What does folic acid do for me?

ok so im epileptic and im on carbatrol, my doctor has put me on folic acid as well. he said something about my age, so i thought it might be about pregnancy but my mom was in the room with me so i didnt really want to ask him about it. can anybody tell me why he put me on this stuff or at the least tell me what it does. thnx.

I am an epileptic as well and was put on Folic Acid when on that medication and yes it is because of birth defects that are more common with anticonvulsants but it can also help with some of the "side effects" of the med like fatigue. Regardless if your sexually active it can't hurt to make up for what the med does to you a bit.

One of the things that folic acid does is reduce the chance of neuro tube defect in newborns. In people who are not pregnant, it is also one of the compounds that help in DNA synthesis. Therefore, folic acid is essential for cell division and growth.

A deficiency in folic acid can cause anemia (megaloblastic anemia), because folate is one of the compounds that regulate the growth of red blood cells. Carbatrol, the drug that you are on can cause a decrease in blood cells, and the doctor may be prescribing folic acid to help prevent the anemia associated with the use Carbatrol.

In the body, folic acid works closely with vitamin B12.

I can't really remember, but I know that it's advised for women of child-bearing age to have folic acid in their diet.

Ask not what folic acid can do for you, but what you can do for folic acid.