My insurance is really crappy, and my prescription prenatals (Prima Care) are now costing me $30./month. I am looking into trying Rainbow Lights, or a similar alternative. Are prescription vitamins by prescription due to the folic acid amounts or other reasons? I am 22 weeks. Do I need the same amount of folic acid as in the first trimester?
I'm no expert, but I've heard that the OTC ones are just as good. Your prenatals should have a list on the bottle of the ingredients and the amounts. Compare that to the OTC prenatals and see what you come up with. I'm willing to bet they're very similar. You can always take folic acid supplements if you don't get enough with the prenatals.
What I heard is that the max folic acid for OTC prenatals is 800 mcg, while the prescription prenatals often carry 1000 mcg (1mg). I figure that's not much of a problem, since it's easy to get 200 mcg plus of folate in your foods as long as you eat a healthy diet. I don't *think* it's quite as important now that we've finished the first trimester, too.
I started taking Rainbow Light for the same reason - my insurance co wouldn't pay much for prenatal vitamins since there are so many OTC varieties.
my midwife said you want at least 800 mcg of folic acid. the otc i found had just that 800 mcg, i braught the bottle in to show her, and she said they looked fine.
this was with my last pregnancy, this one, i haven't even asked the dr's(midwife l=no longer practicing
I couldn't stomach any of the prenatals (OTC or prescript) with my pregnancies, so midwife told me it was fine to take the flintstones complete (two a day) with extra folic acid tablets from the HFS
Originally Posted by Knittin' in the Shade
I couldn't stomach any of the prenatals (OTC or prescript) with my pregnancies, so midwife told me it was fine to take the flintstones complete (two a day) with extra folic acid tablets from the HFS
I was told that too by my OB. It helped for me to take the prenatals after meals with milk.
The nurse told me that 1.) some people cannot handle otc prenatals-too harsh on the stomach, or they cannot swallow the big pills, so they have to get a gel coating. 2.) Sometimes insurance is cheaper to get prescription than OTC.
I've used OTC throughout both pregnancies. i don't think there's any difference really for OTC vs. prescription, although the contents of individual OTCs will vary and the contents of individual prescrip. will too. I do think that some people go the prescrip. route because it's cheaper with their insurance to do so.
For me, I wanted something that allowed me to break up the dose into several pills a day because getting all of the iron in one dose tends to make me more nauseated.
Here's a link to the site where I get my vitamins. vitamins
This link goes through some "coupon" site and should give you 70% off all vitamins plus free chipping on orders over $50. You can also get other deals if you go through ebates (7% back and buy 1 get 1 free or buy 2 get 3 free)
I order the Pre-Natal Complex Mega Formula Capsules (On page 5 of women's products). It cost me $5.98 per month (with the 70% off and free shipping deal). I also take it post-partum while nursing.
HTH
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