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High-Risk Pregnancy
MrsAJL
member
Type 1/Type 2 Diabetics - Folic Acid
MrsAJL
member
I was wondering how much folic acid y'all were taking daily. I know most OTC prenatals only have about 400 or 800 mcg, maybe 1 mg.
My NP today said that she recommended to her Type 1/Type 2 patients that they take 4 MG (4000 mcg) of folic acid.
Is anyone taking that amount or close to it?
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Type 1/Type 2 Diabetics - Folic Acid
She was telling me that some studies have shown that woman with Type 1 and uncontrolled Type 2 diabetes are at a significant risk for neural tube defects, but now that I'm doing my own search on PubMed, I can't seem to find anything that supports taking 4 mg of folic acid (unless you've had a prior pregnancy with a neural tube defect, which I haven't) and that .8 to 1 mg is sufficient.
I'm just going to stick to what I've been taking (.8 mg) and ask my OB at my next appt.
The maximum recommended dose for Folic Acid is 1000 mcg or 1 mg. It is a water soluble vitamin so you would probably just excrete the extra in urine or feces. But, I did find a list of possible side effects for Folic Acid overdose:
"However, consumption of more than 1000 mcg on a daily basis, for a long period of time, can result in some problems. Some of the symptoms of folic acid overdose are as follows:
- Diarrhea
- Insomnia
- Digestive problems (such as nausea or gas)
- Rash
- Zinc deficiency
- Psychotic behavior
- Bitter taste in the mouth
- Irritability, excitability, or hyperactivity
- Seizures"
Hope that helps. I am diabetic and have never with my pregnancies been told to take more than my daily prenatal vitamin.That's pretty much the information I was finding, too.
My doctor has me also taking 4000 mcg of folic acid. I forget why she said so much, but I asked her a few times if that is too much and she swears it is not.
Lurker puts in her two cents...
I'm a NP and would definitely recommend that you take 4,000 mcg of folic acid. Already having had a child with a neural tube defect, family hx of NTD, epilepsy and having had diabetes before pregnancy puts you at a higher risk of having a child with a neural tube defect. So you need extra folic acid - up to 4,000-5,000 mcg per day. Most providers actually recommend that you to start taking this higher dose of folic acid 3 months before becoming pregnant,
Please follow the advice of your trained medical professional and not what you've heard or read on the internet.
See the paragraph on "who might need extra folic acid" for additional information.
https://www.babyzone.com/preconception/getting_pregnant/article/folic-acid-why-when-how-pg3
Good Luck!
Make a pregnancy ticker
Thank you for that information. I have been taking 1mg of folic acid as part of a prenatal vitamin, daily, for the last 5 years. I'm not too concerned with my preconception levels of folic acid. The PA offered the increased level of folic acid as a recommendation but did not provide a prescription. Her comment to me was because I didn't have any history of NTDs with my previous pregnancy and have well controlled Type 2 diabetes, it wasn't imperative that I take the high dosage but it was available to me. I will consult with my OB when I see her in 2 weeks.