cashlessclay said...
BillyBob . . . some questions for you.
What is your vitamin D level and how did you get there?
................................................................................................................................................................. Answer: I'm embarrassed to say I have not checked it in a long time. The first time I checked it I had been taking 2000 iu/day for a while, and I was disappointed to only come in at 30 ng/ml, which some folks think is a good minimum, but I wanted a bit higher. So I started taking 10,000 per day- maybe I had been at 4000 or 5000 for a while when I got my diagnosis, not sure, but then bumped it to 10K. After a couple of months of that( during which time, coincidentally perhaps, my PSA dropped from about 11 to about 8, but I was also taking a lot of vitamin C/Vit K3 combo), I had my level checked(right before surgery) and it was 80( I was probably at about 205-210 lbs then. as an anesthesia guy I tend to think in mg/kg, dose based on weight). 80 seemed a bit too high, so I cut back to 5000 per day, and remained there most of the last 5 years. However, recently when debating some of this with a certain person here, I was presenting studies on breast cancer. These were RCTs. Each level higher(blood level in ng/ml) did better in the study. 40 did better than 30, 50 better than 40. In fact, the very highest levels, above 65 ng/ml I think, did noticeably better than even those at 45. Then, I talked to a niece who had stage 4 breast cancer 8 years ago, still doing great. When I tried to suggest to her she ask her doctor about Vitamin D, she said he already had her on 10,000 IUs per day, and had for a long time. I got to thinking about all of that, as well as the risk and SEs(or lack thereof) that had shown up in studies, and said what the heck, and went back to 10,000 per day, at least for the winter. I don't know what my level is, but I am not showing any negative effects so far, and it does not appear to have hurt my PSA. ....................................................................................................
Cashless says: Does it matter at what level you are supplementing if your
blood level is less than 50 ng/mL?
................................................................................................................................................................... Answer: Well, I'm sure it can be over done, if you work at it. If increasing to 10,000 from 2000 got me from 30 to 80, if someone is already at about 50 I wouldn't think taking 10,000 would be advised. But maybe 4000 or even 6000 would be OK? Testing is the only way to know for sure. Also, people vary greatly in their response to vitamin D pills. I think PDA(Peterdisabled) takes a HUGE dose because his level doesn't respond very well. Another thing to keep in mind: for a fair skinned person, 30 minutes at the FL beaches can generate 10,000 or more. .....................................
Cashless asks: How are you getting vitamin K2?
............................................................................................................................................................................. Answer: Walmart Spring Valley D3. (This is what I was taking when I was tested.) and Swanson "real Food" 200 mcg M7 K2, from natto, hoping it actually contains what it says. Sometimes I take LEF a mixture of different forms of K2 as well as K1. Also, I have read at Weston A. Price(WAP) that high doses of vitamin D depletes vitamin A. Mercola( I know, many don't like him) was a big WAP supporter, but then one day he decided you should not get your vitamin D from cod liver oil , because it had way too much vitamin A(often 10 times more A than D). He and WAP have a major disagreement over that, they(WAP) argue that it is extremely difficult to get too much vit A if you get at least 1000/day of vitamin D. And I think they claim higher doses of vitamin D actually deplete vit A. I don't know about that. But, since the ratio is usually 10 to 1 in cod liver oil, I supplement some minimal amount of A also when I am taking 5 or 10K of D. Or, eat foods very high in pre-formed A. who knows if I am right to do that, I don't. ....................................................................................................................................................................................
Cashless says: I have no idea what my K2 intake level is, except if we measure
it in cubic inches of fermented bean curd. My vitamin D3 intake is
4000 IUs/day, in liquid form, to give me a 43.7ng/mL blood level.
......................................................................................................................................................................... Answer: Most studies I have seen show that most folks- depending on time of year and where they live and skin color- if they don't supplement, are 20 or a lot less. Any one got different data than that, am I in error? So, it seems a reasonable guess that before you supplemented, you were 20 or less, unless you got a lot of southern sun. So if 4000 has got you to 44(an increase of 24 from 20), it is likely that 6000 will get you an increase from 20 of 36, or get you to 56. 8000 might get you to an increase from 20 of 48, or get you to a total of 68 ng/ml. Of course, that is all guess work, only more measuring will confirm. (that worked out pretty close for me if I assume a started at 15 ng(not uncommon), and that 2k of D got me to 30, then 10K should have got me to 75(edit: error, I meant should have got me to 90). Actually it got me to 80, but within the ball park. I don't guess you know what your D level was before you supplemented, do you? Was it that 31.3?
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Cashless says: The same level (unknown) of K2, with a 31.3 level of D, did not
produce anything of significance, but with a 43.7 level of D, got
my best PSA reduction ever. I would love to see PSA reduction
curves for varying levels of Vitamin K2 and D3. But it would take
me about two years to generate them.
Cashless
See above about
higher blood levels- including well above 60 having significantly better results- vs breast cancer. Yes, true, you don't have breast cancer, but PC. Still, chemo, surgery and RT can help both breast cancer and PC. As can - some think- diet and exercise, and lower insulin levels helps both. And there is some genetic whatchamacallit something called BR *** or something, that is similar with the 2 cancers. So, it is at least possible that the quite high levels that help with BC will also help with PC. Or not.