Taking two prenatals (accidentally)

greeneyed_bride

I've had this problem several times now: I will think to myself, "I need to take my prenatal vitamin." Then and hour or so later, I will realize that I can't remember if I actually took it or just planned to take it and then forgot. I did it again today, and I can't for the life of me remember if I took it. I asked DH (he's a doctor) if it would be bad for me if I took two in a day, and he said no. Then I asked if it would make me feel sick, and he said that it might. So now I'm not sure if I should take one if it's just going to make me sick (I know that too much iron can irritate your stomach and cause nausea.) Should I take it and risk taking two or skip it and risk taking none? Have you ever taken two in a day, and if so, did you get sick?

Tritium

My understanding is that if you've been taking the vitamins all along, and you're eating well besides, it should make very little or no difference to your overall nutrition if you skip one day of vitamins.  If I were concerned about doubling the dose and getting sick, I would not take the vitamin and risk skipping one day.  Just resume tomorrow and you'll be fine.

mkarns

I would just skip it. It's not really a risk, if you take them regularly. Nothing earth shattering will happen. Do you have a specific time you take them during the day? Im pretty forgetful and its worse now that I'm pregnant but I've found taking my vitamins right before bed has become routine and I haven't forgotten even once. If you're taking them at different times it would be easy to forget.

glitzandglitter

I'd skip it. I had this same problem so I started putting a check mark on the calendar after I took my PNV so I knew whether I took it already or not.

missyscadoo

When in doubt I skip. It's not such a big deal if it only happens a couple times. I think I have had to wonder twice now and I just skipped or only took one. Still not sure... Like a pp said, plenty of people had healthy babies before the vitamins and it would be worse for you if it made you sick and miss meals for the rest of the day. I take mine with dinner or a glass of juice. 

greeneyed_bride

JennR82:

I'd skip it. I had this same problem so I started putting a check mark on the calendar after I took my PNV so I knew whether I took it already or not.

You're a genius! I'm going to start doing this.

Thanks for your responses, everyone! I'll just skip it for today. I prefer to take my vitamins with food, so I try to take it every morning with breakfast, but if I forget, then I have to wait until lunch. I think that's why I forget if I've taken it or just thought about it.

pittOPcouple

My husband got me a small pill holder. One that has each day of the week on it. This way I know for sure if I've taken it or not. I refill it every Sunday. It sets right by the sink in the bathroom.

KRISTA555

If you take extra, your body will just pee out anything you didn't use.

Skipping one day isn't going to make a difference.  I forgot all the time when I was pregnant with DD (one time I think I forgot a whole week!) , and she is perfectly healthy.

RebeccaLovesChris

pittOPcouple:

My husband got me a small pill holder. One that has each day of the week on it. This way I know for sure if I've taken it or not. I refill it every Sunday. It sets right by the sink in the bathroom.

Yes!  This is what I use too.  I totally feel like my grandma using it and DH makes fun of me, but I would totally forget if I didn't! 

corbinsmine

I would ask your doctor what to do if you take more than one, because I know to much of something can harm the baby even though you pee it out.

GranolaGirl06

KRISTA555:

If you take extra, your body will just pee out anything you didn't use.

Skipping one day isn't going to make a difference.  I forgot all the time when I was pregnant with DD (one time I think I forgot a whole week!) , and she is perfectly healthy.

That's not entirely true on the bolded part.  You pee out water soluable vitamins such as vitamin B & C.  Vitamins A, D, E, & K are fat soluable vitamins.  You don't pee out excess amounts of them.  Your body stores them. 

Regardless, to the OP just skip it.  One day isn't going to hurt you.  Heck, at the orders of my doctor I haven't been on prenatals since week 6 because of all the morning sickness and my baby is doing awesome.  I'm trying to start back now but having a hard time finding one that doesn't make me sick.  As PP already said, people had very healthy babies before prenatals were around.  You'll be fine. 

Thall5

I'd say skip it for sure. I used to forget if I took them, and took 2 one day. I was sicker than a dog a few hours later. No good. It only gave me a gut ache, but a really bad one. I also switched to taking them at night, that way I remember.