I know this has been discussed before but I can't find the thread(s).

Anyhow, I went to the pharmacy today to pick up my regular prescription and they also had a new one for me. It was 50,000 IU's of vitamin D. This seems like an awful lot to me. I don't know what my blood levels were as I haven't heard from the doctor yet, but obviously it is low. Do any of you take this much? How much do you all take?

That RX has a big number, but it is D2, and doesn't work.
You'd be better off with OTC D3. If you know your D testing result, you can figure your own doses. 1000IU D3 for every 10 pts you need to raise, taken once a day.

This is an explanation of why the D2 is now considered outdated.
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/ar...d-mistake.aspx

The D2 doctors continue to prescribe is over 40 yrs old, and back then they didn't know that our bodies cannot utilize D2 much at all.

It is a sad shame that the doctors don't keep up. Spending time and money to test people, and then undertreat them?

http://jcem.endojournals.org/content/89/11/5387.long

There is only one D on RX. Ergocalciferol, 50,000IU. aka D2.

So in essence it won't harm you, but then again, it won't do much if anything at all to help you.

That seems to be the normal dosage for prescription D.

My D3 was low but I was not put on a prescription D. I take NOW brand D3 5000iu gel caps. My D3 is well into the range my neuro wants.

Thanks mrsD! Once I find out my numbers I'll calculate my D3 dosage. I do take a daily multi that has D3 in it that has 1,000 IUs. But, I may need to just get a bottle of D3.

Guess I'll be spending a lot of the upcoming spring time out in the sun (without sunscreen) wearing the least amount of clothing I can get away with. I haven't been doing that as much as I used to.

Thanks Snoopy! I'm glad you got yours within a normal range.

So, my D is 10. To get it to within normal range of 30 to 100, I should take between 3,000 IU of D3 to 10,000 IU of D3.

Start with 4,000 IU daily, and get retested in 3 months.

That will bring you up to 50 and that is a pretty good place to
strive for to start. You can ask your doctor what level he wants you at after that retest.

The 1,000 IU rule is only an estimate. Some people need more and some a bit less.

My doc never tested my levels, I just asked if there were any supplements I should be taking and he said all MSers should be on D3, 5000iu. So, I take D3 5000iu and I also take Cranberry fruit gel tabs with vitamin C at 8400mg a day. Sure helps keep those bladder infections away.

My doc wants it to be between 60 and 80. I started at 14 when I was first diagnosed. After much trial and error combined with testing I found the best plan. I take 4,000 daily in the winter and in the summer I usually ease up to about 2,000. That keeps me in a good place between 60-100. The doc said anything over 100 is not really good.

Stay out of the sun if you don't use sunscreen! It's not worth getting skin cancer!!!!! I'm in Florida, sun is out most every day. I don't go to the beach to bake, just normal activity. I was low in D3. I take 5000 per day, feel a lot better, oncologist said its fine too, for bone health and my estrogen suppressor.

Mine was a 12 when it was first tested. My neuro have me taking 4000 IU of D3. Last time it was tested it was in the low normal range. That is when he increased the dosage from 2000 to 4000.