QUESTION: I have a very kind but miserable pregnant patient with multiple IgE food allergies. Her body is covered in hives/rashes pretty much 24-7. If I give her 1 gram of b-5 to help break down all the histamine, do I need to watch for anything, given that she’s pregnant? Just want to triple check I won’t clog another pathway in a way that could affect the baby.
ANSWER: Generally I have used a lot of B5 in pregnancy and dosing it pharmacologically then backing off to a maintenance dose (if the other B vits are there) is safe and fine. A dose like 500 mg B5 BID is a good one until Sx abate. Just keep in mind that when you upregulate one of the pathways the others can go off balance too. So the basic answer is just make sure that the B12/Folate and other B Vits are going in at reasonable doses (ie prenatal plus an added balanced B vit like Basic B complex.