I recently had some blood test done (quite a few!) and the most of the results were fine but my HDL and 25-hyroxyl vitamin D were low. I've been supplementing with Vitamin D3&K2 for almost a year, and after initially rising from 8 to around 40, it hasn't improved. I still have fatigue and blood sugar issues. Also despite cutting out almost all sugar and processed food, my fasting blood sugar is on the high end of the healthy range, as is my HbA1c.
I was wondering if anyone else had/has a similar issue at all?
Thank you
Written by
lh22
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I can only say from personal experience but in my case there was no link. When my Vit D was severely deficient at 15nmol/L my HDL was 2.4 with the "desirable range" for a female >1.2 (for a male >1.0).
I've been supplementing with Vitamin D3&K2 for almost a year, and after initially rising from 8 to around 40, it hasn't improved.
Was that 8nmol/L or ng/L
How much D3 have you been taking?
Tablet, capsule, softgel, oral spray?
Prescribed or self sourced?
Having you been taking magnesium as an important cofactor of D3? Magnesium is needed for the body to convert D3 into it's usable form.
I raised my level from 15 to 202nmol/L in 2.5 months so I would imagine you haven't been taking enough.
I take 5000iu tablet every other day which was prescribed. I also take around 400mg (4x100mg tablets) of Magnesium a day which I started taking in February this year. When I checked my 25 Vit D in June 2020, it was 40ng/mL and now it is 44ng/mL.
VitD is fat soluble so best taken with a meal containing good fats. There are also gel capsules containing olive oil. Under the tongue sprays are also popular. A level of 60 ng/L is a suggested good level - so nearly there 🌻
When I checked my 25 Vit D in June 2020, it was 40ng/mL and now it is 44ng/mL.
That is a very slow increase in your level, 10 months to raise 4 points although the original increase seemed much better.
The Vit D Society and Grassroots Health both recommend a level of 40-60ng/ml. Your level now comes within that range but it may be better to aim for the upper end of the range.
Tablets are the least absorbable form of Vit D supplement, it might be worth changing to an oil based softgel such as Doctor's Best or an oral spray, both of which will give better absorption.
Your dose of 2,500iu average daily theoretically should be adequate but it may not hurt to increase it to 3,000iu in a more absorbable form and retest in 3 months. Once you've reached the recommended level then you'll need to find your maintenance dose which may be 2,000iu daily, maybe more, maybe less, maybe more in winter than summer, it's trial and error.
Retest twice a year to check levels, adjusting dose if necessary.
The amount of magnesium you take is fine, it fits in with the suggested dose.
I've had low Vit D and it doesn't affect my HDL. My blood fasting glucose is high when my thyroid hormone is low. I experience blood sugar problems and fatigue. Compare your labs to see if your T4 or T3 levels have gone down or if you need to increase. If I experience even the slightest drop in my T4 my blood glucose shoots up. It affects your adrenals. Adrenals might be increasing cortisol which increases glucose in the blood. I have the same problem. It causes a constant flight or fight response, belly bloating, irritability, sleep disturbances, morning fatigue, crashes from 3-5pm, and feeling a little better towards the evening. A 4 point saliva cortisol test might reveal high cortisol. The only way to really solve it is to get the right amount of thyroid hormone and if you can't get enough T3 from raising your Levothyroxine then you might have to add some T3.
I've been on T4 since Oct 2019, and then tried T3 in August 2020 for 2 months. I stopped T3 because it was making me super hungry, and my blood glucose would drop a lot. Also got headaches and it didn't improve my fatigue, but I did lose some weight. I'm still not feeling 100% and my energy levels are dependent on eating on time; any delay causes 'hangry' symptoms, and sometimes migraines. Also, can't seem to shift the extra weight I still have, and can't sleep more than about 5-6 hours before waking up to eat/snack . So not great...
I can relate. I've been trying t4/t3 combos and different methods to see what feels normal. It's always difficult because of how it affects my blood sugars.
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