Is It The Vitamin D3???

I've talked about vitamin D3 many times on the forum.  I was very low and my doctor had me take more D.  Then he would order blood work and see that I needed more D.  This has been going on gradually for about 1 1/2 years.  Slowly but surely my D levels have gone up.  At last count (three weeks ago) I was at 33.  I'm still a little low so he said I could take an additional amount of D.  I'm now taking 4,500 IU a day. 

 

The past three weeks, since I started the extra D, have been really good weeks!  We have had storms and I'm not in as much pain.  I mopped all of my floors today....usually a killer for me.....and I'm more tired than anything!  I still have pain but it's not nearly as bad. 

 

I'll know more in a few months.  Summer in Florida is always my worst time with pain.  I'm usually in misery when the daily storms and humidity arrive.  So, I am anxious to see how I am this year.  I'll be sure to let all of you know but, please, get your vitamin D levels checked out.  I posted a link about vitamin D in Fibro 101.

 

Sherrine

Because of my symptoms, my doc checked my Vit D levels.  They were at 20.  She put me on Vit D therapy of 50,000 iu once a week for 12 weeks.  My levels were checked again.  I was at a 30.  Still considered low.  I experienced alot of muscle issues while taking the high dose so she put me on 5,000 mg a day.  While my levels have not gone up, at least they seem to have stabalized.  I have not had an increase in energy or decrease in pain though.

Interestingly, larger people tend to be more Vit D deficient.

I was wondering about the vitamin d thing today, too. I have been hurting more than usual, and realized that because I have been taking so many other things and feeling quite yucky I had  stopped taking my daily vitamin d. It has been about 10 days, but man, do I hurt!! I am off antibiotics and less naueaus, so I am back on my d. :)

I'm not sure if everyone follows the same guidelines, but my ENT told me two weeks ago that they like to see a level of 50. I thought my rheumy told me 30-50 a few years ago. I was at 10.

I hope everyone has a great week!!

This is so strange because I was talking today about increasing my vitamin D3. I don't know why I am feeling this way, I have been outside more than usual. But maybe this is just that time of year that we need more.

I must say great minds think alike. lol...

Hugs, Karen

I want to preface this by saying you need to discuss this with your doctor.  Have your vitamin D levels checked, if you want to, and go from there.

 

Lostnomad, I was taking 3,500 IU a day for quite some time but upped it to 4,500 IU a day by my doctor and that is when I noticed the difference.

 

Alice, I have no idea what my levels were in the beginning.  Several years ago I read an article in JAMA (The Journal of the American Medical Association) and they were testing vitamin D on people with heart problems.  The results they were getting were so good that they were suggesting to the doctors to recommend that people take 1,000 IU a day.  That's when I upped myself from 400 IU to 1,000 IU a day.  I am diabetic and am more prone to heart attack and stroke. 

 

about the same time, I was diagnosed with osteoporosis.  I was put on medication for that.  I was having a lot of pain, too, so my doctor checked my vitamin D levels because vitamin D helps with the absorption of calcium.  It was low.  He had me raise the amount I was taking to 2,500 IU a day.  Several month later he checked the levels again and they were still low so he upped me to 3,500 IU a day.  Now, the beginning of the month I was upped again.  This is when I noticed the difference.  Mind you, I have Crohn's so I have absorption problems.  I probably need more than most of the members.  That's why it's so important to work with your doctor on this.

 

I searched the Internet and get various answers to the "normal" range.  I saw 30-74 and I saw 40-65.  I think my doctor believes the first numbers because he said I was in the normal range now at 33. 

 

Keep in mind, I'm not absolutely positive if it's the vitamin D helping me but it sure would be a coincidence. 

 

Here is a link from WebMD that I found interesting and it helps to explain this even more.

 

http://www.webmd.com/osteoporosis/news/20080519/supplement-your-knowledge-of-vitamin-d

 

Sherrine

Yeah I am up to 5400 units a day now. It really does help my fibro pain ALOT. I have so much less burning now, especially in my feet. Yesssss!!!

Hi - new here. I have been reading for a few months but haven't joined because of the open forum. I prefer a closed forum group; seems more intimate and more private.

However, I thought I would jump in on this one. I have had FM for 25 years (finally diagnosed in 1996). Last August my Vit D level was 12.5. I was also diagnosed with osteopenia and told to take calcium/Vit D. So I started taking Viactiv which has calcium and 500 IU of Vitamin D, and I also started taking three 500-IU Vit D tablets a day, for a total Vit D intake of 4500 IU.

Last week I had my Vit D level checked again and it was 32, just barely normal (normal for my lab is 32-100). I think overall I can tell a very, very subtle difference from how I felt last August. I had a feeling that my level would be up when they checked it. I'm not saying I'm jumping through hoops. I still have all the same pain problems, but I think my stamina is just a teeny bit better than it used to be. I did have 4 days last week when I felt almost normal (well, you know normal is subjective around here, so what is normal for us would be a bad day for someone else, right?) followed by the inevitable crash yesterday and today. But I can't tell you the last time I had 4 days in a row that I felt better. I distinctly remember telling my doctor last May that I had two days in a row that I felt good, and that had been my record for years...feel good two days and then pay for it for months.

Hope this makes sense. I think my levels have been low for so many years it will take a long time to feel any significant "bounce" from the Vit D, even if the lab results say I'm in the normal range now. But I'm hopeful.

All studies say that anyone north of Georgia is not getting enough vit D.  I "think" that is even for most of the summer.

For those taking D I found these very small gel caps of D.  For some reasom I "think" they are absorbed easier or better and I have not had any stomach issues with them like I did with the hard compressed pills.

I don't know if it is the D or the magnesium but I have been falling asleep by midnight and getting a good nights sleep, at least I am not waking up.  Who knows how restorative the sleep is with out a study.

OT, our furnace is broke even after the fan was replaced last week so I really don't want to get out of bed.  Thank goodness for the woodburner in the greatroom!!.  I guess we will let it go till close to next winter.

And there lies the problem Sherrine...our bodies cannot absorb the vit D when we use sun block...that is when this became such a problem, lack of D, when everyone began using more sun block. I try to go out for 10 minutes without block on my face so I can absorb the D. So far, I'm still very low, around 25. I don't know what it will take to get it to normal range.

take care

Miriam

They are finding even healthy people are low on vitamin D because most of us are working inside all day or as stated above using sunscreen while out. I live in Southern California and I am still deficient. But I love how the Vitamin D3 I supplement with has helped. Good luck!

To chime in - I read a research article a month ago:
For every ng you are low, you need 100 units of D3. I also read somewhere that the new normal for D is 50 to 90.

My level in early Spring was 18. So I needed 4000 units a day on top of the 1200 I was already taking in my calcium, multivitamin and something else. I take 2000 in the morning, then another in the evening if I don't go out in the sun or wear a lot of sunscreen for working in the garden.