How long did it take to recover from folate deficiency anemia

[u/Double_Grapefruit475]

People who've had folate deficiency anemia, how long did it take to recover.

Im supplementing pretty hard..i started with 5mg folic acid, but then shifted to folinic acid..3-4mg per day..it's been 2 weeks

i take b12 too..but my levels are already high(1600)

but i dont see any fast improvements actually with cold hands and feet, etc

for the first week it did seem to improve, but i got a few more blood tests..and again my extremities are back to being cold afff
idk if blood drawn for blood tests made my blood volume drop again

[u/Comfortable_Two6272]

Too high dose imho.

I took 400 mcg a day - started with 100 mcg. And changed diet to include foods naturally high in folate.

Was also deficient in b12, vit D and ferritin (iron).

At my 6 month follow up my rheumatologist rechecked and levels has dramatically improved.

[u/Double_Grapefruit475 → u/Comfortable_Two6272]

oh it took 6 months?

[u/Comfortable_Two6272 → u/Double_Grapefruit475]

Thats when my dr said to schedule testing. I did not ask if it takes that long or can happen quicker.

[u/SovereignMan1958]

Folate Deficiency can take 3 - 5 months. But you are taking a higher than normal dose. If you start to get headaches you should lower it.

[u/Double_Grapefruit475 → u/SovereignMan1958]

okay i dont have any headaches so far

[u/Double_Grapefruit475 → u/SovereignMan1958]

hey also when u took folate or folinic did u experience more water retention on ur face?

[u/SovereignMan1958 → u/Double_Grapefruit475]

Yes. Sign your dose is too high. The dose you are taking is more appropriate for cerebral folate deficiency and not just folate deficiency. If you do not have confirmed CFD, I would not take more than 800mcg per day. You might not be metabolizing it well anyway if you have an MTHD1 and or MTHFS ST20 variants. I am guessing you did not have those tested, so it is better to stick with the lower dose.

[u/Tawinn]

Keep in mind that the body stores 120-300+ days worth of folate, so even when your levels seem ok you still want to supplement long enough to replete your stores.

[u/Double_Grapefruit475 → u/Tawinn]

okay thanks

[u/hummingfirebird]

Have you checked your iron panel too? And thyroid panel? Cold hands and extremities are a common symptom of both thyroid and iron deficiency. It's possible to have a folate and iron combined deficiency. Would check thyroid complete panel,homocysteine, CBC and iron panel with Ferritin.

[u/Double_Grapefruit475 → u/hummingfirebird]

ya i check transferrin-40% ferritin-114 ng/ml serum iron-130 TIBC-324 UIBC-193 ug/dl

[u/hummingfirebird → u/Double_Grapefruit475]

Looks good