supplement dosages

[myrainbowgirl]

Hi all,
I am about to discontinue my prenatal (have been taking because of bf 12-month-old, but now we're down to once a day)...basic supps are fiber, 2000 mcg folic acid, 8-15 mg zinc & 18-30 mg iron on alternating days, and low-dose aspirin, correct?

My problem is the dosages on my iron and zinc are already in high dosages...didn't check the label before I bought them. My zinc is in 50 mg tablets and the iron is in 45 mg tablets. Should I just take them both once a week (on alternating days)? What about aspirin? Directions say 4-8 tablets a day (they are 81 mg each).

Also, for the aspirin, since I only nurse once a day, if I took it after I nurse, baby wouldn't be exposed to breastmilk till almost 24 hours later. Would this be ok, or still not a good idea? I posted something similar on another thread, and at least one person had done some research and felt it was ok. Opinions/advice?

TIA!

[myrainbowgirl]

Correction...aspirin says 4-8 tablets every 4 hours, not to exceed 48 tablets in 24 hours. :eek:

[atomic sagebrush]

Wow I thought I had answered this but I guess not??

You only need the iron/zinc if you have had a loss, are anemic, and/or are worried about egg health, or if you've been on LE Diet a long time. If you were just taking prenatals, I'm not even sure you need those supps right now, your body will have stored iron (unless youare prone to anemia).

The iron is ok at the 45 mg dose every 2 days rather than every other day. Some iron goes up to 60, and your body is good at storing iron so it just hangs on to extra (unless you're really taking too much, which if you are only taking it every 2 days, you won't be.) I would NOT have you do the zinc though. Your body is not super good at storing zinc, so you're just plain getting too much for no benefit, and then your body is trying to excrete it which isn't good when you're not getting enough the rest of the time (sorry this is a hard principle to explain, hope this makes sense.)

Aspirin, you should only take ONE. the 4-8 dose is for when you are sick or ahve a headache, not for "daily aspirin" benefits. Don't take any more than 5 a week max and more like 3 has worked for people.

I personally do not recommend taking aspirin when BF. I just don't think it's worth the risk. It's not just the bleeding issues, it's also the Reye syndrome. No one knows if this is something to worry about or if it isn't, but I just always think it's best to err on the side of absolute caution where kiddos are concerned.

[myrainbowgirl]

I think I sort of asked this same question on another thread, and you did answer it...so you are not crazy!! :) Yeah, I only took the iron and zinc and aspirin one or two days...not sure how I got mixed up on needing to take it (since I haven't recently had a loss). So, now I am only doing 1600 mcg of folic, fiber supps, and 500 mg Vit C a day. I will probably switch over to aspirin when I am done bf, since it seems to be a much more common supp for swaying pink. It's all so manageable...that's what I love about this site!