In other news:
My doctor mentioned briefly, in an initial consultation before a checkup the other week, that it might be wise for me to replace my basic multi-vitamin with a prenatal vitamin, even if it's going to be a while till I get pregnant; since it supplies the stuff that women of childbearing age need. So I bought some, but got apprehensive upon examining the contents. They have 27mg of iron per pill - which is significantly higher than the 18mg in the ordinary multivitamin. I know that taking high doses of iron can make you nauseated; and of course really high doses can kill you; but I was more concerned about the nausea. Was this going to be a bad idea, taking this pill? Yesterday, the first morning I tried them, I felt like I was playing Russian roulette with my vitamins. But I had some breakfast, said a few Hail-Marys, and swallowed one.
Results?
I felt fine. I still feel fine, after taking one this morning too. In fact, I've felt slightly better than average - alert, good energy and appetite, no particular pains. I never assumed I could possibly be anemic, what with all the meat I consume; but who knows? Maybe this higher dosage, combined with the other things they put in the pill, is in fact just what I needed. Or at least it doesn't appear to be doing any damage.
Anyway, after scouting around the web a little, it seems 27mg isn't that high a dosage (even though 18mg is 100% of the RDA for average non-pregnant adults). Some prenatals carry as much as 60mg.
Thus, women of childbearing age, you may ask your doc about whether you should try such a vitamin, even if kids aren't in the picture for you. As the doctor said to me, you never know for sure when you'll get pregnant, and it doesn't help the kid if you start taking them only after finding out. Much better to start before, and avoid those neural defects. Granted, any kid of mine is guaranteed certain neural defects. ;) (Hey, if I hadn't said it, someone else would have.)
