Vitamin A

[MoominMaiden]

How long before TTC did you stop taking multivitamins with vitamin A?
We will begin TTC in November and I was planning on starting conception vitamins 2 weeks before our TTC date, but I have been taking normal multivits for a couple of months.
Does anyone know if this is a long enough gap to leave, I'm particularly thinking about the vitamin A in the normal multivitamins.

Thanks in advance

 

[arturia]

I read online in various places that you can take up to 10000 IU (3000 RAE in case you're seeing that measurement instead) of preformed vitamin A per day while pregnant. You'll see that on the label as possibly Vitamin A Acetate or Retinol. (Confirm that with a pharmacist I'd recommend) The natural sources of preformed A are mostly meats, particularly liver, but regular meat doesn't usually have -too- much, so as long as you're not going close to that limit with supplements and then gorging on meats or eating liver often you probably won't cross it.

Vegetable sources don't usually count, by the way. You'll get your A as carotenoids from those. (go hard on the sweet potato!)

Since the upper tolerable limit is the same for non-pregnant adults, it's unlikely you've been crossing it. So don't worry unless you're taking extra-strong vitamins at the direction of your doctor, or doubling up by accident taking a multivit and fish oil tabs.

That being said, do switch to a prenatal form since they'll supply you with beta carotene, more folic acid, and possibly the iron you'll probably need too.