I would need your precious advice on Vitamin D3 supplements. A blood test I had before last summer showed that I had Vit 3D deficiency. I repeated the blood test when I was in Italy beginning of August, which confirmed the previous results. The doctor there said that, as I am still quite young, sunbathing and eating fresh fruit would be good enough to normalise "values". Apparently he was right, as I repeated a blood test in September here in the UK and Vit D3 levels were fine. However, I haven't seen much sun in the last few months (here again another foreigner complaining about British weather...lol! :-)....so I was wondering whether it's ok to take Vit D3 supplements without a GP's prescription (considering that no GP had prescribed this even when my blood test showed a deficiency of this vitamin).
It seems that supplements can be purchased also online: but which "dosage" is more appropriate for me? I guess the highest dosage is to be avoided? I have copied and paste examples of dosage from the brand SunVit, as follows:
SunVit-D3® 1,000IU (25mcg) Tablets
SunVit-D3® 20,000IU (500mcg) Tablets
SunVit-D3® 5,000IU (125mcg) Tablets
SunVit-D3® 2,000IU (50mcg) Tablets
SunVit-D3® 50,000IU (1250mcg) Tablets
SunVit-D3® 10,000IU (250mcg) Tablets
I am hoping that taking VitD3 supplements will help with fatigue and occasional sense of apathy...at least until we start seeing sunny days a bit more often!
Looking forward to hearing your suggestions soon!
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angelias
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We take Vit D3 2000 UI 1 tablet daily , it certainly helps us top up. I am another foreigner complaining about the British weather and lack of sunshine.
Hi Angelis, I think most people feel a little low at this time of year compared to summer, I mean it's hard work when it's cold wet and windy just functioning LOL.
Another source of vitamin D worth bearing in mind is 'Cod liver oil capsules' these typically contain 5Micrograms.
I take vitamin D3 in the winter and the ones I buy are 1000 iu which's 25micrograms
Here's a link from the NHS and it says 25micrograms per day is safe:
Thank you for your reply Jerry...not that I want to complain too much...but there are countries where it's sometimes cold, wet and windy even in summer...I am not talking about the UK, of course! lol
Now the dilemma is: 1,000IU (25mcg) or 2,000IU (50mcg)? I would go for a little higher dosage at least for one or two months, provided that it won't do any harm...I really feel I would need a "booster" in energy right now...considering that my iron is quite low as well and Vitamin 3D may help with this too?
Would 2,000IU (50mcg) be too high a dosage for my 14-year-old son?
Hi Angelis, according to the NHS link their advice is not to take more than 25 micrograms per day because more makes our kidneys work harder and too much D3 can strip our bodies of calcium. And the ones I buy say only take 1 per day. Now as for a 14 year old I'd advise caution as their bones are still developing and I'd only give them D3 if their GP recommends it or at the very least speak to your chemist about junior vitamins and I'm sorry if I'm contradicting fidgets mum here.
Well...not so lucky considering that I live in the UK!
Many thanks for the very sensible advice Jerry. At the same time, it may also be true that general guidelines could "contradict" individual circumstances...I was thinking that maybe even the fact of coming from countries where people are used to get so much more sun, then moving to a more Nordic country...this may also affect the need of or the amount of Vitamin D3 that one person can take? In any case I will ask a pharmacist as you suggested.
I checked the dosage and it is recommended for an adult 2000 IU a day. I use Simply Right these are gluten free.
I also have SADD, this is where my Mum used to pour Cod Liver Oil down my throat as a child.
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I am not sure about the doage for a 14 years old. they get outside during the school day and all they need as about 1/2hour outdoors every day. we should be doing the same but as we are not getting the sun on skin our bodies are bit starved. i used to feed my kids Cod liver Oil with malt extract, but I am not sure you can by this over here, I know you can get Cod Liver Oil.
Seasonal affective disorder ... Treated by exposure to very bright lights of specific wavelength and/or vit d. Depression that occurs when days are short and dark and resolves as days lengthen
I am a lot better now I know how to cope with it and prepare for it. The days with no sunlight and short days are the pits.
I sit under a lovely daylight lamp most of winter, have them in all the rooms, this with Vit D3 and a daily dose of Selenium certainly makes my winter blues less difficult to cope with. if I was bear I would hibernate foor the winters over here. Generally we try to get out of this country for a month in Winter, just to soak up the sunshine.
I would advise you to talk to your doctor about this, because it's not straightforward. The dosage depends on how far your VitD3 levels drop and, as VitD3 is heavy on the kidneys to process, it needs monitoring if you take it for any length of time. I would ask the GP about dosage, especially for a 14 yr old, and if he/she is prepared to prescribe it. The GP should be able to advise on the dosage at any rate, even if they don't want to prescribe it, you try the supplements for a short time.
Our weather for the past few months is enough to generate lethargy & apathy in anyone! It's dismal
I used to suffer from the same, however I left living in the UK with my daughter when she was 13 years of age, as I also suffered from Seasonal Adjusted Disorder (SAD) even living abroad is not always enough unless you are out and taking in 15-20 minutes of sun with NO PROTECTION 5 days a week first thing on a morning and later evening, but I would personally head to a NUTRITIONIST NOT to an NHS Dr who has no idea of vitamins and how the body works, these Drs are MEDICAL trained not Nutrition trained, they receive only 30 minutes of nutrition training and information, also find a good one and both of you go, he/she has only your health and they will advise the best one to take , obviously a Dr if you have a broken bone or need something stitching, but for your NUTRITION and HEALTH only a N.D by the way some of these N.D are also M.D but have come away from M.D as they realize not helping.
Try and maybe also consider what Foods you are taking in as well.
My suggestion is when you see a Nutritionist they will also help you eat foods that will help maintain and boost your levels which will help keep the nutrients from good foods like taking in Flax Seeds, Chia, spinach, broccoli, oh and good meat preferably grass fed, and eggs.
If you need any advice (free) go onto you tube and type in Peter Glidden or Joel Wallach or Linus Pauling all these are N.D (nutritional doctors) who only deal with chronic diseases and how to boost your own body with Nutrients that are depleted as our soils have been depleted as man uses so many pesticides.
These guys have helped me and now I am reversing Grade 4 Chondropathy Osteo Arthritis and Fibromyalgia.
Only you then help yourself with the info you are given.
Just wanted to say a big thank you to everyone who kindly replied to my request for advice...what a fantastic online community this is!!
As for my dilemma on the dosage of vitamin d3, I think it would probably be better to go for 25 micrograms as some of you have sensibly advised (...at least until I manage to speak to a nutritionist as alicat65 suggested...)
I would have gone for the higher dosage, also because I thought that this is normally advised for people who have darker skin. However, I wasn't aware of the possible damage an inappropriate use of Vitd3 could cause to kidneys and bones.
My main reason for using vitamin d3 would be to try to reduce fatigue and not to help with seasonal affective disorder...even though it is undeniable that it's unlikely that being tired will put me in a good mood!...and equally,rainy and cloudy weather rarely makes me happy...be it in the UK or in any other country! ...however, I have lived in the UK ...and been moaning about weather :-)- for nearly twenty years, but it's been only more recently that I have felt the need to use supplements, such as multivitamins...and only more recently I have developed coeliac disease, so I would relate my fatigue more to CD rather than to winter blues. In any case, hopefully the vit d3 supplement will help boosting my energy
Vitamin D is another tightly regulated mechanism so you need to be careful you don't knock other minerals/vitamins out in the process of self-diagnosing.
How much you need depends upon how dark your skin is, how much time you spend huddled up inside and how fat you are because obese people need more due to it being fat soluble. Older age groups may have less well functioning kidneys. Plus showering too soon after skin exposure reduces the effectiveness.
My consultant advised if you eat a balanced diet with oily fish and get outside for some time during the day (obviously ditching the sunscreen) showing some [large areas of] skin you will metabolise enough. You'll be deficient if you constantly cover up the skin with sunscreen. Okay, it's winter and cold, but there are still some rays to be had.
PS I'm not endorsing getting melanoma - I'm in the UK, it's winter so apply common sense.
I also take the Vit D3 supplement, available from Lloyds chemist, 60 in a tub for 99p!!
it certainly helped with initial weariness, felt like I was on speed (or how I imagined would feel) initially, but there was a marked difference after I had been taking the supplement.
Thank you for your reply Magicmarker28. I will start taking a vitamin D3 supplement 1000mg and will soon find out whether it can make any difference for my fatigue
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