Vitamin D put me into remission.

I realized that every june through september I go into remission and then flare up again in sept/october.

I live in NY, so I hypothesized that the sun has something to do with it. 3 months ago (october) I was flared up as usual and I started taking 6000IU-10,000IU of vitamin d per day to see if it would make a difference.

not much of a difference for the first two months...but starting about 3 weeks ago I started improving and now I am in full remission. I don't remember the last time I wasn't flared up at this time of year.

Took a long time to work, but definitely seems to be paying off. Just figured I'd share.

Given that:

A) Every year when it gets sunny I go into remission, and when the sun goes away I flare up

and

B) I don't remember the last time I went into remission in January..

...I have a strong feeling that the vitamin d had something to do with it. But yes, it could be a coincidence.

why 50k IU once per week instead of spreading throughout the week?

@passer, I don't know why it is 50,000 units once a week. You would have to ask my doctor. Possibly it is cheaper once a week rather then a supply of 30 pills for the month. I guess it is also not necessary to spread it out. Similarly, drugs for osteoporosis, some are once a week, some once a month, then Reclast which is once a year. If you look it up online that is pretty typical for how Vitamin D is prescribed. My blood work shows an insufficient amount which is why I have a prescription for it.

There is a lot of research on vitamin D and IBD. Did not work for me megadoses,but.

Search seasonality colitis/IBD.

Also Canada has a high rate of IBD.

Old Mike

Glad you are feeling better! I definitely think Vitamin D has an affect. Unfortunately I haven't had as much success with supplements. For example I was at my brothers in south Florida for the holidays, I felt better while I was there and the first week I was home I was the best I had been in months, but after being back north for a couple weeks I started to go downhill again.

I take 5,000 IU a day but I don't think it works as well for me as the sun. I need to have my level check again, but haven't gotten around to it.

How long were you on the vitamin D for and what dose?

Like I said, 2 months on 6,000-10,000UI/day didn't make much of a difference for me, but going into the 3rd month I started going into remission (the first time this has happened during the winter).

Granted as we have all learned, what works for one ulcerative colitis patient doesn't work for all. I just noticed the time of year/sun connection and gave this a try and it seems to be working for me.

passer said...
btw, I exclusively take the rainbow light sour gummies (D3) and the Vitamin Code Raw D3 pills - these are what work for me - I eat 2-6 gummies during the day and 2 of the pills before going to bed every night

I would expect our absorption of vitamin D to diminish as we flare so I added direct delivery not involving the GI tract and it was no silver bullet, tremendous flare ensued anyway.

I still take Vitamin D every morning because I tested at the bottom of the normal range.

Post Edited (aguywithuc) : 1/31/2011 12:05:22 PM (GMT-7)

Another thing is that I never flare over winter but usually do during the hottest months of summer so for me I am outside in the sun a great deal more when I do flare. It seems to me that in my case it has more to do with dehydration than it does Vitamin D.

I read somewhere, can't remember where, that UC is more common in the northern latitudes than in places closer to the equator. Vitamin D from the sun was suspected as the reason.

Beginning in October I took 50,000 IU D3 a week for 6 weeks and then have been taking approx 5,000 IU D3 a day since then. I am also always well in the summer and always flare late fall into winter. I need to be tested again because after feeling so well in Florida and for a week or two after I am wondering if the supplement isn't raising my levels enough.

I read somewhere the approx amounts of D you get from the sun and from my approximation the week I was in Florida I probably got a few 100,000 IU of vitamin D. No wonder I felt so good, unfortunately I wouldn't feel safe trying to get that from a supplement!! Is it summer yet?

I find the Raw D3 supplement you take very interesting, my primary care doctor is not high on supplements because she believes your body doesn't assimilate it as well as natural sources. The raw brand of vitamins seems to address that.

I am the number one vitamin D advocate there is..but I cannot get behind the assumption that D can put someone in remission for UC, reason why? I went through horrible pain all throughout my body 2+ years ago all 4 quadrants...fatigue, depression, they wanted to dx me as fibro, I kept pushing, asked for vit D test, that was the winning ticket. That said, a year later I had mild UC, 2 yrs full blown pancolitis, this was after stabilizing my levels & maintaining them.

I do recommend it highly for those who suffer the joint pain associated w/ UC...

Interesting thread. I always flare every late December/January and always feel better in the summer. I was taking Vit. D supplements daily for a couple years because I tested to have ostopenia, and I didn't notice any effect on my UC, but maybe my dose wasn't high enough. Stopped about 7 months ago because I couldn't afford it. Maybe I will start back up again.