Folic acid deficiency.

suzyjane1972
suzyjane1972 Posts: 612 Member
edited December 2024 in Food and Nutrition
Anyone else been diagnosed as deficient despite having a varied diet. On 5mg a day for 3 months then repeat bloods. No anemia which is good but it now explains a lot of vague symptoms I've been having for a while.

Replies

  • williammuney
    williammuney Posts: 2,895 Member
    Take a multi vitamin
  • suzyjane1972
    suzyjane1972 Posts: 612 Member
    As stated above I have a prescription.
  • MelaniaTrump
    MelaniaTrump Posts: 2,694 Member
    When you are done with the prescription. Take a multivitamin.
    If you were short on folic acid your diet may not fully rounded and you could be deficient in other things.
  • suzyjane1972
    suzyjane1972 Posts: 612 Member
    JanetYellen wrote: »
    When you are done with the prescription. Take a multivitamin.
    If you were short on folic acid your diet may not fully rounded and you could be deficient in other things.

    Depending on repeat bloods i might have to stay on high strength tablets. I thought I did have a good diet but obviously not as good as it should be. I have to have a full panel blood test to see if anything else is out of whack as well.
  • chunky_pinup
    chunky_pinup Posts: 758 Member
    May not have anything to do with your diet. I am deficient in folic acid and on a prescribed high-dose vitamin for it as well, but mine is due to an autoimmune disease. I could have a "perfect" diet and it wouldn't change this. Wait until your blood panel comes back to see if something else is triggering this, because even with a poor diet, folic acid isn't something you typically are deficient in unless there's another underlying issue.
  • suzyjane1972
    suzyjane1972 Posts: 612 Member
    chunky_pinup wrote: »
    May not have anything to do with your diet. I am deficient in folic acid and on a prescribed high-dose vitamin for it as well, but mine is due to an autoimmune disease. I could have a "perfect" diet and it wouldn't change this. Wait until your blood panel comes back to see if something else is triggering this, because even with a poor diet, folic acid isn't something you typically are deficient in unless there's another underlying issue.

    Is there something I should be specifically asking for?
  • Zewwy
    Zewwy Posts: 11 Member
    Aren't most women lacking in folic acid? That's why they recommend anyone who might get pregnant to take a supplement...
  • kirstenb13
    kirstenb13 Posts: 181 Member
    edited July 2016
    If it's only folic acid that you are deficient in I would guess it's more likely that you have a mutation in the MTHFR gene and your body isn't able to convert the typical pre-forms of folic acid from food into the form that the body uses. It's really pretty common, nothing to do with your diet. Your doctor could check you for that.

    https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-integrationist/201409/genetic-mutation-can-affect-mental-physical-health
  • CurlyCockney
    CurlyCockney Posts: 1,394 Member
    I had folate-deficient anaemia, and despite increasing the folic acid in my diet it didn't resolve. The only thing that's changed my blood test results is 5mg of folic acid twice a day (prescribed). My doctor thinks it's a malabsorption issue rather than a diet issue.
  • suzyjane1972
    suzyjane1972 Posts: 612 Member
    CurlyCockney wrote: »
    I had folate-deficient anaemia, and despite increasing the folic acid in my diet it didn't resolve. The only thing that's changed my blood test results is 5mg of folic acid twice a day (prescribed). My doctor thinks it's a malabsorption issue rather than a diet issue.
    kirstenb13 wrote: »
    If it's only folic acid that you are deficient in I would guess it's more likely that you have a mutation in the MTHFR gene and your body isn't able to convert the typical pre-forms of folic acid from food into the form that the body uses. It's really pretty common, nothing to do with your diet. Your doctor could check you for that.

    https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-integrationist/201409/genetic-mutation-can-affect-mental-physical-health

    Thank you both. I'm on 5mg once a day for 3 months then another blood test and if it's up another 3 months after that to make sure it's still ok. I'm now wondering if this is a long term thing which is why I'm always "down" and I'm so looking forward to not having reoccurring mouth ulcers anymore.
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