has anyone benefited from taking vitamin d daily rather than weekly? and do I need more ?

[ianessex]

hi,, currently taking 20,000 units vitamin d weekly. my levels are better than ever at @ 88 nmols but I notice many people taking it daily instead in smaller doses. I'm interested to hear of people feel better dosing this way. plus I've read a lot to suggest I should raise levels higher to at least 100 ,, in fact vitamin d council suggest 50ng which is 125 nmol as good level to aim for . I'm hypo on 100 levo.. thanks ! Ian

[nobodysdriving]

yes, my private doctor thinks on similar lines to the vitD council (she wants me to keep my vit D level above 100).

As whether to take it divided in multiple doses or once a week it is a very personal question. Try and see?

For me as I have severe malabsorption I take 10,000 monday to friday with weekends 'off', I rather do it this way as with my malabsorption I think if I take a one off weekly dose of 50,000 then what if I do not absorb most of it? I think small and steady regular/daily amounts might be better for me. I also take it sublingually, I bought some sublingual 'pellets', my levels have been better since using these.

[ianessex in reply to nobodysdriving]

Interesting! That's good point about not absorbing, never heard of sublingual pellets before. Where did you get those? Do you also take magnesium?

[nobodysdriving in reply to ianessex]

this is the one I have been using healthmonthly.co.uk/superio...

like hlahore says there are many, the one above seems to do well for me, guess it's trial and error to find what suits you

[ianessex in reply to nobodysdriving]

very interesting,,I never knew about these. thanks.

[hlahore in reply to nobodysdriving]

There are many ways to get vitamin D if you have poor absorption

1) Several products have been designed for those with poor guts - not too much more expensive than regular. One example: Bio--D-Mulsion

2) About 10 companies make sublinqual vitamin D. - most of which gets into your body before getting to the gut

3) Another 20 companies make a vitamin D spray or vitamin D oil which you can put on the inside of your cheek -again, like #2, it goes directly into your body

4) You can get a UVB light and generate vitamin D thru your skin. The lamps start at $150. Some examples are at is.gd/Dlamps

[ianessex in reply to hlahore]

I was taking the dlux 3000 spray when I couldn't manage the capsules due to stomach issues,, but I didn't feel it was as potent as capsules,, perhaps just me but didn't feel much benefit.

[Parbrook]

Not sure if this is helpful.

I have renal failure and take Alfacalcidol daily.

This bypasses the normal vitamin D conversion process in the kidneys.

netdoctor.co.uk/liver-and-k....

[ianessex in reply to Parbrook]

Sorry you've got renal failure. That link doesn't seem to work.Thanks for advice ! Ian

[Parbrook in reply to ianessex]

Sorry that the link didn't work. Just do a Google search for Alfacalcidol. It is also known as One-Alfa.

I have what is described as Stage 4 Chronic Kidney Disease. Some symptoms of low kidney function are similar to hypothyroidism, so it is an added challenge to get the right thyroid medication.

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to Parbrook]

The link is fine for me. Perhaps a temporary issue?

For info., Alfacalcidol is a prescription-only medicine and regular calcium monitoring is important.

Rod

[ianessex in reply to helvella]

Cheers rod. I actually didn't know it was converted in kidneys as well as liver. That being so, perhaps it might be better for me to dose daily. I know you take it daily.

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to ianessex]

This is a summary:

vitamindcouncil.org/further...

(I am not pretending for one moment that all of this is in my brain!)

Rod

[ianessex in reply to helvella]

Great link,, thanks. When you read that, you realise just how important it is that you don't just have just enough but better to have plenty available. Cheers rod

[Clutter in reply to ianessex]

I'm looking forward to seeing my test results tomorrow. The difference in how I'm feeling now compared to Nov when I started taking it is incredible. I have been supplementing other stuff too, but even so.

[Clutter in reply to helvella]

And there's me thinking you had a brain the size of the planet. What a con!

Good link, thank you.

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to Clutter]

Total con. I do tell everyone not to believe a word I post!

I'd rather people went out and checked every last word and comma. Aside from anything else, they might find out a lot more than I did.

[hlahore in reply to Parbrook]

Alfacalcidol is much better for those with renal failure.

However it is very expensive, only available by prescription, and has a half life of about 1 day

[Clutter]

I was prescribed 40,000iu daily for 7 days followed by 2,000iu daily which I still take. I noticed no difference in the strength of doses. I took it daily as that's how it was prescribed but I've read just as many people are prescribed weekly doses so I assume the accumulation is the important thing.

lef.org/magazine/mag2010/se...

hormonesmatter.com/vitamin-...

stopthethyroidmadness.com/v...

evidence.nhs.uk/formulary/b...

dailyrx.com/vitamin-d-suppl...

[ianessex in reply to Clutter]

are you still on 2000 a day then ?? what else do you take ?? i def cant do without it now,, i def notice when im due my next dose.

[ianessex in reply to ianessex]

thanks for the links by the way,, working my was through them now,,,

[Clutter in reply to ianessex]

Unless my results are high in range I shall continue on 2,000iu until high summer.

I also take 1000mg vitC, 300mg magnesium, 15mg zinc, 1200mcg B12 methylcobalamin spray and 100mg every other day each of B1, B2 & B6.

My folate was low and I was prescribed 5mg daily for 4 weeks. Recommended time is 4 months so I will be interested to see what the retest shows.

I look forward to the day when I can replace most with a good quality multi-vitamin but until then I have been surprised at the improvement in wellbeing I've felt.

[ianessex in reply to Clutter]

Can I ask what magnesium you take? Thanks,

[Clutter in reply to ianessex]

Magnesium oxide from Asda. Some people find it difficult to absorbe (you'll have diarrhoea if it's too much for you) and use other tabs, magnesium skin oil (Amazon) or epsom salts in baths.

[humanbean in reply to Clutter]

Magnesium citrate is absorbed much more readily than magnesium oxide.

[ianessex in reply to humanbean]

yes I heard as much,,

[Jackie]

Hi Safer daily on a script if pos. Then the calcium can be better monitored. It can make calcium go over range, very dangerous. So bloods done for these both essential.

Best wishes,

Jackie

[Joyia]

I take 2000 vit d daily Jackie, I do not have my calcium levels checked and would not know how to do this anyway. I used to take magnesium but stopped as it has been suggested this also affects calcium levels. To get my Doctor to test anything is not easy and to expect calcium levels to be checked on a regular basis would be like asking for the moon. I used to take a lot of vitamins and then I stopped to see how I felt with a healthy diet alone. Because of my aching joints I decided to take vit d but I am very confused without the means to proper testing on a regular basis, without this how do we really know what is happening to our bodies?

[ianessex in reply to Joyia]

Hi,, calcium levels are easily checked via your doc doing normal blood profile. You could just say your taking vitamin d and want to know your calcium is ok. If he says no then I kindly suggest that you ask another doc. As for vitamin d testing,, if he won't do this then you can get it done yourself via a home test kit for 25 quid fully Inc,, the info is on thyroid UK I believe or Google city assays vitamin d test, something like that.. it's very good and only takes few days for results. If you get stuck,, just ask and someone will surely give you a link. Ian

[hlahore]

It does not matter daily or weekly vitamin D ( about 20% reduction in benefit if monthly)

88 nmols is nice, but more is much better

[ianessex in reply to hlahore]

how much more do you reckon?

[oldgreybird]

I have been battling to get my Vitamin D level up. I started off severely deficient - and I mean severely deficient - and after much effort with supplements over a number of months it rose to 30 ug/L Not brilliant particularly as I was taking 10,000iu of Vitamin D3 a day for months to help change the level. Fortunately my calcium levels have never been a problem.

It made much more sense for me to take the Vitamin D daily than one impossibly high dose once a week.

The last tests in Oct 2013 and in January 2014 show the Vitamin D level has dropped down to 19 ug/L even though I was still dosing on 10,000iu a day until December 2013 when I changed to 5000iu of Vitamin D3 a day (as I felt I had been on 10,000iu long enough and it was perhaps not wise).

I have a retest in March so it will be interesting to see if things are still around 19 or continuing to drop and also what my parathyroid level is doing as it has been high but seemed to be slowly coming down as the Vitamin D level rose.

Please note: to convert Vitamin D results from ug/L to nmol/L multiply by 2.496

[ianessex in reply to oldgreybird]

do you have any absorption issues? stomach issues at all ? Make sure it's a good quality vitamin d and you take with main meal ,, you no doubt know all this. I use healthy origins ,, I find them to be good and have good oil base,,

[oldgreybird in reply to ianessex]

I have no stomach issues at all. I have a cast iron stomach. It never gets upset whatever food or medicines or supplements I put into it! At the moment I take Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) made by PureNature in the UK and bought on Amazon. I don't swear by any one particular brand - I shop around and look at what is good value when I need to replenish stocks. But maybe I should be more fussy.

[ianessex in reply to oldgreybird]

just looked your vit d up,, looks like its suitable for vegetarians but this means no oil base,, to be honest i used to take one like that but i find the oil base ones feel more potent and my levels have improved since taking these. of course,, this may just be a personal thing .