Ok here goes my Feb 2010 results. Been taking D3 4000 iu's for past 6 months. 2000 prior 3 yrs. I'll recheck during summer sun season.

25-OH total 44 ng/ml
25-OH, D3 44ng/ml
25-OH, D2 <4 ng/ml
1,25 (OH)2, total 56 pg/ml
D3, 1,25 (OH)2 56 --/ml
D2, 1,25 (OH)2 <8 --/ml

from results paper:
25-OHD3 indicates BOTH endogenous and supplimentation.
25-OHD2 is an indicator of exogenous sources such as diet or supplimentation.
Values for subcomponents D2 (derived from plant or fungal sources) and D3 (derived from human or animal sources) are provided for imformational purposes only.

Asked the hema/oncologist to check 2&3. He wasnt familiar with anything other then checking total. I said wow to self I thought cancer and D would be important. So, he had nurse pick a couple tests from book. I knew about the 2&3 because my nephew is allergic to everything and my sister told me his D total was 20 and his sister that could kick his butt (9 he's 12 maybe?) has a level of 50.

Hi tinglytoes,

Vitamin D2 can cause an upset stomach and other uncomfortable digestive issues. Vitamin D3 is less likely to do that because our body recognizes it as a friendly, natural substance..... similar to sun exposure.

Here is a piece from the vitamin d council with regard to not supplementing but rather "letting" the sun do it for us....

Understanding Vitamin D Cholecalciferol

The high rate of natural production of vitamin D3 cholecalciferol (pronounced koh·luh·kal·sif·uh·rawl) in the skin is the single most important fact every person should know about vitamin D—a fact that has profound implications for the natural human condition.

Technically not a "vitamin," vitamin D is in a class by itself. Its metabolic product, calcitriol, is actually a secosteroid hormone that targets over 2000 genes (about 10% of the human genome) in the human body. Current research has implicated vitamin D deficiency as a major factor in the pathology of at least 17 varieties of cancer as well as heart disease, stroke, hypertension, autoimmune diseases, diabetes, depression, chronic pain, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, muscle weakness, muscle wasting, birth defects, periodontal disease, and more.

Vitamin D's influence on key biological functions vital to one's health and well-being mandates that vitamin D no longer be ignored by the health care industry nor by individuals striving to achieve and maintain a greater state of health.

Sunshine and Your Health......If well adults and adolescents regularly avoid sunlight exposure, research indicates a necessity to supplement with at least 5,000 units (IU) of vitamin D daily. To obtain this amount from milk one would need to consume 50 glasses. With a multivitamin more than 10 tablets would be necessary. Neither is advisable.

The skin produces approximately 10,000 IU vitamin D in response 20–30 minutes SUMMER sun exposure—50 times more than the US government's recommendation of 200 IU per day!

How To Get Enough Vitamin D:
There are 3 ways for adults to insure adequate levels of vitamin D:
•regularly receive MIDDAY sun exposure in the LATE SPRING, SUMMER and EARLY FALL, exposing as much of the skin as possible (being careful to never burn).
•regularly use a sun bed (avoiding sunburn) during the colder months.
•take 5,000 IU per day for 2–3 months, then obtain a 25-hydroxyvitamin D test. Adjust your dosage so that blood levels are between 50–80 ng/mL (or 125–200 nM/L) year-round.

Vitamin D's Co-factors:
Vitamin D has co-factors that THE BODY NEEDS in order to utilize vitamin D properly. They are:
•magnesium
•zinc
•vitamin K2
•boron
•genestein
•a tiny amount of vitamin A

Magnesium is the most important of these co-factors. In fact, it is common for rising vitamin D levels to exacerbate any underlying magnesium deficiency. If one is having problems supplementing with vitamin D, a MAGNESIUM deficiency could be the reason why.
End of literature.

Most supplements are synergistic. This means that they need other supplements in order to be effective. This fact is so important to know because it can be a waste of time and money if we are not properly absorbing and utilizing the supplements that we take.

Hope this info is helpful!

Bryanna

Here is the link to the Vitamin D council:
http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/ more information is available there.

50,000 IU seems like a big number.

With Vitamin D this is 1.25mg when converted to milligrams.

This really a very small amount of Vit D.

I think when people have "reactions" to the Rx 50,000 IU it is because of the ingredients in the liquigel cap. One ingredient may be sorbitol (which is used in the manufacture of soft gel caps). You'd have to get an insert for it to find the other "inert" ingredients too. But mostly it is coloring agents, and probably soybean oil.

Drisdol is the brand name for 50,000IU dosage form of D2 ergocalciferol.
Here are the side effects listed at www.rxlist.com
Hypervitaminosis does not occur with a few capsules taken for a short time. It is a body state of sustained intake of high dose. And that insert information is quite old and does not reflect the new data coming in on Vit D today.

http://www.rxlist.com/drisdol-drug.htm

In fact I had a patient getting 3 of the 50,000 IU a day for several months! This was in a clinic setting, and he had some severe reason for this high dose, that I was not privy to.

Thanks Bryanna, I am glad to read that the huge bolus of D2 can cause upset. Which was the reason I had to stop it. My only other concern is that the co-factors in my case include magnesium. My kidney doc usually tests for magnesium due to some kind of negative affect on the kidneys. I have no idea how to balance everything. Luckily the sun is beginning to shine again. Hopefully with adding the Liquid BioD Imulsion Forte, the metabolizing issue will be moot. If you know anything about the issue of mg and kidney health please pass it on. Thanks for the great information. It helps!! TT

People with kidney disease and decreased functions, have to be very careful with magnesium supplements. These can become toxic very quickly. You should consult with your doctor about this.
So it may be best to get magnesium from food sources.

My thread here gives some suggestions.

Hi Mrs. D.

Five minutes ago, I just spoke to the girl a Alan's doctor's office. I said "Can I please have his Vitamin D Level, he took a blood test last month but we did not get the vitamin D level and we were told to call back this morning.

She came back to the phone and said "His level is 31.1. I said "was this the hydroxy test? and she said "yes, it's called a 25 Hydroxy test". She said normal was 30 to 100.

I said "Well, if normal is 30 to 100 and he's 31, I WOULD GATHER HE'S LOW???

She really didn't know.

Alan takes 1, 1000 Vitamin D3 pill every day. This is what I take also. But I also sit in the sun for 10 minutes a day. He NEVER DOES. He is very fair.

Do you think he should take more? He has bad psoriasis flare-ups as well as his neuropathy. I know it has nothing to do with Neuropathy, but maybe the auto-immune stuff going on?

thanks Mrs. D

Melody

Yes, he should be at least to 50. That would be 2000IU a day more. 50 is the new low normal, from the experts.

It is best to have liquigels, and not dry powder caps or dry tablets. I wonder if the dry ones are even absorbed, since Vit D is oil soluble.

Ah, I see, we have the tablet form. From CVS. When we buy our next batch we'll get the liquigels.

So I'll tell him what you said, and he'll take 3 pills a day. So will I.

What would we do without you?

I hope we never find out.

Thanks much

Melody
P.S. Just FYI, my sciatica is better. I've been doing those stretches and they help. My goodness, I'm beginning to feel like a 90 year old. lol

while you are "using up" the dry D, make sure you take it with some fatty food....

Well!!!! Guess who got the amount WRONG. I told Alan about what you said and he replied "What are you talking about, I take 4000 a day".

I said "you do what??" and you have a reading of 31.1???"

So I guess he should double this??? And take it with fatty food.

Well, I'd like to know what fatty food he could take it with because he's a vegan who doesn't eat meat and won't go near fish and he doesn't like cheese and he's gained weight because of his snacking and his lack of exercise because of his foot ulcer.

So what kind of fatty food (I eat salmon, so I'm covered), but what can I give this man to eat that is a fatty food?

Any suggestions are welcome.

Thanks much