I am sorry in advance, I seem to be asking a lot of questions atm. But I want to get everything straight in my head before seeing GP/supplementing.
Just had Medichecks Vitamin D result:
43.3 nmol/l (50-175) which is 17.32 ng/l (20-70)
The Vitamin D council recommend a level of 50-80 ng/l and to achieve 60 I need to take 7000IU daily.
This seems like an AWFUL lot and above what I thought was the safe upper limit??
Any advice?
DIYqueen
The Vitamin D council recommend a level of 50-80 ng/l
Where on the Vit D Council's website do they say that?
I refer to their website constantly and this is what they say here:
vitamindcouncil.org/about-v...
..........
The Vitamin D Council suggests that a level of 50 ng/ml is the ideal level to aim for.
...........
For your current level of 43.3 nmol/l (17.32 ng/ml) they recommend supplementing with 4,900iu based on a starting level of 15ng/ml:
vitamindcouncil.org/i-teste...
This seems like an AWFUL lot and above what I thought was the safe upper limit??
Where have you obtained your information about the safe upper limit and what does it say?
I used this page and averaged the ranges to aim for:
vitamindcouncil.org/i-teste...
Thanks for the suggested level to aim for and how to get there. How long would I need that dose/retest/continue/decrease etc?
Safe upper limit I gleaned from:hsph.harvard.edu/nutritions...
The Vit D Council page is the one I link to and when you scroll down to:
My level is between 50-60 ng/ml
they state:
The Institute of Medicine, however, doesn’t feel there is enough evidence to say that having a level higher than 50 ng/ml is of any benefit.
The IOM article seems to concentrate purely on bone health and there's a lot more to a good Vit D level than bone health. See Grassrootshealth.net Disease Incidence Prevention Chart here:
grassrootshealth.net/wp-con...
and you'll see that a level of 100-150nmol/L (40-60ng/ml) is the level to prevent the majority of diseases.
How long would I need that dose/retest/continue/decrease etc?
It's suggested to retest 3 months after starting to supplement. If you're not testing anything else then you can do that with a private fingerprick blood spot test with an NHS lab which offers this test to the general public:
So see what your level is like in 3 months' time. If you've reached the recommended level (personally I like mine at the upper limit so I aim for 150) 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 and adjust dose as and when necessary.
I was severely deficient with a level of 15nmol/L and managed to raise mine very quickly and have found that to maintain it at the recommended level I need 5,000iu D3 daily. I'm not a sun worshipper so don't really make any Vit D from the sun which is probably why I need such a high dose even in summer.
There are important cofactors needed when taking D3 as recommended by the Vit D Council
vitamindcouncil.org/about-v...
D3 aids absorption of calcium from food and K2-MK7 directs the calcium to bones and teeth where it is needed and away from arteries and soft tissues where it can be deposited and cause problems such as hardening of the arteries, kidney stones, etc.
D3 and K2 are fat soluble so should be taken with the fattiest meal of the day, D3 four hours away from thyroid meds if taking tablets/capsules/softgels, no necessity if using an oral spray
Magnesium helps D3 to work. We need Magnesium so that the body utilises D3, it's required to convert Vit D into it's active form. So it's important we ensure we take magnesium when supplementing with D3.
Magnesium comes in different forms, check to see which would suit you best and as it's calming it's best taken in the evening, four hours away from thyroid meds if taking tablets/capsules, no necessity if using topical forms of magnesium.
naturalnews.com/046401_magn...
drjockers.com/best-magnesiu...
Check out the other cofactors too (some of which can be obtained from food).
My zinc level is 17.81micromol/l (10.7-17.5) - slightly over - so no need to supplement there.
Magnesium is 0.95mmol/l (0.7-1.0). Again, very good.
copper 15.2 micrograms/24hrs (10-80) - I understand zinc and copper have interplay
Don't I need to test for corrected calcium before supplementing with vitamin D?
Vit k test is too expensive for me on top of all the others.
Do I need it? Can you overdose if I don't test?
Thanks for the link to grassroots. Fascinating chart.
I think I can get enough Vitamin A and boron from diet.
So do you take a Vit D and K-mk7 combination pill?
Magnesium is 0.95mmol/l (0.7-1.0). Again, very good.
Magnesium tests are unreliable.
Don't I need to test for corrected calcium before supplementing with vitamin D?
Have you had calcium tested before?
Vit k test is too expensive for me on top of all the others. Do I need it? Can you overdose if I don't test?
I don't know anyone who has done this test. It's explained above why it's needed. If you stick to the recommended 90-100mcg K2 for up to 10,000iu D3 then I would think it unlikely you will overdose.
So do you take a Vit D and K-mk7 combination pill?
No I take Doctor's best D3 softgels and a Vit K2 capsule.
Not ever had calcium tested,
copper now in: 15.2micrograms/24hrs (10-80)
copper:creatinine 13.5 (0 - 60)
zinc: 17.81 (10.7-17.5)
So one high, one low.I wonder if I can address this and how.
Not ever had calcium tested,
When taking D3, as mentioned it aids uptake of calcium from food. To ensure that calcium goes to where it's needed taking K2 is important. If you're worried you could ask your GP to test calcium, but don't expect your GP to know anything about what supplementing with D3 does and he's probably never even heard of Vit K except for the fact that newborn babies get an injection of K1 - K1 is different from, and does a different job to K2.
I'm not au fait with zinc/copper results, I think maybe greygoose could help there.
Thanks
I took 9000IU/day for a month, and I'm still OK!
I believe I've only seen one case of someone dying from vitamin D overdose, and they were given around 50,000IU, 3 times a day, for about 4 months before they succumbed to the effects of it. You'll be taking a fraction of that dose, and you'll only need to take it for a month, so you'll be fine 
thanks Are your levels improving or is it too soon for a retest?
My levels were ok afterwards. I started with levels 18 months ago of about 25.3, it rose to 70 after the 9000 a day (for 30 days), fell to around 60 6 months later, and so I just kept up supplementing 1000IU per day through winter, and i've been taking 3000 IU a week over the summer (because we've had next to no sun here).
sounds good. And reassuring that higher doses are OK short term
I should say my OH was prescribed 10,000 IU per day by his GP, so the NHS do support doses in that region.
I shall make sure to tell my GP my results. She may not accept a private test and want to do NHS test, but that's OK. About 3 years ago I had a test and was deficient. She prescribed a high dose (can't rember what) for a month then to take 400 IU a day. No follow up test. So hopefully she will help me. If she prescribes less than I think I need I can always top up with more.
My GP said that the NHS guidance is to only treat once your level is <25. Some might help you, but most seem to think you'll be fine with a bit more sun... I'd skip the doctor, and just take the supplement yourself.
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