Vitamin D Deficiency

[Guest elyag]

I had some lab work done yeterday and found out I have Vitamin D deficiency. I guess the treatment is to take massive amounts of Vitamin D until my level gets back to normal. Just wondered if anyone else is low on Vit D?

I'm a little concerned about taking a huge does of Vitamin D because I react to EVERYTHING

[kjdube]

I'm a little concerned about taking a huge does of Vitamin D because I react to EVERYTHING

I'm allergic to everything and I have VitD deficiency also. I take AllergyD by Twinlabs:

http://www.vitacost.com/Twinlab-Allergy-D3-Caps

Its not made from fish like most vitD and contains NO

Tablet binders, coatings, colorings, fish, soy, yeast, barley, wheat, lactose (milk sugar), and all milk, citrus and egg products, added flavorings, sugars, salt, artificial sweeteners, preservatives and salicylates.

[Broken_Shell]

Hi,

I also was found to have vitamin D deficiency. I take prescription 50000 IU vitamin D. I took it every week for 6 weeks, had my labs checked again to see that it was in the normal range, and then was switched to the 50000 IU prescription twice a month. I was worried about reacting to it, but I haven't had any problems.

~ Broken_Shell

[babettess]

I also have a Vit D Deficiency. I took 50,000 IUs weekly for 8 weeks and then switched to 50,000 IUs monthly. After a three month switch to monthly dosing, my Vitamin D level went back down to where it was before I started taking the supplement. So as of yesterday, I am back on the 50,000 IUs weekly again and will have my level checked in 3 months.

I am also very sensitive to medicine but haven't had any problems on the supplement. I take the prescription kind that is green, shaped like a football, and filled with liquid. ( I haven't picked up my new prescription yet so I don't know the manufacturer.) I cut a hole in the end and squeeze the liquid out into a small cup of orange juice. The liquid is like an oil and I find it to be tasteless. (I have a swallowing difficulty so I can't take pills.)

I did find that I had less muscle pain when my level was at it's highest (which still wasn't in the normal range.)

For your information:

Normal levels at the lab I go to are: 32-60. My levels were 14 when the VDD was found, 28 after 8 weeks of 50,000 IUs weekly, and then 13.8 after 3 months of 50,000 IUs monthly. So I am definately not worried about taking too much at this point.

Studies have proven that Vit D is one vitamin that we definately need to have enough of or risk future health problems.

I hope you do well with the supplement.

Babette

[Katja]

yep, I have a vitamin D deficiency, too - it was actually someone mentioning it on this forum that got me to ask my doctor about it. I'm at 16.3; the reference range at the lab is 32-100 ng/mL. I'm taking 50,000IU weekly for three months, then we re-test. I haven't noticed any problems with it, so far, and I react to everything, as well. It's actually mentioned here that vitamin D deficiency may be commonly found in POTS, though nothing about why (5th question down):

http://my.clevelandclinic.org/heart/webcha...ncope_pots.aspx

[jdqm]

my naturopath told me i was vit D deficient as well.

She gave me vit D by vital nutrients.

I had some lab work done yeterday and found out I have Vitamin D deficiency. I guess the treatment is to take massive amounts of Vitamin D until my level gets back to normal. Just wondered if anyone else is low on Vit D?

I'm a little concerned about taking a huge does of Vitamin D because I react to EVERYTHING

[jump]

I have a vitamin D def. also, and I did find I felt a lot better - not cured, but definitely better - when I started a D regimen.

My levels were 12, but my doc only told me to take 800 IUD daily The lowest they sell them in is 1000 IUD, and then I did my own on-line research and I take 2000 IUD's daily instead. I tried just taking 1000 since it was closer to what my doc recommended but I still had all my same symptoms (insomnia, mostly) and I feel better when I take the 2000 IUD. If you have a bad reaction, you can take a daily dose instead of a weekly or monthly dose and that should help some.

You CAN over-dose on oral vitamin D, so you should read up on the warning signs just in case.

[sue1234]

I also have low vit. D. It was at 17. I was prescribed the 50,000 IU once a week, but I guess I'm the rare one that DID react to it. It made my b/p go higher, reaaally constipated, headache, and insomnia much worse. I know I need it, but can't seem to get past the side effects. I even get these effects if I take an OTC brand of 400 IU of vit. D. IF I knew my potsy symptoms would get a bunch better or even go away, I would probably fight through the months it would take to get my levels up. I just wish I knew! You know, calcium and magnesium are two minerals that work/oppose each other. Is it possible we end up with less calcium(like intracellular) and more magnesium, because of the vit. D deficiency? Would then the magnesium make our system, and especially our circulatory system be too relaxed, thus the blood pooling, etc.? Every time they test my magnesium, it sits at the high end of the range, and I don't take a supplement. This is all stuff I've run through my mind in the past, and now that I see so many people just today talking about how low their vit. D is, maybe this is a contributing factor, huh?

[Sunfish]

i just got a call this week from my TPN/ nutrition team reporting my own low level of vit D (12-something). i don't know my exact dose (as i'll be getting it from the pharmacy later today) but know that i'll be taking a "pretty large dose" twice a week for the next three months & will then be checked again. i'm not sure what exact form i'll be taking, only that whatever it is must be something that can be taken via my J tube (which means either liquid or crushable so that i can turn it into liquid via mixing). in case anyone's interested in the specifics of what doses others are on & the like i'll try to remember to come back to post my dose once i have the prescription in hand.

some time ago - perhaps 5 yrs - i remember dr. grubb testing my levels & they were then normal, though i don't recall where they were on the continuum (i.e. just barely normal, plenty of room to spare, or somewhere in between). if i recall correctly dr. g was pretty much testing all of his patients at the time & finding many to have pretty low levels, something he became aware of & interested in after finding out that he himself was significantly deficient. NW ohio - where grubb is located - is pretty dismal as far as the # of cloudy days we have but of course only some of grubb's patients were/ are actually local. in hindsight i very well may have been okay back then due to the fact that i was a lifeguard/ swim teacher & coach/ pool manager for years which put me outside a good 10-12 hours a day for at least three months of the year; this was supplemented by my being an outdoors-whenever-even-remotely-possible runner (i.e. even in snow & ice up to a point) as well as - for several years - my spending a good amount of time on the water rowing three seasons of the year. in other words i spent an above-average amount of time out in the sun relative to where i lived. AND i lived in maryland when i was tested & had for several years...not exactly the sunniest place but definitely more so than NW ohio (where i grew up & where i'm back living now).

all in all though what i'm getting at is that i know my currently-deficient levels are a relatively new happening, i.e within the past 5 yrs or so? not at all surprising based on numerous factors: where i live, how often i'm unable to get outside at all combined with the fact that there is a very narrow range of weather conditions wherein i'm able to actually spend time outside, the fact that i have zero dietary intake orally & that only a very minimal amount of vit D can be included with / added to my TPN (IV nutrition), etc. unfortunately i've already ended up with some ill-effects that are likely related to my deficiency as well - at least in part - as a bone scan i had a few months ago put me in the osteopena category (abnormal but not quite osteoporosis).; the vit D issue though is certainly not the only issue that may have played into my bones no longer being in the best of shape (as i have had &/or have several other major risk factors that have likely contributed).

but enough about me.....

vitamin D deficiency is VERY common in the general population as a whole, so the fact that a good number of folks here on the forum are deficient is not necessarily anything outside the norm. different regions of the country come with more or less chance of deficiency, and the time of year actually matters as well, i.e. this time of year (the end of winter) is when levels will trend lowest whereas by the end of summer levels - normal or not - tend to be comparatively higher.

melissa

[Guest elyag]

Thanks for your replies. My Vit D level was at 18, the range in my lab is 30-100. Two yeas ago my Vit D level was 37. I have a phone consult with my PCP this afternoon. I'm wondering why my level has dropped so much over the past couple of years.

It's good to know most of you did fine on the once a week, mega dose of Vit D. Sue, I'm afraid I'm going to have a similar reaction like you did, so I'm going to see if my PCP is OK with me taking a daily smaller dose to begin with. I'm hoping getting back to a normal level will help with my fatigue and other symptoms.

[bjt22]

Had mine done last year. I was in the "profoundly deficient range"...less than a five. I took the 50,000 IU's with no problem. I've not been back to have mine checked, but I probably should.

[Sunfish]

to fill in the informational "blank" in my earlier post, i'll be taking 50,000 units twice a week for the next three months. b/c the gel caps aren't too doable for a J tube - poking/ draining them would be a pain & i'd end up losing half the dose anyway - i'm waiting on my friends at the compounding pharmacy to make/ compound a liquid for me which won't be until early/ mid next week. the first "option" i was given was a pre-made liquid that was 1000 units/ ounce which would have meant i would have had to take 50 ounces! uh...i don't think so . aside from it being icky, if i could get that much volume in me via my J tube i wouldn't be on IV nutrition/ hydration in the first place!!

i am SO thankful for the compounding folks....and in the meantime hope/ plan to get a bit of D the next few days au natural (aka lying in the backyard) as it's supposed to be a BEAUTIFUL weekend here! sunny but not too warm/ hot (or cold for that matter). love it .

melissa

[Guest elyag]

Melissa, Hope you enjoy getting some of it "the natural way" .

I'm going to try to do the same thing a few times a week. Before it gets too hot to sit outdoors.

[toddm1960]

Hi,

I also was found to have vitamin D deficiency. I take prescription 50000 IU vitamin D. I took it every week for 6 weeks, had my labs checked again to see that it was in the normal range, and then was switched to the 50000 IU prescription twice a month. I was worried about reacting to it, but I haven't had any problems.

~ Broken_Shell

Put me down for the low D levels also, I started in the teens to. I've been on 50,000 IU's started one per week, didn't come much. Then two per week and my levels only came into the 20's. Now I'm taking three per week and my last test came back at 31. There has to be some type malabsorbtion problem going on with this also. Good luck with your levels and no the high does shouldn't bother you.

[mae]

I'm also vit-d deficient, (17) and I have the sensitive to meds problem so I haven't taken it but twice. I think thats the least of my worries at the present moment but I have also read it can prevent alot of serious conditions in the future. I'm going to try a multivitamin so that may help with the vit-d who knows...I'm just tired of all the doctors I ask simple question to never know anything. I was always in the sun and drank plently of vit-d milk and other foods contain it so why would I be deficient?

Mae

[Hummingbird]

I was also diagnosed as D-deficient, and take 50,000 iu/week. I take D3, NOT D2. A GREAT book on the subject is The Vitamin D Cure. He also has a website: The Vitamin D Cure website. My inital level was 19... at last check it was 42. My doctor wants it above 50.

Good luck!

[abbriggs]

I thing the reason that a lot of us low Vit D is because most of us spend most of out time inside. We are not getting a lot of sun. I take 2000 iu every day.

[Maxine]

Guess What? My levels are 3------------yes that's right, 3.

I get flu symptoms when I try the suppliments, and my endocrinologist two years ago when my levels were 6 tried the monthly high dose pills, and I refuse those because the lower dose ones made me sick.

Finally, my PCP had a thought---------------------WHY IS MY VITAMIN D LOW? He wants answers to that because mine are extremely low.

None of my physicians have followed up on any of it, and didn't say anything when I told them the vitamin D suppliment made me feel like I have the flu.

The ball has seriously been dropped on this one------------------BUT, what else is new? I guess my PCP would be the one most responsible, and my past PCPs have been useless, so I fired them. The PCPs that were good, and actually did thier JOB relocated, and one of them went into emergency medicine.

I'm not quite sure how my bone density came out well with such low vitamin D. The only problem I showed was osteopenia in hips, and some problems in my wrists. Spine was good density wise-----------it';s just a train wreck because the joints and ligaments don't hold it together well. The MRIs and CT scans show that.

Tomorrow I will be going to PCP again---------he's been talking about sending me to Johns Hopkins, but I'm reluctant to go through all that effort if I won't be taken seriously. I have enough medical records that you would think i'd be taken seriously, but then again what can you really do for EDS. My EDS is causing everything from what I'm told.

Perhaps I should have a very good knowledgable doctor on EDS close to my home to help me get better care locally.

Right now I'm going to Cincinnati to see my EDS geneticist, and he's tried to find a good neurologist for the associated issues with my spine, and weird vascular anatomy in the back of my brain.

My PCP thinks something else is going on though, and is really surprised my thyroid levels haven't been followed better. Just yearly checks, but nothing else. I have hashemotos thyroid, and my anti-tpo levels are 1, 600. I had some odd kidney blood work, and according to the chart my kidneys were failing, but my previous PCP said I was OK.

Then of course we have the gut issues, and he thinks that somehow some of this is tied together, and maybe I'm not absorbing vitamin D.

Maxine :0)

[MelissaCrystal]

Mine was 9, but they were able to get it up to 23. Still low, but eh. I haven't had a test in a while though... I'm extremely pale and I burn easily so I usually stay out of the sunlight. These days though, I just haven't been getting out because of my symptoms. Not sure if anything medical is causing my low Vit D, because my lifestyle looks like it can do it.

My doc says it is an epidemic in cities and in places with lots of clouds because Vit D levels can fall so quickly and easily. So I wouldn't doubt that Vit D deficiencies are pretty common among normal people these days. At least that's what my doc tried to convey to me. Not saying that's a good thing, just saying how easy it is to get low.

[Maxine]

Yes, I definately don't get out in the sun. I can not tolerate the sun at all unless it's 65 degrees or less out.

I enjoy the sun, but unfortunately I can't tolerate it for more then a few minutes unless it's cooler out.

My PCP wants to know why it's so extremely low. Last year I tolerated the sun better, and went to my Dad's pool a few times, and I even sat in the sun on and off, and my vitamin D levels went down even more.

I'm thinking there's something more to it.

I also want to know why takng the suppliments makes me sick. Not one doc has tried to figure this out. Maybe something added to the suppliment is doing it.

Good thing to remind my doc about today.

MAxine :0)