Vitamin D Levels... by: Kerri Knox, RN-The Immune Health Queen!
Whew! That's really interesting that Vitamin D affects you so much. For most people it's not quite so dramatic, but over time it CAN affect many people just as much- just not usually so quickly.
OK. First of all, as long as you are a normal sized (not tiny) adult, then it is absolutely safe for you to be taking 50,000 IU's of Vitamin D every week for essentially forever.
There have been NO incidences of Vitamin D Toxicity with people taking 10,000 IU's a day or less many years. While you should definitely Check Your Vitamin D Levels at least annually, you may just have a high need for Vitamin D and need that much all of the time.
HOWEVER. If you are taking prescription Vitamin D, then you are actually taking Vitamin D 2 and NOT Vitamin D3. And Vitamin D 2 has a much shorter half-life, meaning that it wears off quicker than Vitamin D3!!!
So, you may benefit from switching from Prescription Vitamin D2 to Over the Counter Vitamin D3, instead....
You may also want to add a High Quality Multivitamin and Mineral Supplement. Magnesium is essential for the conversion of Vitamin D into its active form, so you may not be CONVERTING the Vitamin D into what your body needs very efficiently.
Also, be sure that you are taking your Vitamin D with a food that contains some fat. Vitamin D needs fat in order to be absorbed, so that could also be part of the problem as well.
I hope that this helps. We'd love to hear how things turn out for you, so be sure to come back and let us know what you did and what's working for you.
Kerri Knox, RN- The Immune Health Queen Functional Medicine Practitioner Easy Immune Health.com
Vit.D2 twice a week by: Della
Hi, This is Della again. I went to my Endo and he put me back on Vit. D 50,000 IUs a week.
I did not respond as well this time like I did the first time. Pain in back, hips and knees returned after a few days. I called and asked if I could take it twice a week and was told to go ahead.
I now feel like a new person again. My family noticed that I was much more relaxed and happier. They said I was really grouchy before.
I don't know if I mentioned before but I am on my way to being 70 and I felt like my life was coming to a close until I got on the Vit. D.
I also called the Pharmacy and asked them if I was getting Vit.D2 or Vit.D3. I was told that I was getting D2 and that my body would convert it to D3.
My sister called her Pharmacy and was told that she is on Vit.D3 and that her body would convert it to Vit.D2.
Is anyone out there confused or what.
Vitamin D2 and conversion by: Kerri Knox, RN-The Immune Health Queen!
Eventually all vitamin D, whether it's vitamin D 2 or vitamin d3, gets converted to the active form- which is called 1-25 OH D.
This can also be measured too, but it's measurement doesn't serve the purpose of how much vitamin D to get in supplements.
In fact, the reason that we take Vitamin D is to produce 1-25 OH D in the blood which serves many purposes in the body- among which is the regulation of many genes for different disease states.
And researchers are heard at work trying to make synthetic 1-25 OH D analogues that will replicate this cancer preventing effect in a medication.
So, my question is- if this 'Vitamin D Analogue' is so good at cancer prevention- then why is it that doctors still don't really care about people's vitamin d levels?
Just wait, as soon as the drug manufacturers create a synthetic vitamin D analogue that helps to prevent cancer- this miracle drug is going to make billions of dollars.
But, I ask- why not just take Vitamin D ?
Kerri Knox, RN- The Immune Health Queen Functional Medicine Practitioner Easy Immune Health.com
Love this discussion by: Deb
Thanks for all the info Kerri!! LOVE it. This is certainly a very confusing topic.
I started this thread with the post that my doc tested D1 and D3 and I was right.
My VITAMIN D, 1,25-DIHYDROXY level came back at 57 (norms 18 - 78) and as I have been reading, this is the "active" form and really is not what we should be concerned about ... DESPITE my doc's comments that ... "since this level was normal, I should NOT worry about my total level" Now that goes directly against what you said, Kerri.
I think HE has got this confused!
My Total 25 HYDROXYVITAMIN D2 D3 was 25.6 (norms 30-80) which I was bummed about since I was at 18 one-year ago. I have been supplementing with 5,000IU of a good quality D3 daily.
I am going to up my daily intake to maybe 10,000IU to see how I feel.
Like you Della, I feel this in my legs. I have ankle edema, tingling in my lower legs, and terrible leg aches, but when I take Vit D regularly my swelling decreases. I feel like I am 80! I would do anything to feel better...
Don't know what the heck this is about?
Regardless, I truly appreciate the bond we all share and the bottom line is ... to pump in the Vitamin D as we can't seem to get enough! I am going to take with my healthy fat smoothie shake in the am's and also up my magnesium.
Kerri, Thanks for the great multivitamin referral with 500mg magnesium! YEAH! I have been trying to swallow 4, 100mg HORSE PILLS every evening. Could not seem to find any multivitamin source with a significant source of magnesium.
Della you NEED to try magnesium, it works wonders, too!
By the way I am an RN and work at a medical clinic where docs routinely give prescriptions for 50,000IU/week of D2!!!! Or they tell me to call people with a total level of 15 and "have them start on 400IU's/day!!!
(Like THAT is ever gonna get their totals up ;)
Also don't forget about the sunshine. I have stopped using sunscreen for the short term mid day outdoors time. NOT to the point of overexposure, by any means. Never to the point of a burn, but 45-90minutes mid day is great and safe.
Deb
Have a resource for your doc... by: Kerri Knox, RN-The Immune Health Queen!
Thanks for the great feedback Deb, I have a GREAT resource for your docs. It's a comprehensive review of the vitamin D literature called The Use of Vitamin D in Clinical Practice. It's written by doctors for doctors.
And there is a great quote in there about docs making the mistake of using 1,25 OH D levels to diagnose a Vitamin D Deficiency, they say,
"It is crucial to remember that serum 1,25 (OH)D levels play no role in diagnosing Vitamin D Deficiency. The kidneys tightly control serum 1, 25 (OH) D levels, which are often normal or elevated in Vitamin D Deficiency. Therefore a patient with normal or high 1, 25 (OH) D serum levels, but low 25(OH) D levels is deficient despite high levels of the active hormone. Practitioners who rely on serum 1,25 (OH) D levels to make the diagnosis of vitamin d deficiency will routinely miss it"
So, this is a GREAT article to print out and hand out to the docs in your office and your own doc!!
Kerri Knox, RN- The Immune Health Queen Functional Medicine Practitioner Easy Immune Health.com
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