MTHFR diagnosed - did Abassi give you Folgard or Metanx?
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Anonymous
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I just recently had all my battery of tests done after two miscarriages. As expected, I m hypothyroid due to Hashimoto's. No big surprise there really and Dr Abassi prescribed synthroid for it. However the unexpected part was the MTHFR mutation found. I'm pretty bummed but I want to take care of it. Abassi lightly explained I'm heterozygous c677 and prescribed folgard. I'm a doctors daughter and probably a terrible patient but I'm used to reading before taking anything. So I read that folgard is the wrong way to go. A better (yet perhaps not the ideal) way to go is taking Metanx.
I read many articles saying that Flogard is the rookie fix and could actually be more damaging than beneficial. I'm wondering for those of you that found have the MTHFR mutation what were you prescribed? While I obviously went to dr Abassi to get pregnant I truly believe that the first item should be to get me healthy. I'm not really interested on easy fixes and her prescribing Folgard gave me the feeling she doesn't know what she's doing. Sad because I really liked her. |
Anonymous
| I would just ask Dr. Abbasi her reasoning for prescribing one over the other (in a non-confrontational way.) |
Anonymous
| I am in NYC. I am cycling at Cornell. I am also heterozygous for MTHFR and my RE prescribed Folgard. I then saw a hematologist- top hematologist in NYC for thrombophilia stuff, and she agreed with the Folgard prescription. I hadn't heard it wasn't a good idea. What did the research say about WHY? |
cczbunnie83
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Basically, from what I understand, is that our body cannot properly process folic acid (a synthetic form of folate), and as heterozygous we only get about 60% of our intake. So yeah the logic would be to up our intake with more folic acid, so that we reach the 100%, right? But this is wrong because what we should be doing is getting the right form, an already processed from called Methylfolate or Folinic acid, which skips the processing part (which we can't do properly bcos we have MTHFR) and be successfully used by our body. An excess of folic acid is actually for us MTHFR a BAD thing because it stays in our body, unprocessed, and this levels build up. Elevated folic acid has potential to stimulate pre-existing cancer cells. Then we are not properly packed with folate, then we ttc, and if we are successful we are not really giving our bodies and our babies the necessary amount of folate to be healthy. Then even more, lets say we do have our babies which have at least 50% chance of getting out MTHFR gene and already a propensity to all the ailments related to MTHFR, like Autism. I think the big thing here for me is not only to be able to carry to term, but to really give my body what it needs to grow a healthy baby in the future... I'm scared when I go to the parenting section of this and other forums and read so many stories of mamas realizing they never took the right version of folate and now are realizing that maybe that has to do with their babies/kids showing signs of autism and other diseases/disorders. Here are some links I found useful and that made me question the Folgard prescription. Let me know what you think. http://mthfr.net/ (this website is soooo full of info, it actually gives me a headache but its worth reading) http://mthfr.net/is-mthfr-affecting-your-pregnancy/2013/05/24/ This one is a blog and it gives a nice summary of MTHFR and pregnancy http://mthfrliving.com/health-conditions/preparing-pregnancy-mthfr-mutations/#comment-1047 |
Anonymous
| The blog you link at the bottom is based on "Dr. Ben"'s and like you I did a lot of research and found he was one of the few really worked up about this issue. I think the truth is that being heterozygous this is unlikely to be impacting your health much at all and getting yourself worked up about it will likely be more of an issue than taking the Folgard and moving on. I was like you (also the daughter of two doctors) and regret worrying about it as much as I did since I later learned it was unlikely to have played much of a role in any of my issues (two chemicals and trouble getting pregnant). |
Anonymous
| I am homozygous c677, cycled at CCRM (and elsewhere but I think CCRM first prescribed it years ago) and took Folgard. When I was pregnant last year the MFM was unconcerned and said current thinking is that MTHFR doesn't affect pregnancy and that the real concern is TIA (transient ischemic attack or mini-stroke). My homocysteine levels were always normal, not elevated, fwiw. |
Anonymous
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The internet is not a good source of medical info unless you read & understand publications on PudMed.
Agree with PP, I did research for a friend some years ago and the evidence (12+ studies) was that MTHFR did not significantly affect pregnancies (miscarriages, pre-term birth, etc). Not even sure why they still test for it. |
Anonymous
| I agree with PPs that the MTHFR isn't a big deal (probably isn't responsible for your miscarriages) but I took folate over the counter for the reasons you cited, even though my doctor prescribed Folgard. Not sure why doctors still prescribe extra Folic Acid for MTHFR. |
Anonymous
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FYI, here's a good article on thrombophilic gene mutations and pregnancy loss. As you'll see, the risk is primarily associated with being homozygous or have multiple mutations together. Dr. Coulam has done a lot of research in this area if you want to read more.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16938111 |
Anonymous
This study is 8 years old. I think the current thinking is that it isn't as important as they once thought. |
cczbunnie83
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| Thanks everyone. I actually don't really "blame" MTHFR for my miscarriages. I actually think my Hashimoto's and Hypothryroid are more to blame. I also have no problem getting pregnant, I just have problems going over 6/8 weeks. If anything I agree with pp 12:15 and switching to folate instead of just extra Folic Acid (Folgard) seems a no-brainer IMO. |
Anonymous
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It's my understanding MTHR is a relatively controversial thing when it comes to folic avid intake and in general, and that mainstream doctors are starting to say it's a non-issue (depending on the type you have).
Having said that, I also saw Abassi and RAN from her after advice from this board given her treatment of me and folic acid issues (I was really angry at the time... if you search the forums you may find something). |
Anonymous
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I saw Abassi but in conjunction with an RI in NYC (Dr. Braverman). He prescribed me Metanx which she was fine with so if you asked to switch she may be open to it. Some docs say it doesn't make a difference and a few think Metanx is better (also more $$$). I haven't heard that Folgard is actually bad, however. Once I successfully made it into my pregnancy I also saw Dr. Hamersely as my high risk OB who specializes in MTHFR issues and she thought Metanx was better, too.
(FWIW, I gave birth to a healthy baby on Metanx plus a slew of other immunology treatments. I don't think MTHFR was the driving factor in my miscarriages, I just think having blood that clots more easily makes it easier for your immune system to mess with your pregnancy). |
Anonymous
| I was prescribed folguard by Abassi too for MTHFR and then was prescribed metanx by a specialist- Maternal Fetal in Rockville. But the metanx drug info/label made me super nervous- I don't think it's been tested for MTHFR and I worry about birth defects etc if there hasn't been testing. So instead I took one of the vitamines sold by mthfr.net which is about the same as the Folgard except these vitamines have the metabolized form of folate |