Vitamin D and calcium tablets through the entire pregnancy now?

[TotorosOcarina]

I went to see my GP today to tell her I am pregnant.

She asked if I am taking folic acid, and then said they now encourage you to also take vitamin D and calcium tablets throught the whole pregnancy.

The tablets are like 10p pieces - chewable and gross!

Has anyone else had this, have never heard it before!

I'd be interested to know exactly what the side effects of taking too much would be though?

FSA (and NHS) advice is that pregnant women should supplement with 10 micrograms (0.01 mg) of vitamin D each day, and that 25 micrograms (0.025 mg) or less of vitamin D supplements a day is unlikely to cause any harm.

They also say that the issue with taking high doses of vitamin D for long periods of time is that it could weaken your bones (but so could low levels).

www.eatwell.gov.uk/healthydiet/nutritionessentials/vitaminsandminerals/vitamind/

FWIW, Sanatogen's prenatal contains 12.5 micrograms of vitamin D.

I just take pregnacare which claims to have the RDA of vit D in pregnancy. I don't take a calcium supplement on top, but I do have 2 large glasses of milk a day plus a yoghurt and usually some cheese, so hopefully that's my RDA taken care of.

Apparently, taramasalata is one of the few foods to be naturally high in vit D...suits me as I love it, but not many do!

If you can stomac it, look at "overdose" down the page, it is a good abstract. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_D
If you read it don't panic but don't selfprescribe vitamin D. Ask your GP or midwife and tell them what you are already taking.

Vitamin D: 1 IU is the biological equivalent of 0.025 μg cholecalciferol/ergocalciferol

So 400iu is 10micrograms - the recommended amount and a safe amount.

Following NHS/FSA advice and taking a vitamin D supplement of around 10micrograms a day is not the same as self-prescribing a prescription dosage (e.g. 50,000iu)!

Np, I just had to translate to compare the guidelines.

I know people who have had to have doses of 50,000 iu, but this is usually done by IV in hospital afaik.

Taking handfuls/hundreds of any supplement is a bit silly IMO. And you'd have to do that to get to really dangerous levels of vitamin D.

what Japhrimel says.

normal recomended daily amount is 5 micrograms, 10 micrograms per day while pregnant, but the "upper limit" safe dose is 25 micrograms for babies under 12 months and 50 micrograms for everyone else (micrograms is denoted ug on the packet, with a squiggly "u").

So to OD you'd need to be taking more than 10 normal vit d tablets a day (probably much more than 10, as the "upper limit" will have a large safety margin built in), every day for MANY months (or 5 double dose pregnancy supplements a day for many many months), to even be running the risk of OD - the effects of which can be very serious indeed. But the side effects of deficiency/low levels of vit d are really very common in the uk, and present a MUCH bigger risk to both mother and child - I've mentioned cancer (many types), MS and schizophrenia and rickets in previous posts, and the risk of these appears to be related to your mothers vit d levels during pregnancy, and your levels in childhood (the further from the equator you are born/raised, the bigger your risk). Tests have shown that most people in the UK are either vit D deficient or have lower than optimal level in their blood - for most of the year, with an improvement in the summer months.

All my kids (even the 16 year old) get a multi vit with vit D at breakfast, and have done for years (this issue is not new, but the Uk has been very slow to advice what most countries have been advising for years....)

Mind you, we live so far north that in the winter the sun rises at about 9 and sets at about 4pm, and it stays low in the sky all day...... no chance of topping up naturally for 6 or 7 months of the year.

Forgot to say - the Adcal supplements usually contain sorbitol. I was prescribed them a while back and ended up having to pay to get my own supplements as I can't tolerate artificial sweeteners.

So if you don't like the prescription/healthy start version, get your own and check with the doctor that it provides the same amount.

I only saw my GP to tell him I'm pregnant on Tuesday and he didn't mention any of this. He knew I am taking folic acid, because I get it on prescription as I have to take a lot more than other people due to side effects of other drugs I am taking. I am planning to go and look into pregnancy vitamins tomorrow, but wonder if they all contain folic acid too. If they do, will I be overdosing on folic acid as I am already taking more than most people are advised? Does it matter if I take extra? I need to find a vitamin tablet that is not too big because I can't swallow big tablets without choking. I probably have very low calcium levels, as I don't like milk so don't have any at all and rarely have yoghurts though do eat quite a lot of cheese. I tried calcium tablets once but they were too big to swallow and tasted hideous.

Stegasaurus vit A and D are the only ones which causes problems as they are stored in fat. All the other ones are washed away in urine, if you take too much, not a problem.
CAn you ask your pharmacist, MW or GP for liquid vitamins?

Apparently low levels of vitamin D means you're more likely to have issues from too much vitamin A anyway.

stegasaurus - it's good to check with the doctor/midwife/pharmacist, but normal prenatal supplements contain relatively small doses of folic acid (400mg compared to the 4000-5000mg given on prescription). A prenatal supplement will also contain calcium - and won't contain vitamin A, as too much vitamin A is an issue when pregnant.

Many doctors are not aware of current guidance. You should get the NHS Pregnancy Book at your booking in appointment and that says to supplement vitamin D throughout pregnancy and folic acid for at least the first 12 weeks.

Yes butterfly and I agree with you, but in the UK there is so much selfmedication that it is worth pointing out the things you have to be carefull about.
I do have high dose vitamin D for the children, and those should never been taken if pregnant or BF.

I was just answerring stega question about VitB12, not ignoring your post.

Japh pregnancy vitamins do contain vitamin A, the previtA form you found in carrots/apricot... that you can have as many as you want during pregnancy, only the animal form is restricted (proretinol) found in livers...