vitamin D ?

Has anyone looked into vitamin D levels for UC or Chrons here and had success?

Seems to be debate on lower vitamin D and UC/Chrons and whether it might be the cause or affect.

I know mine was low when i was in a flare.
I know my flares historically have started in winter (both times). The disease seems to be more surrounding those areas that have harsh winters and less sunlight per day.

Either way.....i am wanting to get my blood tested again soon as it is about that time of year where i have flared in the past. I sit at a desk all day for 10 hours (i am sure that doesnt help). Its dark when i start work and dark when i get off of work. No chance for sun.

In the summer months historically i have been 100% fine. No issues or symptoms.

As i mentioned, during my last flare up (last holiday season) i had been doing blood tests to see if the drugs they put me on (6mp) were affecting my system as you do and they decided to try and test my vitD. It came back LOW. They told me to start taking x number of units if vitamn D supplements so i did. It was a small dose per day and not the crazy doses they talk about giving ppl on the internet. After a couple months all my symptoms went away. I ran out of the vitD but the sun was out so i just went outside for hours per day as much as i could.

I am not sure if the vitD helped or if it was the 6mp that helped. Perhaps my body just "fixed" itself and neither was to blame. Thats what happened to my first flair up. I have only had 2 flare ups in my UC/Chrons career but both were longer. The first one the previous year was a couple months. This last one was about 3 months?

Either way.....i am wondering if vitD might be the culprit to some of this? I have requested that my doctor check for this on my next blood test. I do eat a lot of eggs (which have vitD) and some other foods that have it.....so i guess who knows. I just think it is interesting.....and was curious if anyone else has experience with vitD levels and flare ups or issues......or winter specifically?

My GI checked mine a couple years ago, and my levels were normal. I did not supplement at that time either.

All you need is 15-20 minutes of sunlight a day to get plenty of Vit. D, not hours, just fyi.

Interesting.
I live in in the midwest. In the winter, It gets dark at 4pm and sun up is around 7 or 8am. I am at work the full day. I dont see the sun. No windows at work. Cubicle life.

My only 2 flares have been a couple of months into the winter around the holidays. As i mentioned they checked my vitamin d on my last flare and it was way down.

IN the summer i get a few hours of sun per day and on the weekends i try to be outside 8+ hours per day. Life is good in the summer.

I tried to explain to my employer that humans are not designed to sit stressed out for 10+ hours per day and ever see the sun. Of course that didnt go over well.....

I just thought it was interesting about VitD and correlation i was having with the winter months. My GI said the same thing as they all do. "Nobody knows what causes it but it isnt diet or food or environment" (but then later states that it can be "seasonal" for some people and some foods can cause a flare and where people live can be a factor). Here is a another giant bill for you to pay.

Boy, am i confused.

Get your blood levels of vitamin D measured. The optimal values are between 40 and 60 ng/ml. I need to take 5,000 IU of vitamin D3 daily to maintain levels around 55-65 ng/ml. This makes a lot of sense once you consider that one full day at the beach, without sunscreen, will generate about 25,000 IU of vitamin D. So prehistoric humans living as nudists in the African savanna got plenty.

But everyone is different. Apparently from what Sara14 posted in this thread she can get by without supplementation. But most people, unless they work as a lifeguard or a roofer, are almost guaranteed to have low blood levels.

Blood levels near 100 ng/ml are technically 'safe' but very close to overdosing. There are people with levels near 100 ng/ml who then vacation for a week or two at the beach and found that they have overdosed on the vitamin. There is no substitute for seeing exactly what your blood levels of D are.