folic acid

shades of grey · 03-26-2004, 01:43 AM

i heard folic acid helps with symptoms, is that true?

Auntlee · 03-26-2004, 02:19 PM

About mega-folic acid therapy:

Well, we're TTC, and I decided to try to mimic what my doctor said chlomid would do for me, and I checked in my favorite complementary medicine book, Dr. Atkins' Vita-Nutrient Solution -- Nature's Answer to Drugs, and read this:

"Mega-folic acid therapy, along with the mineral boron, can delay menopause or relieve its symptoms allowing women to halt estrogen replacement therapy entirely or reduce their prescription dosages. It can revive a depressed libido, restore menstrual regularity, and adjust hormonal imbalances. In adolescent girls it can coax delayed puberty back on track. It also helps to slow the bone loss that leads to osteoporosis...."

I thought that delaying menopause & adjusting hormonal imbalances sounded good, and in another place in the book he says that boron raises estrogen levels as well as prescription drugs, so I gave it a try -- not even thinking about the hirsutism, just hoping it'd help me get pregnant. I saw changes in just a few weeks. After four months, the facial hirsutism is about 90% gone.

My periods are regular, so I don't know if this therapy would work, but the book claimed that it would adjust hormonal imbalances, and it does seem to be doing that.

What I take is outlined in my signature line -- PLEASE NOTE THE CONTRA-INDICATIONS FOR THIS THERAPY there in the sig line as well.

I really hope this would work for other people. I'm starting to hope that this whole thing has been a vitamin deficiency and that I'm curing the problem instead of treating the symptoms.

I've had hirsutism for 30 years, and (with the exception of the laser treatments, which did work initially, though almost all of it came back) this is the only thing that has helped to any measurable degree. Not pregnant yet, but this does seem to be moving in the right direction.

If you've got questions about the regimen that the sig line doesn't answer, let me know -- I'll be happy to answer them.

thing1 · 04-01-2004, 08:54 PM

Why is it contrindicated for those of us with fibrocystic breasts? I mean, don't most doctors suggest that PG women as well as those TTC should take 800 to prevent birth defects, right?

That's what I am taking, and have thought about adding another pill (400mcg), because I would probably be considered "at risk" for genetic problems. I have one special needs child.

Thanks,
Suze

MaryKate76 · 04-02-2004, 02:18 AM

Auntlee,

Did Dr. Atkins give any references related to folic acid in his book?

Thanks.

p.s.: You can get folic acid in powder form, 3 grams for $4 from beyond-a-century.com. Then you wouldn't have to take 65 pills per day, and it would only cost you $2 per month at 50mg/day.

p.p.s.: Your sig says "3g - 18g Boron (1-6 g 3x day)". I think you mean mg.

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Auntlee · 04-02-2004, 12:16 PM

Thing1 -- Hi -- your question about fibrocystic breasts is a good one -- and it's not one that's addressed in the book. In the chapter on folic acid the only contraindication he mentions is to make sure you're not B12 deficient, but in the chart sections in the back of the book he has a footnote about fibrocystic problems each time folic acid is mentioned -- but I've never seen that particular warning anywhere else in my research. Since I don't have the problem, I haven't researched it more.

I've read a lot of places (not just Atkins) that the RDA folic acid is almost criminally low -- there is one famous study where doses of 400 mcg were found to make a huge difference in the percentage of babies born with neural tube defects, so that's what's recommended. Women who have already had a baby with a neural tube defect are permitted to take 4 or 5 mg even though most neural tube babies are born to first-time mothers or mothers who have already had a baby without the defect. And doses of 10g seem to help prevent cleft palate in babies. And there may be some association with Downs Syndrome.

What happened was that years ago the FDA decided that since large doses of folic acid can cure some of the symptoms of pernicious anemia but not all, thus "masking" a B12 deficiency, that the dosage in any one given folic acid pill must be limited to 800 mcg. Common sense would say that having a rule that high folic acid doses in a pill must be matched by high B12 doses, would solve two sets of problems, but that's not what happened.

If folic acid were present in B complex vitamins in the same dosages as the other B vitamins, I think a lot of people would be leading very different lives.

--MaryKate76 -- The Atkins book is full of footnotes with references to specific studies. He does say that the mega folic acid for women's hormonal problems is something he came upon by accident -- I'm guessing that he started prescribing the folic acid for depression and found that women starting reporting hormonal benefits -- because he also uses the mega-folic for depression therapy.

Thanks for the info about powered folic acid -- I'll check into it.

And I'll double check, but I'm pretty sure that I the boron I take is measured in grams, not milligams. I'll post back.

nobimbo · 04-02-2004, 10:42 PM

The folic acid/fibroid link is interesting...had never heard of that before. I'm taking more than 600 mg of folic acid and have been for months, but I'm also dealing with a large fibroid. Hmmm..gotta think about this now.

In regards to not taking folic acid if there is a risk of B12 deficiency, it is because it can mask the B12 deficiency on blood tests.

Editing this to add this blurb:

Antacids, cimetidine, and ranitidine (used for ulcers, heartburn, and related symptoms) as well as metformin (used for diabetes) may inhibit the absorption of folic acid. It is best, therefore, to take folic acid at a different time from any of these medications.

http://www.ivillagehealth.com/librar...a=adid=7366010

Linda

Auntlee · 04-05-2004, 12:33 PM

Thank you, MaryKate! I was wrong -- the boron is measured in milligrams, not grams.

Thanks for pointing it out --I've fixed it in the sig.

And for people who can't take mega folic acid, they might try taking PABA, which helps the body use existing folic acid more efficiently, and acidolphilus, which helps the body manufacture its own folic acid and also works wonders with digestive/bowel problems.

I so appreciate everyone's input on this therapy -- I came on it by accident, TTC, and there will definitely be fine-tuning to be done along the way.

SweetJade · 06-04-2004, 01:57 AM

Hi,
About Folic Acid, since it increases our ability to produce estrogen, it could make us those that are susceptible to fibroids, even more so. If you've ever read Dr. Lee's books on Menopause or Premenopause, he says that Estrogen Dominance is the reason for Fibroids and Cystic Ovaries. Of course not all PCOSers have cystic ovaries, and not all of us are estrogen dominant, but that was what he said.

All I know is that breast & uterine fibroids run on my mother's side of the family and even I ended up with one before I went on BC & Spiro (6 years ago). Regardless, as long as they don't hurt or turn cancerous it's not a problem. This therapy sounds perfect for me helping with my hirsuitsm, that I ordered the Atkin's Vital Nutrient book from amazon last week. LOL, and I only paid $4 including shipping!

Auntlee · 06-08-2004, 02:04 PM

Fibrocystic Breast Disease
I've been promising to post this info for awhile -- this is from Dr. Atkins The Vita-Nutrient Solution.

"Endometriosis, fibrocystic breast disease, and uterine fibroids are all conditions that often occur because of imbalanced female hormones; estrogen predominates over progesterone. Supporting the liver with methionine, choline, and inositol helps the body better balance the hormones by converting estradiol to the weaker estrogen, estriol. With the following regime, I have seen these problems disappear over a period of six months to a year:"

Most important:
Methionine 500 - 1,000 mg (or SAM-e)
Choline 1,000 - 1,500 mg
Inositol 1,000 - 1,500 mg
Essential oils formula 3,600-7,200 mg
B6 100-200 mg
Vitamin E 200-400IU

Moderately important:
Zinc 25-50 mg
Vitamin C 1-3 grams
Vitex 1-2 capsules
Milk thistle extract 150-300 mg
Beneficial bacteria 1-2 tsp
Flaxmeal fiber 1-3 tbs
Vitamin A 30,000-60,000 IU

To tell the truth, the research I've been doing seems to indicate that a couple of the catechol estrogens require folic acid to metabolise correctly, which doesn't look like it's exactly *increasing* estrogen, just allowing your body to do what it's supposed to do with the stuff - and which is probably why the therapy worked for my hirsutism.

I'll post that research soon; it's just that there's no one place that spells everything out; it's a bunch of stuff from different places with a lot of big words that seem to me to add up.

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