Vitamin and Mineral Supplementation in Thalassemia

Hi SF
Here too docs do not reccomend folic acid for thal majors. Their argument is as too why help the body to produce more faulty RBC`s. But my son takes 1mg of folic acid daily.

maha

Hi ALL :

Here too docs do not reccomend folic acid for thal majors

when I moved to US, the hematologist told my parents to discontinue folic acid. I don't remember why

Same here , my Doctor also discontiued Folic acid almost 2 years ago, i never asked  why , , soo dont know the reason ...

Take Care
Umair

I should take 5mg daily. 

I was also giving my son folic acid - Dr. Vichinsky said that it was not necessary so I stopped giving it to him.  He didn't say that there was harm in giving it to him he just said that it wasn't necessary    My thought is that folic acid has other uses than just helping make blood..hmmm

From a study, it seems Folic Acid is helpful.

Check out the complete clinical trial results at http://www.ams.ac.ir/AIM/0693/0019.pdf

From the conclusion section of the above trial:-

In conclusion, we recommend prophylactic and routine folic acid supplementation for all patients with β-thalassemia major and intermedia.

I don't remember where but i read somewhere that folic acid is good for cardiovascular health too.

Zaini.

I just found it ,

From http://www.yourhealthbase.com/folate.html

  A folic acid deficiency has been clearly linked to an elevated level of homocysteine, a sulfur-containing amino acid. High homocysteine levels, in turn, have been linked to cardiovascular disease and a host of other undesirable conditions. t is unfortunately, estimated that 88 per cent of all North Americans suffer from a folic acid deficiency. Obviously, the standard diet does not supply what we need. This has led to the fortification of cereals and other foodstuffs to try to ensure a minimum daily intake of 0.4 mg/day. Although beans and green vegetables like spinach and kale are good sources of folic acid, relatively few people eat lots of vegetables and cooking destroys most of the folate anyway. Realizing the poor availability from the diet many medical researchers now advocate daily supplementation with folic acid. Because folic acid needs the catalysts vitamins B12 and B6 to carry out its functions effectively it is usual to supplement with a combination of the three. Dosage recommendations for folic acid vary between 0.4 mg/day and 10 mg/day or more

I think there is no harm in taking it.

Zaini.

Thanks Zaini. I guess the reason they say majors don't need it is because they're not making their own blood, but it is needed by many bodily processes and there is a definite need, especially in pregnant women.

Thanks guys, I will start giving it to him again.

Sharmin

I think also for those Beta Plus thals, Folic Acid might help in - Whatever little Beta globin is being produced by their bone marrow.

Guys!

I appreciate your comments. I'll try to get some folic acid too. I can't believe I actually liked the folic acid tablets when I was little, in Pakistan. I don't think I'll be able to find the same tablets here, even if I remembered the brand.

I now have Nigella + Honey mix ready. I took a spoonful today! The burning sensation from it was a lot less, but not completely gone. For some reason, I actually had a harder time taking this mix than the whole seeds the last time. I didn't like the texture and smell of this mix.

Best,
SF

SF,

I am very glad to hear that you are taking the supplements.  I hope that you will take IP6 as well.  This is great!

Sharmin

Not yet, Sharmin. 
So far, I'm only on Calcium & Vit D. I just started Nigella to help with Hep C, after reading posts on this forum.
I will, however, try to hunt down some good supplements without the iron. It's hard to get something without Iron and high Vit C. I also look for chewables or liquid. And most of the supplements I've seen usually have gelatin in them.. 
Best,
SF

I will look send you a list of my son's vitamins including brand names. 

Sharmin

Hi SF,

One of our members Tariq asked Puritan's online support that hat kind of gelatin do they use and they told him they use Bovine gelatin.And i asked an alim here if it was ok to use Bovine gelatin in meds they said yes.

You can buy Puritan's products from www.puritansale.com .

Zaini.