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Pregnacare Vitamins

hormoneharmony

I just went down a rabbit hole reading the fine print on Pregnacare vitamins and now I’m obsessed with “optimizing” how to take them. Anyone else doing this?

Questions I can’t find straight answers to:

Timing conflicts: The packs often have an iron-containing tablet and a calcium/D3 tablet. Do you separate them to avoid iron/calcium competing, or just take both with the main meal as instructed? Any ferritin changes either way?
Thyroid med users: If you’re on levothyroxine, how long do you space your Pregnacare (for the iron/calcium/iodine) away from your dose? Did it impact TSH or how you felt?
Folate form: Pregnacare lists folic acid (400 µg). Anyone with MTHFR variants using it vs switching to methylfolate? Any real-world differences in labs (RBC folate, homocysteine) or outcomes?
Vitamin A: Am I right that their vitamin A is beta-carotene only (no retinol)? Has anyone confirmed this across the different versions?
Choline gap: I can’t see much choline in the labels. Are you adding separate choline or just leaning on eggs/food to hit the 450 mg target? Any brand/dose that didn’t cause fishy smell burps?
Omega-3 burps: Hacks for the fish oil capsule (freezing, taking with dinner, switching to algae DHA)? Does the “Plus” or “Max” version feel different digestion-wise?
Nausea: Did taking it at night vs morning help? Did the B6 in the formula make a noticeable difference for you?
Constipation: If the iron in Pregnacare binds you up, did splitting dose, every-other-day iron, or switching iron form help without tanking ferritin?
Lab test quirks: I read biotin can mess with some immunoassays at higher doses. Has anyone had odd thyroid or hormone labs while on Pregnacare and been told to pause before testing?
Vitamin D reality check: For those in low-sun seasons, did the included D keep your 25(OH)D in range, or did you need extra?

Would love to see your routines (what you take when), any lab numbers that improved/worsened, and what your OB/midwife/pharmacist advised about combining the different Pregnacare versions without double-dosing anything.

cyclesafe

Hey everyone, I’m totally with you on the rabbit hole-I’m about 10 weeks along and just started tweaking my Pregnacare routine after chatting with my midwife. As a newbie to this, I’ll share what I’ve pieced together from her advice and some quick reads, but def talk to your doc!

On timing conflicts: Yeah, I separate the iron tablet from the calcium one by a couple hours (iron in the morning with breakfast, calcium at lunch) to avoid them blocking each other. My ferritin was low pre-pregnancy (around 20 ng/mL), and after a month this way, it’s up to 35-no big changes if I’d taken them together, but I feel less wiped out. Instructions say with a meal, but she said spacing helps absorption.

For thyroid folks: I’m not on levo, but my sister is, and she waits 4 hours after her dose before her Pregnacare. Her TSH stayed stable, no weird feelings, but her endo suggested monitoring every 6 weeks.

Folate: I have the MTHFR thing (heterozygous), and stuck with the 400µg folic acid since my OB said it’s fine for most-my homocysteine dropped from 12 to 8 µmol/L after starting, RBC folate in normal range. But I’ve seen folks swear by methylfolate supps (like 800µg) for better energy; no outcomes diff for me yet.

Vitamin A: Yep, Pregnacare Original and Plus are beta-carotene only (checked the Vitabiotics site and label)-no retinol risk, which is a relief.

Choline: Labels have like 50mg tops, so I eat eggs daily (2-3 for _250mg) and added a 200mg bitartrate supp-no fishy burps at all, unlike some. Hits my 450mg easy without extras.

Omega-3: Freezing the capsules and taking with a fatty dinner killed the burps for me. Switched to algae DHA in the Max version-feels gentler on my stomach, less reflux.

Nausea: Nighttime dosing was a game-changer; B6 (10mg in it) helped mellow mine out after a few days.

Constipation: Iron does bind me up, so I split to every other day and added magnesium (200mg). Ferritin held steady at 30 ng/mL.

Labs: No biotin issues here (it’s only 150µg), but my midwife said pause multis 48 hours before thyroid/hormone tests to be safe-mine came back perfect.

D: In winter here, the 10µg kept me at 50 nmol/L, but I bumped to 25µg total for insurance-levels now 75, feeling way better.

My routine: Levo-wait, then iron tab AM with OJ; main pack at dinner; calcium/D3 mid-afternoon. OB okayed mixing Original + Omega-3 but warned against doubling iron/iodine. Labs improved overall (energy up, no dips). What about you all-any supps that backfired?