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Vitamin D


worththewords

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My doctor recently had my Vitamin D levels checked and mine came back at 7.3 when it should be in the range of 22-55 (or somewhere in that range, I don't have the paper in front of me).

I had to fax a copy of the blood work results to my doctor and now wait to hear what this means and what to do. I've been reading up on this and the funny part is I live in Florida so I know I get plenty of exposure to sun. Granted, I don't go lay out in the sun due to the fact that it makes me blotchy and itchy (I assume a med reaction) so I am definitely one of the pale POTS-types. I am out and about every day though so I know the sun and I have to be greeting each other. I do eat dairy. I'm not one to have a glass of milk but dairy is in my diet. I guess I just don't understand how my number ended up so low.

I did search this topic and saw that some others had this problem and were taking some sort of supplement. I didn't see any follow up posts though on whether or not it helped and what it even helped with. Did you have to get a prescription from your doctor? Any side effects? What did it help/treat?

Any insight would be appreciated.

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At about the same time I was diagnosed with POTS they also noticed my vitamin D level was very low. I took lots of vitamin D for awhile with no noticeable effects (bad or good). For 2 months I took a prescription dose, then another few months of over-the-counter vitamins. The levels in my blood increased, but my doctor didn't think it was actually causing any symptoms anyway.

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I also have a vitamin D deficiency (8.2) and have been taking 50,000IU if vitamin D weekly for the past four weeks and I am now switching to 1,000IU daily, we are rechecking my levels in another four weeks. My doc does think that the vitamin D deficiency is causing my muscle twitching eipsodes and can be contributing to my joint pain/fatigue.

From what I understand it can take a long time to get vitamin d levels back to normal when they are so very low. I have not had any problems with the supplements as far as side effects.

Good Luck,

Sheridan

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My levels are very low too, and I am taking a vitamin D vitamin http://www.sourcenaturals.com/products/GP1788/ and also Carlson Cod Liver oil which is an excellent source of vitamin D http://www.carlsonlabs.com/product_detail....mp;categid=03a9. I get mine plain, but if you can have lemon, I would go with the lemon flavored. My doctor suggested the cod liver oil and whatever else I needed to do to get enough Vit. D in. He also wanted me to take Calcium with D, but the Calcium was causing major constipation issues. Part of my problem of low levels is due to malapsorption issues, but the sun hasn't helped either (in the summer). I'll re-check my levels in a few months again.

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I just took a class yesterday which spent hours on Vit. D. The professor is writing a book on osteoporosis with 1/3 of the book on the sun and vit. D.

She says the optimal level of 25-vit. D (the most likely test they did) is 45. It is a hormone and acts on every organ in the body. When it is low, many things can go wrong (depending on everything else in your genes and your life.)

She shuddered at 50,000 unit doses and recommends anywhere from 1000 to 5000 a day, with retests after a few months to be sure it doesn't get too high.

She said that the amount of sun converted to D depends on cholesterol level (lower cholesterol means lower D), and then how well it was converted to the active forms in the liver and then the kidney. She also said just about all sunblocks blocked D formation. Winter sun in the northern hemisphere is not direct enough in most places to allow D formation.

It may not "cure" your symptoms, but if you are low, it would seem that taking enough to normalize your levels will prevent bad things (including cancer, heart problems, osteoporosis and more) in the future.

I don't have a single website, but I am sure PubMed has hundreds or even thousands of studies.

OLL

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When exposed to sunlight, your skin makes a precursor to the active form of vitamin D. This precursor then has to undergo a chemical change in the liver and another in the kidney before it is the active form. Because all of these forms of vitamin D are hydrophobic (they don't mix with water), they need to be bound to a carrier protein to be transported in the bloodstream. So there are lots of links in this chain, any of which can be weak.

http://www.vivo.colostate.edu/hbooks/pathp...o/vitamind.html

I'm not sure which form the doctors are measuring and which form people are taking by mouth. If you have low vitamin D levels despite adequate exposure to the sun, that is an interesting problem.

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I heard back from my doctor. She said that even though we live in Florida this can still be a problem for people here even though we get adequate amount of sunlight. I will start taking 400IU of Vitamin D three times a day and then see where I am in 2-3 months when we do bloodwork again.

I do get achey a lot. The only thing I can compare it to is the aches you get when you have the flu. She said that could be due to the low number but we won't know until my number comes up to normal if it is going to make any difference.

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I recently went to a doctor that explained that you can have varying levels of different types of vitamin D. He suggessed that I take vitamin D3. I take a product called ISO D because I am so sensitive to everything, and the ISO D can be easier on your system.

So far, I have had no problems with it.

Since I have neurological symptoms that look alot like MS, I took note when a recent study showed that MS patients did better when taking Vitamin D. It is an interesting coinsidence that in the winter when we have the least amount of sun and are most vitamin D deficient MS patients have a tendency to flare more. Vitamin D is also good for the immune system.

Rhonda

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Dr. Simpson said that D3 was much better used by the body than D2. All D3 in this country is made from wool.

There are two tests for D. One is 25-hydroxy vit D and the other is 1-25-hydroxy vit D. The latter is the active form (after the final activity in the kidney mostly, but a little in other tissues).

She tests both on everyone, but it gets expensive and usually they parallel each other. Usually it is sufficient to test just the 25-hydroxy. The exception she cited was obese people who have low to normal 25, but high 1-25 because it is stored in the fat. These people should not take it because too much can be a problem.

Good point about the fat-solubility...it should be taken with some (healthy) fat or oil to be absorbed. I wasn't doing that and have now added flax oil at the time I take my D.

OLL

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I'm glad you all posted some information on this. My levels are also at less then 7, so I'm very low also. I was given vitamin D via prescription, but I thought I was having a reaction to it, and didn't want to take it. This was over a year ago. My levels were tested again----still at 7---so the endocrinologist prescribed a monthly pill. I was afraid of that----especially if I would get a reaction---it's in there a month.

Now I know this sounds crazy, but I have had reactions to vitamins before. However, I started worrying, as I know very low vitamin D levels can't help what I already have going on with my spine, and the EDS complicates that even further. I also think this may play a role in my very low HDL. Thankfully the Cardicac CT scan/calcium scoring showed no plaque----my score was 0.

I also have lesions in my brain-------peri ventriculat part of my brain/a likely hangout for MS lesions----so i'm being watched for that also. Although I doubt low vitamin D can actually CAUSE MS.

I called my PCP to order more vitamin D. the pharmacist said this was the same thing as over the counter vitamin D---but it's cheaper for me via prescription. I need to take this more seriously.... :)

I don't know why my body reacted weird the last time---it's just vitamin D---something my body needs----right?

Maxine :0)

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Maybe a different brand would have the vit D combined with different binding agents or something?????

Search vit D and MS. There is a huge link as both D deficiencies and frequency of MS are far greater the further from the equator you go. This was interestingly first observed by a military recruiter who noted that a higher percentage of applicants from further north areas had MS. At first they didn't know why, but other studies confirmed that it is true and likely related to the level of vit D.

Side note on brain lesions...there was a study a few years ago of brain lesions (periventricular white matter) and many neurologic symptoms disappearing when gluten was totally removed from the diet, even when the person had no digestive reaction to gluten.

OLL

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