Coming off the pill and starting folic acid. Eek!!! Questions!!

[DubChick]

Hi ladies

I'm a browser rather than a regular poster as I haven't felt I've been able to offer anything to posts that someone else hasn't already, so I hope you don't mind me posting for advice/support now I think we're on our ttc journey at last?

A bit of background info on us. I have 3 children aged almost 16, 12.5 and 7 years old from my first marriage, and my husband has a child aged 6. I'm 40 and hubby is a couple of years younger. We've spoken about the possibility of us having a child together on and off for a while, but never really decided when to start.

I said I didn't want to give birth once I was 42, which is in September 2019...... So as we've left it so long to decide that I will now come off the pill, and I want to be on folic acid for 3 months before we actively start trying, I'm not actually expecting to get pregnant at all as we will only have 3 months to properly try.

It took me 5 months to conceive my youngest child, which is another reason I'm expecting it not to happen.

So now to the questions if anyone can help please?

1. What is the actual benefit of taking folic acid for 3 months before conceiving? Does the folic acid get stored in your body? I know it's to help prevent things like spina bifida and to help the baby grow and develop well, but will abstaining for 3 months whilst taking folic acid actually make a difference? If I did get pregnant I would continue to take it for at least 3 months during the pregnancy too.

2. What is the best (most accurate/successful)/easiest/cheapest way to chart ovulation? I've been on the mini pill for 7 years and because of my age and the short amount of time we have to actually ttc, I'd like to know exactly what my body is doing. I used temperature charting the last couple of times, but my sleep patterns are so erratic nowadays I'm not sure it would be accurate. I can check mew cervix/cervical fluid, but the fluid is obviously different whilst taking the pill so that would be a new thing to get used to. I did use the Fertility Friend app last time as well, but not sure if it's still around.

3. When I was on a different site years ago there was a belief that certain times of the month produced boys or girls. It was said that dtd the day of, or day after ovulation created boys (as male sperm swim faster but aren't as strong so don't live very long) and dtd 3-5 days before ovulation created girls (because they swim slower but are stronger, so last longer). Is there any truth/evidence/belief on this site that that's true?

I'm sure there will be more questions to follow in the coming months, but thank you so much to anyone that can reply and answer any of my questions 😊

DubChick
Xx

 

[Akua]

Hello!

Gosh what a lot of questions. Bear with me whilst I try and answer some of them.

Taking folic acid three months prior to conceiving is considered gold standard, as it’s sometbing the majority of the public are deficient in and it means that your body is already up to normal by the time you conceive. That said, I’ve read a statistic that 55% of pregnancies are unplanned, and it’s not like there’s a 55% rate of spinal bifida out there. If I were you I’d start taking it now and I’d have a long hard think about waiting the three months bearing in mind you’ve given yourself quite a tight window to conceive in! You might wait three months to start ttc then not conceive for a while anyway.

It’d be best to come off the pill asap to start getting used to your body’s natural cycles. Download the fertility friend app and input your temperatures in there, as well as taking ovulation tests every day. Keep an eye out for your cervical mucus. All of these will help you pinpoint ovulation.

I don’t think there’s any reputable evidence to say you can sway the gender, although you read all sorts of theories online.

 

[pupperino]

Welcome

In Australia, the recommendation is taking 0.5mg of folic acid one month prior to TTC - so I think 1-3 months is just a safeguard. I agree with Akua and it would be worthwhile starting the folate supplements sooner rather than later.

Definitely worthwhile to chart your cycle and symptoms coming off the pill and hopefully your cycle will regulate pretty quickly. I use the Flo app and use OPKs + checking CM to determine my fertile period. I'm hopeless with temps so i don't bother with them - although it is a quick, easy and cheap way to track your cycle if you can manage it. Any of those options will point to a higher likelihood of ovulation coming up or when it happened. None of them are 100% accurate, only an ultrasound can say for sure.

The 3rd point is BS ... There is no research evidence that theory actually works in practice!

 

[WinterWolf]

1. It's to build up your the stores in your body. We need a lot more when pregnant and most of us don't have a lot in our diets. I wouldn't abstain for 3 months. It's good to build it up but as long as you take it daily when pregnant, you'll most likely be ok.

2. You can get BBT thermometers for 5 pounds and then there are free apps for charting. It's not expensive. It didn't work for me and can take a few cycles to find a pattern, but worth a shot. I only check my CM to know when I'm ovulating but OPKs are a good option too (you can get about 50 of them for 10 pounds online)

3. You're talking about the Shettles method. There is some research to support it but it's largely unproven. You can sway for a girl and still get a boy. It makes it take much longer to conceive and since it doesn't always work I wouldn't bother with it.

 

[DubChick]

Thank you so much everyone, I really appreciate your replies ��

Hubby was a little displeased when I said I'd like to use alternative contraception in the few months before we actually tried to conceive �� so he will be pleased to know you don't HAVE to actually wait 3 months before trying to conceive ��

With my age, and it taking me 5 months to conceive my youngest, I just want to try and do everything possible to help towards a) conceiving in the first place, and b) helping it to be a healthy pregnancy as much as I can.

I used bbt and cm charting, but have never used opk's, I don't know anything about those.

When I was temp charting I was sleeping better and more regularly, whereas nowadays my sleep is much more irregular and I'm waking up at different times each day.

I'll give them a go this time, along with checking my cervix too, so I'm covering all bases haha.

I've downloaded the Flo fertility app to add my cycle info on, is this one of the better ones? I used the fertility friend website the last twice, but looking at them today a lot of it needs to be paid for so I'm not using that one this time.

Thanks so much again!! ���� Xx