Vitamin K

[Bignorhill]

With the risks of osteoporosis in your bones when using prednisolone, does anyone know what role Vitamin K can play in improving bone health?

[123-go]

Have a look at this Bignorhill:

healthline.com/nutrition/vi...

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer]

We do suggest taking Vitamin K2 alongside the Calcium/VitaminD supplements you should have been prescribed…

Vitamin D does not fully control where the calcium in your body ends up. That’s where vitamin K steps in. 

Vitamin K regulates calcium in your body in at least two ways: 

Promotes calcification of bone:Vitamin K activates osteocalcin, a protein that promotes the accumulation of calcium in your bones and teeth.

Reduces calcification of soft tissues:

[Wallysma in reply to DorsetLady]

Hi DL...I can't take calcium it makes me sick. I do take D3....and a multi vit. Should I add K specifically? I do est cheese, spinach, etc. not sure if it's enough. So far my bones have been hanging in but now with all of this pred....thanks. mickie

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to Wallysma]

Might help -but you do need Vitamin K2 rather than just VitK might be worth asking pharmacist-they are more knowledgeable on supplements.

[Wallysma in reply to DorsetLady]

Thank you. Will do. M

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Wallysma]

K2 is different - fermented foods such as natto and kimchi and some cheeses are the sources and tend not to be common in the western diet.

[Kendrew]

In very simple terms it directs calcium to the bones and not the blood vessels

[Siena62]

What dose of Vitamin K do you recommend?

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Siena62]

Most supplements say on them what the recommended dose is. I think it is about 200mcg (micrograms) for vit K2 - remember it is K2, not K1 which is different and does something else.

[Pr0jection]

I can't take the Vit K supplements as they make me constipated for some reason. However, I always have goat's kefir in the fridge and take a drink of that 3 times a day. It also helps to calm gastritis and diverticulitis. I have both and suffered for years. I was taking omeprozale for a long while. Within days of starting on goat's kefir and taking a probiotic 3 times a day I stopped taking the medication and haven't had any flares since. May not work for everyone but helped me considerably.

[Uke1 in reply to Pr0jection]

That’s very interesting. I was going to start drinking goats’ milk kefir but, for some reason, told the company that I have PMR. They immediately told me not to take it as it will boost the immune system and we are trying to suppress it (with pred). They refunded me and asked me to give the kefir to some other deserving person! Obviously, I realise you’re taking it for other conditions also.

[Seacat30 in reply to Uke1]

I was just reading up on probiotics. There are quite a few references to not taking those if immunosuppressed

[Pr0jection in reply to Seacat30]

Yes, I've read a lot about it but many of them say "due to lack of clinical evidence"

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Uke1]

Make people DO take probiotics - there is some dispute as to whether the immune system is overactive in PMR or whether it is deranged. Since the gut microbiome is closely linked to the immune, deranged immune systems are likely to be associated deranged microbiomes. I occasionally take a probiotic - it has never appeared to make the PMR worse.

[Wallysma in reply to PMRpro]

Deranged.....that about sums it up.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Wallysma]

My favourite word for PMR

[Amkoffee]

Please be careful of vitamin K2. It is a coagulant and and if you have problems with blood clots and take a daily aspirin or blood thinners it could be dangerous. Please discuss this with your doctors.

[Boss302Fan in reply to Amkoffee]

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/341...

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Amkoffee]

Vit K2 is only minimally involved in clotting - the vit K that does clotting is vit K1. It is also only really a problem for patient on warfarin or other drugs that work using vit K.

While the UK and the USA make a big thing about diet with warfarin etc, here they just tell you to keep the intake regular - if you want to eat broccoli or spinach etc every day, do so, but don't not eat it for weeks and then binge on it. As long as your INR and dose are adjusted while eating them - no problem.

[Amkoffee in reply to PMRpro]

Yup my one and only time of being on warfarin that's exactly what the Dr told me. But since then I've been on Plavix which is technically a platele thinner. But I have a history of clots (4 of them) so I try to be careful. I was also once a pest control tech. I still own the company but don't do the work. I know that if a dog ingests mouse poison the vet will administer Vit. K. Because mouse poison is warfarin and Vit K will help the blood clot so the dog doesn't bleed to death.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Amkoffee]

It's how they deal with a high INR in patients on warfarin.

[Pr0jection]

Goat's kefir contains Vit K2 which I take every day as the K2 supplements disagree with me.