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BE CAUTIOUS WITH VITAMIN D

PostPosted: Sat Mar 07, 2009 3:01 pm
by cjbrooksjc
I did not know it was possible to overdose on Vitamin D, BUT - the following is an excerpt from a Dr. Mercola (mercola.com) report on the subject.

************************************************************

Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin and can be quite toxic. Once you have vitamin D toxicity you can't easily turn it around, which is why I always recommend getting your levels checked prior to taking oral vitamin D supplements.

Overdosing on vitamin D from sun exposure however, is highly unlikely as your body has a built-in “failsafeâ€Â

PostPosted: Sat Mar 07, 2009 3:14 pm
by cjbrooksjc
AND, as counterpoint:

**http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/vitaminDToxicity.shtml?gclid=CKiDsY7QkZkCFQ0NDQodDBArZQ

Brooks

PostPosted: Sun Mar 08, 2009 2:32 am
by Brian C.
Take plenty of cholecalciferol in the dark months of Winter but ease off as the days get longer - and sunbathe for 15 minutes at lunchtime in fine weather. You don't need to pay a doctor to tell you that.

Brian.

D

PostPosted: Mon Mar 09, 2009 7:51 pm
by vipergg22
Its pretty darn hard to OD on vitamin D . You can take 1000-2000 IU's a day without any worries and I have read it probably wouldn't hurt you up to 5000 IU's a day . 2000 a day is completely safe.

PostPosted: Mon Mar 09, 2009 11:43 pm
by cjbrooksjc
Viper: First, you are absolutely correct that low doses of Vit D are completely safe, but I posted this topic because I have read the numbers 40,000 and 50,000 IU bandied about on this forum, and those levels, if taken on a regular basis, can be toxic. I have regularly and ignorantly popped 20,000 to 25,000 without a care, and I posted this data to be sure others don't follow those rash examples.

One of the attendant problems of self medication for statin poisoning is that we are prone to do almost anything to recover our health, and unless we have a useful scientific background to help us mediate our intake, it is all too easy to overdo the supplements; even something so seemingly harmless as a vitamin.

Best,

Brooks

D

PostPosted: Tue Mar 10, 2009 8:12 pm
by vipergg22
Oh I agree I would hope you aren't supplementing d to those levels . People need to have a little common sense . I know we are all hurting in one form or another from statins , myself I have no feeling left in either foot fro statins 8 years ago . This has never resolved even after stopping because i took the stupid things for like 3 years before I smartened up . By then the damage was permanent.

PostPosted: Wed Mar 11, 2009 2:47 pm
by Dee
Hi Brooks,

The 50,000 Unit doses are weekly, not daily....and that is the amount that is prescribed by doctors to raise low D levels.

I have been taking 50,000 units / WEEK since last August, and my D level is now at 41.7.....still far from optimal, and I had to switch from the prescribed D2 to over the counter D3 GEL CAPS to even get that much of an increase. My D level actually went DOWN on high dose D2.

Dee

PostPosted: Thu Mar 12, 2009 1:48 am
by cjbrooksjc
Dee: As long as you are being monitored by a professional you don't fall into my area of concern. I was worried that others, like me, might be self medicating to a harmful degree. Thanks for the update and the course correction. Any idea at all why your levels are so low; do you fault the statins?

Brooks

PostPosted: Thu Mar 12, 2009 6:49 am
by Dee
Brooks,

I have no idea why my levels were so low, other than I live in one of the more Northern states, and due to statin damage, am rather housebound.

In July, when I tested low (16.8, normal range <32-100>) I am outside quite a bit, but not really during the 11 AM - 2 PM time period. I can only go outside with my husbands help due to navigating the few porch steps up and down, and he is only home evenings and weekends.

I did wonder right away if statins were a factor, as the list of symptoms of D deficiency and statin damage are very similar, and someone did post about statins being a Vit D analogue. At the very least, statins may be a factor in causing diminished capacity to undertake outdoor activities.

It's really impossible to tell as routine Vit D testing is rather new, and back in July (08) is the first time I ever had the test, and I have no idea what my pre-statin level was.

I had hopes of feeling much better as my D level got higher, but can't say that I do, yet. I'm shooting for 60-70 levels, and we'll see what happens then.

Dee

PostPosted: Thu Mar 12, 2009 10:36 am
by cjbrooksjc
Dee: Here is a link I think might interest you. It relates to the TYPEs of Vit D tests you may have performed and the best choice. It also has quite a bit of info relative to Vit D function and contribution. I'll include a small extract of verbiage from the link.

**http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2002/02/23/vitamin-d-deficiency-part-one.aspx

**************************************extract********************************************************************************************
There are two vitamin D tests -- 1,25(OH)D and 25(OH)D.

25(OH)D is the better marker of overall D status. It is this marker that is most strongly associated with overall health.

The correct test is 25(OH)D, also called 25-hydroxyvitamin D
****************************************************************************************************************************************

Best,

Brooks

D-3 testing

PostPosted: Thu Mar 12, 2009 12:20 pm
by roaminghermit
Hi All
Just ordered the 25-Hydroxy test from Direct Labs for $49. special for this month (March) and all done by email. I've been taking 10,000 iu per day of the Now brand D-3 gelcap 5,000 iu each cap. They also use Labcorp not questlab which seems always charges 2x more. I have no insurance or medicare so always shop for best prices. Also taking 1 1/2 gr of Nature-Throid (Thyroid USP) sense Oct 08 and has been like energy switch was turned on and stopped all statins in March 08

PostPosted: Thu Mar 12, 2009 4:50 pm
by Dee
Hi Brooks,

My Vit D test has been the 25(OH)D from Lab Corp.

roaminghermit: That is a good price, my Lab Corp test was $77 going through BCBS insurance.

Also I believe Quest labs is the one that was having some Vit D tests that were reading higher than actual Vit D levels, due to the way they were mixing the chemicals for the test.

Dee

PostPosted: Thu Mar 12, 2009 4:59 pm
by valgators
Today, Dr. Mercola's website has a article on the importance of
Vitamin D.

Valgators

PostPosted: Thu Mar 12, 2009 6:46 pm
by cjbrooksjc
Val: Yes, I saw that article. I don't know why the two articles weren't published together. While is seems a bit confounding at first (that was my first reaction), it does not contradict the earlier message which is "BE CAREFUL WITH VIT D." Even in this article he is quite firm in his insistence on getting levels tested before and while supplementing. I still take about 8,000 IU daily.

PostPosted: Thu Mar 12, 2009 7:12 pm
by Dee
Brooks,

You've never had your D tested then? If not, I hope you do.

Yes it is possible to OD on Vit D, as well as Vit A, and some others I'm sure. Basically the fat soluable ones are the most likely for overdose.

That's why we take fish oil for omega 3 rather than cod liver oil, which has both Vit D & A. We might try cod liver oil, but wouldn't take it for the long term, maybe switch back and forth with fish oil. I'm not so worried about too much D, already supplementing that, and it could be adjusted accordingly, but don't want too much A.

PostPosted: Thu Mar 12, 2009 8:12 pm
by valgators
I've had a rather tricky time with my Vitamin D problems. In Dec 07, I was tested and found to be at 19! Four months of weekly 50,000 IU's only brought me to about 30. Since then I have been struggling first with 1000 IU's and then I upped it to 2,000 IU's and my levels are still lingering around 34. Better than 19 to be sure but nowhere near 50.
Now that the weather is improving in northeast Florida, I am spending about 30 minutes a day outside and am continuing with the 2000 IU's.
I really think I would feel much better if I can get it to 50 which is my goal. I may have to increase the IU's again if things don't improve.

I will get tested again in a few months and hopefully the sunshine will have boosted my levels.

Best to all,
Valgators

PostPosted: Thu Mar 12, 2009 9:36 pm
by Dee
Valgators:

I'm having a tricky time too:)

I started at 16.8 last July....8 weeks of Vit D2 prescription of 50,000 units per week and my level went DOWN to 14.9....????

Switched to D3 gel caps, still 50,000 units per week for 12 weeks....Level went up to 37.2....then another 6 weeks, same routine, and level was 41.2.

Still taking the 50,000 units per week as I want my level to come up a lot more.

Seems like I am having to take an aweful lot of the stuff to get up where I want to be.

PostPosted: Fri Mar 13, 2009 5:31 am
by Brian C.
When supplementing with Vit D only cholecalciferol ("D3") should be used, any other form is a waste of time and money.


Brian.

PostPosted: Fri Mar 13, 2009 11:28 am
by Biologist
Some good prices are being mentioned. ZRT blood spot tests for an individual (i.e., not a doctor ordering the test) is $175 but $115 if you pay with a credit card or check in advance rather than making them go through your insurance company (where you would need a doctor to order the test anyway, I believe, for the company to pay). If that sounds confusing or confused, it probably is. I do not have it down well since I only know the way I do things with them and have never ordered that particular test through them. I have only recently had it tested and it was ordered by the doctor and was through blood drawn at a station affiliated with a hospital. I do not remember that cost but my insurance got half of it anyway. FYI, I had been taking 4,000 IU for a long time and was pleased at my levels.

(With ZRT you call or email them and they send you the test kit.)

While we are on the subject, don't forget magnesium. Most people, apparently, don't even get the RDA. Be sure to only buy Magnesium Citrate as some, most or all of the others "perform at the placebo level." They do nothing. (I posted a research report summary on the issue fairly recently.) This may be exactly why so many people are low in it. It does not absorb in their multivitamins? Mine is powder form and tastes pretty good in water, but, for me, I can not take too much at one time -- and I have a pretty "strong" digestive system. It is worse than too much carnitine for me. Need a bathroom closeby if you take too much. So don't take too much at one time. Stuff was pretty cheap to buy as I remember.

Biologist

PostPosted: Fri Mar 13, 2009 11:43 am
by Brian C.
Biologist, how do you judge the bio-availability in the ascorbate form? This is what I've been taken for a couple of years on the assumption I was "killing two birds with one stone".

Brian.