Prenatal Vitamins?

Good morning everyone!  So I got married only a couple weeks ago but we are starting in a couple months to get pregnant (I'm 27 and my husband is 34).  Anyway I started pre-natal vitamins that my doctor prescribed and I have noticed an increase in weight gain.  Since I started them 2 weeks ago the scale is up 5 pounds!  I am eating the same and exercising the same and it keeps going up!  I know I am not pregnant...I am still on the pill I just wanted to start getting some of the vitamins and folic acid going.  Any thoughts on what may be going on??

Thanks!

Jessica

Hmmm...I don't know anything about them making you gain weight...but I had a hard time with them making me quesy...so I took the children's chewable kind. I don't know if that would hep, but it is good to know that is an option :) I think the most important thing right now is (as you mentioned) getting folic acid....so if you just drink some OJ every day, in a few months, you should be good :)

I know for me when I started taking them.. totally TMI but my bowel movements slowed down because of the amount of iron. I ended up taking a lot of granola bars (oatmeal and raisin) to help with it. Though I wasn't really all that healthy when I was preggo, I know there are much better ways to get fiber to help that out. I'm not sure if this could cause weigh gain but if you haven't "gone" then maybe?

I've still been going regularly.  I take them at night with dinner so I have enough food in me from the day so they don't make me sick.  I have read that they can make you gain and also that they can't.  I have also read that they could just make you retain more water?  I've been drinking a lot of water hoping that will help.  I just hate that I'm gaining!  HOneymoon is next week and we are going to Mexico and I need to fit in all my clothes!  haha

I take prenatal vitamins.. not because I'm trying to get pregnant, but because of the fabulous effects they have on your hair, nails, and skin! Personally, I haven't noticed a weight gain at all, and they haven't had any adverse effects on me.

I've been taking prenatal vitamins for 2 years now. I was pregnant for 9 months out of the 2 years. The only weight gain I experienced was from pregnancy. I've lost 45 pounds after giving birth and while still taking prenatal vitamins.

From About.com Nutrition:

"Prenatal vitamins are very important for a healthy pregnancy, especially folic acid. Folic acid is a supplemental form of a B vitamin called folate that will reduce the risk of spina bifida in the baby. Prenatal vitamins don't have any calories and don't contribute the the weight gain of pregnancy.

Many women gain fat around the hips, buttocks and abdomen during pregnancy. That is the way our bodies are made and it is perfectly normal, and prenatal vitamins have nothing to do with it. A pregnant women needs to gain around 15-25 pounds during a normal pregnancy."

I know that 5 pounds seems like a lot of weight to gain but you could just be retaining water (as you mentioned). The vitamins wouldn't cause you to retain water, though. Remember, correlation does not imply causation (a phrase I'm hearing a lot in reference to flu vaccines!). The 5 pounds could simply be a normal fluctuation in weight. How often are you weighing yourself? Are you really not able to fit into your clothes because of the 5 pounds?