Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards | prenatal vitamins (and vitamins in general)

I've been taking PrimaCare One vitamins, but they are really expensive -- $45 for 30. (My insurance does not cover prescription prenatals.) I really can't afford that and I'm wondering if there is a cheaper OTC alternative.

I looked up the PrimaCare One and here's what they have:

Omega-3 Fatty Acids.......................... 300 mg
Linoleic Acid................................. 30 mg
Linolenic Acid ............................... 30 mg
[Was that a typo or is there really a linoleic vs. linolenic?]
Folic Acid, USP ............................... 1 mg
Vitamin B 6 (as pyridoxine HCl)............... 25 mg
Vitamin C (as Ester-C �) * ................... 25 mg
Vitamin D 3 (from cholecalciferol)............ 170 IU
Vitamin E (from dl-alpha-tocopheryl acetate)... 30 IU
Calcium....................................... 150 mg
Iron (as carbonyl iron)........................ 27 mg

I really struggle with multivitamins because the iron just kills me. I don't get C or D, but I do get really bad abdominal pains. (It's always affected me like this, even before my health problems, and my mom is the same way.) The PrimaCare vitamins did not bother me this way at all.

So I bought a cheap OTC prenatal ... it was $5 for 100-day supply and has:

Vitamin A (as beta carotene) ................ 4000 IU
Vitamin C .................................... 120 mg
Vitamin D .................................... 400 IU
Vitamin E ..................................... 30 IU
Thiamin (Vit. B1) ............................ 1.8 mg
Riboflavin (Vit. B2) ......................... 1.7 mg
Niacin ........................................ 20 mg
Vitamin B6 ................................... 2.6 mg
Folic Acid .................................. 800 mcg
Vitamin B12 ................................... 8 mcg
Calcium ...................................... 200 mg
Iron .......................................... 28 mg
Zinc .......................................... 25 mg

These are a bust -- I tried taking one already and got the old familiar iron-induced stomachache. So for now I am going to do what I did before taking the PrimaCare, which is taking kids' vitamins w/ no iron and then taking additional folic acid. There are a few OTC prenatals that say the iron is delayed-release -- does that help any? Am I a freak of nature by getting bothered by iron like this?

What is interesting is that I didn't realize that the PrimaCare had so few vitamins. I don't eat a healthy balanced diet right now -- I have really bad nausea so mostly I eat pretzels, crackers, soups, and occasionally a whole bag of mini Kit-Kats on extra-crazy-hormonal days -- so I really need all the vitamins I can get.

I will be discussing this with my doctor, but I was just wondering if anyone else had any thoughts on this. I also have this guilty little feeling that if I do eventually get pregnant I will be compromising my baby's health because I am too cheap to shell out $45/mo for prenatals.

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jen

"It's one of the most serious things that can possibly happen to one in a battle -- to get one's head cut off." -- LC

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