HealingWell
Search Close Search
☰

Vitamin D Levels

Support Forums
>
Ulcerative Colitis
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply
❬ ❬ Previous Thread |Next Thread ❭ ❭
Posted Today 2:29 PM (GMT 0)
As a follow-up to last week's discussion on Vitamin D please make sure you request to have your Vitamin D levels measured at your next CBC. Vitamin D deficiency is becoming very common and the only way to check for it is through a blood test. I have been free of UC for almost 9 years; I eat lots of dairy, exercise daily, take supplemental Vitamin D daily as well as take a multivitamin, and get plenty of sunlight. However, my Vitamin D levels are insufficient! I am surprised but then again not so surprised by the results.

Sue
Posted Today 3:15 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks for the insight Suebear. You are the second person that I have heard this happening to. My aunt was very lethargic and they could find nothing wrong with her until they tested her Vit D levels which were non existent. She immediately rebounded and felt great when she was given supplements.
Posted Today 3:15 PM (GMT 0)
I had same feeling. When I got my numbers it definitely surprised me. Curious what my numbers are now....
Posted Today 4:00 PM (GMT 0)
Hey a Crohnie here, I just had my Vit D levels checked a few months back and they were found to be low. I am now on 2400 units a day, and wow what a difference. It helped my fibro pain, and I am not as fatigued as I was. I agree everyone should get theirs checked.
Posted Today 4:47 PM (GMT 0)
Absolutely! I think many things that go on with us are somehow related to extremely low Vitamin D.

Mine and my husband's were quite low.

Good to mention to get Vitamin D checked to most everyone...regardless of being on here or wherever. Even though it's been in the news for a few years, it doesn't seem a concern to too many.

quincy
Posted Today 6:27 PM (GMT 0)

Mine was on the low side (NP said low of the good side but low).  He gave me a huge dose for once a week or 8 weeks and then I am to take a lesser dose daily after (forgot the dose right now).  I have one more week of weekly dose.  I don't see any difference in how I feel - still very tired and want to nap a lot! 

ElaineNY

Posted 12/2/2009 6:10 AM (GMT 0)
Another caveat: inadequate or faulty testing of D levels. Last yr a major medical lab in the U.S. was found to have messed up royally on D testing. I mentioned the scandal to my gastro, who immediately pointed out that our tests were done by the university-affiliated hospital lab. We have to beware, one way or another! / Old Hat (30 yrs with left-sided UC ... [etc.])
Posted 12/2/2009 5:48 PM (GMT 0)
I am a one who has to have vitamin D levels checked periodically ... when they were low, my hair would not grow back. However, when the levels were normal, my hair started growing back. Doctor didn't think one had to do with the other but it quite a coincidence. I also felt more energetic once my levels were back to normal. Now I am maintaining with a daily 1,000 unit supplement along with a low dose iron pill.
Posted 12/2/2009 8:12 PM (GMT 0)
I think some coincidences can happen, however....but I also think the role of Vitamin D is really not considered anywhere near what it should.

Hair growth wouldn't be noticed for a few months....so are you talking over a year?

quincy
Posted 12/3/2009 5:28 PM (GMT 0)
Just got this info in my emails from Dr. Well site...



Vitamin D Deficiency Lead to Disease
If you're running low on vitamin D - as an estimated 70 percent of the U.S. population is - your immune system may not be functioning as well as it should. As a result, you may be more vulnerable to infectious diseases than you would if your vitamin D levels were optimal. Worse, you could be at higher than normal risk of a long list of diseases including heart disease and several kinds of cancer. A report recently published journal, Future Microbiology, highlighted research at the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University, which has shown that vitamin D induces expression of an antimicrobial peptide gene called cathelicidin that is the "first line of defense" in the immune system's response to minor wounds, cuts and bacterial and viral infections. The regulation of cathelicidin by vitamin D could help explain its vital role in immune function. The report noted that vitamin D is a key cofactor in reducing inflammation, in blood pressure control and helping to protect against heart disease. Author Adrian Gombart explains that there is still much to explore about D's mechanisms of action, the potential use of synthetic analogs of it in new treatments, and its duty in fighting infection.
Posted 12/3/2009 9:26 PM (GMT 0)
The mild flare that I'm still in now started in February. At the time my OB checked my Vitamin D because I was tired all the time and thought I had some kind of thyroid issue but it turns out my D levels were really low. I don't know if the low levels could have helped throw me into a flare since the vitamin can help fight inflammation but I'm definitely taking supplements now, especially in the wintertime when I'm mostly indoors. 
Posted 12/4/2009 3:05 PM (GMT 0)
I have a couple thoughts and questions on this subject, maybe you all can help with some answers. I am currently in remission through diet and lialda and have been for almost a year. I started a vitamin D supplement a few weeks ago ( 2000 IUs is what the bottle says ). I so far see no difference. So maybe I am not deficient. I already have my yearly app with my general practioner on monday and am planning to ask her about some blood work to check these things. I am planning to check with her about Vit D levels and Mag levels. I saw in another post about psoriasis and sun light which is vitamin D. I know when my psoriasis flares up I just go to a tanning bed a few times and its gone... I wonder if that is increasing my vitamin D level? ANd would then tanning beds also help with UC symptoms? I know this is a leap... but I'm curious. I would much rather tan a little, take a supplement, and watch diet. Rather than take the drugs or have the symptoms. Basically I am lookin to eliminate Lialda. I will know more after I talk to my doc and get the results back I guess, but I am curious about your thoughts......
Posted 12/4/2009 3:22 PM (GMT 0)
There are just some things I take for better function overall. It's not that I may feel any affect, but I know if my body is deficient in it that it's probably not working up to par. I wouldn't expect to see any change in levels in two weeks. Heck, I wanted to wait almost a year before rechecking my levels, and I've been supplementing 5-10,000 IU day. The blood test is easy and the best starting point. I won't stop the higher level of supplementation till my number gets over 50.
Posted 12/4/2009 3:30 PM (GMT 0)
UncleBubba,

I had no symptoms of being low on Vitamin D so don't assume you can tell if you are low. I also had been taking a calcium/D supplement for over 10 years. I eat a lot of calcium and D enriching foods and I live in California where the sun shines 98% of the year. I was surprised and not so surprised by my results since low D seems to be common. Do ask for this to be tested on your next CBC. I was given an RX for a 50,000IU supplementation. One pill weekly for 4 weeks and then I will get another CBC to check the impact.

As for Lialda, research has proven that staying on maintenance meds for UC, even in absence of a flare, will not only help with maintaining remission but also helps to reduce the incidence of colon cancer. Colon cancer is caused by inflammation. Just as you don't necessarily know you might be low on Vitamin D, you don't always know if you have inflammation in your colon. There aren't always symptoms.

Sue
Posted 12/5/2009 2:37 AM (GMT 0)
Does anyone know what the range is???
Posted 12/5/2009 2:51 AM (GMT 0)
30-80 ng/mL
Posted 12/5/2009 5:40 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks Dr-A! I just had mine tested and it came back 34. Low end....gonna pump it up. :)
Posted 12/6/2009 3:14 PM (GMT 0)
I just had mine checked and they were extremely low. My number was only 22. Doctor put me on 2000 of the vitamin D. I don't feel any better though. She will check my levels again in six months.
Posted 12/6/2009 4:05 PM (GMT 0)
I was at 30 and my doc told me to bump up the dosage. I'm at 5,000 IUs a day. He say rarely do people get toxicity and take too much. It's fat soluble so it takes time to work its way through the system so my next test for it is February. I certainly feel a difference especially with energy levels and my immune system still kickin' strong.
Posted 12/6/2009 4:39 PM (GMT 0)

Boxermom2 said...
I just had mine checked and they were extremely low. My number was only 22. Doctor put me on 2000 of the vitamin D. I don't feel any better though. She will check my levels again in six months.

2000 IU is pretty low to put someone on. Especially this time of year if it's already low. I would research myself and see what I need to be taking.
Posted 12/6/2009 6:19 PM (GMT 0)

I would think if you were low, 2,000IU is not much.  I was put on one 50,000IU pill, once per week for 4 weeks.  My levels will be checked again after that.

Sue

Posted 12/6/2009 6:26 PM (GMT 0)
Yes, I was put on 50,000 also for 8 weeks and then checked. I took last one this morning. AND my level was not very low - just below normal he said!

ElaineNY
Posted 12/10/2009 11:35 PM (GMT 0)
My vit D level was 17 in September, and is now 35. I wanted to continue taking the 50000IU at least once per month so I could get my level near 50 (I thought it might help with fatigue, joint pain, and/or hair loss, and when I stopped the big dose previously and went only to OTC, my vit D dropped). I had to beg my PCP to let me take it at least once per month.
Posted 12/11/2009 12:35 AM (GMT 0)
I don't think the 50,000 IU for 8 weeks made me feel any different. I have the blood test next Monday but doctor told me to take 1,000 IU every day now.

ElaineNY
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply