Prenatal Vitamins

Hey,

I'm taking a prenatal vitamin. I'm not pregnant, but my doctor prescribed them because apparently that's current procedure to prescribe them for women of child bearing age. He said that they not only help with iron loss because of blood flow, but also to fight neural tube defects. I'm not pregnant and I don't foresee pregnancy happening any time soon. So, I'm thinking that I will stop taking them (I barely take them now. I'm struggling to take them everyday).

I was just wondering if anyone knows or has had experience with prenatal vitamins causing changes in your cycle? My cycle has just been so off lately. I'm also wondering if I have endometriosis or if I need a hormone check. I'm having pelvic pain for almost the entire month. My periods are shorter and lighter. I mean, I was a seven day woman and now they're down to about only five days. Also, August was the second month this year where I had two periods. Could I be getting too much of the vitamins?

Any thoughts?

Prenatal vitamins will have no effect on your cycle.

ummm prenatal vitamins wont prevent neural tube defects if you are not pregnant.

if you google neural tube defects it is a birth defect that happens to a fetus in the first moth of pregnancy.....

how it protects the baby....

when a baby is inside its mother it gets its food and nutrients through the umbilical cord that attaches to a plecenta. and the plecenta is attached to the mothers womb.

the mother eats the vitamin. it travels through the blood stream to the plicenta , the plecenta then passes the nutrients on to the umbilical cord and then from the umbilical cord the nutrients go to the baby. inside the baby the vitamins make sure the babies blood has everything it needs for a healthy spine, bones body and isnt born with any birth defects like spinal bifida.

if you are not pregnant the vitamins wont go to any baby or cause you to stop any future birth defects. it will travel around your body then what you do not need for your own health, it will go through and out your body just like normal vitamins do after making sure the woman has enough iron and minerals that their own boy requires.

my point in order for it to prevent birth defects (which is what neural tube defects are) you have to be preg....

suggestion maybe you can talk with your doctor to get clarification on this. wondering if maybe he thought you were trying to get pregnant. or if maybe your lab work came up high is some stuff that should be and low in some stuff that shouldnt be. sometimes pre natal vitamins can correct things like anemia.

prenatal vitamins will not change your period cycle, being pregnant will.

prenatal vitamins will do nothing for endometriosis. endometriosis is when you have tumors and polyps and other uterine tissues growing in and outside your uterus, ovaries and your fallopian tubes. its a very painful problem, you would know if you had this by the excruciating pain that never ends, usual treatment for this is surgery, not vitamins.

given that your doctor has prescribed prenatal vitamins and your periods are decreasing and stopping based on my history of pregnancy Id say its very likely that you may be pregnant.... not a diagnosis just going on what you posted and how I was with each of my pregnancies.

suggestion contact your treatment provider and sit down and have a dissccusion with them as to whether he/ she thinks you are preg, why and get your questions about this answered by them. all we can do is make guesses based on what you have posted.

Thank you. I certainly will talk with him. I have appointments with my prescribing doctor and gynecologist coming up soon.

I don't believe he thought I was trying to get pregnant. It was more like it's policy now to have women of child bearing age take prenatal vitamins. I did have lab work done that day, but he prescribed them before he saw my lab work. I walked out of the appointment with him having sent the script to my pharmacy, and then I went for blood to be drawn.

I know that I'm certainly not pregnant. I've been celibate for six years. So, that's out. I'm questioning endometriosis as well. I don't think I have that, but whatever is going on is something on the serious end. I'm not sure what so I'm looking forward to seeing my obgyn.

heres a thought..... some places do not bill insurance for over the counter meds like vitamins... maybe its possible that your doctor gave you prenatal vitamins so that your insurance will pay for you taking a daily vitamin. that happened to a friend of mine. prenatal vitamins are just like regular vitamins, just in a bit higher dosages. some doctors do prescribe them so that insurance will pay for them when they wont normal brands like One A Day.

Honestly, that makes sense. If the policy is to have women taking them now then it could be that he just did it the way you describe.