Girl sways and being dairy-free?

[beingmommy]

If I needed to be dairy-free prior to TTC, is there anything I could do to still sway girl?

I have a genetic mutation (MTHFR) that is associated with autism (and miscarriages). It affects my ability to absorb folic acid. I can help it by taking a certain kind of folic acid. I did not know about it with DS1 and I think it may have had a hand in his autism. I did take the right folic acid with DS2 and so far he seems neurotypical. BUT with this mutation, dairy can also affect my ability to absorb folic acid so being dairy-free about 3 months before TTC and throughout the pregnancy is good. I did this with DS2

[Bigwish]

Dairy isn't neccessary at all while swaying pink!
No worries!

I used a bit of dairy to add to total protein intake, but there are other sources of protein that you can use.

[atomic sagebrush]

We no longer believe that calcium/dairy sways pink, so YES!

I got my little girl with both DH and I having barely any dairy after getting 4 boys with tons of it (and my last two taking supplemental calcium!!)

[beingmommy]

Phew! That is good to know! Thanks!

[blueeyedguys]

Do you mean folate? It's the natural version on folic acid, which is actually a synthetic vitamin. I plan on taking folate myself (possibly even methyl folate which is even easier for the body to use) because all my kids have minor midline defects (tongue tie, sacral dimple, etc) which can be a sign of poor ability to convert folic acid to folate.

I found this article of interest when checking if I had the name right. http://mthfr.net/methylfolate-side-effects/2012/03/01/ Might be useful.

[beingmommy]

Blueeyedguys, yes it's the methyltetrahydrofolate form of folic acid that I need. The mthfr.net site is a great one to describe it all.

I am heterozygous (1 copy of the mutation) for C677T and husband is heterzygous for A1298C. Our DS1 who has autism had the perfect set up for a compound heterozygous mutation (1 copy of each) which is the most common mutation in autism. 98% of kids with autism have a mutation. But amazingly, DS1 does not!

Still, he was hurt by my lack of absorbed folic acid during my pregnancy with him (he has 4 midline defects) and also the fact that the unabsorbed folic acid was high in my blood****** (because I was taking lots of regular folic acid but not processing it properly) which can cause tissue damage.

I had found all this out prior to TTC our second so I was on the right folic acid and our DS2 does not have any midline defects and seems NT so far.

Since your kids have some midline defects you might want to get tested for an MTHFR mutation. If you have one you'd definitely want to take the 5-MTHF form of folic acid AND cut out any other forms of folic acid (so you do not get a high blood serum level of unabsorbed folic acid).

I tapered up my dose of the 5-MTHF when I started it (back in 2012) and I luckily had no side effects. I was on 3 mg/day when pregnant and am now am on 2 mg/day. It's important for all other kinds of health issues to be processing enough folic acid.

[blueeyedguys]

I actually have been thinking of getting tested for it. I think repeated miscarriage is also a sign & I've had too many to count. Of course, that's also a sign of untreated hypothyroid AND B12 deficiency, both of which I also have, which is why I've put off testing. That & I don't really have a dr, I just get prescription refills at the walk-in clinic.

[beingmommy]

Oh so sorry to hear about the many miscarriages. I have had two, one before each one of my boys and it is always so sad. And yeah, the MTHFR mutation can lead to that too. :( You could always just use the 5-MTHF anyway since it can't hurt you and make sure you slowly taper up on it to avoid any side effects. OH and if you are doing the 5-MTHF and you do have a mutation, you need to also take the methyl form of B-12 (methylcobalamin). If you don't the 5-MTHF can't work as well.

[covered in blue]

Wow this is really interesting. All my boys have sacral defects. One has a dimple, one has a double crease, the other has a double cleft and I was taking the folic acid each time. Also lip and tongue ties in all. My third sons was very severe. Plus I'm not sure what is up with DS2 - he's not been diagnosed with anything but he exhibits some minor ASD behaviours. Others seem normal. Thank you. I will do some more reading :)

[Dana-Alicia]

This is very interesting and disturbing at the same time. I have always been wondering if there is something wrong with me, inside my body that could have caused so many problems for me and my children. And all the problems we've had I found in the list of issues one can have with this gene. I will look into this and speak to my GP to have this tested. Although I know my GP is not very supportive or cooperative :( So thanks for posting this and good luck on your sway!!

[atomic sagebrush]

Wow this is really interesting. All my boys have sacral defects. One has a dimple, one has a double crease, the other has a double cleft and I was taking the folic acid each time. Also lip and tongue ties in all. My third sons was very severe. Plus I'm not sure what is up with DS2 - he's not been diagnosed with anything but he exhibits some minor ASD behaviours. Others seem normal. Thank you. I will do some more reading :)

only 50% of sacral defects are caused by folic/folate stuff. def. check into it but it can also be genetic or caused by things that we haven't figured out yet.

[atomic sagebrush]

ps - another thing to look out for is green tea - it can block folic/folate absorption and it can cause issues even at a pretty low intake. With my 3rd son I was drinking it just one per day, no one mentioned a word about it being dangerous in any way. He has a very deep sacral dimple and probably no tailbone (spina bifida occulta) and is constipated all the time because of that. My other kids were all normal even the ones I wasn't taking folic prior to conception!!

[beingmommy]

Covered in blue and Dana-Alicia, I was amazed to find out how common the MTHFR mutations are and how little the general MD community knows about it. I am lucky in that we have a naturopath as our primary care doctor and she was the one who urged us to look into it before we conceived DS2. She looked at my health history and DS1's. He has a tongue tie that really made BFing difficult early on. It took us months to get BFing going well. He also has what we think is a small fistula right at base of his nose between his nostrils (looks like a tiny hole). And he has a thyroglossal duct cyst in his neck and a slightly tethered penis. And then the autism.

I think it is a good idea for everyone to get tested and spouses too. We never would've thought DH had a mutation (he has no obvious health stuff going on right now) but he does and his mutation can impact a pregnancy as well if the baby ends up inheriting the mutation. This is a great article from MTHFR.net about how a dad's MTHFR status is important too: Heterozygous A1298C OR Heterozygous C677T MTHFR Mutation and Recurrent Pregnancy Loss? Consider This - MTHFR.Net (http://mthfr.net/recurrent-pregnancy-loss-frequent-miscarriage/2011/09/25/)

[lelephant1]

What is a scaral dimple?

[covered in blue]

Looks like a little hole on the buttocks. If you Google image it you will see heaps of examples :)

[Dana-Alicia]

What's a tethered penis? My son with autism had mild hypospadias (an extra little hole right under the normal hole which needed to be closed), he had surgery when he was 1 and is fine now, but it's been a bumpy road for him. I will get tested as soon as we organized our move, it's been hectic :s I saw they treat it during pregnancy with bloodthinners? I'm already on those fortunately. I wasn't when I lost my little girl though :( I wonder if they can pick up on this gene defect with PGD? If I or DH have this I wonder if I'll have a healthy embryo to put back.

[blueeyedguys]

You & your dh could get tested? It's just a standard blood test, I believe.

[beingmommy]

Dana-Alicia, a penis tether is sort of like a tongue tie but on a penis, so there is just and extra bit of skin under his penis that slightly restricts movement. It's not bad and is not affecting it is anyway. But it is considered a midline defect.

With the MTHFR mutation, yes some people need blood thinners but not all. I did not need blood thinners. I think it does depend on how it affects your body. I am not sure if they can test an embryo. I do not know anything about IVF. But if you are on blood thinners and get the right folic acid it should help even if the embryo has the mutation.

[Dana-Alicia]

Ok thanks, I think Ds1 also had a tether but like your son he outgrew it. I went to see my rheumatologist this morning and she said she never heard of it. She responded like I expected her too, like I was one of those patients who know better so quickly dismiss it :rolleyes: I took 5 mg of folic acid with my boys because my DD* had anencephaly. But that's the common folic acid, so which one would I need next time? Would I need prescription for it? If an embryo has the gene and I take my bloodthinners and folic acid, is autism and other probs less likely to occur?

[beingmommy]

It can't hurt to take the methyl form even if you don't need it so if you feel you might have the mutation but your doctor won't test you, it would be fine to take the 5-MTHF. Really high doses of it require a prescription but if you just want it for conceiving you can buy it. Thorne makes a good one. Thorne Research - 5-MTHF 1 mg - B129 (http://www.thorne.com/Products/Vitamins/prd~B129.jsp) You also need to take the methyl form of B12, methylcobalamin. If you have the mutation band the embryo does as well, these things can help you and them process folic acid most effectively and hopefully avoid some issues.