Guest guest Posted August 31, 2001 Report Share Posted August 31, 2001 - I take a tablespoon of brewer's yeast per day, and I eat a lot of beef, so I get the recommended dosage of folic acid that way. Dana ----- Original Message ----- From: klyoung2424@... Sent: Thursday, August 30, 2001 6:19 PM Subject: Folic Acid Do any women out there take folic acid regularly? I know "they" are always telling women in childbearing age to take it, but then I hear that it's bad to take iron pills. Does anyone know a good answer for this?Thanks, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 31, 2001 Report Share Posted August 31, 2001 hi again, kelly-- i take megadoses of folic acid due to an abnormal pap. (i need to go back and see if i have turned it around already, but i'm dragging my feet on that <g>.) my naturopath prescribed it for the abnormal pap and for anemia. why do you say the following? < I know " they " are always telling women in childbearing age to take it, but then I hear that it's bad to take iron pills.> i don't know of any correlation between folic acid and iron pills. do you? i believe that it is bad to take iron pills. you shouldn't supplement iron unless you know that you have a deficiency, and, even then, you can get sufficient iron from your diet. (even a crappy diet: they put it in everything now, from bread to candy bars.) my regular dr diagnosed me with anemia, assumed that it was iron-deficiency, and prescribed iron supplements. since i knew that she hadn't checked my iron, and, since i had 2 possibly cancerous conditions (cancer cells thrive on iron), i went to the naturopath, who did check my iron. my level was smack dab in the middle of normal, and that was when i was a vegetarian! he told me that he had just treated a lady with excess iron, who *had* followed her regular dr's advice to supplement. i am of childbearing age, although i certainly will not be reproducing. as an interesting side note, my folic acid deficiency was probably due to my regular dr's having prescribed me the pill, and *that* she prescribed to keep me from passing out, which now turns out to be an adrenal problem. to complicate matters even further, the pill also depletes vit C, which is necessary for proper functioning of the adrenals. find a naturopath whom you can trust-- allene Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 31, 2001 Report Share Posted August 31, 2001 To e and Dana- Thank you both for your advice on folic acid. I really do need to find a good naturopathic doctor, that is true. I guess I thought that you could only get folic acid in iron pills, as that is the only way I've seen it. But it is good to know that you can get it separately. I'll have to look into brewer's yeast. e--my doctor also put me on the pill awhile back to keep me from passing out, but I am off it now after learning how bad it is for you. Looking back, if I had just known how to eat well, I probably wouldn't have been passing out! Funny how they always try to put you on some pill..... Thanks, > hi again, kelly-- > > i take megadoses of folic acid due to an abnormal pap. (i need to go back and > see if i have turned it around already, but i'm dragging my feet on that > <g>.) my naturopath prescribed it for the abnormal pap and for anemia. > > why do you say the following? > > < I know " they " are always telling women in childbearing age to take it, > but then I hear > that it's bad to take iron pills.> > > i don't know of any correlation between folic acid and iron pills. do you? i > believe that it is bad to take iron pills. you shouldn't supplement iron > unless you know that you have a deficiency, and, even then, you can get > sufficient iron from your diet. (even a crappy diet: they put it in > everything now, from bread to candy bars.) my regular dr diagnosed me with > anemia, assumed that it was iron-deficiency, and prescribed iron supplements. > since i knew that she hadn't checked my iron, and, since i had 2 possibly > cancerous conditions (cancer cells thrive on iron), i went to the naturopath, > who did check my iron. my level was smack dab in the middle of normal, and > that was when i was a vegetarian! he told me that he had just treated a lady > with excess iron, who *had* followed her regular dr's advice to supplement. > > i am of childbearing age, although i certainly will not be reproducing. as an > interesting side note, my folic acid deficiency was probably due to my > regular dr's having prescribed me the pill, and *that* she prescribed to keep > me from passing out, which now turns out to be an adrenal problem. to > complicate matters even further, the pill also depletes vit C, which is > necessary for proper functioning of the adrenals. > > find a naturopath whom you can trust-- > allene Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 31, 2001 Report Share Posted August 31, 2001 The FDA's excuse for telling people not to take folic acid is that it might mask a rare Vitamin B-12 deficiency. Who knows how many babies have been born with neural tube defects (spina bifida, for one) thanks to the FDA. Last time I was in the local health food store I found 800 mcg of folic acid with B-12. Just think how much misery could have been prevented if the FDA had turned their back on the drug companies and made this recommendation years ago. Judith Alta Kidder Mission Possible Southwest Michigan jaltak@... -----Original Message----- To e and Dana- Thank you both for your advice on folic acid. I really do need to find a good naturopathic doctor, that is true. I guess I thought that you could only get folic acid in iron pills, as that is the only way I've seen it. But it is good to know that you can get it separately. I'll have to look into brewer's yeast. e--my doctor also put me on the pill awhile back to keep me from passing out, but I am off it now after learning how bad it is for you. Looking back, if I had just known how to eat well, I probably wouldn't have been passing out! Funny how they always try to put you on some pill..... Thanks, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 1, 2001 Report Share Posted September 1, 2001 Dear all, I have been doing some research on yeast. Most of the commerical brands (solgar, twin labs) contain MSG because of the way they are processed. (Yeast is high in glutamic acid and in high temperature or chemical processing, some of this is transformed into free glutamic acid, which is MSG) As far as I can tell, the best brand is Frontier nutritional yeast flakes. It is grown very carefully and dried on drums, which would be a low temperature drying. Those who are sensitive to MSG tell me that this is the only brand they tolerate. It can be ordered from 800-669-3275. This recommendation will be in the revision of NT. Sally Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 1, 2001 Report Share Posted September 1, 2001 Sally's going ahead and doing it! We need to communicate with her....C Dear all, I have been doing some research on yeast. Most of the commerical brands (solgar, twin labs) contain MSG because of the way they are processed. (Yeast is high in glutamic acid and in high temperature or chemical processing, some of this is transformed into free glutamic acid, which is MSG) As far as I can tell, the best brand is Frontier nutritional yeast flakes. It is grown very carefully and dried on drums, which would be a low temperature drying. Those who are sensitive to MSG tell me that this is the only brand they tolerate. It can be ordered from 800-669-3275. This recommendation will be in the revision of NT. Sally Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 26, 2003 Report Share Posted August 26, 2003 Folic Acid and Methotrexate attack each other so with Methotrexate you need extra Folic Acid to replace what is destroyed by the Methotrexate. The Folic Acid also decreases the effectiveness of the Methotrexate so you need more Methotrexate because of the Folic Acid. Some doctors give Folic Acid once a week and I think that is a couple of days after the Methotrexate. That way you will be deficient in Folic Acid between the Methotrexate dose and the Folic Acid dose but the Methotrexate will have maximum effectiveness. Others give it every day to avoid the deficiency after the methotrexate. Maybe for about half a week before the Methotrexate you are taking more Folic Acid than needed but it is cheap and it has no side effects that I know of. I haven't seen a real analysis of why the differences in dosing but the above is my synthesis of information from reading on the subject. Folic Acid is obtained from may foods, I think green leafy vegetables are particularly good sources. People's diets vary greatly so the amount of natural Folic Acid people get also varies greatly. That may help account for the differences in the amount of Folic Acid that is prescribed. When I started on Prednisone I was told to take 20 mg in the morning and the balance in the evening, and when I got to 20 or below to take it all in the morning. When I tried to go to 20 my body rebelled and would not let me get out of bed till I had my Prednisone and waited a couple of hours for it to kick in. My RD said he wanted me to decrease the amount of Prednisone and he didn't care what time of day I took it. For me it worked at half in the morning and half at dinner until I got down to 5 mg and started to take it all in the morning with no problem. My feeling is that you should listen to your body much more than the "experts" and my RD seems to agree with this. Just two more days till you finally get to see a Rheumatologist. I'll be praying for you to have a good experience with that visit. Good luck and God bless. ----- Original Message ----- From: Jay Bishop Rheumatoid Arthritis Sent: Monday, August 25, 2003 3:29 PM Subject: Folic Acid Does any one have any idea why there is such a diversity in the amonts and times that we take Foic Acid?I take 1mg daily to go with my 10mg of Methotrxate weekly. Some people take all of theirs on the day they take their Methotrxate.While i'm on the subject, is it better to take Prdnisone twice a day or once a day? I take 20mg once daily and am wondering if it would be better to split into two doses.Yhanks for any input and advice,Jay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 26, 2003 Report Share Posted August 26, 2003 Folic Acid and Methotrexate attack each other so with Methotrexate you need extra Folic Acid to replace what is destroyed by the Methotrexate. The Folic Acid also decreases the effectiveness of the Methotrexate so you need more Methotrexate because of the Folic Acid. Some doctors give Folic Acid once a week and I think that is a couple of days after the Methotrexate. That way you will be deficient in Folic Acid between the Methotrexate dose and the Folic Acid dose but the Methotrexate will have maximum effectiveness. Others give it every day to avoid the deficiency after the methotrexate. Maybe for about half a week before the Methotrexate you are taking more Folic Acid than needed but it is cheap and it has no side effects that I know of. I haven't seen a real analysis of why the differences in dosing but the above is my synthesis of information from reading on the subject. Folic Acid is obtained from may foods, I think green leafy vegetables are particularly good sources. People's diets vary greatly so the amount of natural Folic Acid people get also varies greatly. That may help account for the differences in the amount of Folic Acid that is prescribed. When I started on Prednisone I was told to take 20 mg in the morning and the balance in the evening, and when I got to 20 or below to take it all in the morning. When I tried to go to 20 my body rebelled and would not let me get out of bed till I had my Prednisone and waited a couple of hours for it to kick in. My RD said he wanted me to decrease the amount of Prednisone and he didn't care what time of day I took it. For me it worked at half in the morning and half at dinner until I got down to 5 mg and started to take it all in the morning with no problem. My feeling is that you should listen to your body much more than the "experts" and my RD seems to agree with this. Just two more days till you finally get to see a Rheumatologist. I'll be praying for you to have a good experience with that visit. Good luck and God bless. ----- Original Message ----- From: Jay Bishop Rheumatoid Arthritis Sent: Monday, August 25, 2003 3:29 PM Subject: Folic Acid Does any one have any idea why there is such a diversity in the amonts and times that we take Foic Acid?I take 1mg daily to go with my 10mg of Methotrxate weekly. Some people take all of theirs on the day they take their Methotrxate.While i'm on the subject, is it better to take Prdnisone twice a day or once a day? I take 20mg once daily and am wondering if it would be better to split into two doses.Yhanks for any input and advice,Jay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 26, 2003 Report Share Posted August 26, 2003 Thanks for the input Harold. I Have discovered that with the Prednisone my internist doesn't really know how much or when I should be taking it. You may know, I'm an EMT and the ER docs I take my patients to are kind of monitoring my progress. It was one of the ER docs that had me take a much larger dose than what my primary said to take when I had my flare and it souldn't go down. He was right on the money for me. I think I'm going to start taking my 20 mg twice a day at 10 mg each. Becasue by the end of the day I can really feel it and when I get up. Yes, day after tomorrow I see my RD. I think he will at least change the dosages I'm on because I don't think I'm taking enough Metotrxate to make much of a difference. I still have swelling in feet and wrists and very limited motion and swelling in my right knee. Thanks again, Jay > Folic Acid and Methotrexate attack each other so with Methotrexate you need extra Folic Acid to replace what is destroyed by the Methotrexate. The Folic Acid also decreases the effectiveness of the Methotrexate so you need more Methotrexate because of the Folic Acid. Some doctors give Folic Acid once a week and I think that is a couple of days after the Methotrexate. That way you will be deficient in Folic Acid between the Methotrexate dose and the Folic Acid dose but the Methotrexate will have maximum effectiveness. Others give it every day to avoid the deficiency after the methotrexate. Maybe for about half a week before the Methotrexate you are taking more Folic Acid than needed but it is cheap and it has no side effects that I know of. I haven't seen a real analysis of why the differences in dosing but the above is my synthesis of information from reading on the subject. Folic Acid is obtained from may foods, I think green leafy vegetables are particularly good sources. People's diets vary greatly so the amount of natural Folic Acid people get also varies greatly. That may help account for the differences in the amount of Folic Acid that is prescribed. > > When I started on Prednisone I was told to take 20 mg in the morning and the balance in the evening, and when I got to 20 or below to take it all in the morning. When I tried to go to 20 my body rebelled and would not let me get out of bed till I had my Prednisone and waited a couple of hours for it to kick in. My RD said he wanted me to decrease the amount of Prednisone and he didn't care what time of day I took it. For me it worked at half in the morning and half at dinner until I got down to 5 mg and started to take it all in the morning with no problem. My feeling is that you should listen to your body much more than the " experts " and my RD seems to agree with this. > > Just two more days till you finally get to see a Rheumatologist. I'll be praying for you to have a good experience with that visit. Good luck and God bless. > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Jay Bishop > Rheumatoid Arthritis > Sent: Monday, August 25, 2003 3:29 PM > Subject: Folic Acid > > > Does any one have any idea why there is such a diversity in the > amonts and times that we take Foic Acid? > > I take 1mg daily to go with my 10mg of Methotrxate weekly. Some > people take all of theirs on the day they take their Methotrxate. > > While i'm on the subject, is it better to take Prdnisone twice a day > or once a day? I take 20mg once daily and am wondering if it would be > better to split into two doses. > > Yhanks for any input and advice, > > Jay > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 5, 2005 Report Share Posted February 5, 2005 , The importance of the folic acid is that it keeps our blood within the normal ranges and the reason for getting it through a prescription as far as I know, is that you can get it at a much more stronger dosage than anywhere else. ~ <catdelouise@...> wrote: Hi All,I am not on folic acid and I wondered why it is good for us?You can get it over the counter or at a health food store? ~Psalm 46__________________________________________________ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 5, 2005 Report Share Posted February 5, 2005 You are correct in that larger doses of folic acid require a prescription, but it is cheaper to buy it OTC and take an equivalent dose. For example: your MD wrote for 1 mg of folic acid -- that is a prescription dose, but if you take 2.5 tabs of the 400 mcg, which is the OTC tab size, you will receive an equivalent amount of folic acid at a lower price. If your MD has not recommended folic acid for you then you should only take the OTC recommended dose which is 400 mcg. Just because we can buy it OTC does not mean it is safe at any dose. ----- Original Message ----- From: shelly smiegal Rheumatoid Arthritis Sent: Saturday, February 05, 2005 12:24 PM Subject: Re: folic acid , The importance of the folic acid is that it keeps our blood within the normal ranges and the reason for getting it through a prescription as far as I know, is that you can get it at a much more stronger dosage than anywhere else. ~ <catdelouise@...> wrote: Hi All,I am not on folic acid and I wondered why it is good for us?You can get it over the counter or at a health food store? ~Psalm 46 __________________________________________________ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.