Keep your Vit. D levels up!

Rague
Rague Member Posts: 3,653 Member

Be sure as we are in winter to keep your Vit D levels up!

Just got a call from my PAs RN saying that I need to uncrease my Vit. D til I see her on the 25th.  I use a light box daily and take Vit D  pills but  - - .

Comments

  • smalldoggroomer
    smalldoggroomer Member Posts: 1,184
    I was told the same thing. I

    I was told the same thing. I take 5000 iu per day.I have been meaning to ask if I can sit in the Sun a couple times a week for 15 minutes or so. I live in Fl so I could do that. But on the other hand I'm not suppose to be in the sun. So is there a acceptable sun time. I'll have to put that in my question list for next week.

  • Rague
    Rague Member Posts: 3,653 Member

    I was told the same thing. I

    I was told the same thing. I take 5000 iu per day.I have been meaning to ask if I can sit in the Sun a couple times a week for 15 minutes or so. I live in Fl so I could do that. But on the other hand I'm not suppose to be in the sun. So is there a acceptable sun time. I'll have to put that in my question list for next week.

     'Home'  was Punta Gorda, FL

     'Home'  was Punta Gorda, FL  but not anymore.  Because I've  dealt with SAD for close to 20 years here, I've had a light box.  Just got a new oone. 

    "Acceptable amount of sun"  - don't know but light boxes  do stimulate do keep me' going'

    Winyan - The Power Within

    Susan.  

  • cinnamonsmile
    cinnamonsmile Member Posts: 1,187 Member
    Interesting that you post

    Interesting that you post this now. I saw a neurologist last March 2012  for some issues I am having. I fired him for different reasons. My family dr. mentioned something he said and I knew he was wrong. I finally got his dr notes. He wrote on his notes that my vitamin D levels were low and that he sent me on my way with some supplements. Ummm...No he NEVER mentioned that my vitamin D levels were low. I don't even trust that it was ME he was referring to, as he put in his notes that I had a hip CT scan. I have NEVER had hip problems and certainly never had a CT scan EVER!!

    So I guess I need to make an appt with my primary to see if they are indeded low and have been low since March 2012.

    Thanks for the motivator...

  • Lynn Smith
    Lynn Smith Member Posts: 1,264 Member
    Yes we must

    Yes we must keep our Vtiamin D levels up.I had no idae till recently(after a long bout with bornchitis) that my level was down.Dr put me on a higher dosefor 2 weeks.Then went in for a blood test.It was OK but I must take 1,000 iu's a day.I read thatone of the risks on a low count for Vitamin D can cause cancer.This was something so new to me.

    Thanks for reminding us.I will always be more aware of the Vitamin D than I ever was before.

    Lynn Smith

  • Lynn Smith
    Lynn Smith Member Posts: 1,264 Member
    Yes we must

    Yes we must keep our Vtiamin D levels up.I had no idae till recently(after a long bout with bornchitis) that my level was down.Dr put me on a higher dosefor 2 weeks.Then went in for a blood test.It was OK but I must take 1,000 iu's a day.I read thatone of the risks on a low count for Vitamin D can cause cancer.This was something so new to me.

    Thanks for reminding us.I will always be more aware of the Vitamin D than I ever was before.

    Lynn Smith

  • abrub
    abrub Member Posts: 2,174 Member
    I'm on super high doses of Vitamin D

    Some of us don't process sunlight, and even Rx vitamin D didn't help me.  It turns out that the Rx form (D2) is not well absorbed by some people (and upsets other people's stomachs). D3 is what you commonly get OTC, and this is better absorbed.  After over a year on very high doses of the Rx version (50,000 iu of D2 twice/week) my levels were still unacceptable.  

    Under the advice of an Integrative Med MD at Sloan Kettering, I am taking 10,000 iu of D3/day.  To bump me up to an acceptable level, she started me at 20,000 iu of vit D3/day for 2 weeks, and then backed me down to 8,000iu/day.  Within 4 weeks, my levels were good.  However, they dropped on the 8,000 iu dosage, so we bumped me back up to 10,000, and I've been good since then.

    Neither of my sisters absorb from the sun either.  We are all low in vit D, and one of them has lived in Hawaii for 40 years, the other is a farmer, and is outside, in the sun, most of the day.  I wonder if whatever prevents us from utiliizing sunlight to manufacture D also affects our ability to utilize D2?  Worth asking my Integrative MD.

    2,000 iu/day is good for most people.  I wouldn't self-dose much higher than that; certainly at the level I'm taking I need a dr's supervision (even tho it is available OTC in 10,000 iu capsules.)

     

  • Lynn Smith
    Lynn Smith Member Posts: 1,264 Member
    abrub said:

    I'm on super high doses of Vitamin D

    Some of us don't process sunlight, and even Rx vitamin D didn't help me.  It turns out that the Rx form (D2) is not well absorbed by some people (and upsets other people's stomachs). D3 is what you commonly get OTC, and this is better absorbed.  After over a year on very high doses of the Rx version (50,000 iu of D2 twice/week) my levels were still unacceptable.  

    Under the advice of an Integrative Med MD at Sloan Kettering, I am taking 10,000 iu of D3/day.  To bump me up to an acceptable level, she started me at 20,000 iu of vit D3/day for 2 weeks, and then backed me down to 8,000iu/day.  Within 4 weeks, my levels were good.  However, they dropped on the 8,000 iu dosage, so we bumped me back up to 10,000, and I've been good since then.

    Neither of my sisters absorb from the sun either.  We are all low in vit D, and one of them has lived in Hawaii for 40 years, the other is a farmer, and is outside, in the sun, most of the day.  I wonder if whatever prevents us from utiliizing sunlight to manufacture D also affects our ability to utilize D2?  Worth asking my Integrative MD.

    2,000 iu/day is good for most people.  I wouldn't self-dose much higher than that; certainly at the level I'm taking I need a dr's supervision (even tho it is available OTC in 10,000 iu capsules.)

     

    I agree

    I agree.This is very important.I got bronchitis in Sept.Still fighting it with other health things.I got low on 3 vitamins.I was so sick. Doctor kept saying blood work is fine.I told her I get dizzy and weak.Finally she did another blood ttest.I was low on Vit D, folic acid and just slighty on B12.I took vitamin IV's for 5 weeks to get boosted but had to take Vit D orally.Can't get it in the IV.I feel so much better but now I need to get a vitamin that has ALL of the vitmans and not take the Vit D by itself but a good vitamin that you can get all

    Something I found out through the IV doctor said if you get to much of Vit D  it can cause heart palipitaions.SO I must find something for all vitamins and forget just the Vit D I take now.A good multi which has 1,000 IU what the doctor ordered for Vit D. When I was low I started out on 3,000 IU and was replenished in exactly 2 weeks.Now the does is 1,000 IU.

    Not sure if some of you have read but low on Vitamin D is a possibilty of cancer either getting or coming back. I started reading on the vitamins we need and what foods to eat and what each does.Still though I am a picky eater and don't seem to want alot at one time.    

    Lynn Smith 

     

  • Lynn Smith
    Lynn Smith Member Posts: 1,264 Member

    I agree

    I agree.This is very important.I got bronchitis in Sept.Still fighting it with other health things.I got low on 3 vitamins.I was so sick. Doctor kept saying blood work is fine.I told her I get dizzy and weak.Finally she did another blood ttest.I was low on Vit D, folic acid and just slighty on B12.I took vitamin IV's for 5 weeks to get boosted but had to take Vit D orally.Can't get it in the IV.I feel so much better but now I need to get a vitamin that has ALL of the vitmans and not take the Vit D by itself but a good vitamin that you can get all

    Something I found out through the IV doctor said if you get to much of Vit D  it can cause heart palipitaions.SO I must find something for all vitamins and forget just the Vit D I take now.A good multi which has 1,000 IU what the doctor ordered for Vit D. When I was low I started out on 3,000 IU and was replenished in exactly 2 weeks.Now the does is 1,000 IU.

    Not sure if some of you have read but low on Vitamin D is a possibilty of cancer either getting or coming back. I started reading on the vitamins we need and what foods to eat and what each does.Still though I am a picky eater and don't seem to want alot at one time.    

    Lynn Smith 

     

    Sorry

    Sorry days ago I thought my first post didn't go through.I was having problems signing in.Now I see it did.But readling a couple posts I can't see it all and would love to. Esp all the info for how much to take.I was only put on 3,000 IU when I was low and now on 1,000 IU.Yes I agree we must be monitored by a doctor like the one post and mine.  They warned me of the risks and I have heart palipitations anyway if I don't take my beta blocker.

    Lynn Smith

  • Different Ballgame
    Different Ballgame Member Posts: 868
    It is Important to be Tested

    1.  It is important to be tested to know the level of Vitamin D in your body throughout the year.

    2.  The month you are tested also has a bearing on the amount of Vitamin D that will be in your body.

    3.  I took Vitamin D3 - dosage 12,000 and walked 5 days a week in the sun anywhere between 12:00 to 2:00 p.m. for one hour/day.

     4.  When I was tested in September, I was 4 points above the high normal.

    5.  I dropped my dosage to 8,000 per day and was tested again in February.  I ended up being in the low normal range which I personally expected would be different. because during the fall and winter, the body's skin is not exposed as well to the sun.  Plus, the rays of the sun are at a different angle (I don't know if this matters, but it may).

    6.  I then went back to  10,000 to 12,000 per day.

    7.  If I am at the pool for many hours during the summer, I will not take my Vitamin D supplement on that day.

    8. I have good skin, will be 72 years old tomorrow, and tan beautifully.  I do not wear sunscreen.  That is my body, not yours.  It is important for you to know your body and your skin.  

    9.  The important thing is to be tested twice in the first year.  Schedule one test in the first week of February and then the second test around the 2nd or 3rd week of September.  This will give you an idea of how your body is absorbing your Vitamin D throughout the year.  Always ask for a copy of your test results.

    Lots of Hugs,

    Janelle