allergic to folic acid?

Is it possible?  My first pregnancy I took two flinstone vitamins (per my doctor suggestion since prenatals made me sick) and an extra 400 mcg of folic acid.  I just picked up a the spring valley brand from walmart. 

Now, this time around, I am doing the SAME thing and I have developed a rash and itch all over.  I tried trial and error, not taking the folic acid and just the flinstones and I the reaction subsides.  But as soon as I take the supplement I feel sick and itchy....is this in my head????

My primary care doc said it is VERY rare to have an allergic reaction to folic acid unless it is in excess above 1 mg or 1,000 mcg. 

I plan on calling my OB soon...this is just too strange!

It's more likely that you're allergic to one of the inactive ingredients, not the folic acid. I'm guessing Flintstones have folic acid in them, too.

Good luck :)

Edited to add: At the beginning of March, I had what I thought were hives resulting from an allergic reaction. I acutally had Fifth Disease (which sounds a lot worse than it is). My doctor told me that hives move around your body. They'll go away in one area just to pop up in another. The rash I had was literally all over my arms and wasn't raised at all. I had started using a new shampoo the day before and it was just coincidence that I got this at the same time I started using a new product.

I was extremely itchy and my skin looked sunburned and was hot to the touch. Eventually, it turned into a lacy-looking rash. Other than the rash, the only other symptom I had was very achey joints (mostly knees and wrists).

That's what I was thinking Bier!  Here are the ingredients...

Dicalcium Phosphate, Cellulose, Maltodextrin, Croscarmellose, Vegetable Stearic Acid, Vegetable Magnesium , Silica.

These seem pretty common to me.  Croscarmellose is from a sulfuric family, and I have had problems with sulfur in the past.

My other thought was the fact that I had don't have the majority of my colon.  Maybe the absorption is causing this.  Either way, don't you think it is important to find a vitamin with more Folic Acid????  I have to find something that doesn't have these additive I guess?

Fifth Disease...I will look this up...sounds interesting.

I have a sulfa allergy but haven't had any issues with supplements in the past. At least, not that I know of.

Maybe find an organic supplement? Do you have a Whole Foods in your area? Another option would be to eat a fortified cereal a couple times a day (Kashi and Total both have lots of folate in them, I believe). Ultimately, you should see what your doctor thinks (I know that's what you said you were going to do anyway).

Fifth Disease causes the infamous "slapped-cheek" rash in children. I just thought I might mention it because I confused it with hives :)

How far along are you and for how long have you tested the hives w/ folic acid supplement theory?   have you tried to eat a meal with a large quantity of folic acid to see if there's a reaction? 

Ditto to bier's suggestion of an organic supplement.  The regular Women's One A day prenatals made me feel gross but i've been on the organic for over a month now and have no problems. 

When I was around six weeks pregnant I broke out in hives and went to the doctor and ended up with a diagnosis of, "sometimes pregnant women get hives in their first trimester from all the hormones."  Mine went away after about four to five days and I never did pinpoint what specifically made it flare up - sometimes I would be eating, sometimes not, etc. 

Okay...so I called the doc and she said that as long as I have a good diet, I shouldn't need any prenatals...ummm...that seems odd to me, but okay.  I checked my cheerios box and sure enough 1 serving offers 50% of my DV of folic acid.  So 2 servings of that, and I have 400 mcgs.  That makes me feel a little better...

I can take Gummy Vites...the all natural Lil' Critters brand.  So I am just going to take those I think and make sure I am getting some good food in my diet to make up for what is lacking in those vites. 

I am having the same issue with Folic Acid. I take Flintstone gummies, Folic Acid, and Iron.... I would get sick when I took normal prenatals. I have talked to my doctor and she said it is probably an allergic reaction to the Folic Acid. I know Flintstone vitamins and alot of food have Folic Acid in them too. She said it was just taking so much Folic Acid at one time. I eat more cereal now to make up for the Folic Acid I need (spread out over the day). Since I am pregnant, I need to eat more anyway. Finding a healthy cereal is a great snack in between meals!!

Original Post by lunger0514:

Is it possible?  My first pregnancy I took two flinstone vitamins (per my doctor suggestion since prenatals made me sick) and an extra 400 mcg of folic acid.  I just picked up a the spring valley brand from walmart. 

Now, this time around, I am doing the SAME thing and I have developed a rash and itch all over.  I tried trial and error, not taking the folic acid and just the flinstones and I the reaction subsides.  But as soon as I take the supplement I feel sick and itchy....is this in my head????

My primary care doc said it is VERY rare to have an allergic reaction to folic acid unless it is in excess above 1 mg or 1,000 mcg. 

I plan on calling my OB soon...this is just too strange!

This sounds very similar to what i'm going through! i have this weird rash thingy on my elbow & a small patch on the top of my hand & at the bend of my elbow [closer to my forearm]. my parents are concerned... me? not so much... i'm going to talk to my ob tho. they're the best people to ask before stopping anything thats given to you FOR the baby.

best of luck. let me know what your ob says.