Supplements Safe For Pregnancy?

[Healthy]

I am 9 weeks pregnant and as soon as I found out I was pregnant the dr. that treats me for my gluten allergy got me in right away. He made some adjustments to the supplements I'm on, but due to my medical history, kept me on some of them and even added small amounts of some new ones. I've since found out due to my own research and my OB's that some of them may not be safe for pregnancy. Since no one seems to know I thought I might ask on this forum. Maybe some of you were kept on or are on some of these supplements and can give me testimony that they are safe?

I'll only list the ones I'm unsure of:

L-Glutamine powder

Digestizyme V

NAC

Caprilic acid

PS/PC/PE complex

Niacinamide

NADH

Quercitn (read some bad stuff on this and stopped it. Was only on it for 2 weeks)

Thanks for any feedback!

[tarnalberry]

L-Glutamine powder

Digestizyme V

NAC

Caprilic acid

PS/PC/PE complex

Niacinamide

NADH

Quercitn (read some bad stuff on this and stopped it. Was only on it for 2 weeks)

I would encourage you to find a naturopath who can help you with this one. I went down the same path - which of my supplements could I continue taking, especially as I had dropped all my pharmaceutical meds. The problem with reading things on the internet in this particular case, is that you can't get a good feel for how the decision is being made on whether something is "safe" or "not safe". Many doctors and websites will say "well, it hasn't been tested, so we're going to assume it's unsafe", even in the cases where there's no particularly good reason to make that assumption based on the mechanism of action of the supplement. (Malic acid, which I take as magnesium malate, is an example of one of these. There really isn't a lot of study on supplementation with it, but the mechanism of action suggests it is likely fine.)

I worked with one of my midwives (who is also a naturopath) to figure out which ones to stay on. Ideally, you stay on as little as reasonable, but it's a personal decision what is reasonable (and even what is "safe") that can only be made between you and your doctor. If your gut feel is "not sure enough", then - at the very least - skip it for the first trimester, when things are more tenuous anyway, then re-examine.

[Healthy]

Thank you for the feedback. I am very nervous about it, but also nervous about stopping. Do you know how I could find a naturopath locally? I've thought about finding one, but unsure how to go about a search.

Thank you!

[tarnalberry]

Where are you located? If you're near a MAJOR city, I'd look for schools that teach naturopathy (for instance, in Seattle, we have Bastyr) and go through them. You might also ask friends for recommendations, or try to find local midwives who might have contacts. Chiropractors may also have some good contacts.

The reason I suggest a naturopath (even over a GP or OB) is because this is their area of study. It's not the I think a GP or OB will be wrong, but I think they'll not - in general - have studied this area the way that a naturopath would. If you can find a midwive/naturopath, that'd be your best bet. Even my midwife/naturopath had to look up one or two of my supplements, but I trust her to be able to give me an honest and unbiased evaluation of the risks/benefits of something that is unlikely to have any direct studies. The decision is clearly still mine, but her more knowledgeable analysis is a big help.

[Healthy]

Tiffany ~ Thank you. I have not yet found a midwife or naturopath in my area. Closest big city is over an hour away. But I'll keep looking. That's for the advice!

[StacyA]

Tiffany ~ Thank you. I have not yet found a midwife or naturopath in my area. Closest big city is over an hour away. But I'll keep looking. That's for the advice!

Call some local chiropractors and ask if they know of a good naturopath in your area.