Low vitamin D -- any suggestions?

happyfeetrebel1

I live in MN, and was also very low. Dr. said we just don't get enough sunshine up here and recommended supplements. I started taking a calcium with D and my levels have been absolutely normal since

yarwell

runningforthetrain wrote: »

So I just got lab results back - everything good except my vitamin D level was low at 20. It was low last year too and I didn't do anything about it. Does anyone have any experience with health problems and low D levels. Anyone notice a difference (feel better) after taking supplements?

I supplemented 3000 - 5000 IU a day for 3 months and fixed the lab number. Can't say I noticed a difference. Too far North to rely on the sun (55 deg)

runningforthetrain

mumblemagic wrote: »

RodaRose wrote: »

Are you eating enough fat and oils? Your body needs fat and oils to process the fat soluble vitamins like D.

Ooh, good to know! Which fats and oils?

My fat and oil intake is good. I eat salmon and avocados fairly regularly. Also peanut butter and olive oil.

dwarfiegodsmack

my Dr. put me on supplements as I was deficient. I am one of those weird people that has PMLE (polymorphic light eruption) - basically a UV ray allergy. I don't go outside. anyone else here have that?

twinkling70

I live in WA and it is normal here for people to have low Vitamin D my husband was put on 50,000 once a week I try and take at least 2-4,000 a day and a multivitamin... Hope you feel better. I think it makes me have more energy.

wisdomfromyou

I am staying out of the sun like a vampire because I have many moles and 2 were recently found "mildly atypical".
I am terrified of melanoma but then again, I am also terrified of other cancers that could supposedly be triggered by Vitamin D deficieny - which I got close to a few years ago.

So damned if you do, damned if you don't.

I now take a 2000 I.U. Vit D3 daily but I am not sure where I stand with the Vit. D levels until my next annual which won't be until July.

shellma00

I read somewhere that:

your weight X 25 = amount of IU Vitamin D3 you should take daily

If you are going to go the supplement route.

I just started taking it, my level was low at 24.

jgnatca

When I began vitamin D supplements, I stopped catching colds. So I do think it is related to vitality. As others have mentioned, this is a vitamin that is very hard to get enough with through sunshine. Milk is supplemented with Vitamins A and D (fat soluble vitamins), but again not enough to get your levels back up.

Iamnotasenior

I also suffer from low vitamin D levels. When I started taking a supplement (recommended by my doctor) the first thing I noticed was that my depression lifted, my energy level shot up and I just felt "happier". I suffer from severe osteoporosis, brought on in part, from the chronic low vitamin D levels. Don't set yourself up for that, because once you have it and start down the road of brittle bones, fractures and chronic pain, it changes your life dramatically. Ask your doctor what he/she recommends and then TAKE IT.

LAWoman72

Only supplements have worked for me. Neither D-rich (or enriched) foods nor sunshine worked for me.

When I was first DXd as D deficient, my number was 11. My doctor ordered a second test run in case the first result was a fluke or in error. That test came up at 12.

I live in Southern California, where you can't walk to the mailbox and back without getting a tan. I am outside with my kids all the time and I never remember to put sunscreen on, unfortunately. I tend to just jet out the door without remembering to apply. I have a 52-week-a-year farmer's tan and - don't laugh - I actually have tan lines on my feet from my sandals. My calves are tanned as well, generally, from wearing capris so much of the year because we have four seasons in SoCal: summer, summer, summer, and Thirteen Seconds to Supernova.

For me, if more sunshine is the answer, I'm pretty sure I'll have to move to either Costa Rica or Venus. (However, I'm not saying everybody's body is like mine. OTOH, my doctor said she had other D deficient patients and obviously we all live in the same general area.)

My maintenance D level for an above-25 reading is 4000iu/day (D3). And yes, it is amazing how much better I feel when keeping up with my regimen.

callsitlikeiseeit

milk, sunlight

beemerphile1

I take 1,000 iu of D3 in the winter and sunshine in the summer.

No one should take a large amount of supplement except if being regularly tested.

ForecasterJason

I take a 2,000 IU supplement twice a week, as I'm pretty sure I'd be pretty low without it at all.
As for getting vitamin D from sunshine, I've read that the older you are, the harder it is, so that could be something to keep in mind. I've also read that ideally for vitamin D production you would want to be outside from 10AM-2PM. That's when the UVB rays are strongest, which are the rays required for vitamin D.

blankiefinder

amyrebeccah wrote: »

Too late to edit: Someone posting on this thread recommended drops--that might help with my stomach issues so I just placed an order for some. Supposedly you can mix them in with food and so I'll try doing that. Thanks for the thought!

@amyrebeccah That was me. The ones I use might be a Canadian brand, they are CanPrev D3 drops in an MCT Oil base , 1000 IU per drop so a bottle goes a long way. The MCT means they are in Coconut oil, they have a very neutral slight coconut taste. I would just go in to your local vitamin store and ask if they have any D3 drops in a coconut oil base.

meritage4

In canada -all dairy milk must be fortified with vitamin d and drinking 2 cups a day would get you 88% of recommended amount.

blankiefinder

meritage4 wrote: »

In canada -all dairy milk must be fortified with vitamin d and drinking 2 cups a day would get you 88% of recommended amount.

I drink a lot of milk and my levels are terrible

runner_girl83

My vitamin D levels got down to 75. Dificiency is considered <70 here (Australia). My GP put me on Ostelin capsules to help bring the vitamin D levels up and suggested that I spend some time in the sun in the morning and afternoon.

Then I got diagnosed with Melanoma (obviously the damage had been done a long time ago) and now I've been advised to wear sunscreen at all times outdoors and I'll continue to take the Ostelin every day.

I try and eat vitamin D rich foods as much as possible too.

wrenak

Noticed the date of the thread after I'd responded.

jgnatca

beemerphile1 wrote: »

I take 1,000 iu of D3 in the winter and sunshine in the summer.

No one should take a large amount of supplement except if being regularly tested.

Here in Alberta our public health care no longer covers vitamin D blood tests because we are nearly all deficient. No use ordering a test if we already know the answer. So it's a given that we'll need supplementation.

jgnatca

I also suggest Folic Acid for young women to prevent a birth defect.

neohdiver

Definitely take it seriously. As several others have noted, it is strongly linked with hypothyroidism.

It is specifically linked with Hashimoto's disease. Hashimoto's disease is an autoimmune disorder that requires genes + an environmental trigger. Vitamin D deficiency is thought to be not only associated with Hashimoto's, but one of the triggers. I had a Vitamin D deficiency years ago, treated it with a vitamin supplement, then got lazy. The vitamin D deficiency is back - along with a new diagnosis of Hashimoto's.

tomatoey

I hadn't heard of Vit D deficiency before I experienced it, as constant (& severe) fatigue. Like I'd get home and just drop as soon as I got through the door. My regular doc didn't think to check it; a walk-in doc (seen for something else!) thought to do it and said I was at sub 20 (not sure which measurement - he was freaked out, said it was floor level, barely detectable). Got it to the normal range with D3 drops over about a year (5 x 1000 mg drops daily under the tongue), by which time I felt much better and more human. I still take 2-3 drops daily. I keep it in the bathroom by my toothbrush so I remember to take it every a.m.

tomatoey

ForecasterJason wrote: »

I take a 2,000 IU supplement twice a week, as I'm pretty sure I'd be pretty low without it at all.
As for getting vitamin D from sunshine, I've read that the older you are, the harder it is, so that could be something to keep in mind. I've also read that ideally for vitamin D production you would want to be outside from 10AM-2PM. That's when the UVB rays are strongest, which are the rays required for vitamin D.

Even then, they're just not strong enough at certain latitudes, in winter.

tomteboda

I have systemic lupus erythematosus. Like most people with lupus, I have low vitamin D and "getting out in the sun" is the absolute worst thing I can do (especially between 10 am - 2 pm!).

I take a 5,000 mg vitamin D supplement every day. I can't say I feel much different, but it has helped with the bloodwork.

RodaRose

The cheap Vit D added to milk is poorly absorbed by most although I would be happy if someone had better info to share.
Fatty fish like salmon, sardines, tuna are a good sources of Vit D as far as I know.
My doc has me on D3 but I don't remember to take it. This thread reminds me. Thanks

kshama2001

I was tested when I moved back to Massachusetts from Florida and take 1,000 IU as recommended by my doctor. This is the brand I take: Source Naturals, Vitamin D-3, 1,000 IU, 200 Tablets.

kshama2001

RodaRose wrote: »

The cheap Vit D added to milk is poorly absorbed by most although I would be happy if someone had better info to share.
Fatty fish like salmon, sardines, tuna are a good sources of Vit D as far as I know.
My doc has me on D3 but I don't remember to take it. This thread reminds me. Thanks

Apparently you can check your milk to see if it is fortified with the cheap, less effective D2 or the better D3.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21735411
http://press.endocrine.org/doi/abs/10.1210/jc.2010-2230
http://blog.vitamindcouncil.org/2011/11/16/meta-analysis-looks-at-efficacy-of-d2-vs-d3/

Many people write me and ask, “My doctor prescribed Drisdol, is that OK?” Drisdol is D2 and the form of vitamin D that doctors write prescriptions for. The body doesn’t produce vitamin D2 in response to sun exposure. It is made by irradiating fungus and plant matter. When you take it, a number of metabolic forms of D2 are found in the body, and some studies show D3 (produced by the skin) is more potent, meaning it is more effective at raising blood levels than D2, while some show they are equal. However, there are few studies comparing the efficacy of D2 vs. D3. Or in other words, which form has better health outcomes, better mortality rates?

Recently, a review and meta-analysis address this question. The meta-analysis study was led by Professor Dr. Goran Bjelakovic.

Bjelakovic G, Gluud LL, Nikolova D, Whitfield K, Wetterslev J, Simonetti RG, Bjelakovic M, Gluud C. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2011 Jul 6;(7):CD007470.

He analyzed 50 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) with a total of 94,000 participants that used some form of vitamin D and reported mortality rates as either primary or secondary outcomes. Within these RCTs, 32 of the studies used D3 (74,000 subjects) and 12 of them used D2 (18,000 subjects). He found there was a 6% relative risk reduction when supplementing with vitamin D3, as opposed to a 2% relative risk increase when supplementing with vitamin D2

Amazingly, this study somehow slipped under the radar and neither the press nor I picked up this study in July. Luckily, Professor Dr. Harvey Murff of Vanderbilt University reviewed this study yesterday in the Annals of Internal Medicine recently, allowing the general public to examine the study once again.

Murff HJ. Review: Cholecalciferol (vitamin D3) reduces mortality in adults; other forms of vitamin D do not. Ann Intern Med. 2011; 155:JC5-04.

You would think a paper that took a look at tens of thousands of subjects and analyzed the efficacy of prescription vitamin D (D2) and over-the-counter vitamin D (D3) would warrant a news story or two. To my knowledge, these papers are the first to paint such a clear picture about the efficacy between D3 and D2. While there may be explanations for D3’s superiority other than improved efficacy, for the time being, these papers send doctors a message: use D3, not D2.

ValerieMartini2Olives

Sit in the sun

yarwell

ValerieMartini2Olives wrote: »

Sit in the sun

There is no benefit to be had here from sun exposure for at least 3 months.

tomatoey

yarwell wrote: »

ValerieMartini2Olives wrote: »

Sit in the sun

There is no benefit to be had here from sun exposure for at least 3 months.

+1