Vitamin D Update

I am trying to do the same thing. I am taking 2,000 up from 1,000/day. My levels barely rose after I started taking them as well. The main problem with suppliments as I understand is that you can O.D. on the vitamin. Your body evidently knows that when your vitamin D level gets high enough in your blood to stop making it from the sun. That is why you don't O.D. from being in the sun all day. If you just take Vitamin D you can put too much in your blood stream. At least that the way I understand it.

Evidently you can get 10,000 IU from just 30 min. in the sun. I am trying to get my level up from 28.

bb and 142,

i don't understand. why are you both not listening to your doctors, and taking such large doses? if you can get 10,000 units from 10 mins in the sun, why not just do it the natural way. since i have been recovering, my wife has me sit on our back deck in the sun for 10-15 mins per day, and by nature, not a sun person.

probably why both your dr's aren't happy. i guess i dont understand all the empathis on vit d.

david

Suppose you live in an area that doesn't get much sun, or you work from sunrise to sunset in an office environment where you do not have the opportunity to get the sun exposure. What then, is the recommended dosage of oral D3?

Thanks!

David,

My doc was not happy because my level was so low even with taking a 1000 pill every day for months. He wanted it to be higher.

I can not go out in the sun much - have other issues (colon) that put me on a lifetime of antibiotics that make me burn severely (blisters) in only 10-15 minutes of mid-day summer sun as a side effect. Add on the sensitivity that RT adds. When I go out for my walk at mid-day, it is long sleeved shirt, long track pants, hat, and very dark sunglasses. When they told to to walk often after surgery, it was problematic from the start.

My doc was not happy that I was doing poorly, not that I was going "AMA" (I'm not).

erbob asked about vit. D and sun exposure.  The NIH has a good fact sheet about Vit. D at this link: http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/vitamind/.  This is what they have to say about getting enough sun:

"The factors that affect UV radiation exposure and research to date on the amount of sun exposure needed to maintain adequate vitamin D levels make it difficult to provide general guidelines. It has been suggested by some vitamin D researchers, for example, that approximately 5-30 minutes of sun exposure between 10 AM and 3 PM at least twice a week to the face, arms, legs, or back without sunscreen usually lead to sufficient vitamin D synthesis and that the moderate use of commercial tanning beds that emit 2%-6% UVB radiation is also effective [10,33]. Individuals with limited sun exposure need to include good sources of vitamin D in their diet or take a supplement"

They also suggest that you may not be able to get enough vitamin D from the sun throughout the year unless you live in latitudes below 34 degrees north.  Hope this helps.

Carlos

David, in answer to your question about why all the hoopla over vitamin D3, research indicates that low levels can contribute to certain diseases - cancer is one of them. The general population in the U.S. is thought to be deficient. This deficiency apparently comes from lack of sun exposure due to the rise in incidence of skin cancers. What folks don't realize about sun exposure and vitamin D is that you only need a few minutes a couple of times a week of sun to stimulate the body's production of D3...not hours laying on a beach.

My regular MD and ob/gyn check my D3 levels every year because of the risk of osteoporosis in post menopausal women (due to lower levels of estrogen). Taking a calcium supplement without vitamin D is useless as it's the D that helps bones absorb the calcium.

The jury is still out about how much to take but I can tell you that both my doctors say take 1,000 units of vitamin D3 each day. This is in addition to the D3 found in my daily multi-vitamin and in the calcium supplement I take which likely brings my daily intake of D3 closer to 2,000 IUs each day. As a smoker, I have to step outside my office when I want to smoke so I do get my daily exposure to sun...guess this is the upside of being a smoker (LOL!).

Years ago, John's doctor said to us "Americans are sicker now than they ever were...the difference between then and now is that we have better bandaids." Perhaps some see vitamin D3 as one of those bandaids. Frankly, as I've stated before, our bodies are so bombarded with free radicals through our environment that the amounts of vitamins and minerals we would need to absorb daily to counteract the effects would be staggering.

On the positive side, though, John's cholesterol was up quite a bit at his last physical. Before putting him on a statin drug, his doctor suggested fish oil, red yeast rice and an over-the-counter supplement called CholestOff. Without any major diet modification, John's lipid profile improved considerably. So, maybe there's something in taking supplements for certain conditions.

David, a good daily multi-vitamin is needed by most as we simply don't get the nutrients we need.

The cranberry juice is good for the urinary system as it changes the PH levels in urine which combats UTIs. Not to mention that cranberry juice gives you as much vitamin C as orange juice which is good for the immune system. If you can somehow manage to stomach the juice it would be better than the pill but, the pill is better than nothing.

Hope you're doing well, my dear friend.

about a year ago, my Vit. D-3 level was 25........my doctor put me on a 1000 IU per day regimen, and in 8 months, the level came up to 36. ........my doctor then prescribed 50,000 IU once a week, which i did for three months, and just got my level checked. That regimen brought the level up to 57. So it takes quite a lot to get the needle to move a bit. I'm feeling a little better, and in conjunction with raising my iron, B-12, and zinc levels, I feel like I'm on the right path. I've mentioned before that Vit. D-3 is actually a misnomer, as it is a pre, or pro homone.------------I also had my testosoterone checked, and in 3 months, the total serum level has risen from 337 to 496. My free testosterone has also risen from the mid 40's to the mid 70's. The percentage of free to total, however, is very low.

Interpetation for me: That Vit. D-3 and other vital markers work in tandem. I'm not supplementing with Testosterone, so it had to have had an effect, because prior to this, my levels remained consistently in the low 300's. Vitmain D-3, in addtion to all the other good things it does, also works as an aromatase inhibitor, binding to the Sex Hormone Binding Globulin that plays Pacman with our testosterone

Our plan is to continue with the 50,000 IU per week for another 12 weeks and test again. I'm sure it's going to bring it to around the 70-75 level where my doctor wants to see it. ( Remember, the range is 30-100, so that's still way under the high point) At that point, we'll go to a yet-to be-determined maintenance dose. I'm outdoors quite a bit, and obviously was not getting enought D from the sun. Even the 1000 per day wasn't cutting the mustard. I'm guinea pig proof that mega does of D won't hurt as long as you monitor. We have no intention of letting it get to toxic range. We'll also test the "T" again, and come up with a game plan based on my numbers and symptoms at that time............oh, and we'll be testing my PSA at the 2-yr mark, along with everything else------minor little thing, that.  

Arnie in DE

Re: Vitamin D-The body has a natural system to inhibit D from the sun since working all day in the sun could otherwise lead to an overdose. This natural block is one reason why old timers like me can spend an hour in the sun every day and have no effect on D level. I was at 25 and took 1000 iu/day and went to 32. I changed sources and dosage and after a year of 11,000/day I was up to 75-80. I now maintain with about 8000/day, gelcaps, GNC. Tested regualarly.
By the way, my cluster headaches, (like migraine) which I have had episodes of a month or two once every 18-24 months have now disappeared for four years. D? Maybe.

I was told that not everyone manufactures vitamin D at the same rate from exposure to sun. The older you are, the less efficiently your body does this. And people with more darkly pigmented skin will make less vitamin D from a given amount of sun exposure than people with fair skin. So the advice I've received is ignore the generalizations and get tested, and if your vitamin D is low, take enough supplemental D-3 to get your vitamin D blood level up to where it needs to be.

Fiber in Oatmeal and other foods inhibits Vitamin D absorption. It is best to take Calcium and/or Vitamin D supplements with a low fiber high fat meal (healthy fats). So one can take 1,000iu's and they can get mostly absorbed if taken with the right fats or take 5,000 iu's and little if any get absorbed if taken with a high fiber meal ( oatmeal, whole grain breads, cereals, fruits, etc)

If you take an Omega 3 fish oil supp take the D at that time the oils from fish oil supp will work with the D

Remember its not how much you take its how much of what you take the body absorbs and uses

While Exposure to the Sun is the optimal way to get all the Vit D one would need, Sun exposure also creates other issues. Hence Sunscreen. As we add sunscreen we are depleting our stores of Vit D as we are blocking the UV rays that the body uses to create D

Its always best to get a baseline Vit D test before starting on any supp regimen. My Dr does mine when He does my fasting Cholesterol test

mr bill,

since i wont drink cranberry juice, dr has me on 2000 mg cranberry juice pills with vitamin c instead.