~ Written by IBDSuperHeroes team member, Annie Richards.
How I found out I needed folic acid supplements
In 2017, I found myself becoming increasingly tired. I was
due by B12 injection so I assumed it was that. Until I dropped my son off with
his dad, went to sleep, and woke up 25 hours later to my phone notifications
blowing up! If it wasn’t for the fact that I had arranged a call with my friend
and I had many missed calls and messages worried about me I don’t think I’d
have looked at the date and realised straight away. This was just after
Christmas in 2017 so I had to wait a few days for a blood test. They checked my
B12 (in case I just needed more frequent injections) and my folate levels. The
results came back, and my folate was almost none existent.
As it was a GP who discovered it, it was mostly done online.
I went in for the blood tests, had a note put on my online profile that they
were prescribing folic acid tablets for 4 weeks, and I got a text from the
pharmacy to say my tablets were ready to collect. It was only about 18 months
after, and because of the constant need for folic acid supplements, that it was
connected to my Crohn’s disease.
I had a right hemicolectomy in 2014, so I don’t absorb
certain nutrients properly (B12 included), so they believe it is down to that.
Now that my gastro team are involved they are a lot more
aware and understanding about these things. It’s them that have a dietician
help me try to incorporate folate into my diet as well as the medications to
try and help. Folic acid has been added to my repeat prescription list, so I take
it on a regular basis. Even though my levels are never ‘normal’ they are high
enough that I don’t need any other intervention.
Now, I need to have blood tests whenever I’m on my period as
folate levels are known to drop at that time, and I have needed a blood bag due
to low folate before (especially if the folate level doesn’t rise again after the
period has ended).
A more recent experience
Recently, I began feeling really exhausted, out of breath
going up the stairs, and like there was weights on all my limbs. I also suffer
from restless legs syndrome, and that was out of control too. The medication I
was on for that didn’t help, and it was no longer just my legs, my arms were
flailing around all night too!
They ran blood tests and it was discovered that the folic
acid tablets aren’t working as well as they used to be. They are checking to see
if I’m flaring in my small intestine - which could be a contributing factor as
to why this is happening.
For more information on vitamin B12 or folate deficiency
anaemia, go to the NHS
website.
Comments
Post a Comment