Can you buy a folic acid lozenge???

[Moggie]

Morning all.

I know my question is a strange one but I have an 85 year old mum who HATES taking tablets and I need to get some folic acid into her as her folate blood results is sitting right at the bottom of the range at 4, plus I have been informed (not by her GP I might add) that since starting her B12 injections this could possibly be even lower now - am I right???

I have just ordered Jarrow Formulas Methyl Folate thinking they were like the B12 lozenge only to realise that they are capsules which contain gelatin (I am a long standing veggie and I have bought some for myself also) so another question is can both myself and my mum open up the capsules and put the powder in a drink without it losing it effectiveness???

Quick update for all those people that helped me sort my mum out a few months back - she is still having B12 injections once a week, she has had no falls since starting her injections, her thyroid medication and her high dose vitd liquid, she has more energy that she used to have with enables her to do more, her dizzy spells have stopped and she has lost weight. So all in all a very good result, just a shame that she still thinks it is all in my mind and there is nothing wrong with her apart from old age!!!!!!!!!!

Moggie x

[Secondchance]

Good news. You can also get multi vitamin drinks like berroca which as far as I recall contain folic acid.

[Moggie in reply to Secondchance]

Thanks for that, I have just looked them up on Amazon but I am not sure they will suit and I really wanted just folic acid.

Moggie x

[clivealive Forum Support]

The folic acid tablets I take almost "melt in my mouth" (if not in my hand) so I guess crushed into a drink would be OK. Folic acid is also added to some breakfast cereals so read the packets.

The natural way to get Folate is in leafy green vegetables, sprouts, asparagus, beans etc so say to your Mum and my mother used to say to me "eat your greens"

[Moggie in reply to clivealive]

Thanks for that - could you tell me what make of tablets you take as the "melt in the mouth" kind sound just the ticket. My mum is an old fashioned war time cook and eating leafy green is like second nature to her and was force feed them as children.lol.

Moggie x

[clivealive Forum Support in reply to Moggie]

We buy all our "non prescription" supplements online from Healthspan. Delivery normally 2 - 3 days.

I take 1 – Folic Acid 400μg every day and they come in "letter box friendly" size packs of 360 tablets

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[Moggie in reply to clivealive]

Thanks every so much for that - have already looked for the one you mentioned and found it. Unfortunately I have just taken delivery of the Amazon ones so will try and persuade my mum to take these and then will buy her the ones you have suggested. If she wont take them I will use them myself and do as fbirder has suggested and put them in a drink - maybe my tea once a day???????

This site is brilliant for people like me who are trying to sort out something they know nothing about and it's all down to the very knowledgeable members and their kindness.

Thanks again, problem solved.

Moggie x

[jade_s in reply to Moggie]

You might also want to put the contents in a cold drink. Heat tends to destroy some vitamins, though not sure about its effect on folic acid. Good luck!

[Moggie in reply to jade_s]

Thanks Jade - I have only just finished typing a reply to fbirder asking that exact question so a glass of water it will be.

I can always rely on people on this site to steer me in the right direction and I know for sure that my mum and me would not be doing as well as we are if it wasn't for the members on this site.

Moggie x

[fbirder]

If you open the capsules and sprinkle them into a drink that should work just as well.

Don't try dissolving it in anything acidic as it will not be soluble - so no orange juice, coke or fizzy water. I pinch of bicarbonate of soda in a glass of water should help it dissolve.

But, like clivealive says, green leafy veg, like spinach, is probably the best.

[Moggie in reply to fbirder]

Thanks for your reply - if my stubborn mother wont take them I will be putting them in my tea (or do you think the heat will effect them???). If not my tea I will do as you suggest and use the bicarb trick in a glass of water.

The funny thing about all the help I received on this site regarding my mum made me realise that my balance problems (and other niggling ailments) could possible be a B12 issue for me too, so I put myself on 5,000iu B12 daily and BINGO my balance problems have stopped, as has my dizzy spells and I have been able to reduce my thyroid meds. So I got a bog-off really didn't I - two people helped in one go.

Thanks again.

Moggie x

[jade_s in reply to Moggie]

I did a real quick search and it appears that folate is stable with exposure to heat, so tea might actually be ok. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/124...

If your mother has PA, then you're likely to have it too. Very glad that the lozenges help you now, but may not in the future....

[Moggie in reply to jade_s]

Thanks for taking the trouble to research the effect of heat on folic acid. Will give tea a go and if I feel no difference I will revert to water.

I know that PA runs in families and my B12 levels have always been low (but not low enough for my GP to treat) so was not at all surprised that taking B12 has helped me so much but can I ask please what you mean by my lozenges may not work in the future???

Moggie x

[jade_s in reply to Moggie]

"what you mean by my lozenges may not work in the future" - what I mean is that if the deficiency is caused by lack of intrinsic factor due to an autoimmune condition, then eventually you will not be able to absorb any of the B12 that you take orally.

I guess there are some people who are able to successfully use sublingual tablets despite having PA, and nasal sprays in some cases, but for the most part injections are needed.

[Moggie in reply to jade_s]

Thanks for that - something for me to keep an eye on in the future as I am well aware that if you have one autoimmune illness, mine being hashimoto's, you are three times more likely to get another one. I have spent over two years trying to heal my gut by eliminating all the normal culprits, like gluten, dairy etc, so lets hope I have done enough to keep the lozenges working.

[fbirder in reply to Moggie]

My thanks to jade_s for the heat stability data. Although tea is somewhat acidic, reducing the solubility, the heat will increase solubility. So it should be OK.

[Moggie in reply to fbirder]

Many thanks, not just to Jade, but to all of you for your help and suggestions.

Moggie x

[Frodo]

You can get patches online, bypassing tablets altogether, but they are B12 and folic acid, not just folic acid alone.

[Moggie in reply to Frodo]

Thanks for the suggestion but I doubt very much that my mum would go for that. She is a very stubborn lady who, according to her, does not need B12 injections, vitd supplements or thyroid medication so to suggest she wear a patch would not go down very well. It's been hard enough fighting the GP regarding her treatment but, unfortunately, I am also fighting my mum to get her to take it - even having a nurse in once a week to inject her is a waste of her time according to her!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks again.

Moggie x