Vitamin D . . .
 

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

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This is an explanation of why the D2 is now considered outdated.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.

KittyLady - Be careful taking that much vitamin D without the testing. Too much vitamin D can cause your blood calcium to rise and cause other problems. I never supplemented with vitamin D before for this reason.

My calcium was fine so I don't need to supplement with any calcium. Since I am low on funds, I took the D2 prescription. According to the article, both D2 and D3 supplementation increases over the first few days at about the same rate. I hope to get to the bank so that I can get the D3 supplements. (Insurance covered the D2). I also plan on spending more time out in the sun. Don't worry Aussiemom, I plan on only doing 10 minutes in the morning sun a few days a week. I don't want skin cancer either and it does run in my family.

That is exact dose that I take once a week.

Update: I started on the prescription dose of vitamin D2 and sitting in the sun as well as taking D3 in fortified orange juice and yogurt. After the 1st prescription dose, my muscles felt so much better. Not 100% but better. I was amazed and truly love the feeling. I do not wake up in so much pain.

I did take the 2nd dose yesterday and while my muscles feel great, my stomach is not happy. I did read that taking this with food helps and will try that next Saturday when I take it again and will let you all know as if this is the case, then I think it will be helpful to all of you. I also noticed that last night I was unable to sleep. This could have been due to the stomach pain but I did read that some people get an increase in energy when they take the prescription dose. I will take the next dose in the morning after a big meal and let you guys know.

I have to now supplement with calcium due to finding out I have osteopenia. This is a little scary but I obviously need to do it. I'm starting out small to see what happens. The calcium supplements that I have also have D3 in them.

I can't wait for my body to just get back in balance. I have said for a long time that I feel like everything is out of balance in me. One dr. looked at me like I was nuts. I don't go to her anymore for reasons other than her looking at me like that.:p With this out of balance feeling that I have had and not being able to sleep, it got me wondering late last night if for some reason us MSers are having trouble absorbing vitamins and nutrients and/or our bodies aren't using the properly. Like everything is out of sync. Do any of you get the feeling that your body and its' functioning is out of balance?

tkrik
 

Hey there! I think if you are taking the D at night it could cause insomnia. And yes take it with food otherwise I get the worst stomach ache. I take it at lunch since that is my biggest meal of the day, D3 5000IU. I got the prescription for D2 from the doc but I don't think that one is as beneficial. But I agree it definitely gives me more energy as well! Which is a relief. I also have the off/out of balance feeling 24/7 like something is just not right! I'm sorry I can't answer your questions...

Anyway I hope you continue to benefit from your D and calcium!!!:hug: