Folic acid requirements up with diabetes

[jules_038]

I am type 1 diabetic for almost 15 years. Took oral medication for almost 5 years. Recently I gave birth to my first baby. She was born with neurological complications. She passed away 8 hours after birth. My first level 2 ultasound was not done properly. Baby would not co-operate. I found this out recently. Could be her way of staying around to say goodbye. I found out that folic acid requirements in diabetic who are pregnant or expecting to become pregnant are higher. Does anyone know why diabetics need more folic acid ? I took it durning my pregnancy, just not enough. It took Mother's Risk at Sick Kids in Toronto to tell me this after my baby dies. Not much comfort for today. I saw and Obstrician,diatician, Endocrinologist, and my family doctor many time throughout my pregnancy. No one told me. I hope someone can answer this for me. I am searching for answers to this question and many more to help me deal with my grief. My Baby Girl Sidney Alexandra whould be 5 weeks old now. All help would be greatly apreciated. Thanks in Advance...

[JDRF-Team-LRS]

Dearest Jules,
My heart goes out to you -- woman to woman -- on the loss of your beloeved Sidney Alexandra.  I can only imagine your grief at this time and hope you have supportive family & friends or a grief counselor to help you through this time.  About 50 years ago, my parents lost a child at birth between me & my younger sister.  I mention this because once you begin to heal physically and emotionally you can surely talk with your docs about trying again.

As a volunteer and not a medical professional, I can offer some info to you "in general."  Discuss this with your endo, too, because s/he will know your complete medical & medication history and be able to guide you as to dosing, etc.  Some years ago, my endo suggested that I start taking folic acid supplements even tho' I'm not intending to get pregnant.  There seems to be good evidence that this supplement can help our levels of "homocysteine."  High levels of homocysteine can damage blood vessels and can cause birth defects (spina bifida, for example).

There's quite a bit of information about folic acid on the internet, but so much of it is tied to "somethingORother.com" so it seems they're just promoting sales of their products.

However, David Mendosa is well-respected among diabetics, and he's "one of us." He does very good research & happens to have an article on the subject of folic acid:
http://www.mendosa.com/newsletter_june_july.htm

Here's what NIH has to say:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002408.htm
http://dietary-supplements.info.nih.gov/factsheets/folate.asp

and some information from US Health & Human Services hearings on supplements including folic acid:
http://www.hhs.gov/asl/testify/t020725.html
http://www.hhs.gov/asl/testify/t020815.html

I'm not sure if your pregnancy team was specialized in high-risk pregnancies, all diabetic pregnancies are considered high risk in the US.  If your team wasn't specialized, you might consider working with folks who are -- so that they can guide you toward appropriate "pre-pregnancy" a1c levels, and the supplementation before & during a future pregnancy.  I believe that Toronto has access to world-class medical professionals.

Please take good care of you.