Vitamin D (again)
 

Hi,

Hubby and I have been taking 4000 IU of vitamin D since our mdoc (we see the same mdoc) put us on it in December or so.


It is helping me feel more alive.

I'm making efforts to go out in the sunshine as well.
On Sunday I walked in the park near our house for 25 minutes in a short sleeve top so I could soak up the sun.

When you have good enough weather, get some sunshine in the middle of the day.


M. http://bestsmileys.com/sun/4.gif

i take 8000 A DAY but sometimes i forget. i have a terrace which gets full sun most of the day. i will try to force myself to use it.
bobby

Dear Bobby,
That sounds like a lovely terrace.
If you can sit for 20 minutes close to noon you might notice a change after two days of doing that.

(I felt better after two days but I also felt very sleepy when I first went out in the sun).




M.

saw dermotologist who says to stay out of the sun
 

Hi,

Even when I do not remember my other supplements, I am pretty good about taking my Vit D and my Krill Oil or Fish Oil.
Almost as often I take Flax seed oil.

On Friday, I had to see a dermatologist for something minor.
She gave me her speech that she seemed to be giving to her patients that day -- that sunshine is not necessary and it can be harmful to skin. We can get D in food and supplements.

I got her point. She sees people with damaged skin from sun.

Anyway, it is hot here right now and I have not been out in the sun in a few months.

The doc said I have very good skin. She repeated that several times. I'm going to carry that with me for a day or two. She was nice and I need to know something good about my body periodically.

M.

that's nice Mari. it helps to know good things about one's body, always, i think. :)

i was pleasantly surprised recently, when in the health section of the tv news they had a doctor come on and say sun is good for you, we get vitamin D from it and we don't get enough from food, just be moderate with exposure. (he was more detailed.) i was amazed. most people do not realize that and do not believe it, but hopefully hearing a doctor say it on tv...

i FInally got my labs drawn, including vitamin D. should have results soon. then we'll see if the doc gives it to me... with the amount of sun i (don't) get, i almost have to be low. :o

i had my parents tested forcibly sort of (took their lab scripts to the doc and managed to get him to add the vitamin D test). they were in the single digits and he didn't even notice. my mom (who didn't want the test to start with, mind you), was surprised and she pointed it out to him - and he said, "oh it's not that bad, but if you insist i'll give you a supplement." not that bad??? :rolleyes::eek: i guess for him to consider it bad you have to have rickets or something. my dad really needs it. i hope what he is getting gets his level up enough. the good thing is that my dad likes the sun and he does take walks or sit outside at times. not as much as he used to but at least it's something.

~ waves ~

Dear Waves,

I'm glad that you are getting lab results.

Docs are strange.
Hubby and I go to the same internist.
My vit D was low; his lab report was two or three points above mine but in the normal (very very low normal). The doc told me to take D -- told him he was fine.


Yesterday's dermatologist told me we do not have rickets in this county. :eek::eek::eek:


I said, "Some kids have it," and left it at that.


I loved that doc even if she was weird about the sun.
She was kind. I really wanted that yesterday.

M.

There is a theory that the skin cancer we see is due to low Vit D levels. The statistics show that the more sun screen people use increases skin cancers.

What IS increasing are skin cancers and melanomas from excessive use of tanning beds. This blasting of the skin, in a dangerous way, is far more dangerous than going outside. And what is more, there are now addicts of tanning booths! People who go there regularly. Seems the blast in a short time frame stimulates endorphins and makes people "high" in a way, and they want MORE! From the stories I've read recently, it is this tanning booth craze that is doing terrible damage to young people.

People with some pigment in their skin, do not develop skin cancers as much as very fair, red headed freckled types.

The goal is to NOT burn. Burning indicates too much too fast and hence damage.

There are many many people walking around now with osteopenia... which is like adult rickets.

The British report values are slightly different than US ones.
I believe they are about 20% off, because they use mmoles instead of nannograms. I have the conversion somewhere, I'll look it up and post here later when I have time.

how awful. it's a meta-drug! :( the thing is when you get burned you do permanent damage from what i've read. so people who get burned a lot, or even overexpose a lot (irritation) when they are young, are at a greater lifetime risk of cancer.

i did tanning bed one time. never again. burned up down and inside out. couldn't sit couldn't lie. they told me i could "take" 15 mins. i told them look i burn easily. they said 15 should be fine but if i felt hot to get out sooner. i didn't feel squat. 12 hours later i looked like a boiled lobster. a week later i looked like a snake moulting. it was among the worst burns i've ever had in my life depth-wise, and hands down THE worst considering the extent. (and i've had some nasssty burns in my life). i will never ever EVER go to one of those places again for ANY reason.

i stay out of the sun now but mostly for a variety of comfort/(in)convenience reasons, but when i had a back patio i used to lie out and get sun. i hate sunscreens so i would just stay out for less time.

would be interesting to see both figures, thanks.

i really hope the doctors around the world get with the program soon. :o

~ waves ~

Here is the conversion chart for many things including Vit D:

http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/units/sc...ical_data.html

Sorry it took so long, we lost all our power yesterday afternoon, and it was just restored here around noon today.

It was soooo hot...it was a long night for us.

hi MrsD, thank you for that chart, that is very helpful!

i was wondering if you still had the data on osteopenia tho - US and/or UK - whatever you have...

[edited to add: wait. i am confused. were you not referring to the osteopenia values varying? i understand units/conversions but i thought you were referring to reported figures for osteopenia.]

i hope you have cooled off by now :hug: bad time to lose power... temps have hit 100+ here and we don't have AC :o

thanks

~ waves ~

No I don't have stats.... This was based on a medical program I saw on ABC about young women and osteopenia... a few years ago before the Vit D information hit the fan.

I've known several colleagues in their 40's with osteopenia.
These younger females need a bone scan to show it, and many young women don't bother if they feel well. (until they break a bone or more).

But here are some other statistics anyway:
http://www.iofbonehealth.org/facts-and-statistics.html
and
http://www.johnshopkinshealthalerts....th_1051-1.html

oh ok. i was editing my post to explain my confusion - i thought the reports varying between us and uk was referring back to osteopenia.

thanks for the links i will go look at that now! :)

~ waves ~

Mari,

have you had the level checked again recently?

i miss being able to enjoy the sun. mostly when i am out i have to be much more dressed than i'd like for as much sun as there is... :D if i could be out in shorts and home were cool to come back to, i would go soak some up.

anyway i am glad you feel the Vit D is helping you. and that you can get some sun.

~ waves ~

I'm waiting for the routine blood work, which might be a year from when it was done last -- maybe fall 2009.


I avoid mid day sun this time of year because it is too hot. But maybe on some days I could do 5 minutes. Mornings I am sleeping and the afternoons are even hotter with the addition of bugs.

Also, the sun makes me sleepy so it messes up my day in that I would come inside and feeling like lying down all day.

I don't know what is up. I feel full of complaints and full of lists in my heads of what I need to do, what I should do, what I might do . . . .
Sun is actually on my list and I feel overwhelmed. I figure I am getting the oral vit D so I can cross off the sun for now.


M.

it does this to me too. i don't know why that is.

yes, you are doing fine with taking the supplements.

i just meant i enjoyed reading about your getting sun. vicarious satisfaction sort of thing. ;)

~ waves ~

People on high dose verapamil should wear a hat, and not try to do too much activity in the sun. This drug dilates blood vessels and can lead to fainting, etc. (your fatigue might be low blood pressure!)

Well!
 

got my results.

my vitamin D3 is a whopping 6 ng/mL.

eeks how much vitamin d3 are you going to take? I might take too much. I take around 6,000. I am vitamin d deficient and haven't been tested in a couple of years.
Love
bobby

not much for now... i will probably "help" my parents finish theirs as my mom will throw it out soon anyway. the kind we get doesn't keep at these temps and i think will congeal in the fridge. i will have to wait till sept to get a script unless i can find one in cap form that can be refrigerated. i will check but i will also ask him.

i figured out why he said my parents weren't that bad - which my mom now doesn't remember. the reference range given is from 8.6 to 50 something!!!! that does NOT correspond to anything decent!!! local sources say < 10 deficiency, < 30 insufficiency, which is similar to the "official" US numbers i have seen (< 20 deficiency, < 30 insufficiency).

bobby if you are taking that much you really should be tested again to make sure you are safe. since you don't get out much you probably have about the same in winter as in summer (like me) so you probably don't need to vary the dose much across seasons.

love

~ waves ~

Dear Waves,

The NIH has a list of some food sources of vit D:
salmon, makerel, tuna, fortified milk, fortified breakfast cereals, . . .
http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/vitamind.asp


In Oct 2009 my D was Total 13.
My Internist gave me two sets of instructions. One was to take 1000 IU a day. The other was to take 2000 IU a day. I decided to take 4000 IU a day.
I instructed hubby to take 4000 IU as well. But he has been getting a lot of sunshine this summer and he needs to lower the dose. We will each be retested in the fall.

M.

Do not rely on fortified food. Some use D2 which is inactive in the body.

For example milk is fortified with 100IU D2 per 8oz.