pregnancy vitamins- making me sick?

Question

i'm currently taking Elevit (pregnancy vitamins). It's making me so constipated I feel ill. It also seems to cause foul smelling gas. The smell of my own gas is so bad (and I'm pregnant!) that it actually makes me vomit. My mother is urging me to continue taking them but is it worth it?

Answer 1

When I was pregnant they made me sick as well. I found that if I took them RIGHT before I went to bed it was easier. You NEED to keep taking them. You can't just think of yourself right now. If you need to ask your doctor about getting colace, a stool softener. I had to get a pre-nantal plus vit, one with colace in it already. You will end up with hemroids if you continue to strain. Good Luck!

Answer 2

Prenatal vitamins often cause these kinds of problems. My most common problem was how they affected the smell of my breath. Consitpation is comon during pregnancy, with or without the vitamins.
If they make your stomach upset, you could try taking them with a snack, or even taking them before bed instead of in the morning.
You could cut back on them and not take them every day and alternate them a few days of the week. Not taking them at all isn't a good idea. Your baby needs the nutrients, and no matter what diet you follow, you can't provide them on your own. Especially the folic acids.
If you continue having problems like these that make you uncomfortable, you could also talk to your OB about swtiching you to another brand and see how that works as well.
Unfortunately, prenatal vitamins cause some uncomfortable things for moms to be (bad breath, gas, nausea,...etc), but taking them is important and the benefits the baby receives from completely outweighs the side effects.
Good luck and Congrats!

Answer 3

NInety-nine times out of a hundred it is from the iron in the vitamins. Look to see if you can find another brand with a lower amount of iron, or without iron. If you need the iron try Floradix, which is great for pregnant women because it doesn't cause the constipation and nausea. You should be able to find it at a health food store if you can't find it in the pharmacy.

Good luck and happy pregnancy :)

Answer 4

You can switch to a different brand. You should be taking prental vitamins, but which brand doesn't really matter. Find one that doesn't make you sick. They even have gummy bear type ones too that's a little easier to digest. You have to drink more water, intake more fiber to get rid of the constipation. The constipation comes from the iron in the vitamins, and you need the iron during pregnancy.

Answer 5

Try getting your doctor to switch you to a different brand. I started on Prenate Elite with similar problems (as well as awful tasting burps, yuck!). My doctor switched me to Precare Premier, which has a stool softener, and things have been much better. Your other option would be, with your doctor's approval of course, to take a Colace stool softener (approved by my doctor, but they're all different) to deal with the constipation. Make sure the brand of stool softener is approved by your doctor, as some have different ingredients that are not safe during pregnancy.

Feel better soon!

Answer 6

Try Childrens Chewable vitamins until you are a little further along, that is what my doctor told me to do for a while. It helped me and they still have what you need like 100% folic acid and iron. They are a little low in calcium but you can compensate by eating foods rich in calcium.

Answer 7

My vitamins where also making me sick. I also had morning sickness really bad. My doctor told me to take Flintstones children vitamins, 2-3 a day. She said they do they exact same thing without making you sick. So far i have not had any problems.

Answer 8

yes its very worth it. i had the same problem so i take them at night before bed time so i wont feel a thing. as far as constipation, the doctor will prescribe you a stool softner, its not like ex-lax, all it does is make it easier to go to the bathroom. you dont get the runs or anything. its like when you need to go its a lot easier. hey, it worked for me. try it

Answer 9

those pills will make you do that. you are actually supposed to eat before you take them so your stomach does not get upset. the gas is totally normal though and the constipation. i have had that just about my entire pregnancy.

Answer 10

Tell your doctor so he/she can give you a different one that agrees with your system. Also, be sure that you are taking them with lots of water (to alleviate the constipation). Feel better!