[paula_w]

from pipeliner email:

It's ok to get a little pink in the sun?

http://www.foodconsumer.org/newsite/...e_0409110.html

[indigogo]

I've never been fond of spending time in the sun; was always inside reading a book. My fair skin was easy to burn (I'm always alert to skin cancer), and the only tan I have ever obtained has been on my legs after a long summer of wearing shorts. This is one of many reasons why I loved growing up and living in the green and rainy Pacific Northwest - it's been great for my complexion!

I had my Vitamin D checked for the first time in January - it was a 7 !! (off the charts low). I just finished a three month regimen of 50,000 mg weekly, and will have my blood tested again soon. I'm anxious to get the results!

In the meantime, I have recently embraced the sense/necessity/excitement of returning to the state of my birth, Colorado, to live with family. I am loathe to give up the beautifully cloud-laden home of a lifetime for the harsh, high plains sun - but maybe it will be good for me. I don't plan to avoid the sun by staying inside - just careful covering up so not to burn - in fact, my plans call for living the life of a cowgirl in the saddle, a childhood dream reading all those books finally realized. I don't know how much time I have left to be physically capable of riding a horse, so why not now? The Vitamin D will be a bonus ---

[mrsD]

If you used the RX version, you may be disappointed in the results.

If it is still low, switch to D3 OTC. The RX D is D2 and not very active. In fact a new study showed it 87% LESS effective than D3.

Be careful with sun exposure...many drugs are photosensitizing...so check with your pharmacist before sunning if you take RX drugs.

[girija]

Last year, when I had my blood Vit D tested, it was very low (7ng/ml if I remember correctly). After an year of Vit D 5000 IU per day, my serum Vit D came upto 25ng/ml which is still below normal. I live in San Diego and last year I spent a lot of time outside to make sure my Vit D deficiency would be resolved....

A couple of my non-PD friends also had very low serum Vit D (5-10ng range) and are on 50,000IU vit D per week schedule. My Primary care physician told me that Vit D deficiency has become very common these days and he is recommending Vit D supplements to many of his patients. This is in San Diego where we have 300 days of Sun in an year and people are almost always in T-shirts and shorts. Something is seriously wrong here.....

How many of you had your Vit D levels tested and what are your Vit D values?

Thanks
Girija

[lindylanka]

Girija,
Vit D deficiency is not uncommon in people of south asian origin, as they have higher pigment in the skin - and especially if affluent, as they do not go in the sun as often as their poorer counterparts! at least half an hour, sleeveless, 2-3 days a week in the sun advised. Very common in the uk for this group, but in San Diego you should not be so prone. Another factor is aging as the skin gets thinner, this should not affect you, on the other hand PD is more often found in older people, so is this a factor. Perhaps. PD can affect the skin, make is either drier or very damp. Dry skin can often be much thinner and fragile, and have read that thin skin does not absorb Vit D so well. And perhaps the disease itself leaves us with something that you would call 'going on'.

Another factor could be that vegetarians & vegans also get Vit D deficiency due to less cholesterol, which is a factor in absorbtion of Vit D through the skin...........

I get mine tested next week. Will post here if it is also v low.

[paula_w]

Originally Posted by girija

Last year, when I had my blood Vit D tested, it was very low (7ng/ml if I remember correctly). After an year of Vit D 5000 IU per day, my serum Vit D came upto 25ng/ml which is still below normal. I live in San Diego and last year I spent a lot of time outside to make sure my Vit D deficiency would be resolved....

A couple of my non-PD friends also had very low serum Vit D (5-10ng range) and are on 50,000IU vit D per week schedule. My Primary care physician told me that Vit D deficiency has become very common these days and he is recommending Vit D supplements to many of his patients. This is in San Diego where we have 300 days of Sun in an year and people are almost always in T-shirts and shorts. Something is seriously wrong here.....

How many of you had your Vit D levels tested and what are your Vit D values?

Thanks
Girija

Girija, I also had a 7. I've heard that sunblock is a factor. There's a situation where we need to know the risks vs the risks - is there a benefit? Well that too then. Soumds like a dammed if you do and damned if you don't.

[Conductor71]

Originally Posted by indigogo

In the meantime, I have recently embraced the sense/necessity/excitement of returning to the state of my birth, Colorado, to live with family. I am loathe to give up the beautifully cloud-laden home of a lifetime for the harsh, high plains sun - but maybe it will be good for me. I don't plan to avoid the sun by staying inside - just careful covering up so not to burn - in fact, my plans call for living the life of a cowgirl in the saddle, a childhood dream reading all those books finally realized. I don't know how much time I have left to be physically capable of riding a horse, so why not now? The Vitamin D will be a bonus ---

Oh, Carey, if I may be so bold, this would be great for you I think...I used to gallavant around living in various cities, had a few close friends, in the end what I said was independence and solitude, really was lonliness at some level, I never really fit into the norm parents want, the kind where you married at 25 and have 2.5 kids a dog, SUV, and a ticky tacky house. No,not me....I realize I was avoiding feeling like I was disappointing.

Since I have moved and "settled" back in MIchigan I have never felt closer to my family and it actually feels natal and great, not oppressive. Besides who wants to turn away a mom who cooks roast pork, braised beef, and roast turkey for your dinner all in one week?! Not me...especially with a toddler.

You just have to look at perspective...I was stuck gowing up in dank, grey, flat, segregated, pollutes shell of a city (Detroit). My fantasy life has aways been to plant my butt out west...I daydream now about scooping my little guy and driving West until it feels right to stop. Oregon always seemed the goal, but I daresay we would never make it beyond Colorado. You are lucky to call that home turf, embrace it. You'll cherish being close to family again.

I thought you were blogging or tweeting on your horseback riding advnture, update please.

Oh, and keep in mind that MJF noted huge improvement of systems, so we expect a white rat report if not a full blown epidemiological study of some sort. If they don't have enough local PWP, they can start recruiting with me!

Best to you!

Laura

[mrsD]

People low in magnesium can also be low in D... seems they work together.

This is our Vit D informational thread. It answers many questions.

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread92116.html

I was taking 5000 IU D3 OTC for a year and a half, and I tested at 43. Now I am taking 10,000 IU as my doctor wants me at 70.

[stevem53]

Update on my Vitamin D level..

After taking 4000 mg daily plus 50,000 units per week for 5 months, I went from 16 to 32..Recently..(past 3 months)..I went off the 50,000 units, and took just the 4,000 mgs per day, and it went down to 26

[mrsD]

So you need to take more daily... 10,000 IU daily D3.

Have retest in about 3 months.
D2 is a waste of time.

http://www.nutraingredients-usa.com/...-than-D2-Study

“By the various measures employed, D3 was from 56 to 87 percent more potent than D2 in raising serum 25(OH)D, and more than three times as potent in increasing fat calciferol content,” stated the researchers. “[T]hese results can, we believe, not only safely be generalized to routine clinical practice, but also are pertinent to what clinicians are actually prescribing.”