Vitamin D levels

[dagreer]

I have been keeping my Vitamin D level above 80 for over 5 years now. Sometimes it hits 100, once it hit 127, but then I back off and try and keep it around 90. What are your opinions on this? My oncologist always panics and says keep it to 50. My calcium levels are fine. All other blood markers are fine. I have in my head that this will slow or interfere with bone metastasis although I only saw one presentation that hinted at this.

[noahware]

Nobody knows what optimal levels are. All that's really "established" is what true symptomatic deficiency is, but it certainly makes sense to be FAR above those lower levels. I would want to be on the higher side of the normal range, but perhaps being above that is beneficial? Some claim so.

Does your onc give any reason(s) to keep them lower, other than being "normal" with established ranges? East African ancestral levels were certainly over 100, but without ample research data I don't know why we should want tribesman-like levels.

I personally don't see anything unreasonable about shooting for 70-90, assuming continued good lab results. What is your dosing protocol for reaching those levels?

[dagreer in reply to noahware]

10,000 iu - 20,000 iu per day. But I skip days to make sure I do not over do it.

[noahware in reply to dagreer]

Yeah, personally I would never suggest (for myself or others) going over 10k, excepts as a one-time loading dose. From what I've read, the (slight) risk for most people does increase once you are beyond 10k daily for extended periods.

I decided 5k was reasonable, but have considered 10k. I also do magnesium daily, and vitamin K periodically.

[Tall_Allen]

That is dangerous and may be weakening your bones by pulling calcium out of your bones and into your blood. Read this, paying extra attention to the Burt et al study. It has been proven that supplementing Vitamin D (above normal levels) has no effect on prostate cancer:

prostatecancer.news/2018/07...

[noahware in reply to Tall_Allen]

Wouldn't pulling calcium out of your bones and into your blood show up in labs, as hypercalcemia?

[Tall_Allen in reply to noahware]

It can.

[dagreer in reply to Tall_Allen]

I have not had a test for calcium levels in the urine - just blood calcium level. I think I need to be more careful and get my levels back down to 50-60.

[j-o-h-n in reply to dagreer]

Yep it could be dagreerous to your health.....

Good Luck, Good Health and Good Humor.

j-o-h-n Monday 09/14/2020 5:46 PM DST

[Frigataflyer in reply to Tall_Allen]

My experience supports “supplementing beyond normal levels has nomeffect on prostate cancer.” Two years ago Mine was 297 ng/dl and PSA = 178

[George71]

I too have kept my D3 levels at 80 to 90 for over 3 years with no problems... You should take K3 with it each day ... that makes the calcium go to the bones. I take 10,000 daily to get to 80 plus.Normal calcium in blood work also.

[pjoshea13 in reply to George71]

K3? K2 usually.

"Vitamin K3 (menadione), a synthetic form of vitamin K, was used to treat vitamin K deficiency, but because it interferes with the function of glutathione, it is no longer used this way."

"Unlike the safe natural forms of vitamin K1 and vitamin K2 and their various isomers, a synthetic form of vitamin K, vitamin K3 (menadione), is demonstrably toxic at high levels. The U.S. FDA has banned this form from over-the-counter sale in the United States because large doses have been shown to cause allergic reactions, hemolytic anemia, and cytotoxicity in liver cells."

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitam...

-Patricl

[George71 in reply to pjoshea13]

Thanks for the correction pjoshea13 -- I take the super K from Life Extension -- 2 forms of K2 and K1

[ImaSurvivor1 in reply to George71]

I think this is the right answer. I don't know that D3 does anything for cancer, but I think keeping you D3 level between 50 and 100 helps keep your immune system healthy, which fights cancer and everything else bad.

[Hidden]

I've heard that too much D3 can aggravate problems with atrial fibrillation. I dialed back to 1000 i.u. a day.

[Hidden]

I was taking 4000 IU a day when, in combination with MCP, I noticed cloudy urine. Urine analysis reported this to be due to salts and not infection. Practically, this was verifiable by leaving it into a container overnight where salts precipitated forming a sediment. I stepped back to 2000 IU a day and the cloudiness was not noticeable any more. In blood analysis my D3 came out on the low side of the normal range (35 of 30-100). So I started again 4000 IU a day, but this time in a different manner:

I cut the pill into two and take one half in the morning and the other late in the evening (almost 12 hours appart). For the time it seems to work, but it is kind of early to tell for sure.

[pjoshea13 in reply to Hidden]

You mention a 4,000 IU D pill.

The better brands use a softgel. Years ago LEF compared customer purchases with blood test results. They were horrified to see that many taking 5,000 IU had calcidiol (25-D) levels in the insufficiency range. They changed the product line to softgels containg D in oil, & suggested taking with the fattiest meal of the day. They also increased their maximum dose to 7,000 IU.

-Patrick

[Hidden in reply to pjoshea13]

Thank you Patrick, I will try the softgels. My other D3 1.25 OH is in the mean of the normal range.

[ImaSurvivor1 in reply to pjoshea13]

I don't think there is anything better about softgels than capsuls. What I think is true is that however you take a vitamin D3 supplement (preferably with K2) you need to take it with a meal with fat in it, because D3 is fat soluble, which makes it absorbable and useable by the body.

[pjoshea13]

It used to be thought that vitamin D was as dangerous as vitamin A & people were wary of going above 400 IU. But toxicity symptoms would not show up at 127 or even much higher.

Gary Null who has a supplement label was taking two of his high-dose pills daily for over a month without realizing that there was something wrong with them. His manufacturer had packed 1,000 times more of the dose into each pill. He did get ill but survived.

Years ago I heard Dr. Myers advise geting 25-D levels as high as 100, but he later brought that down to 75. Ex-patients will no doubt respond if they were told something different.

One possible issue of supplemental D is elevated calcium. The term used is Hypervitaminosis D. It's rare & is usually due to vitamin K deficiency. i.e. Hypervitaminosis D is more properly Hypovitaminosis K.

"Vitamin D toxicity redefined: vitamin K and the molecular mechanism"

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/171...

I have never heard of vitamin D pulling calcium from bones as the cause of Hypervitaminosis D.

25-D is inactive. When blood levels fall, the kidneys convert a little of the 25-D reservoir to 1,25-D. This hormone has two funcions. The immediate action is, indeed, to take calcium from bone to restore blood levels. Secondly, calcium is taken up from the gut to replace the calcium taken from bone. However, calcium cannot be returned to bone in the absence of vitam K.

25-D by itself cannot trigger this.

-Patrick

[mcp1941 in reply to pjoshea13]

I am a former Dr. Myers patient and he wanted my D level in the 60's. Only problem with getting the test is that many times it was not covered by insurance and it was a bit expensive.

[abmicro]

I believe lack of D caused my prostate cancer and other health issues with lungs. 30 years ago, started taking Gaviston tablets, 10 per day because of acid and stress. In the 10 years following, got osteoporosis with fractures, frequent ills with bronchitis, and eventually prostate cancer, gleason 8, diagnosis Nov 2001.

By the time I was diagnosed, I also got diagnosed with the osteoporosis. Had many rib fractures. They were like glass and broke if I pushed on them. Painful healing 2 months when ever they broke. Endocrinologist put me on 100K units of D monthy and daily D 5K for 2 years and some calcium. Stopped antacid tablets and switched to green juice.

I believe the excessive use of antacid tablets pulled out all my nutrients from my body and left me with a D level of 20 to 30 for 10 years.

I eventually got my bones better with the D and stopping antacid drugs, but later had to start Lupron for the cancer which made the fight for bone density more difficult. Went on Fosamax to help speed up the fight for better bone density and got a little better with that.

Everybody read my story and and beware of treating stomach acid with drugs. Use green juice and manage stress somehow. Take your D.

[Hidden in reply to abmicro]

What is green juice?

[abmicro in reply to Hidden]

Make your own veggie juice with celery and carrot in a juicer, or buy at store in bottles, or buy packets of green powder like Green Magma to put in your juice to make it more green. If it looks green, it is good. Green is a natural remedy for stomach acid.

[Hidden in reply to abmicro]

Thanks