So I posted about three weeks ago with some private results. My doc thankfully let me stay at a higher dose of levothyroxine which I was worried about because my TSH was suppressed (i could have kissed him).
Anyhoo, by the doctors blood test my vitamin D was 25 (50-75).
He gave me 20,000 iu vitamin D to be taken twice a week. So 40,000 total per week for seven weeks.
My question is, is that enough? Or should I buy some over the counter too?
Any advice greatly received!!
Harrisan
He has given you the loading doses of D3 - they should total 280,000iu to 300,000iu over a number of weeks.
You should make sure that you are retested after you have finished the loading doses so that you know how much you should then take going forward. Most doctors, if they continue prescribing, only give 800iu daily which isn't enough.
If your GP won't retest, and many won't, then you can do it yourself with a home fingerprick blood spot test with an NHS lab who offers this test to the general public for £29
vitamindtest.org.uk/index.html
You need to aim for the level recommended by the Vit D Council which is 125nmol/L or the Vit D Society which is 100-150nmol and when you've reached that level you will need to find your maintenance dose by trial and error.
Your GP won't know, because they're not taught nutrition, but there are important cofactors needed when taking D3 - magnesium and Vit K2-mk7.
Magnesium is needed so that the body can convert D3 into the active form. Magnesium comes in different forms, check which would suit you best here
naturalnews.com/046401_magn...
D3 aids absorption of calcium from food and Vit K2-mk7 directs the calcium to bones and teeth where it is needed and away from arteries and soft tissue where it can be deposited and cause problems.
You will need to buy the magnesium and K2 yourself.
If you have Hashi's then an oral spray gives best absorption, eg BetterYou.
If you don't have Hashi's then it will be cheaper to buy a good quality softgel, eg Doctor's Best.
Don't start all supplements together, stagger them. Start with one, leave it 1-2 weeks and if no adverse reaction then add the next one, etc. This way if you do have a reaction you will know what caused it.
That's correct
Local CCG guidelines
clinox.info/clinical-suppor...
Once you Improve level, very likely you will need on going maintenance dose to keep it there.
Retesting twice yearly via vitamindtest.org.uk
Government recommends everyone supplement October to April
gov.uk/government/news/phe-...
Also read up on importance of magnesium and vitamin K2 Mk7 supplements when taking vitamin D
betterbones.com/bone-nutrit...
articles.mercola.com/sites/...
healthy-holistic-living.com...
sciencedaily.com/releases/2...
articles.mercola.com/sites/...
betterbones.com/bone-nutrit...
Do NOT supplement any vitamin K if you take any blood thinning medication
drsinatra.com/vitamin-k2-su...
Vitamin C and bones
healthimpactnews.com/2018/d...
The importance of sunshine
outsideonline.com/2380751/s...
You also need folate, ferritin and B12 tested, if not been done
Thanks for your replies. I already have a maintenance dose, though my level seems to just bottom out every year to 18 months - maybe it's not enough? (It's adcal d3 tablets).
I have recently started taking magnesium, selenium and a b complex. So do I just need to add k2?
Adcal? There's generally a very small amount of D3 and a lot of calcium with those tablets.
Why the calcium? Were you tested and found to be deficient? If not deficient you don't need to supplement with calcium, D3 will improve calcium level anyway.
So you've been Vit D deficient before? Prescribed loading doses to raise your level and then it's bottomed out again a year or so later?
What is this maintenance dose you are on and what is the actual dosage of D3?
How high has your level reached when you are changed to the maintenance dose?
Your GP has you on a merry go round. Once you've reached the level recommended, as mentioned above, you need a decent maintenance dose to keep you there, you don't take a piddly little dose which means your level will plummet again necessitating starting all over again. Doctors seem to have a serious information bypass where this is concerned.
Yes, you need K2, especially as there's all that extra calcium from the Adcal, if that doesn't get directed to bones and teeth it can get deposited in kidneys and cause kidney stones , or arteries and cause calcification.
I've been vitamin D deficient off and on for about 4 years maybe 5. Yes I've been deficient before, given a loading then maintenance dose then it bottoms out again. Each time it gets really low I get a loading dose then I'm on the adcal d3 400 iu the rest of the time.
I don't know what my level has gone up to as they just give me the 7 weeks boost then tell me to take maintenance, never had it tested after the loading dose.
I'm not aware of being calcium deficient but I broke my ankle shortly after the first diagnosis so I wonder if they gave me it because they were worried about my bones???
Ok I'll deffo get on the case of getting some k2.
Thank you.
Harrisan
I have just seen your previous post with your private test results. I didn't see it at the time unfortunately.
Have you started your B Complex? Which one have you bought?
Remember to leave it off for 7 days before any future blood tests, that's all blood tests not just thyroid. This is because the biotin it contains (B7) causes false results if biotin is used in the testing process.
You need to get off this Vit D merry go round your GP is keeping you on. This is what I suggest you do:
1) Ask your GP if you had your calcium tested prior to Adcal being prescribed. If not then ask why you are on Adcal, and will they test your calcium now.
If your GP questions why you want your calcium tested, or refuses, say that you are worried that you have been taking all this calcium but don't know if you have ever needed it.
2) Take your prescribed loading doses of D3. Your D3 should be taken with the fattiest meal of the day, it needs fat to be absorbed.
Then take control of this. Retest Vit D when loading doses are finished, costs £29 here:
Then come back and say what your new level is and I will work out how much D3 you should then take. You would be best taking an oral spray as you have Hashimoto's.
Here is a good Vit K2-mk7, as it's liquid you can take it sublingually and that will bypass the stomach and give best absorption. Put 3 drops under your tongue, it can be taken any time of day:
amazon.co.uk/Vitamin-K2-Liq...
Don't forget to come back with your new level in a few weeks. In case I don't see your post, either send me a PM or tag me by putting @ in front of my username but don't leave a space. A list of names will come up, click on mine and make sure it has turned blue, that means I will get notification that you have tagged me.
Thanks so much for all your help!! That's so lovely of you to offer to work it out. I'll definitely get the test done.
I am taking Thorne basic B.
I'll ask the doc about the calcium. I've a feeling he'll say if I want to stay on my current levo dose I need it. Now that I think about it he keeps saying he's happy for me to have suppressed TSH as long as I'm aware of the risk of osteoporosis - maybe he thinks the calcium will help with that?
That being said, I was first prescribed the adcal by my previous doc before I moved house sothere's a good chance they just kept giving me it because it was already on repeat prescription. I'll see what he says though.
Thank you again.
SeasideSusie I hope you don't mind me tagging you ( I may PM you too just to be sure).
You very kindly said that if I posed my Vit D results after my loading dose you would help me work out what I need to take if the 800iu the doc has prescribed is not enough (I strongly suspect it is not)
I had the blood spot test done and it came back with a Vid D level of:
67.4 nmol/L.
I'd be so grateful if you could advise on what Vit D you think I should buy/how much I should take and also how I should use this in conjunction with K2 (which I haven't bought yet either but will do so)
Thank you so much in advance
xxx
Hi Harrisan
Vit D: 67.4 nmol/L = 26.96ng/ml
To reach the level recommended by the Vit D Council (125nmol/L) from your current level they suggest supplementing with 3,700iu D3 daily (nearest is 4,000iu)
vitamindcouncil.org/i-teste...
Retest in 3 months.
Once you've reached the recommended level then you'll need a maintenance dose to keep it there, which may be 2000iu daily, maybe more or less, maybe less in summer than winter, it's trial and error so it's recommended to retest once or twice a year to keep within the recommended range.
The amount of K2-MK7 needed is 90-100mcg for up to 10,000iu D3.
There are oil based softgels (eg Healthy Origins) and oil based liquid (eg Vitabay Organics).
Don't forget the magnesium as that helps the body convert the Vit D to its active form.
Hi seasidesusie
Thanks so much for your help and reply.
Can I be annoying and ask two more questions?
1) As I have Hashimotos is a spray better?
2) I have seen combined sprays containing d3 and k2. Are they any good or would you advise separate sprays/tablets?
A spray will be absorbed by the mucous membranes within the oral cavity. The liquid can be taken sublingually - hold under the tongue for a minute. Both will bypass the stomach so either would be fine for a Hashi's patient. The liquid I linked to is pure - just the vitamin plus oil, the spray contains extra inactive ingredients, eg xylitol, acacia gum, sunflower lecithin, citric acid, potassium sorbate. So it's a personal choice, my choice is to take as few unnecessary ingredients as possible.
I've never used a spray or a combined D3/K2 because the fixed amounts aren't always suitable.
That's kind of what I thought. Thank you so much for all your help and advice. I'm off to buy some right now!! Thanks!
Hi SeasideSusie
Sorry, I have another dumb question. Should I take oral vitamin D spray and oral k2-mk7 oil at the same time or apart from each other?
Also, is there such a thing as oral/sublingual magnesium? I thought that was what I bought but it turns out it's transdermal....
Sorry to bother you again!!
Harrisan
Yes, you can take them at the same time. If they were tablets that you were taking with dietary fat they would be competing for the fat to be absorbed (they're both fat soluble vitamins), but the spray doesn't require oil to be absorbed and the K2 is an oil based liquid anyway.
I don't know of an oral magnesium spray or sublingual. If the correct form of magnesium for you is magnesium citrate then I can recommend Natural Calm Original magnesium powder which is what I use. However, it can have a laxative effect so don't use it if you don't need that effect. I just dissolve some in a little warm water, add orange juice and you have a nice little drink. Or there is something called Ionic Magnesium which is a liquid but I have not tried it nor have any knowledge of it so it's not a recommendation.
Thanks so much. I have been taking magnesium citrate tablets so I'll continue with them. Thanks again so much. Xx
Hi Harrisan. A very low Vit D level was also one of my problems last April when I first started EFFECTIVE hypo treatment after years of undertreatment with my (ex)Primary.
I had been diagnosed with fibromyalgia which my gut feeling told me was wrong and I refused meds.
My muscle and joint aches and pains were terrible.
When my Vit D lab came back very low and out of range I was started on a weekly dose of 50,000 U of D which, based on labs, went on for months. After my 3rd weekly dose my pains were gone. As long as my labs stay in upper range I am fine. I still take my weekly dose per my doctor and also 2000 U daily. My D tends to drift down without these doses.
I have terrible absorption problems due to abdominal radiation about 20 years ago. I also take B12 shots every 2 weeks self administer to keep that level from drifting down. This helps keep me pain-free also.
One more thing: I would recommend you google how Vit D3 and Vit K2-MK7 work together to be sure your body is storing the D properly. I take 2 90 mcg K2-MK7 gel capsules daily to complement the amount of D I take.
I have posted about the rationale of this before- just didn't want to re-type it all.
Hope this helps. irina
Vitamin D
Vitamin D Level Help
Vitamin D
Vitamin D
