Folic acid prescription?

[MidgetGem]

Hey,

Has anyone been prescribed folic acid after a blood test showed lack of vitamins and minerals?

And if u've had it before did it give u any side effects??

TIA xx

[rcanina]

cereals are fortified

[Amaretto]

Wayyy back in the day, I had a severe B12/folate deficiency combined with bleeding, all ED-related. They ended up giving me blood for the short term, but afterward I was given supplements for a while too.
I didn't have any notable side effects. Folate is a type of B-vitamin, which are all water-soluble. This typically means toxicity is very low since the excess gets excreted in the urine, and because of that there usually aren't any serious side effects.
Well, usually, anyway. That being said, if you're given a very high dose for a long enough period of time, you're more likely to have them. Mostly stomach and digestive issues, like nausea, cramps, diarrhea, etc. So overall, it depends on how much they're going to give you, meaning you'll want to talk to the doctor for clarification.

[MidgetGem]

It's only 5mg but for 3 months. Good to know it's water soluble that makes me feel better about it for some reason, I take a pile of medication already so if I can just take what I need from this one and pee the rest out....!

Thanks for replying xx

[Amaretto]

5mg is a lot more than what's in typical OTC supplements, so you might be more likely to have some stomach discomfort and such. I still wouldn't be too worried, though. Just try it out, and I'm sure your doctor will gladly negotiate dosage with you if you end up not tolerating it well.

[natalier]

Have you heard of the MTFHR gene mutation? A significant percentage of population has this mutation, which basically means that "Individuals with the MTHFR gene actually have a difficult time processing folic acid that is present in most cheap supplements and added to processed foods." So, people who have the mutation cannot process the synthetic forms of these vitamins: (i.e. Folic Acid and Synthetic Vitamin B12). If you are not sure if you have this gene mutation, to be safe always go with the real form of folate (i.e. FOLATE and NOT Folic Acid). Or Methylcobalamin instead of the Synthetic forms of vitamin B12. If you are not aware of this topic, i suggest googling MTFHR and there are tons of info out there! All the best to you

[Chew]

I buy this at the health food shop