Hi,
I have Hashimoto’s and have never really felt great since diagnosis 8 years ago. I had some blood tests before Christmas and my Dr said my folate levels were low and gave me a prescription for folic acid tablets. However, they make me feel really nauseous and I just can’t handle them! Does anyone know of a good supplement that is gentle on the stomach?
Thanks
Have you asked your doctor for an alternative?
Or you could try methylfolate.
I haven’t spoken to the dr yet, they’re calling me Monday so I’ll ask then. I’ve looked at methylfolate online but not sure if it’s actually gentler on the stomach so didn’t want to waste money. I just wondered if anyone else had the same problem and had a good alternative
Hopefully someone else will be along with some experience 
Thank you, I appreciate you taking the time to answer
Hi Wolfqueen, my folate level was low and I took Thorne Research Basic B Complex as recommended on here. They raised the level well and I still take them.
Hi its good this works for you. My experience was that I was found to have low ferratin level (6) though six what I dont know, and I had been taking basic B for ages.
If you had a ferritin level of 6 that is seriously deficient and below every range I have ever seen. Your GP should have done a full blood count and an iron panel to see if there was any anaemia. Your level was low enough to warrant an iron infusion, tablets will take many months to raise your level.
GP gave me 3x 220mg ferrous fumerate tablets a day for 12 weeks but it made me feel sick!
That is the treatment for iron deficiency anaemia. Did your GP do a full blood count and iron panel to determine that?
As they made you feel sick, did you go back to your GP to ask for an alternative?
Article about low ferritin restartmed.com/low-ferritin/
My ferritin and B12 were fine, just my folic acid levels that were low. I do struggle to take any sort of supplements, they always seem to upset my stomach
My reply about ferritin was, as it says "in reply to ffranny" who jumped onto your thread, it wasn't replying to you.
Your body stores iron in ferritin. There is no obvious connection between supplementing B vitamins like folate, and a change in your level of ferritin - although there is a connection.
It could be that improving your B vitamin levels improved your body's ability to use iron. And if your ferritin level / stored iron was already quite low it might have got lower because your body was starting to use it. This isn't a reason to stop taking folate or B complex. It's a good reason to improve your iron levels because your body clearly needed iron and has been using yours up.
I take Igenus B Complex which is less smelly and a smaller pill to swallow. It is slowly lifting my low folate level. Plus eat plenty of greens to build up folate level naturally.
There is a lovely supplement called Gentle Iron you can get it from Boots.
I take that every day now.
Gentle iron is an iron supplement, it will raise ferritin/iron levels. Folate is a B vitamin, an iron supplement isn't for raising folate levels.
heh ffranny - you might find the iron supplement may not rise as quickly as you think.
There is a danger that the iron /ferritin may not be absorbed . The tests should be redone
within several weeks to see if there is any rise in your ferritin/iron levels. Know of another contributor who has had to wait over 18 months for an infusion as there are so many cuts
and delays. The other person had thyroid disease with celiac disease, which with gluten and other allergies had affected her iron/ferritin absorption. She has been unable to go back to work, due to slow response to her symptoms and referral times to departments.
The medical profession may not give any information to the patient, so in ignorance the patient does not want to bother the doctor.
Thanks, after 12 weeks on 3 tablets a day which I had to cut to two a day as they made me feel ill, the iron level had risen to 30 and I was declared within normal limits ..
It depends what table the doctor is using - it should be the optimal level which is 100. It's good you are getting a response but keep the supplements up and take vitamin c and b range to help absorb the ferritin. The contributor (UK) who had the problem can't raise hers any more than 28 and has been told it is far too low. She has had referrals to a haematologist and a GI. She is so tired, she cannot go back to work. She is at last having infusions which quickly reverse a condition which can lead to other serious health problems. Be cautious about information if is not an optimal level for health. There may be a difference of 70 points to give an optimal reading.
I would suggest trying methylfolate. Some people are not able to breakdown folic acid and need to take methylfolate instead. Also there may be fillers in the folic acid that are problematic. I also suggest taking a lower strength methylfolate to begin and then try increasing dosage.
Hiya, just to let you know that I have been taking feroglobin for last few weeks, as I was always sleeping, and every time I had my injection (every 8 weeks) it seem to have no effect, I asked my nurse about iron level (folate) and I was told that because I have been diagnosed with PA I don't need my levels doing. They are trying to get me to go back to 12 weekly injections, but this gal ain't having it!!!! (As soon as I started taking feroglobin I have felt better and best of all not sleeping during day.)
Definitely keep doing what you’re doing! I really don’t understand the medical profession sometimes, it’s not even working is why make you have the injections further apart?! It’s very annoying that we have to find the answers ourselves, my drs are pretty useless, if it doesn’t show in a blood test they just say try to push anti-depressants on you!
Folate is NOT iron. Folate is a B vitamin. And contrary to your nurse's comment about having vitamin B12 injections being a reason never to test your folate level or your iron level, it is exactly the opposite.
In order to use the B12 you are injected with or supplementing in any other way, for your body to be able to make use of the B12 you absolutely MUST have a good level of folate.
Regarding iron / ferritin - people who are poor at absorbing B12 are often poor at absorbing other nutrients too - including iron.
On the subject of folate, this is worth reading :
chriskresser.com/folate-vs-...
Sorry, I know folate is not iron, my old doctor used to give me folic acid every 3 months for a couple of months to bring my levels up, Going to mention it to doctor when I next go, then hopefully the nurse will take my blood before giving me the injection, otherwise it produces false levels. It is the same story "we have guidelines to follow" so you should follow guidelines as well - try telling that to my body.
I’ve never been diagnosed officially, I was sent to a cardiologist a couple of months ago and he said he believes I have chronic fatigue, my gp said she’d look into that when they get my heart results back (they thought I might have POTS but decided it’s probably IST so had to have a 24 hour monitor)
I would suggest fiercely resisting a diagnosis of chronic fatigue or chronic fatigue syndrome. Once you have this on your records getting medical treatment of any kind will be practically impossible because everything will be blamed on your "chronic fatigue".
I find it hard to get medical treatment anyway! I do have chronic fatigue but I believe it’s because of my thyroid, whereas my gp insists it isn’t as my tsh is fine (that’s all they’ll test). Never once had my T3 levels checked in 8 years, even when I was referred to an endo
If you have not had tests for celiac disease, with gluten as a part feature of food intolerance, this could explain your fatigue disorder, wiht your low B12 and folate.
A gastro intestinal specialist, may confirm another form of autoimmune disease linked with the thyroid. Gluten intolerance can affect your thyroid and your gut.
This can add to the fatigue you are experiencing. The NHS test do dairy, egg, wheat , and gluten, but may not test for multi grain intolerance, or for other foods which might be affecting you. Gluten damages the thyroid and there is research internationally which shows other body systems can be affected as well as the brain. There may be the menopause to consider as well. Age can be younger than the late forties and fifties - it can be as young as thirty. Also M.E. is now recognised as a cause of extreme fatigue, and is now recognised as another autoimmune disorder. You could spend all your life in hospitals with tests!
I take Jarrow methylfolate 400mcg daily plus eggs, leafy greens etc in my diet. x
You should make sure your B12 levels are at optimal level. Some advise not to take folic acid on it's own, but to take B12 with the folic acid. May be it's better to try and eat foods which are high in folates, such as dark green vegetables broccoli cabbage chard. and kale. You can just look up the levels of folates in foods. Wikipaedia has tables giving levels of folates in 100 grams of food. If your B12 is not at optimal levels, then it needs topping up.
It is also recommended to take B6 as well as other B group to support your immune system as well as vitamin C. Vitamin D3 supplement is also recommended. I have used Floravital supplements which may include B12 and folic acid in liquid form.
My b12 is in range but it’s at the low end. I’ve just ordered a b complex supplement which has vitamin c in, and methylfolate so hopefully that will help and I can tolerate it! I’m already on vitamin d. I do eat a fairly good diet, we always cook from scratch due to my son having food allergies, I must have some absorption issues.
Thanks for all your advice
Low folate 
Low folate
Ferritin and folate levels
Low folate
Low Folate Level
