Vitamin D

[Phoebenooby]

Recommended for before IVF and if successful, where does everyone buy there’s and what strength? NHS recommend 1000 iu which seems quite low?

[Purpledoggy]

Have you had it measured? That would be the first thing to see what your level is as that would guide how much to take. I was on 2,800 IU a day when I first had mine measured before starting IVF, and it was 69 nmol/L. Normal is above 50 but many sources advise aiming for 75 for IVF so I upped mine to 4,800 IU a day over the winter (the 69 was coming out of summer when I had spent more time than usual outdoors as well as being on 2,800 IU a day). The NHS guidelines for vitamin D are daft, as were my clinic's. If the NHS is currently recommending 1,000 they have upped it, probably due to COVID. Before it was either 400 or 800 IU, I can't remember which. 400/800 IU a day is fine if you live in a sunny climate and spend plenty of time outdoors, and/or drink a lot of dairy, but for anyone else it's not enough. Funnily enough when COVID happened suddenly we realised loads of people were mildly vitamin D deficient, and the IVFers who have looked into vitamin D probably mostly thought 'well, der' 😂 xx

[Phoebenooby in reply to Purpledoggy]

No not tested as won’t be going to clinic for a few weeks but was just advised to take alongside folic acid. Will just take the NHS recommended, thanks

[Haf05]

I use biocare nutrisorb vitamin D drops - they were recommended by my fertility nutritionist. As to how much, i have been taking 3000 IU a day since November, but i'm a coeliac and asian so tend to be deficient. So its a very personal thing. A blood test is the best starting point.

[Purple276]

Hi,

I recently asked something similar as my clinic suggested testing my levels after a failed round. The blood test which showed I had low levels at 56nmol and ideally want to be 75nmol

I was recommended 4000iu and also to take vit K alongside it as that helps your body absorb the vit D but too much can also be a concern so testing your levels before doing a high dose is best.

I used Thiva to order a home blood test which was cheaper than my clinic and really quick.

Hope that helps and good luck x

[Phoebenooby in reply to Purple276]

Thank you!

[Savvy_teapot]

Just found your post I just did a Private test for my thyroid which included vitamin D. It showed my thyroid was ok but my Vitamin D is very low. However my consultant put me on Thyroxine as my thyroid levels aren't so good for IVF. I would recommend getting your Vitamin D checked. I am going to check with the consultant and GP about how much I should take and when. Not sure how helpful this is....But good luck!

[leo1980]

I am on the solgar vitamin d 4000. I take two a day with my avocado every bloody day. My levels even with that is still 52. So best have it tested. Then you can adjust the dose