Hi everyone. I had my yearly bloodwork recently. Everything looked great, but my Vitamin D was low at 16 (I guess they want it above 30?). Anyway, I was a bit surprised that it was low(especially at the height of summer), but that is beside the point!
I am thinking of adding some sort of Vitamin D supplement to help. Does anyone have any recommendations on what I should be looking at to take? Will just a basic Vitamin D supplement pill work fine?
Any input would be great! Thank you, Danielle
Many T-1's have low vitamin D. Your 16 is quite low. I take 5,000u of D3 which I get from Swansonvitamins.com. I get all of my supplements and vitamins from them. ( This isn't a plug for swanson, I just like their selection of things.) As a D your vitamin D should be at least 40 or even higher. Mine was low and now it is 45. With vitamin D you should also be taking a calcium supplement. They work well together. Where ever you get it from make sure it is D3.
Thank you for your response! With taking calcium as well...what do you recommend? When I did a quick search of Calcium supplements I saw a lot of "Calcium 600" is that what I am looking for?
I take Calcium 1200 made by Schiff which I also get from Swanson. They are less expensive for this Calcium then any where else. I used to buy it in the supermarket, but it was several dollars more than Swanson sells it for. I just paid 7.24 for 120 gels and I take 2 a day. It also has vitamin D in it too.
I take vitamin D3 1000 IU...doc seems to think one a day is enough.
Betty J- It all depends on what your vitamin D level is as to how much vitamin D you need. You may not need more than 1000u/day. Danielle is quite low in vitamin D as was I before I raised the units I am taking.
My Vitamin D was 8 and my dr was most unhappy with that. I am taking a rx Vitamin D 2x a week. Doc also told me that it would take 6-8 months before I would really see / feel a change in Vitamin D levels.
I've had a vitamin D deficiency. For a while it was so bad I was taking 10,000 units of D3 every day. I'm better now, but I'm still taking 6,000 units/day. There are two forms of vitamin D, D2 and D3. D2 converts less efficiently and it is better to take D3. Generally, the supplement will tell you whether it is D2 or D3.
I get my vitamin D supplements at Costco. They have one with 5000 units in a gelcap and one with 2000 units in a gelcap.
Some doctors had taken to prescribing 50,000 unit pills with D2 that you take once a week. My wife got a prescription for those, it worked out to be a co-pay of $5 per pill. That is a huge rip off. Never accept prescription vitamin D.
Wheb she told me my levels were low I knew to ask about how much to take, so she said 1000 was enough.
I take d3 5000 1/day, however, the last time I took a calcium supplement, I had problems. This was right after dx, and they'd sent me home with a prescription for rocaltrol (sp?) to improve my D levels (which had bottomed out). Within a month, I felt awful--like super nausea and constipation problems--classic hypercalcimea (sp?) symptoms. I stopped the rocaltrol, and they went away.
My doctor then dropped both the d and the calcium until my CA returned to normal levels. Then I was on the mega dose once a week for nearly six months until I got my D back to normal. The point is, to much calcium can cause problems (just like too much iron). If your D tests low and your dr wants you on a supplement, he should also be monitoring your calcium and ionized calcium levels.
My levels were extremely low, then came up to mid-range with 5000 units of D3 a day. Waiting for the next set of bloodwork to see if it's improved.
I don't take calcium as I eat plenty of dairy, and the supplements don't always agree with me.
So glad you posted this question, Danielle! I also recently found out my Vitamin D is low and I'm trying to decide what to take. My endo prescribed a multivitamin, but the insert doesn't tell me anything about what else is in the pill and I'm cautious to take it. I really just want a good source of Vitamin D. I'm already taking cod liver oil, but I guess it isn't enough.
While on dialysis I was taking 50000 i. units once a month. Then when I got off in Jan, the kidney doc said to take a multiple vitamin.
Whatever you choose, I think it's important to be re-checked to see where the levels are.
The Vit D Council recommends levels above 50 ng/ml (125 nmol/L). I took 10,000 IU of D3 daily for 6 months. I now take 5,000 IU daily & use http://www.swansonvitamins.com/SW1371/ItemDetail.
The correct test to diagnose levels is 25-hydroxyvitamin D.