sdyer@bbncca.ARPA (Steve Dyer) (03/18/84)
>If you use NO regularly you might seriously consider taking >supplements of B-12 and getting your blood checked once in a >while (when you see your doctor ASK THEM TO CHECK FOR THIS). If you used NO regularly, you'd be DEAD! Nitrogen oxide, NO, quickly turns to nitrogen dioxide, NO2, which combines with water to produce nitric acid. Howard, you might know a bit about nutrition, but remind me to get another anesthesiologist! :-) Nitrous oxide is N2O, and is fairly inert, which brings me to my next question... I'd be very interested to hear the references on nitrous oxide-induced B-12 deficiency. I hadn't heard of this effect, as late as the 1980 Goodman and Gilman, but more research (and recreational use) may have uncovered something. Lastly, how much folic acid do you want? In my teenage days as a pharmacy clerk, I clearly remember that a common prescription-only dosage strength of folic acid was 5mg/tablet. This was available from Lederle, and probably from many other generic suppliers. I don't see why a nutritionally-informed doctor would not prescribe this, to be used with whatever other vitamins you might have. The cost shouldn't be too much. -- /Steve Dyer {decvax,linus,ima}!bbncca!sdyer sdyer@bbncca.ARPA
howard@metheus.UUCP (Howard A. Landman) (03/20/84)
Gads, how mortifying! Nitrous oxide is indeed N2O. And to think I used to be a chemistry student. I was planning on 4 to 5 mg of folic acid for my wife. I do plan to try to get a prescription for pills of that magnitude (if they are available) when she returns from a month-long trip to exotic Cedar Rapids, Iowa. But one source told me that 1 mg is the max now, and since I can buy .8 mg in the store that's not likely to save much money. I found the N2O/B-12 reference in a used bookstore (Powell's), but since the book was ~$20 I didn't buy it. I'll look for it next time I'm there. It was fairly recent (1983?) and quite well written. Howard A. Landman ogcvax!metheus!howard
dave@utcsrgv.UUCP (Dave Sherman) (03/21/84)
I posted an article on this a few weeks back, but I believe it never
made it out of Eastern Canada.
Most of the pregnant women we know, including my wife, take the
prenatal supplement "Orifer-F". Each pill (one daily) contains
5 mg of folic acid. So obviously the Canadian regulations differ
from the American on this point. It doesn't seem to have done any
harm to the Canadian women.
The pills also contain iron, calcium and a pile of vitamins.
Dave Sherman
Toronto
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{allegra,cornell,decvax,ihnp4,linus,utzoo}!utcsrgv!dave