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Vitamin D level of 8.!!

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Posted 6/12/2014 4:47 PM (GMT 0)
So i just received result for my vitamin d levels and i am severely deficient. I have level of 8. I am seeing my GI doc on monday. I wasnt taking any vitamin d supplement and i have been on prednisone 60mg per day for 4 weeks and still on that dose. Any idea how much supplement dose would my doc prescribe? I have heard that people with that low levels need to take 50,000 iu per week.
Posted 6/12/2014 4:59 PM (GMT 0)
I'd stick with starting at 5000IU daily rather than a weekly of 50,000IU.

Careful with sun exposure since you're on pred.

q
Posted 6/12/2014 5:00 PM (GMT 0)
Where are you located and if you are non-white skin.

I was never that low, being a brown skin (as in Asian Indian) living in Sweden for 10 years. First time I tested it was 22. Since then taking 2000IU, went upto mid 60s in 3 years. Changed the formulation, got a tablet and none of the vitamin D was absorbed, dropped to 30 in 6 months of NY winter. Now taking 10000IU daily.

If I were you, I would take lot more than a physiological dose, which is 10000IU/day. Stick to 20000IU at least every day for a month and then redo the test. Judge next dose accordingly. Make sure you are taking Vit D formulation in oil (I use Nutrigold Vit D 5000IU).

FWIW, as my Vit D increased in the past, my UC remained better. As it went down, I had on and off issues. I don't have any proof to tie it directly to Vit D, hence FWIW.
Posted 6/12/2014 5:01 PM (GMT 0)
I used to take 10,000 daily but cut it back to 5,000 daily quite a while ago. I have never had my D levels checked.
Posted 6/12/2014 5:01 PM (GMT 0)
What do u mean by be careful with sun exposure? I was thinking of being in sun for 30 mins everyday since its summer..
Posted 6/12/2014 5:03 PM (GMT 0)
I am indian/ brown skin and live in nj
Posted 6/12/2014 5:26 PM (GMT 0)
I believe taking Pred will make you more sun sensitive and you can burn. Btw, anecdotal, but I have heard of UC improving with a good vitamin d level so delta's comments make sense.
Posted 6/12/2014 5:42 PM (GMT 0)
I don't think there is an advisory against Pred and the sun as there is with the 6mps? I'm fine in the sun with Pred but obviously take it slowly and watch out for burning.
Posted 6/12/2014 6:05 PM (GMT 0)
Some data would suggest low vitamin D levels correlate to high autoimmune disease patterns, particularly in the Northern regions during the winter time. I agree with Delta's suggestion of taking 10,000IU to 20,000IU daily and sticking with it until your levels are at the very least 40 ng/ml.

This may be a little difficult without the help of cholesterol, as the body relies on the HMG-CoA reductase pathway to synthesize vitamin D. If anyone is dumb enough to be taking statins, I would expect their levels to be next to zero.

Cod liver oil is another option, but that contains the D2 form. Regardless, I had good results with the green pastures cod liver oil brand. More here.

Best.
Posted 6/13/2014 10:39 AM (GMT 0)
Glad to know YoungmanUC. How long have you been diagnosed? And if you are born and raised here then a different question, otherwise were you diagnosed in the US or India?

Not too sure why Quincy is connecting Pred with Sun Exposure. Personally, I never had any issue with Sun and Pred, but as I started on Sulfasalazine, sun is a big no no for me. Even in the morning sun, my skin gets burned, not literally but feels like it.

Agree with Guardian's suggestion on cholesterol. Its also a precursor of Vit D. With statins, our medical establishment doesn't know anything else. My mom was put on cholesterol recently and my FIL is on 180mg/day. I asked both of their cardiologists about Niacin (as in Slo-Niacin or Niaspan) and they were looking at me like I just arrived from Mars. They had no clue you can do that !!

Other cursory information, I can't find proof for this, if anyone knows, please cite. When you take Vit D, you can not take mega doses of Vit D 'only'. Being an oil soluble vitamin, you have to use almost all oil soluble vitamins along with it to be able to keep all oil soluble vitamins in good levels. So I would also supplement Vit A (preferably palmitate form) and mixed tocopherols (not dl-form /synthetic form of Vit E).

Just curious, are you a smoker?
Posted 6/13/2014 1:14 PM (GMT 0)
Low Vitamin D levels are an epidemic across the US and affect everyone, not just those with IBD. I know more non-IBD people with low Vitamin D than those with IBD. It should be a standard part of an annual CBC for everyone.

Sue
Posted 6/13/2014 1:52 PM (GMT 0)

DForce said...
Other cursory information, I can't find proof for this, if anyone knows, please cite. When you take Vit D, you can not take mega doses of Vit D 'only'. Being an oil soluble vitamin, you have to use almost all oil soluble vitamins along with it to be able to keep all oil soluble vitamins in good levels. So I would also supplement Vit A (preferably palmitate form) and mixed tocopherols (not dl-form /synthetic form of Vit E).


Unlike vitamin B complex I think it is OK to take single large dose of vitamin D, especially the natural D3, alone. I am thinking that you can get a large single 20-25,000 iu of vitamin D3 just by being at the beach for a day. (Not really since we would probably be using sunscreen at the beach but you get the idea).

They say that taking vitamin A with vit D, such as cod liver oil, can hamper absorption of both vitamins but I take it anyway but always monitor my blood levels of D.

There are some studies out showing that vitamin E can actually hurt your health. But I suspect that is because there are eight different forms of natural vitamin E but most supplements contain only the D-alpha-tocopherol. Too much of the alpha can hinder absorption of other forms especially the D-gamma-Tocopherol form of vitamin E.

So that is why you should take mixed tocopherols of E, but that may not be necessary for vitamin D since there is only one natural form of vit D, and that is vit. D3.
Posted 6/13/2014 2:48 PM (GMT 0)
I was diagnosed in august 2013 and was on 2 lialda and in remission for 3 months then i had minor flare and was on canasa as needed. But i had very major flare startingg end of april and still on 60mg prednisone per day and have lost 40 lbs. i havent been eating anything except. Rice and dal(lentils) and boiled eggs and penut butter. I was born in india and came to us in 2006. I never had any problem in india. I think i have lost too much weight bcs of very low vitamind d which decreases bone desity thus weight? Any help would be really aprreciated.
Posted 6/13/2014 4:08 PM (GMT 0)
No, you didn't lose out of bone loss because of Vit D. Its is very common to lose weight when you are in flare. Once on Pred, you gain weight like crazy because of water retention and voracious appetite.

Vit D could be a component to trigger the flare though.

I wouldn't wreak my head at this point in time. Would just start taking Vit D and multivitamin.
Posted 6/14/2014 1:27 AM (GMT 0)
So you r saying that low levels of vitamin d could be causing my flares? I really hope after taking vitamin d supplement will help my flare.
Posted 6/14/2014 8:22 AM (GMT 0)
Ok guys not to hijack the thread here but my Fibro fog is kicking in and you all have given some great info so I just want to double check what I am understanding and ask a couple questions. I just got told my vitamin D levels are low. I am waiting on my copy of the report. So the dr wanted me to do a 50,000 once a week. I had previously been doing 2,000 a day but I took it at the same time as my vitamin E because I had never heard of the issues you talk about in this thread.

So is it ok to take the once a week D3? So if I want to keep taking Vit E I need to get the mixed kind?

Thank you so much.
Posted 6/14/2014 4:31 PM (GMT 0)
Teddtlove:

Vitamin D is fat soluble and stored by the liver. You can take it once a week. There's a lot of data indicating that it helps with UC (and overall health such as bone density). 50K of D should be ok.

D is generally considered anti-inflammatory. It can increase calcium retention however so if you are prone to calcification it may need to be counteracted, maybe with Vit C. This is a bit of a complex issue:

http://ndt.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2012/03/18/ndt.gfs046

Overall, though, if you are low on D, you need more D.

Unless the doc objects, I would add a megadose of vitamin C also (1000mg/day or more), as it is anti-inflammatory and helps prevent calcification. You can take any amount of C, there is no toxicity to it (its acidic though, so probably take it after a meal).

fyi: Vitamin E and A can be toxic in high levels, so don't megadose those. Keep them within the recommended ranges.
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