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Osteoporosis - Vitamin D

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 3/5/2020 6:08 PM (GMT 0)
Hi guys
I have been diagnosed with UC since 2014. I took Uceris couple times for flare ups and ended up with osteoporosis. I am currently on a 5 month flare. I started Uceris 20 days ago and scared about my bones. I have been trying to take vitamin D 5000 IU by naturemade but it has been making my symptoms worse. Anyone used anything that suit them? Suggestions please!
Posted 3/5/2020 6:23 PM (GMT 0)
Is it a full dosage pill or can you split it?
Are you also taking calcium with the Vitamin D?

How is it making your symptoms worse exactly?

q
Posted 3/5/2020 6:28 PM (GMT 0)
I would not think Vit. D is worsening your symptoms. Regardless, I recently started taking 5,000 IU of Vit. D3 + K2 by Sports Research. Have you had your Vit. D levels checked? If they are not low, I would not take this high of a dose.
Posted 3/5/2020 7:33 PM (GMT 0)
@quincy I have noticed more cramping and bowel movements on those days. I do take calcium but I believe this particular one does not suit me. I used to take 50,000 IU prescribed vitamin d which worked for me but I cant take the high dosage now.
@Sara my last vitamin D level was 25 which I did last month. The normal starts at 30. How often do you take your. vitamin D?
Posted 3/5/2020 8:21 PM (GMT 0)
Once a day. I just started that high dose recently because I found out my level was 13.8. I was taking the RDA prior since November and that was usually split into twice a day because it's in my calcium pills. You should take it with your largest meal of the day or at least a meal that has some fat because it is a fat soluble vitamin so that will help with absorption. I will get retested again in a few months.
Posted 3/5/2020 9:47 PM (GMT 0)
First of all, the possibility of Uceris causing Osteoporosis is very slim, if at all.

But you could check the following things
- Check urine pH, possibly the first urine of the day, it should be neutral and slightly alkaline if possible. The medical literature says neutral but I would push it towards very slightly alkaline because if your body is acidic, calcium is pulled out for buffering purposes. If you use a pinch of baking soda a couple of times a day, it should help. A couple of years ago, there was a paper published on how baking soda helps if you want to search.
- Hormonal levels/changes, esp if you are a female
- Inflammatory pathways intersect Osteoporosis pathways and having UC itself increases your chances of Osteoporosis.
- Your lifestyle, esp if you are sedentary
so on so forth

If your physician has asked you to take Vit D then you need to take Vit K2 (not K1), at least 100mcg with ~5000IU of Vit D. Long story short, Vit K2 tells your mobilized Calcium (by Vit D) where to go. Usually, Calcium supplementation is not required unless your osteoporosis is severe but Magnesium is required (I know, it doesn't sound right, but Vit D moves a lot of Calcium in the body). Combine this with some exercises (as simple as walking a mile should be fine)
I buy Vit D that is dissolved in Olive oil. The most cheaper options are in the industrial oils, like Soyabean oil, corn oil etc, all are inflammatory in nature. I personally avoid all of those supplements. I use the Health Origins brand if you are interested.
Posted 3/5/2020 9:51 PM (GMT 0)
The supplement I shared has coconut oil in it for increased absorption. I bought it off Amazon and it was pretty affordable.

I agree, I don't think Uceris gave you osteoporosis.
Posted 3/6/2020 4:44 AM (GMT 0)
I’m low vitamin d but it causes crazy side effects for me, including raising my already high calcium levels. I can’t take it.
Posted 3/6/2020 1:09 PM (GMT 0)

DeltaForce said...
If your physician has asked you to take Vit D then you need to take Vit K2 (not K1), at least 100mcg with ~5000IU of Vit D. Long story short, Vit K2 tells your mobilized Calcium (by Vit D) where to go. Usually, Calcium supplementation is not required unless your osteoporosis is severe but Magnesium is required (I know, it doesn't sound right, but Vit D moves a lot of Calcium in the body).

I agree 100 percent but would like to add some caveats. Since so many people are on so many different meds you may need to consult with your doctor about taking K2, especially those on blood thinners.

Calcium supplements alone are associated with calcified arteries and kidney stones and K2 (and perhaps magnesium too) is what removes the calcium from the soft tissues in the body and moves it to strengthen your bones.

Also make sure that the vitamin D you are taking is the natural form, D3. Artificial D2 has more side effects associated with it. Also 5000 IU of vit D3 is probably safe but you should get your blood levels of D3 to see exactly where you stand.
Posted 3/6/2020 4:32 PM (GMT 0)
Yeah, I was a little worried 5,000 IU was too much to take, but I decided to go with it for now since my levels were so low. I also bought another brand that has 2,500 IU. I'm not planning to stay on the 5,000 IU daily for a real long time. I'll see what my levels are like in 2-3 months. I saw some people's doctors prescribe them 50,000 IU once a week, so I figured 5,000 IU a day should be okay.
Posted 3/6/2020 7:57 PM (GMT 0)
I play golf and spend time at the beach. I am exposed to a lot of sunlight but I still need to take 5,000 IU of vitamin D3 to maintain optimum blood levels around 60 ng/ml. Testing is important since everyone is different. Over 100 is flirting with overdose.

BTW vitamin D isn't just for strengthening bones. It might be important especially now to know that vitamin D also modulates your immune system helping to ward off colds and flu. Look it up.
Posted 3/6/2020 8:13 PM (GMT 0)
Oh wow, interesting. My levels were good when I had them tested a couple years ago so I was surprised they were so low now. But I also haven't been outside much. I used to be outside a lot more. Yeah, it seems important for many things!
Posted 3/7/2020 7:25 PM (GMT 0)
Vitamin D used to make me worse too. It's not your imagination. I saw a really good naturopath who told me that vitamin D needs magnesium and retinol to work, otherwise it acts like immune suppression. Retinol is the active form of vitamin A that comes from meat products like eggs and cod liver oil.

You also need to take vitamin D with vitamin K or your body will put calcium in the wrong places.

Maybe it's your calcium supplement making you worse though? I can't take mineral supplements AT ALL while I'm flaring, no matter if it's zinc, calcium, mag, or anything else. My bowels will transit a lot faster and it usually causes bleeding. The worst is iron, if I take iron orally I will end up in a 10/10 flare and it will be hell.
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