Low vitamin D -- any suggestions?

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

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.

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.

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.

milk, sunlight

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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 wrote: »

Sit in the sun

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