Can Prenatal Vitamins Make You Sick?

I always take mine right before I go to bed so they kick in when I am sleeping. I missed one night so I took it first thing the next morning and it made me sick.

Hi, M.
I definately agree with your vitamin possibly being the culprit, The reason why I say this is on my first few pregnancies I had the same problems as you, food sounding dissgusting and smells of food causing me to loose my tummy, I remember byeing my own all natural vitamins from the health food store cause they were much more gentler on my tummy and after just a day of them my appetite was back.
I am sure it's something as simple as those little pills, hopefully.
May God bless you and baby!

Hi M.,

I’m on my second pregnancy and with both pregnancies my morning sickness started right at week six. I learned very early that I had to take my Prenatal Vitamins right before bedtime on a full stomach or I would get sick. Everyone’s situation is difference but my morning sickness lasted through week 21 with my first and with my second I’m still suffering and am 17 weeks and 1 day. I’ve had to take anti-nausea medication with both pregnancies and am down to only having to take it in the mornings with a few exceptions and this seams to be when I am going through a growth spurt. It’s all hormonal. I am taking the Prenate DHA this time and absolutely love it!!! As far as food sounding disgusting to you; this will pass as well. I probably went through at least two months of this with this pregnancy. It was very frustrating and I thank God my husband has so much patience with me. He’d have to make himself dinner while I choked down a bowl of cereal. I still don’t always know what I want or if I want to eat. Hang in there!!!!

J.

Hi M.,
Congrats on the 1st baby! I did not encounter morning sickness with my pregnancy, but my vitamins did make me feel horrible. I didn't take the prescribed vitamins, I bought my prenatal vitamins at costco and did just fine.

Prenatal vitamins are potent as they should be but a MUST when pregnant. There are liquid forms you can put in juice, NEVER take them on an empty stomach either. You are probably experience pregnancy sickness vs vitamin sickness. Try different brands too, go to Whole Foods and see if there is one that is less potent but you may have to take twice a day.
I know if I took mine without a good breakfast on my stomach I was sick to my stomach all day. Your sense of smell and taste change DRASTICALLY with all the hormones going on in yoru body right now. Hang in there, it is worth it big time!

Hi M.,

First off, congratulations on your pregnancy! that is great news. to answer your question, pregnancy, more than vitamins will make you sick. i was sick for the first 4 months of my pregnancy. REALLY sick. puking every day. my doctor told me to stop taking the prenatals to see if that helped. honestly, that didn't really help at all. here's what worked for me:

have a pb&j sandwich by your bed to nibble on at night. for that matter, with you at all times. an empty stomach is a sick one.
eat small meals throughout the day. (i would have 3 meals by 9am!)
Atomic Fireballs. seriously. they zapped the nauseau.(oh, and poptarts)
they also make "easily digestible" prenatals. ask your doctor for those.

good luck!!

Mine made me sick and my doctor told me to start taking them before bed instead of in the morning, it helped in my case. Good luck and congrats!!!!

First, congratulations on your pregnancy!! This must be a very exciting and anxious time for you. I was very sick as soon as I started taking prenatals with my first pregnancy. My doctor gave me samples of four different vitamins to try and see which one I felt the best when using. I was surprised at how much different I felt taking with each one. I was able to find one that I felt great taking and my nausea went away. I have heard though that some women don't respond well to taking the vitamins. If you try a bunch of them out and you still feel sick I've heard that taking them in the evening before you go to bed helps rather than in the morning. I guess your stomach is less senative at night.

What you might be feeling is just morning sickness though and it may not be associated with the vitamins. With both of my pregnancies I was sick up until half way through my second trimester. It was this horrible feeling of being hungry all of the time but as soon as I ate I felt sick. The only thing that helped was eating small meals many times a day.

Good luck and I hope you feel better soon!!
-

HI M.,
Congrats on your pregnancy and good for you for wanting to take your vitamins. I know alot of women who don't take them, I'm one of them :). I would suggest try going a day or two without taking them and see how you feel. If you feel better then you know they're the problem. Then talk to your doctor about good alternatives. Maybe a different prenatal or maybe a different vitamin altogether. I personally am 22wks pregnant with my 5th and I take the childrens' Flintstone vitamins because 1) they are chewable and I have a hard time swallowing pills and 2) I lack an enzyme to properly absorb all the B vitamins so whenever I take a vit that has them in it I get really sick and the kids' vits don't have as much of the B's as the others do. SO that maybe something else you need to see your doctor about. Make sure you can properly digest and absorb the vits and that you're not having bad reactions to them. Also see if there are other ways to get your vits without taking a pill, eating more veggies, drinking juices, ect... Good luck with this though. I really hope you start feeling better!

C.

Here's the trick, unless you are iron deficient you really only need to take Folic Acid and they are easy to keep down. Usually it's the high iron in the prenatal vits. that upset your stomach most. It's a good cause of constipation and constipation always makes my morning sickness worse. I'm pregnant with my second child and I am continuing my regime of Folic Acid and B-6. I take the Folic Acid with lunch and the B-6 at night. The reason I take the B-6 at night is if I have had rough day with nasuea and vomiting, mixing the B-6 with 1 tylenol PM or half a unisom allows rest and relieves the morning sickness for the next day. Also remember that most prenatal vitamins do not have enough calcium, some have none in fact. You need at least 1200mg of calcium a day for your baby's bone development, so if you aren't eating a lot of dairy due to morning sickness make sure you are taking a calcium supplement. Good Luck!

Yes, they can make you nauseous. I didn't throw up much when I was pregnant, but I noticed that when I did throw up, it was almost always immediately after I took my vitamins. Once I started taking my prenatals before bed, and with a little bit of food, I didn't throw up one more time the whole pregnancy. I've also heard that the prescribed vitamins usually cause more nausea than the generic brand at Walmart or something. Maybe that means the generic vitamins aren't as potent and maybe don't have as many nutrients, but at least they don't make you as nauseous. Good luck!

I had the same problem... I am not sure when you are taking them, but for me taking them right before bed stopped that problem! Good Luck!

I had heartburn and was nauseous for the first 4 months of my pregnancy with my son. Once I changed the time I took my vitamins and the type of vitamins, it went away. I started taking my vitamins at night before bed and I never had any other problems.

Food sounding disgusting is a normal part of pregnancy. With both of my pregnancies the thought of eating made me nauseous. Try taking your vitamin with some food right before you go to bed. Eat small meals throughout the day. Also if you are really feeling sick ask your OB about taking a combo of unisom and B6 vitamin. It really helped several women I know who couldn't keep anything down. I took Citracal Prenatal both times, it is prescription, it has a coating on it so you won't taste it and has a stool softener. HTH

M.,
Prenatal vitamines made me sick to my stomache. TRy going to Vitamine Cottage and see what they have. I try and stay away from un-natural supplements as I am extremely sentive to most presciption drugs and certain foods. Life is not always easy as you know. So we take what the Good Lord gives you and roll with the punches.(pray the punches aren't to hard)
C. B