I Hate Dialysis Message Board

Dialysis Discussion => Dialysis: General Discussion => Topic started by: boxman55 on August 18, 2008, 07:37:53 PM

Title: Folbee Plus
Post by: boxman55 on August 18, 2008, 07:37:53 PM
Anybody taking Folbee Plus as their vitamin can ask your Doctor if Dialyvite 800 can be substituted, mine said it was fine. You can get a bottle of a 100 for $10.45 plus $4.00 shipping. The company is Hillestad Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc 1-866-358-9773 Hope this helps a little...Boxman
Title: Re: Folbee Plus
Post by: flip on August 18, 2008, 08:30:40 PM
I take Dialyvite. Some is Rx and some is not. I have a $10 copay on mine.
Title: Re: Folbee Plus
Post by: stauffenberg on August 19, 2008, 09:16:07 AM
Most vitamin supplements recommended to dialysis patients have such minimal levels of vitamins in them that they are therapeutically useless.  Many supplements contain amounts of vitamins based on experimental work in the 1950s showing how much of each vitamin was needed to avoid the corresponding vitamin deficiency disease.  But that is just the amount you need not to get SICKER without taking the vitamin supplement, not the amount you need to get BETTER from taking it!  There is a major difference between the two, especially if you want to use vitamins for IMPROVING the health of people who are already severely ill, such as dialysis patients.

Patients on dialysis have extremely elevated homocysteine levels, which is a major cause of heart attacks.  The only way I could get my levels down to normal was by taking 4 grams of folic acid a day a methylamine.  The folic acid by itself was almost useless.  My doctor was astonished when my values came down with methylamine, since she had never heard ot that, and so she made a note of it.  The point is, she would never have thought of that on her own, yet she was supposed to be the 'expert' in charge of my health.
Title: Re: Folbee Plus
Post by: Trikkechickk on August 20, 2008, 03:58:39 AM
I take Dialyvite. Some is Rx and some is not. I have a $10 copay on mine.

I take the same vitamin, as I told the dietican that my diet sucks.  Not much appetite in the summer, plus I absolutely hate cooking for myself.

Also, Hillestad now has Calcium Acetate (generic for Phoslo) at $16.95/200 tabs.  No Rx required.  So if you have to pay for Phoslo, this might be a good choice.