honest, I'm terrified something could be wrong. About 10 years ago, I had precancerous cells that were removed...I'm so afraid that they've come back.

I used to be anemic, so iron is done of the deficiencies I need to worry about, but when I used to take iron pills, they made me very nauseous. Same with calcium, so I'll have to figure out how to keep those from ruining my day. Calcium needs to be taken at a different time of day, correct? Or is a calcium supplement not as important as I'm thinking it is?

 

[arturia]

I hear you on the anemia issue.

Calcium pairs well with vitamin D I believe, and non-heme iron (You find it in iron tabs and vegetables, whereas meat is heme iron) pairs with vitamin C for maximum absorption. A quick google search tells me that Calcium and Iron likely do interfere with each other.

Last time I picked up iron tablets, the pharmacist told me that they can make you feel nauseous, it's normal. I've never taken calcium supplements, so I can't speak on that.

 

[arturia]

Sorry to (potentially) double post.

If you'd like to locate more medical information on your own, I've used some of the websites listed here to get information: https://caphis.mlanet.org/consumer/

My favourites being mayoclinic and nlm.nih.gov. The former because as a software developer, one of my companies made software for the local health board, and mayoclinic got used as a reference. The latter because they post studies, although those are hard to read.

You should always check several credible sources before you decide if anything you read about medicine on the internet is true, and then it's not a bad idea to ask your doctor or even a pharmacist. (Pharmacists have to learn biological chemistry, they can probably answer your questions far better than I, and they are probably free to talk to.) There are countless sources of misinformation out there and it's super easy to fall for a bad one.

Best of luck.

 

[Sunshine Star]

Hi cmp, I'd like to join your post. Thinking April is our ttc month. I had a miscarriage last year and hoping to start in April making our baby! I take seven seas trying for a baby supplements already, which contain folic acid iron and vitamin d. They're small pills which I don't even need water to swallow.

 

[cmp]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone! I didn't think about it until just now, but I was hospitalized several years ago with pneumonia that was killing me...I am not allowed to take most medications because of the possibility of blood clots. I'm going to have to ask my doctor a lot of questions I believe. Hopefully the more natural the pills are, the less likely I'll have issues.