side effect of viatmins

[karenanna]

Oh man, I am in panic even as I type my hands are sweating.
This is the third day I am supposed to take prenatal viatamins but they have
cause stomach gas. the gas didnt bother me so much, but this morning I
had d*. Do you think it could be the vitamins or maybe I cought a sv? I
didn't have d* the first two days and its been 24 hours since I took the
vitamin. I just ate and am getting n*. maybe its the panic? I need to hold it
togtheter today. its my husbands birthday. I'm not taking them anymore!

K

[crimgoddess]

I know for myself that when I have gas, I usually end up with diarrhea afterwards. And just because you have diarrhea, it does not mean that you will vomit, or that you have come down with something. I get diarrhea on an almost weekly basis (depending on what I eat), and I havent vomitted in months. It could have been anything that caused the diarrhea- food, the gas caused by the vitamins, or you could have caught something. Either way, if you panic it's just going to make the situation worse- or even make you feel nauseous when you are indeed fine.


And please- keep taking the prenatal vitamins. My boyfriend used to work in a pediatric ICU with children who were not born healthy- although the vitamis may make you feel kind of gross now, the reward will be the fact that you are more likely to have a healthy baby, and not have to deal with some of the problems he had to work with.


Hope you feel better, and your husband has a happy birthday


*amber*

[jenneth]

sounds like the d* could be from the pills, i wouldn't worry, its just your body doesn't know how to deal with it. i would talk to your doctor, he'll probably know if its the pills. as for the nausia, it really is probs just your anxaity! don't worry, if you've got a bug, then there isn't much you can do so try not to worry! have a chat to your doc, and i hope the outcome is good!

jen

[karenanna]

I feel a little better after an hour of pacing around the house. Thanks so
much for the reassurance. I guess it was the vitamin and it took another
panciking hour for me to force myself to take another one. I called my
doctor and made an appointment for this friday. THIS SUCKS! I am so
nervous.......

[sillygirl]

What vitamins are you on? I think the ones I take are called Citrical. I take the generic brand though, which is Cal-Nate. I used to get gas from them too. I always take them right before I go to bed, but when I first started taking them, if I didn't go to sleep right after taking them I would get gas and have these terrible tasting burps. I never switched brands though, because I figured I would rather deal with this than risk taking a vitamin that would make me v*. If you haven't v* from them after taking 3 or 4, I don't think you are going to.


After a few months the side effect (gas) completely went away. Now I don't have any problems at all. But as a precaution I still take it right before I go to bed, last thing before I crawl under the covers. And I always eat something right before I take it - either a piece of bread or a couple of crackers. Nothing much, just something for it to go down with. Hang in there, I bet your d* is caused by anxiety from worrying about taking the vitamins. You will be fine! And please don't stop taking them until you talk to your doctor. Especially if it is very early in your pregnancy, it is crucial that your baby get those nutrients.


By the way, congratulations! How far along are you? I am a little over 12 weeks, but I started taking the prenatals a couple months before I got pregnant because we were trying and my doctor said I might as well start them early.

[kellybean]

I don't know anything about pre natal vitamins, but I do know that with any vitamin, you should take them on a full stomach otherwise they can cause nausea and more than likely d*. Your d* was probably caused by anxiety though. I'm glad you are feeling better!!

[suze]

I'm not against taking vitamins but in the UK I don't think the medical profession advocate the taking of anything other than folic acid during the first trimester and I don't think we have a higher incidence of birth defects, premature babies etc than in any other developed country.


I'm not criticising the system here, but if they make you feel unwell, is it worth it? How much of the promotion of special vitamins for preganant women isfor commercial gain? My doctor has always said that a balanced, healthy diet is worth more than pills. Sorry for being cynical, I'm just weighing up the pros and cons here; if the vast majority of babies are born healthy in the UK, and we don't take anything other than folic acid, are they really necessary if they make you feel unwell and anxious? I'm open-minded though and prepared to be convinced otherwise - all babies are precious.

[karenanna]

The vitamins are PrimaCare One gelcaps. My doc put me on them because
we are trying I'm not preg yet... but hope to be soon. [Congrats
sillygirl, keep me updated] I just read that folic acid is the most important
in the first few months and that it rarely bothers the digestive system. It
also said the worst ingredient is the iron, which is hard to tollerate. I
wonder if my doctor will let me just take the folic acid... But, I also read
that the B vitamins are supposed to help releave morning sickness, so
naturally I was so excited to take them.

My stomach started getting very acidic at dinnertime today... like 6 hours
after I took the vitamin. It did that yesterday too and I felt so sick again.
I guess since I'm not pregnant yet I can skip it tomorrow and see the doc
on friday. I will ask her about Citrical. Does that make you acidy?

I think I ate before I took it today, but can't remember. good advice...

[suze]

Definitely stick to the folic acid, that is the most important of all. I would stop torturing yourself - people have been conceiving since time began without popping pills. Are you generally fit and well? Do you eat a balanced diet, with plenty of fruit and veg? If so, just take the folic. If these pills are making you feel unwell, and therefore anxious, then this will reduce your chances of conceiving anyway, as stress can reduce our fertility.


If vitamin B can help with morning sickness, then take a safe dose once you're pregnant. Most women know they're pregnant well before any feelings of morning sickness arise. If you do a test a week after your period was due, then you are about 5 weeks pregnant then (the counting starts from the first day of your last period). Morning sickness (or just nausea in my case - don't worry about this!) tends to start around weeks 7-8, so you've got plenty of time to get the vitmain B in.


I would agree that if you were not eating a balanced diet then vitamins might be useful, but if you are then I wouldn't bother. Just relax, try and feel good about yourself, and enjoy the sex! There's more chance of conceiving then, believe me!!

[suze]

Sorry me again, I've just looked on some UK sites, this extract is taken from the link below:


http://www.ukparents.co.uk/index.php...id=127&tit le=10+Things+to+Do+When+Trying+for+a+Baby


"Folic acid supplements are now well proven to help prevent neural tube defects, such as spina bifida and anencephaly. The dose needed is 400 micrograms per day, or 5mg per day if you have had a previously affected child or are taking medication for epilepsy. This is best taken for 3 months prior to pregnancy or at least as soon as you think you are pregnant - most of its useful effect will be before you even realise you are pregnant, so taking it beforehand is preferable. These can be stopped at 13 weeks gestation. For women who otherwise have a healthy diet, there is no need for extra vitamin supplements, but if you do not eat a healthy range of foods, then one of the multivitamins specifically for pregnancy might be advisable. Be sure it is one that does not have high levels of Vitamin A, which is toxic for a developing baby."

[sillygirl]

I agree with the statement suze posted. Folic Acid is the most important. As well as avoiding the vitamin A. Since you aren't pregnant, if it is bothering you that much you can probably skip a day and wait to see your doctor. I would still bet that the majority of your problem is anxiety - I felt the same way for the first few days. I just didn't feel right. When I finally convinced myself that the vitamins weren't going to make me sick, I never really had any other problems (besides the burping). It sounds like you must be taking them at some point during the day. Whether or not you take one today, when you do take them again I would really suggest taking them before you go to bed. Just eat a small snack with them and you will be fine.


Good luck trying! I went off the pill and started on the prenatals. My doctor told me to wait until I had three cycles off the pill, so we did and the first month we tried it worked! I never tried the vitamin B6 because I never really had morning sickness, but you can actually take it as a separate supplement. I was also told you can take Ginger supplements and they are supposed to help too. I hope you don't have to worry about any of it though!

[cheerio]

I am taking Natafort (a prescription). I took it with my other two pregnancies and tolerated it well. The iron can do weird things to your stomach. It can be very constipating and it seems to slow everything in your digestive system down. It does take about a month to get used to them. I take mine at night. I found it best to sleep any potential side effects off! My OB doc also gave me three other different sample packages to try. They are all newer vitamins that have omega fatty acids in it for better brain development.....I never took that before with my other kids and they both are pretty intelligent. I had a girlfriend who couldn't tolerate any brand when she was pregnant and her doctor told her to take two Flinstone chewables a day. Her babies were both fine too. Talk to your doctor and see if they can give you some guidance on a brand that is known to be well tolerated by many people. That's what I did with my first pregnancy. Good luck!

[sage]

If it makes anybody feel better, when I was pregnant with my first baby I was very emetophobic, and the vitamins made me feel gross...I didn't take them. Also, I was too sick later in pregnancy (nausea only) to really eat properly. I gained 25 pounds, then lost 10 for a total net of 15. The baby was 7 lbs, 8 oz girl (over the average). She's now 23 years old....normal, healthy [always has been], a genius, a gorgeous model, a professional ballet dancer. Go figure!


(Not that I recommend any of this....cuz AS FOR ME, I was quite UNHEALTHY over the past 23 years....but I'm just saying that the anxiety is a worse enemy for you and your baby than not taking vitamins.)

[crimgoddess]

Something I found online related to prenatal drugs/vitamins and healthy babies:


http://healthandfitness.sympatico.ms...ContentPosting .aspx?contentid=b45da74de70d49908f7b9a53a9de5d6a&a mp;show=Tr ue&number=6&showbyline=False&subtitle= &detec t=&abc=abc


Apparently Vitamin D is important- relates to your child having a healthy bone mass.


I think the odds of me getting everything through my diet when I'm pregnant are probably slim to nil. Not only do I have peculiar eating habits, but I'm guessing that morning sickness is a given for me. Runs in the family, and my mother, who I am very similar to in terms of body type and constitution- vomitted everyday until she reached the middle of her 8th month. I'm hoping that it wont be that severe- but I don't think I'll get off scot free either. Prenatal drugs for me it is.


*amber*

[madisonsmom]

I take a prenatal called Prima-Care. You take one in the morning that has vit D and DHA/ARA and other amino acids. Then you take one at night that has the rest of your vitamins you need during pregnancy. I dont have any problems with my vitamins. Never diarrhea.


It is really important to take them as mentioned!

[madisonsmom]

Sage also brought up a good point. It is probably better not to take them and have less anxiety.


Just FYI - PrimaCare has a prenatal designated for nausea/sensitive stomachs. [img]smileys/smilies_01.gif[/img]

[suze]

Look, I'm not being argumentative here, but why the need to take them? Other developed countries don't recommend anything other than folic acid, where the risks have been proven, inconclusively. Other than that, a healthy diet is all that is needed. If these things make you feel ill, then as emets, the anxiety is far more damaging to an unborn child and conception itself.

[suze]

Sorry Madison, repeated your point - must have been posting the same time!