Folic acid pre- conception, delayed period?

[Jazzy123]

Morning everyone,

In need of some advice and thought this would be a great place to start! 🙂

I'm a Type 1 diabetic trying to conceive, had a pre conception check with the doc who gave us the go ahead to start trying. I was prescribed a 5mg dose of folic acid but doctor advised me to start taking once I was pregnant. I did some research and can see most people have taken the higher dose whilst trying to conceive so I started taking the higher does about 5 weeks ago and my period is now 8 days late.

My cycle is usually very regular, so I did a few pregancy tests and all negative. Before I speak to a doctor I was wondering if anyone else has found that taking a high dose of folic acid affected their cycle and whether you stuck at it or stopped?

Many thanks,
Sasha

 

[EmmaL76]

Hmm not sure, I thought folic acid was beneficial in the regulation of periods. Saying that if something has the power to regulate I suppose the body of a diabetic doesn’t always play by the rules. Have you been particularly anxious waiting for this period?

 

[rebrascora]

Hi and welcome.

What an exciting and probably a bit scary time for you! Wishing you lots of luck.
I can't speak from experience but from what I have read here on the forum, the high dose Folic Acid is recommended to be used as soon as you start trying. Was it a GP or your diabetes clinic Dr who suggested you only take it once you are pregnant? I would run the question past your diabetes team rather than a GP.

I wonder if @Inka can shed some light on this subject....

 

[Jazzy123]

Hmm not sure, I thought folic acid was beneficial in the regulation of periods. Saying that if something has the power to regulate I suppose the body of a diabetic doesn’t always play by the rules. Have you been particularly anxious waiting for this period?

Yes that's very true, diabetes rarely plays ball does it. No, I don't think I was particularly anxious to be honest? I think it was in the back of my mind, will my period come this time or am I pregnant but wouldn't say I was too worried about it.

 

[Jazzy123]

Hi and welcome.

What an exciting and probably a bit scary time for you! Wishing you lots of luck.
I can't speak from experience but from what I have read here on the forum, the high dose Folic Acid is recommended to be used as soon as you start trying. Was it a GP or your diabetes clinic Dr who suggested you only take it once you are pregnant? I would run the question past your diabetes team rather than a GP.

I wonder if @Inka can shed some light on this subject....

Thank you very much!

Yes that's exactly what I thought, I read that you were supposed to take it as soon as you started trying. I'm actually not under a diabetic team/clinic as such, I have my 6 monthly review with a nurse. My GP is the diabetes specialist in the surgery and she is the person who suggested I take the Folic Acid only once pregnant. I did actually ask at the time, definitely not before? And she said no I'd be ok to take only once pregnant. Very confusing.

 

[EmmaL76]

Yes that's very true, diabetes rarely plays ball does it. No, I don't think I was particularly anxious to be honest? I think it was in the back of my mind, will my period come this time or am I pregnant but wouldn't say I was too worried about it.

Have you recently come off contraception? Good that you’re not super stressy about it. That’s exactly the right attitude. I’ve had 4 children and my first grandchild is due next week. For the planned ones (sorry middle daughter) I was always asked if I’d started on folic acid prior to conception as this was the norm (back then)
I wish you all the luck in the world, it so exciting ! If I had my time again tho I feel I’d definitely have been more comfortable with 2 not 4 And if my kids read this… I’m refusing to say which 2

 

[rebrascora]

You need to be under a specialist diabetes clinic now that you are trying to become pregnant. I don't care how "specialist" your GP is, they are a GP and not up to date with current guidelines, trends and treatment. Insulin dependent diabetics need specialist support through pregnancy and in anticipation of it. I assume you do have Freestyle Libre or some other CGM sensor system? BG targets for pregnancy are extremely tight with diabetes and you will need lots of extra support from your diabetes team to achieve them. You may even be eligible for a pump to help you manage your levels if you are not already on one, but really important that you get that referral and support from the start and even before, so that you are well prepared and supported for a healthy pregnancy.

 

[Jazzy123]

You need to be under a specialist diabetes clinic now that you are trying to become pregnant. I don't care how "specialist" your GP is, they are a GP and not up to date with current guidelines, trends and treatment. Insulin dependent diabetics need specialist support through pregnancy and in anticipation of it. I assume you do have Freestyle Libre or some other CGM sensor system? BG targets for pregnancy are extremely tight with diabetes and you will need lots of extra support from your diabetes team to achieve them. You may even be eligible for a pump to help you manage your levels if you are not already on one, but really important that you get that referral and support from the start and even before, so that you are well prepared and supported for a healthy pregnancy.

Thanks for this, good to know. I do feel like my doctor is a bit lax to be honest. My last HbAC1 was 39 so I think because my levels are well controlled they kind of leave me to it, but this is something I do need support with. I've been on a Freestyle Libre for about a year now, that's something I needed to ask for because I was sick of finger pricking 20 times a day! Again, because I seem to be just managing I think you can get forgotten about.

No mention of a specialist diabetes clinic at all when I had my initial appt RE trying to conceive. I'll give them a ring and ask to be transferred over I think.

 

[Jazzy123]

Have you recently come off contraception? Good that you’re not super stressy about it. That’s exactly the right attitude. I’ve had 4 children and my first grandchild is due next week. For the planned ones (sorry middle daughter) I was always asked if I’d started on folic acid prior to conception as this was the norm (back then)
I wish you all the luck in the world, it so exciting ! If I had my time again tho I feel I’d definitely have been more comfortable with 2 not 4 And if my kids read this… I’m refusing to say which 2

I've been off the pill about 2 months now. Ah I know, I'm usually a stressy person too so trying to be chill about it.
Thank you so much. Hahah love it, I'll remember that advice 😉

 

[rebrascora]

Wow! Great HbA1c! What sort of TIR results do you get with Libre. Hopefully not too much below 3.9.

The thing is that insulin needs change quite drastically during pregnancy both down and up, over relatively short periods of time, so you need to be prepared for that and have the support of a specially qualified maternity DSN to help you adjust doses and I believe you get extra checks and scans. If you do a bit of reading of other threads in the section, you will get an idea of the changes that happen and support you should be getting.
Diabetes Clinics and staff are very overloaded at the moment because Covid has added to their workload, so definitely worth getting on their books in advance of the pregnancy, so that they and you can prepare rather than try to fit you in at short notice.

 

[EmmaL76]

I've been off the pill about 2 months now. Ah I know, I'm usually a stressy person too so trying to be chill about it.
Thank you so much. Hahah love it, I'll remember that advice 😉

Could be that then. My youngest daughter came off the pill due to a health concern about 6 weeks ago. She had a normal period after that then has only just had another one stating yesterday. It was a good 4-5 week between the 2

 

[Inka]

Thank you very much!

Yes that's exactly what I thought, I read that you were supposed to take it as soon as you started trying. I'm actually not under a diabetic team/clinic as such, I have my 6 monthly review with a nurse. My GP is the diabetes specialist in the surgery and she is the person who suggested I take the Folic Acid only once pregnant. I did actually ask at the time, definitely not before? And she said no I'd be ok to take only once pregnant. Very confusing.

Not good advice at all. As you say, the folic acid should be taken before becoming pregnant. I was told for a minimum of 3 months.

If you’re planning to conceive, you should give your hospital team a call or ask for a referral. You’ll then get pre-conception advice and support once you’re pregnant - lots of great support 🙂 If you turn out not to be pregnant now, I’d put off trying to conceive until you’ve been on the folic acid longer and have got support up and running with your hospital team.

Personally, I’d make an informal complaint to the GP surgery because you were given incorrect advice. That way you’ve highlighted it so training/knowledge can be improved.

The folic acid shouldn’t affect your cycle but the mere whiff of a thought of trying to conceive can mess it up even if you’re not particularly stressed!

 

[Jazzy123]

Not good advice at all. As you say, the folic acid should be taken before becoming pregnant. I was told for a minimum of 3 months.

If you’re planning to conceive, you should give your hospital team a call or ask for a referral. You’ll then get pre-conception advice and support once you’re pregnant - lots of great support 🙂 If you turn out not to be pregnant now, I’d put off trying to conceive until you’ve been on the folic acid longer and have got support up and running with your hospital team.

Personally, I’d make an informal complaint to the GP surgery because you were given incorrect advice. That way you’ve highlighted it so training/knowledge can be improved.

The folic acid shouldn’t affect your cycle but the mere whiff of a thought of trying to conceive can mess it up even if you’re not particularly stressed!

Thanks so much for this, great advice. Very scary that I've been given such wrong information!!

I'll ring my surgery today and ask to be referred to the specialist team asap. This is why this group is so helpful, useful to speak to people who've been through the experience and can help out. Thanks ladies 🙂

 

[PhoebeC]

All women should take folic in advance of being pregnant actually and there’s now more and more research about health steps everyone should take before they start trying, to reach optimal health and reduce risk.
Your GP should know this.

Do you have tests at home?

I knew immediately I was pregnant, I felt so different.

Take care x

 

[Snapdragon]

Could be a false negative! Try another test in a couple of days And good luck. X