I was recently diagnosed with calcium & iron deficiencies, both of which are pretty common. I have a pretty bad history with anemia, and my nails are all blotchy and ridged from the calcium deficiency (yes, I know this is my fault for not taking care of myself).
Anyway, because my husband and I are planning for kids in the next year or two, my gynecologist put me on prenatal vitamins and instructed me to take one of those, plus one of my regular multi vitamins every day. He also told me I now need to eat more meat and milk (we often eat vegan not because we’re really vegan, but because I don’t like handling meat, and neither of us likes milke or cheese all that much, but I guess I have to get over it now).
Anyway, these damn vitamins are killing my stomach. I haven’t yet increased my meat and milk intake, but the vitamins alone are enough to have me running to the bathroom to hang my head over the toilet every few hours.
My doc says it’ll go away in a few weeks, but ugh! I don’t know if I can wait that long. I’m pretty determined to make these deficiencies go away, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to handle the meat and dairy because my stomach feels like it’s going to explode already.
Please, please, will someone with experience reassure me? Does your stomach usually calm down after a few weeks of prenatal vitamins?
If you aren’t already doing it, make sure you have a nice big breakfast before taking the vitamins. Vitamins on an empty stomach a) do no good, and b) often cause nausea. Lots of water too.
I’ll second the big meal advice. I was getting very sick from mine as well, and my doctor recommended taking them right after dinner instead of in the morning and I have been 100% fine since.
I’m newly pregnant, and started taking prenatal vitamins as soon as I found out. (Before that I was just taking a multivamin for women, supplemented by extra folic acid).
For the first 3 weeks on the prenatal vitamin, I felt like HELL … diarrhea for the first week, plus dizziness … then 2 weeks of super-duper constipation and of course bloating. Ugh.
I read that it can take your body a while to adjust to the extra iron … which I guess mine has because I’m pretty much back to normal now.
I WAS taking the vitamin in the morning, but now I take it with dinner, which I think is helping too.
Mine is just an OTC store-brand … I would definitely ask the pharmacist for recommendations …
My doctor started me on them too, preparing for pregnancy in the near future hopefully. The one I’m on (Prenate Elite) have me burping sulfur (rotten eggs) for hours. Nothing helps it.
I second the advice of having it with your meals. I guess it tricks the body into thinking it came with the food. The extra iron gave me constipations the first months, now is a pleasure, I only have to sit and poop on demand.
I had terrible problems with prenatal vitamins too, but after trying three, I found the right one. The problem? Too much iron. I assumed all prenatal vitamins were pretty much equal, but apparently, any more than 30 mg of an iron supplement is more than your body can handle. In fact, the OB said 27mg is sufficient and preferable. See how much iron is in your prenatal vitamin and if there is also iron in your multi. It may just be too much.
The brand I like best is a no-name store brand. Materna is really expensive and has the same quantity of each nutrient as my brand, only it costs twice as much. As well, Materna had an old and discontinued formula that had a whopping 60mg of iron that may still be on shelves in some areas.
I had less bloating and nausea when I took my vitamins either at night or with my largest/most varied meal of the day (better absorption with food, but if you’re really ill, night time is the right time.)
One I found the right brand and the right time, the vitamins stop bothering me within a couple of days. In any case, if you continue to have trouble, please see your doctor again and emphasize the severity of your symptoms. There are solutions!
I would suggest taking the multi-vitamin in the morning and the prenatal at night. This is for two reasons. 1. That is too much vitamin to be taking at one time and it’s probably killing your stomach even more than just a prenatal would. And 2. Your body can’t absorb that much vitamin at one time. It is just going to ‘spit out’ the stuff it can’t absorb, so you are actually LOSING vitamins by taking that much at one time!
I was told to take my prenatal at night to help with the queasiness. I was also told to spread out my intake of certain things throughout the day. For instance, calcium. Your body can’t absorb too much calcium at one time and it will, again, ‘spit out’ whatever it can’t absorb. So, instead of having a glass of milk, a yogurt, some cheese, and your prenatal all at one time (in which case you are really only absorbing the amount of calcium in the milk), you should spread it out throughout the day. This way you know your body is getting what it needs.
overlyverbose, I hope you’ve found a solution by now, but just in case, or for anyone else having this problem, ask your doc for chewable prenatals. The giant horse pills were making me so queasy I couldn’t stand it, so I got the chewables, and have had virtually no trouble with them at all. It’s made me very happy.
That’s a really good idea - I didn’t know they even made chewables. I’ll have to ask my doctor about that. The sickness has gotten a little, tiny bit better - it usually improves if I exercise everyday, but I still wake up feeling icky since I take the prenatal vitamins before I go to bed. I figure that at least that way I can be unconscious during the worst and active during the next wave of sickness caused by the round of regular vitamins.
It is probably the iron which is making you feel so rotten - it did it to me. I ended up going to the drs clinic every (can’t remember - week? few days?) and having an IV of the iron solution. It was essential that I had it as I was banking my own blood ready for a cesarian with placenta previa and they knew I would bleed. I also wasn’t allowed to heave or have an upset stomach because it caused Braxton Hicks contractions which we were trying to avoid at all costs.
Before I went into hospital it was a pain because I had to be stuck every few days but the IV was a farce - it took about 7 minutes to go in! Once I was in hospital and nearer to the deadline they put in a tube that stayed in my arm for a week or so at a time.
If you are having real trouble and you really need it, think about looking into this, but if you can get it into you by the normal routes then that would be best. Good luck, and sympathies!
I heartily endorse the advice suggesting taking any vitamins with a substantial snack, preferably something bland and absorbant, at least some crackers, bread, or toast. I also advocate taking them with a glass of milk. If you can’t take drinking milk, try to drink a large glass of water with the vitamin.
You might want to try breaking them in half, and taking half earlier in the day, the other half later. Also, perhaps not taking them first thing in the morning would help, if that is when you are taking them.
In addition, try taking them right before bed. I do speak from experience, I was pregnant seven times, (four kids, three miscarriages) and I have taken a lot of prenatal vitamins. I take them now, as I do not eat well, and my health is pretty weak. I currently take Spring Valley, when I was pg I took Stuart’s. Any vitamin tends to nauseate me, but taking them at bedtime seems to work. I fall asleep, no nausea. I also take a goodly handful of other scripts with the vitamin, all of which tend to make me queasy, so tricking my tummy and taking the meds and going to sleep has been a lifesaver!