If you take folic acid...

[becks]

I've just read that some possible side effects if taken in high doses are -

Abdominal cramps
Diarrhoea
Nausea
Stomach upset
Gas

These can also be pregnancy related symptoms too so how would we know? Do you think they are referring to EXTREMELY high doses? Getting a bit stressed now as I'm 7dpo and was feeling quite positive as my symptoms are...

Abdominal cramps ( ever so slight like af is due)
A feeling of needing to go to the toilet, a bit like when you have a tummy bug but normal stools ( sorry if tmi)
Feeling of Nausea coming and going throughout the day ( lots of!!!)
Gas
Lower back ache ( slightly)
Constant mild headache.


What are your thoughts girls? Do you think my symptoms sound promising?

This 2ww is killing me as I have so many symptoms that I've never had before.

Good luck to everyone this month xxx

 

[Isme]

I take folate rather than folic acic these days, but I have taken it previously and never experienced anything like that. I think they are probably talking about very high doses.

 

[becks]

The ones that I am takings called Pregfol and these are the recommended daily dose in one tablet. I only Googled it as these symptoms are so unusual for me. I was trying to think if I had done anything any different to cause these symptoms and apart from possible pregnancy the only other difference is taking the folic tabs xx

 

[Isme]

Well, after looking it up, that *is* quite a bit of folic acid. It's hard to say what's what during the TWW, but even if your symptoms are from the Pregfol, that doesn't mean you aren't also pregnant. Fingers crossed for you!

 

[lisap2008]

I was taking 3-5mg of folic acid a day for about 6 years until I read folate is better so I switched to folate last year I take 4-5mg a day, never had any side effects from taking the high dose.

 

[wannabemomy37]

You're supposed to take 400mg folic acid at least. I've also heard 800mg cab be used. Never heard of too much.

Folate is easier to digest, but it only comes from food, not supplements

 

[Isme]

You're supposed to take 400mg folic acid at least. I've also heard 800mg cab be used. Never heard of too much.

Folate is easier to digest, but it only comes from food, not supplements

There is an upper limit of just about everything, but yes, you can potentially take quite a bit of folic acid without any obvious negative effects. When I looked up Pregfol, I saw that a commonly prescribed dosage is around 5mg of folic acid. 5mg translates to 5,000mcg, which is actually way beyond the RDA of between 400mcg and 800mcg. (MG is a different and larger unit of measurement than MCG). Some women are prescribed those types of high dosages if they are at risk for neural tube defects, or if they have genetic conditions which make it hard for their body to convert folic acid into something usable by the body. (Though that is sometimes misguided, because in those individuals even the high doses are unable to be converted, and instead the synthetic folic acid can actually end up blocking the absorption of whatever real folate the person might get from food-- in which case, the large doses of folic acid end up doing more harm than good.) Folate is found in food, but it can definitely also be found in supplements. I would not have said that I take folate if it were not possible to do so. I have the bottle sitting on my kitchen counter and it is absolutely not folic acid, but instead it is activated folate, by the brand name of Metafolin.