Hello everyone!
I have read the following research:
eurekalert.org/pub_releases...
I am not sure if it is true (and i think nor does anyone, since the research is fairly new), but it is interesting to ponder. But i was wondering, since many of us are deficient in vitamin D, how has the supplementation affected you?
Has it helped at all lowering immune response? Have you noticed any improvement in symptoms? How long do you supplement with vitamin D?
Taking VitD makes me very unwell so this study makes perfect sense to me.
Thanks for the info! I take it that you no longer supplement on vitamin D.. how long have you supplemented when you did? And how long are you away from it? Have you seen any improvement now that you abstain from it?
My vitd level is always very low, 15 ish rising to around 60 ish in the summer, lowest was 12 when I had parathyroid disease. I can tolerate low dose supplements for a couple of weeks then have to stop so I no longer take any, I just accept that my levels are low and that's where they need to be.
Thanks for the interesting info!
oh you have parathyroid disease ... a relative of mine had her's removed and now has to take calcium tablets.
Curious what types of issues you have when taking it.
I just feel very unwell with any supplements but particularly VitD, having low levels doesn't appear to effect me in any way so it's not something I worry about.
When I had a vitamin D level of 7 I felt very ill and my hair was dropping out so I do think if you have low vitamin D you need to take either a spray or tablets to bring levels up
You are missing that some people feel absolutely dreadful if they take any supplemental vitamin D - whether D2 or D3, with or without K2, in any form, topically or orally.
They can feel so ill that there is no way they can continue to supplement.
Saying you need to take vitamin D simply does not address that issue at all.
I do realise that ... I am talking from my own experience of low vitamin D. I also know too much vitamin D can be toxic that is why you must always do a blood test to see what your levels are.
Here is a interesting link
I can't take vit D supplements. I spent a long time stressing about this a few years ago, because everyone, like you, said I MUST get my levels up. Tried every form of vit D and they all had the same effect. Within a couple of days of taking just 1000iu I felt really dreadful and so weak could hardly stand let alone walk. Please don't make people like me feel like we're in the wrong, it's very upsetting.
OK ... I did say this was about ME and what low vitamin D did to my health and I know other people like me who are suffering because of low Vitamin D. I don't sunbathe because I don't like the heat and that has not helped my levels so I now try to walk out side without sunblock in the summer for at least half an hour a day. Also this time of the year a lot of elderly people have low vitamin D including my own Dad who also has thyroid disease and suffers from COPD
Hey, no worries, actually nobody knows for sure. The reason i opened this post is to provide some information that may help someone and for personal experiences on it (because at this point where nothing is definite, this is the only thing we can rely on).
For me personally, i am not sure if the vitamin D supplement has caused issues. If it did they are not short term, otherwise i would have known about it. What i do know is that i have had hashimoto for 15 years now, regulated with no symptoms at all, and once my endo suggested that I start supplementing on vitamin d since i was very low, after 3 months of doing that all hell broke loose. Maybe it is related maybe just a coincidence.
On any case, thanks for providing information about your personal reading.
Be good if you posted this as a new post so others can read it, I personally don't agree with everyone being encouraged to take VitD, how many are taking it and feeling worse but not realising that may be the reason. I cannot tolerate any vitamin supplements so these studies confirm the reason why, for me anyway 😉
Thanks for posting.
I really can't take vitamin d and I am struggling with b12. I have tried all the options like extra magnesium but nothing works. I have been taking t3 for some time now and my vit d levels are a bit more stable. I don't have an autoimmune problem but I do have a thyroid problem.
This article make me feel a little better
Very interesting. My vit D levels have consistently been at the low end of the scale; initially prescribed 100,000iu in oil weekly to boost levels - which without vitK2 caused seriously painful calf muscles, like i'd run 2 marathons back to back.
More recently, (in August, after Winter) GP instructed me to up my intake of softgels (i'm already taking 8-10,000iu every second day along with vit k2, magnesium, vit c, Brewers yeast)...and can't say it's reducing any pain, which seems to be one marker of inflammation for me.
Chicken or egg, an interesting theory!
Indeed it is. But you said that vitamin D doesn't do any good for your symptoms. But has your levels of D increased? Based on the dose increase you mention they have not. So maybe this is the reason you have not yet seen any significant change.
So my levels (tested 4x since Dec '18) continually hover around 54 (range 50-160), at its lowest was 48 after our Summer in March). I also get out in the sun as much as i can.
Last test in Sept '19 it had risen to 57 which had my GP yelling "Take MORE!"
Looks to me like its an absorbtion issue, even tho i'm taking co-factors like Vit A etc, so as Spring progresses i'm throwing sunbathing into the mix when possible. Still hoping larger doses will over time improve inflammation, but confused why it hasn't helped over the course of this year.
My ESR continues to be high (at its lowest in Sept this year = 22, range 1-20.
Seems such a minefield, so much info for and against!
That’s interesting. Dr Coimbra has been successfully treating people with autoimmune conditions with high levels of Vit D (250,000iu per day) with a 95% success rate. He has been using and teaching his protocol for 20 years. Why is his protocol so successful? The human body is a complex thing.
It may very well be the case as you describe. Don't forget that what I posted is just one research, con vitamin D, within a ton of research pro vitamin D. And i looked a lot and could not find another one which backed this up.
Truth is, that noone knows for sure at this point. This is the reason I posted it, not to debunk D but to let people be careful.
On another note, who is dr Coimbra? I would like to know more about him if you have any document. But i sincerely doubt that he has so much success. If he did, then it would be known and more and more would be treated completely, and thus this forum would not exist. Furthermore, i have read that vitamin D most definitely helps on MS. This is not sure for other auto-immune. Could it be that this doctor treats MS patients and not hashimoto or Graves?
Thank you for posting this JaneyJaney . I started NDT earlier this year with good results so far. At the beginning of the year my Vit D3 was 82, and now, since the NDT was started it is 142 and that has been with no change to diet or dose of supplement for Vit D. Last year my son had his Levo raised for a few months. During that time his B12 went from 700 to 1500, again with no change to supplementation or diet. At the moment I am in the process of lowering my dose of Vit D to a mantenance dose and will report back after Christmas as to how it goes.
This is an interesting thread. One which Doctors and Endos should read!
Dr Coimbra is a Brazilian neuroscientist. If you search on his name and The Coimbra Protocol you will find a lot of information about him and his use of Vit D. Sadly he is not known much here but there are doctors trained in his protocol in other countries. I have a friend who is almost paralysed with MS and, had we known about Dr Coimbra sooner, may have still been walking. I have met several people who either have MS or know someone who has it and they have never come across Dr Coimbra either. He is lauded in his own country and should be more well known. He has personally responded to questions from me about my friend with MS.
Hello penny,
Yeah, i googled him and apparently he us all over the place. I find it hard to believe that such magic exists.
Let's not forget that though this is the only research which states that vitamin D may be harmful to hashis, there are a lot which state that it has no effect. So i find it hard to believe that a single guy found a magic cure and profits from it via books lectures etc. While every other researcher doubts about it.
On the other hand, he focuses a lot on MS cures which is exactly what the latest research finds. From all autoimmune, i think MS is a given it will have benefits from vitamin D.
Anyway thanks for sharing the information. I take it you are supplementing on vitamin D, am i correct? Have you seen any change either towards good or bad? How long are you on D?
Dr Coimbra also treats psoriasis and other skin conditions and I noticed somewhere a case study for fibromyalgia. I also recall type 1 diabetes. It is a complete mystery to me that he is not known about in this country and certainly not by those treating MS; such a pity. There are one or two people in the UK following his protocol for MS. The facebook page has a lot of testimonies.
When my friend could use his hands I found out about Dr Coimbra and my friend asked his GP if he would do the requisite blood tests for the protocol; the GP refused and so my friend did not start the Coimbra Protocol and got gradually worse until he is now unable to move anything but his head. The GP had nothing else to offer him that would improve his condition. I was livid but I’m not the one with MS.
I was advised to take Vit D by a private doctor, now retired. I don’t have a strict regime but take 10,000iu about every couple of days in the winter; I find that I seldom get a cold. I also take magnesium and K2-MK7. Dr Coimbra advocates 10,000iu every day for all people, I believe. He is not impressed with our Vit D guidelines.
Yeah, it is cruel and infuriating that the doctor refused your friend help, but had no way of helping him himself. I wish all the best to you and him, at least the best that can be provided to him. Doesn't vitamin D help even in this stage?
Regarding the D, not catching a cold is a good thing. But it doesn't say anything. I also don't catch colds and my D level was 12 when i started supplementation. I was asking for your hypo symptoms (you mention it on your profile but i am not sure if it is hashimoto or subclinical hypothyroidism that you have).
Have you had any flare up prior to taking the vitamin? Where they decreased ot increased?
Hi roukounasgk
I posted a similar post last night stating that supplementing with Vitamin D made my muscle aches worse.
I received many replies, but nobody had any ideas why it has made my aches worse
So, luckily, I came across your research that supplementing with D is not recommended with Hashis - which I am
Thank you
Alps
Here is my post
VITAMIN D ADVICE PLEASE!
Alpsholiday
Hey,
I posted an answer to your post. In a few words, this research, though scientific and objective, is only one study within a tons of other research which state that D is good for your body. So though it seems legit, more research is required in order to make sure. As such please don't take it for granted, and don't cut down your medication on my behalf if a doctor prescribed it to you. It is just something to keep in mind if things do not go as planned (which i wish they do).
As for myself I haven't cut down supplementing yet. I will give it another 2 months to raise my levels. If this doesn't do anything for me then it most probably means that this research is true for me (or at least that vitamin D supplements don't have any positive effect on me) and I will cut it down.
I read this but it does not seem conclusive and just offers another point of view. I tried vit D in tablet form, it was not absorbed and hence had no impact on my wellbeing, next I tried BetterYou vit D 3000oral spray this had xylitol and flavouring, totally upset my gut, then I discovered BetterYou vegan vitD 1000 oral spray, just coconut oil and vit D and have been feeling much better since.
So the point I think I am trying to make is that VitD can vary so much according to its additives, plus there is a need it appears to take vitK2 at the same time along with magnesium.
I am fairly new to all this, there is so much conflicting advice and so may be it is a case of try and see which can be scary but empowering
For sure it is not conclusive. It is just an opinion. You are right that vitamin D supplement varies. But I think if it increases the levels in your blood it works no matter the type.
For me, as with many others it seems that it exacerbates my symptoms. But it is a hormone and as this, it may be that it may cause imbalance on my body of it's not stable. It may be that after you reach an adequate level the benefits start to appear, while in the short run it seems harmful.
For the time being I have cut down on it since I posted this. It seems that my thyroid flunctuations have stopped and I can now take levo without any issues.
But I still have symptoms so I am not sure if it is the vitamin D to blame.
What I wanted to know though with this thread is opinions on this research: vitamin D increases the immune system. That's a fact. But if you have autoimmune this may be devastating. This is not backed by any research but it seems very logical to me. Is there anyone who can share a different opinion as to why this assumption may be wrong?
My magnesium levels are within range (I. E. 197 in a range of 160-260). So I don't think magnesium deficiency can cause this.
Additionally, some years ago I was completely fine, no issues at all and started supplementing on cod liver oil (which I think contains a lot of vitamin D). Within 2 weeks of supplementation I was feeling awful and once I cut it down I was back to my normal self.
So it did affect me, for sure, though I am not sure if it was the vitamin D on it or something else contained in the oil.
No one said that the vitamin D is the cause of autoimmune conditions. There is absolutely no clue to this. With this comment I feel that the author states that vitamin D is not so magical cure-all as it is hyped which is most probably true. There were many many many sites, alleged doctors that have found the cure for everything in the past, they make money out of it but the product they sell is never even remotely the cure they suggest. So most probably this is the case for vitamin D as well.
This doesn't mean that vitamin D is not beneficial. I myself had many chronic inflammation issues (unrelated to thyroid or autoimmune) and have found that sun exposure helps a ton.
What I am not sure though is of it helps on autoimmune hormonal conditions specifically (like Hashimoto), or if the supplementation instead of sun exposure also helps.
Yes there's a ton of articles on the internet stating that vitamin D is the key to the immune system and thus every disease.
So the author, to my opinion, states that though it may be helpful, it is in no way a solution to everything.
Has anybody heard about this peer-review that says vitamin D may exacerbate autoimmune disease?
Gabapentin and Vitamin D
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