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Hi Sara and/or Tex, and/or Polly (or anyone else who wants to chime in!)
In light of trying to conceive, do you think it's enough to take a B vitamin and 5000 IU's of vitamin D until I can get to the nutritionist in mid-September?
This is what's in the B-vitamin:
Thiamin 50 mg
Riboflavin 50 mg
Niacin 55 mg
Vitamin B6 50 mg
Folic Acid 400 mcg
Vitamin B12 50 mcg
Biotin 300 mcg
Pantothenic Acid 100 mcg
Thanks!
Elizabeth
Quick question about supplementation
Moderators: Rosie, Stanz, Jean, CAMary, moremuscle, JFR, Dee, xet, Peggy, Matthew, Gabes-Apg, grannyh, Gloria, Mars, starfire, Polly, Joefnh
Elizabeth,
The most important thing (IMO) while TTC is - to be as healthy as possible. As long as that B-complex contains nothing that aggravates you - great. If your gut is still inflamed from MC, and continues to be aggravated by something you're still eating, it will be hard to absorb those good B-vites...
I take 4000-6000IU of Vitamin D most days (some days I know I'll get a lot of sun, at this time of year). I will be getting the results of my recent blood tests, including Vitamin D, in a couple of weeks. I don't think 5000IU is excessive - and again, I'd triple-check the supplement for possible food irritants (soy, wheat, gluten, etc.)
Hopefully in a couple of weeks, you'll get a clearer picture. Meantime - I'm pursuing eating in the "Paleo" family (lots of versions of this out there.. 'primal' or 'perfect health' - basically, it avoids grains/legumes/processed or agricultural foods/added sugars and focuses on what hunter-gatherers likely ate). This is my own story - I think everything I've subtracted has been a great idea, and only some of the things I've added have helped
While TTC, you're probably already focused on eliminating obvious no-nos... so you can probably get some great synergy going for eliminating "iffy" foods as well.
The "perfect health diet" fellow also has a clear set of recommendations on minerals. I'm supplementing magnesium topically at the moment, so it's hard to know how much I'm adding, by milligrams. I definitely think it helps, and using it on the skin means I'm minimizing the risk of a laxative effect... the last thing most of us would want!
Hope this helps, and best of luck with all aspects of health and hope!
Sara
The most important thing (IMO) while TTC is - to be as healthy as possible. As long as that B-complex contains nothing that aggravates you - great. If your gut is still inflamed from MC, and continues to be aggravated by something you're still eating, it will be hard to absorb those good B-vites...
I take 4000-6000IU of Vitamin D most days (some days I know I'll get a lot of sun, at this time of year). I will be getting the results of my recent blood tests, including Vitamin D, in a couple of weeks. I don't think 5000IU is excessive - and again, I'd triple-check the supplement for possible food irritants (soy, wheat, gluten, etc.)
Hopefully in a couple of weeks, you'll get a clearer picture. Meantime - I'm pursuing eating in the "Paleo" family (lots of versions of this out there.. 'primal' or 'perfect health' - basically, it avoids grains/legumes/processed or agricultural foods/added sugars and focuses on what hunter-gatherers likely ate). This is my own story - I think everything I've subtracted has been a great idea, and only some of the things I've added have helped
While TTC, you're probably already focused on eliminating obvious no-nos... so you can probably get some great synergy going for eliminating "iffy" foods as well.The "perfect health diet" fellow also has a clear set of recommendations on minerals. I'm supplementing magnesium topically at the moment, so it's hard to know how much I'm adding, by milligrams. I definitely think it helps, and using it on the skin means I'm minimizing the risk of a laxative effect... the last thing most of us would want!
Hope this helps, and best of luck with all aspects of health and hope!
Sara
Elizabeth,
If you are doing MRT I wouldn't change/add anything new right now. During the early weeks of MRT you will suspend use of all supplements and then add them back to test tolerance. Supplements are expensive, and depending on your results, ones you buy now may contain reactive ingredients and you won't be able to use them.
As for vitamin D I think it's necessary to know your levels to know how to supplement, otherwise you are shooting in the dark. If your level is low then you will need much higher doses to bring it into normal range.
Mary Beth
If you are doing MRT I wouldn't change/add anything new right now. During the early weeks of MRT you will suspend use of all supplements and then add them back to test tolerance. Supplements are expensive, and depending on your results, ones you buy now may contain reactive ingredients and you won't be able to use them.
As for vitamin D I think it's necessary to know your levels to know how to supplement, otherwise you are shooting in the dark. If your level is low then you will need much higher doses to bring it into normal range.
Mary Beth
"If you believe it will work out, you'll see opportunities. If you believe it won't you will see obstacles." - Dr. Wayne Dyer
Elizabeth,
Since, as Mary Beth pointed out, the LEAP diet is going to require dropping all vitamin supplements for a while, if I were in your shoes, I would get certain vitamin levels up to safe levels that will allow you to "coast" for a while, without worrying about becoming deficient at a critical time in life, (just prior to pregnancy). That multivitamin looks OK, provided that it does not contain any obvious ingredients that might be a problem. Of course, as you are probably aware, many of us have malabsorption problems that can linger for a while, so we typically don't absorb oral vitamins as well as "normal" people.
Statistically, most members here were low on vitamins B-12 and D initially. B-12 can be stored in the body for years, and used as needed, so if I were in your shoes, I would use a good sublingual lozenge that contains 1,000 mcg of B-12, and 400 mcg of folic acid, (because an adequate level of folate is necessary in order for the body to utilize B-12). The reason is because these two vitamins are extremely important for health, and they are commonly a victim of a malabsorption issue for most people with MC. Since overdose is a very low risk, for anyone with normal kidney function, I would consider such supplementation now, as good way to add to health insurance, especially since you will soon go through a trial period without any supplementation at all. IOW, I would "stock up" my body's supply now, so that I could coast for a while later, if necessary.
Most of us have less than an optimum level of vitamin D, and no one is going to overdose on 5,000 lU of D3, taken every day, for the rest of their life - that's a safe number, that you can adjust later, if 25(OH)D tests show that you need more or less, to meet your 25(OH)D goal for the long term. Vitamin D is so important for so many vital functions in the body, that we can't afford to err on the low side, (especially in view of all the suspected links between inadequate vitamin D levels during gestation, and childhood health issues).
Of course, this is just my opinion, and I'm not a doctor, so view it with a critical eye, and don't hesitate to modify it to fit your own situation.
Tex
Since, as Mary Beth pointed out, the LEAP diet is going to require dropping all vitamin supplements for a while, if I were in your shoes, I would get certain vitamin levels up to safe levels that will allow you to "coast" for a while, without worrying about becoming deficient at a critical time in life, (just prior to pregnancy). That multivitamin looks OK, provided that it does not contain any obvious ingredients that might be a problem. Of course, as you are probably aware, many of us have malabsorption problems that can linger for a while, so we typically don't absorb oral vitamins as well as "normal" people.
Statistically, most members here were low on vitamins B-12 and D initially. B-12 can be stored in the body for years, and used as needed, so if I were in your shoes, I would use a good sublingual lozenge that contains 1,000 mcg of B-12, and 400 mcg of folic acid, (because an adequate level of folate is necessary in order for the body to utilize B-12). The reason is because these two vitamins are extremely important for health, and they are commonly a victim of a malabsorption issue for most people with MC. Since overdose is a very low risk, for anyone with normal kidney function, I would consider such supplementation now, as good way to add to health insurance, especially since you will soon go through a trial period without any supplementation at all. IOW, I would "stock up" my body's supply now, so that I could coast for a while later, if necessary.
Most of us have less than an optimum level of vitamin D, and no one is going to overdose on 5,000 lU of D3, taken every day, for the rest of their life - that's a safe number, that you can adjust later, if 25(OH)D tests show that you need more or less, to meet your 25(OH)D goal for the long term. Vitamin D is so important for so many vital functions in the body, that we can't afford to err on the low side, (especially in view of all the suspected links between inadequate vitamin D levels during gestation, and childhood health issues).
Of course, this is just my opinion, and I'm not a doctor, so view it with a critical eye, and don't hesitate to modify it to fit your own situation.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.