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AIBU?

Folic acid, feel like I'm dying.

26 replies

Happy20 · 30/06/2020 15:06

I really am looking for anyone else that may have experienced what I'm going through with folic acid.

I've been taking it for nearly a year now and all was fine up until about 4 months ago (just as my periods stopped, wether a coincidence or not?)
When taking them suddenly made me feel really awful.
To begin with I didn't believe it could be due to the folic acid so cut everything and then reintroduced stuff singularly and gradually but as soon as I did over two days of folic acid I got the same symptoms.

It doesn't matter when I take them (morning or night) but they would make me feel like my insides were shivering, I would feel a bit confused, get awful tummy aches, feel dizzy and if taken in the evening I would wake up in the middle of the night with all these symptoms plus a hot flush/temperature feeling and this awful feeling of impending doom.

I've told my Doctor who seems to think it's impossible to be the folic acid but hand on heart I've cut everything and tested it twice now and both times the same thing has happened.

I'm taking 500mg once a day, so not even that high a dose and taking it with food.

Please tell me this has happened to other people and I'm not going mad!
Also some anecdotal evidence of others would be good to go armed with for my next Doctors appointment.

OP posts:
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LaughingDonkey · 30/06/2020 15:13

I was sick (hangover and ''before throwing up'' type of feelings) when trying to take folic acid on its own, I then switched to ''PregnaCare before conception multi vitamins'' (inc. folic asid) and it was fine.

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LaughingDonkey · 30/06/2020 15:14

Acid*

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Happy20 · 30/06/2020 15:18

That's interesting LaughingDonkey. It's a good alternative I could discuss with the Doctor.

The only thing is I was ok taking it for a good 8/9 months or so.

OP posts:
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RainbowBabyDreams · 30/06/2020 15:18

Folic acid is added to bread in a lot of countries, which they wouldn't be allowed to do if it was unsafe. It helps form healthy red blood cells so i wonder how it could have stopped your periods.

Why have you been taking it so long, are you ttc? If so, and your periods have stopped, have you taken a pregnancy test?

What did your doctor say he will be doing to investigate the periods otherwise?

In any case a dose for a non pregnant woman would be 400mg afaik

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RainbowBabyDreams · 30/06/2020 15:21

It does have some weird side affects listed though when taken as a supplement. I'd take a smaller dose if you truly think it's that.

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MulberryPeony · 30/06/2020 15:21

Like @LaughingDonkey I struggled with folic acid during pregnancy and swapped to pregnacare which was much better. Worth a try if it has the right amount in.

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KaTetof19 · 30/06/2020 15:22

I took folic acid without issue with DD1.

DD2 it made me sick, very similar symptoms to those you've described. My midwife told me to just stop taking it, but I was only taking it for pregnancy reasons.

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MaxNormal · 30/06/2020 15:24

Can I check was it definitely milligrams you were taking, rather than micrograms?

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PanicOnTheStreets85 · 30/06/2020 15:27

Some people do have reactions (although quite rare)

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6299334/

As op suggest, it might be worth trying a few different brands just to be sure.

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PanicOnTheStreets85 · 30/06/2020 15:27

Sorry pp not op

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julybaby32 · 30/06/2020 15:28

Maybe talk to your pharmacist as well as your doctor the problem may be with something in that particular formulation rather than the folic acid itself. I have a vague and foggy recollections that that one of the B vitamins could be problematic if another vitamin was not present in sufficient quantities. That's a recollection of one random internet person, from a textbook she read at least 30 years ago, so it is a place you can maybe start with a conversation, not me telling you this actually is the problem.

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Rudolphian · 30/06/2020 15:33

I had to take a 5mg dose when ttc. I took for 3 months prior to starting ttc. It took me over 9 months to conceive and then another 3 months while pregnant. At the start I was ok. By the end I was having severe indigestion symptoms. If I missed a day of the folic acid my symptoms would be better. But I had to persevere otherwise the risks of not taking it would be too high for myself. It's part of the reason I am hesitant to try again for another child. Not keen on having to take it for months on end again.

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LaughingDonkey · 30/06/2020 15:33

Here are pics of vitamins I'm using (you can see nutritional information on the 2nd pic).

I take them right after the food with half glass of orange juice as it helps to absorb vitamins. No side effects Smile

Folic acid, feel like I'm dying.
Folic acid, feel like I'm dying.
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goingoverground · 30/06/2020 15:37

Here's a link to known side effects:

www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingredientmono-1017/folic-acid

Some of your symptoms could be caused by the folic acid. Have you discussed the feeling of impending doom with your GP? That and the hot flushes could be a sign of heart disease, which folic acid can exacerbate. It could also be many other things but it is a symptom that should be investigated.

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Arealnumber · 30/06/2020 15:37

You're probably part of the 20% of the population who have the MTHFR gene and cannot process folic acid safely. Folic acid is synthetic. You need the natural form - folate. It's more complicated than that though. You need to see a really good nutritionist. Dr Ben Lynch (USA) & Caroline Ledowsky (Australia) are the world authorities on MTHFR. You can be tested for it. Folic acid is actually really quite controversial - it has resale quite damaging effects for a significant part of the population. Incredible we hear so little about it in UK hey!

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RedCatBlueCat · 30/06/2020 16:41

500mg is a massive dose.
400um is the standard pregnancy daily amount.
How much are you taking?

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MiniMum97 · 30/06/2020 16:48

Try folate rather than folic acid. Folic avid can cause health issues...

www.healthline.com/nutrition/folic-acid-vs-folate#folic-acid

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MrsNoah2020 · 30/06/2020 17:07

You're probably part of the 20% of the population who have the MTHFR gene and cannot process folic acid safely. Folic acid is synthetic. You need the natural form - folate. It's more complicated than that though. You need to see a really good nutritionist. Dr Ben Lynch (USA) & Caroline Ledowsky (Australia) are the world authorities on MTHFR. You can be tested for it. Folic acid is actually really quite controversial - it has resale quite damaging effects for a significant part of the population. Incredible we hear so little about it in UK hey!

That''ll be because most of what Lynch & co say is absolute bollocks, made up to peddle cures for imaginary diseases caused by 'dirty genes' Hmm

However, it is true that not everyone responds well to high doses of folic acid. Talk to your GP, OP. Do you actually need it? Could you increase your dietary intake of folate instead?

Do not stop taking it if it has been prescribed without talking to a doctor first, though.

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RainbowBabyDreams · 30/06/2020 17:08

Yeah I didn't mean mg when I said 400mg. I don't have the symbol for the smaller unit :-/

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HappyHammy · 30/06/2020 17:12

It wont be 500mg. Is it the lactose free one. Some people react to that.

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HappyHammy · 30/06/2020 17:17

What are you taking it for.

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Couchbettato · 30/06/2020 17:27

I was one of those people who didn't respond well at all to folic acid and throughout my pregnancy I ate kiwi, skin included, every day because they're high in folate.

My doctor's also tried saying there's no way that folic acid can make me feel so rancid but the day I stopped taking it I felt much better.

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MrsNoah2020 · 30/06/2020 17:32

I don't have the symbol for the smaller unit

Micrograms (mcg) - I assumed that was what you meant.

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INeedNewShoes · 30/06/2020 17:40

I haven’t read all the responses so apologies if I’m repeating others, but it would be worth taking folate instead of folic acid. Something like 1 in 4 people can’t process folic acid properly leading to these sort of problems. Folate is folic acid in its more natural state.

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UserFriendly14 · 30/06/2020 17:49

Same as PP, folic acid in my first pregnancy make me feel horrific and sick as anything. Not taken it in second pregnancy and sickness has been 10x better. (Not saying they’re 100% related, but even the thought of it turns my stomach now).

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