Hi all. Long story short but I got vit D deficiency diagnosed, currently on d3 loading doses (50,000iu) once a week for 6 weeks, then been given 800iu d3 thereafter to take daily.
Just wondering if anyone can tell me what's the correct amount of k2 I can take daily without doing me any harm? There's all sorts, 75mg,100mg,200mg.. No idea how much I need to take. I'm not sure whether to take k2 alongside d3 800iu daily or just get d3 and k2 drops and take that daily instead? Problem is I can only find k2 added to d3 if d3 dose is between 3, 000 and 4,000iu which I fear may be too high for me. I don't want to overdose on it.
Another question is, will it be problematic if I don't take k2 while I'm on d3 loading doses?
When I was severely Vit D deficient it was before I learned about K2 and magnesium being important cofactors of D3, so I started with just D3, if I had known about them I would have taken them.
90-100mcg K2-mk7 is enough for up 10,000iu D3 so buying the 100mcg dose seems to be the most sensible. I didn't take a 50,000iu D3 dose as I self treated but with your 1 x 50,000iu I don't think I would take 5 x 100mcg K2-mk7, I'd probably only take 1 or 2.
Once you've finished the loading doses, regardless of what the GP says you will need to retest and your follow on dose should be based on that so 800iu is unlikely to be enough. Your GP may not retest so in that case please do so yourself with a private test which can be done with a fingerprick test to do at home from an NHS lab here:
Once you have your new result, post it on the forum and I can help you with your new dose.
The Vit D Society and Grassroots Health both recommend a level of 100-150nmol with a recent blog post on Grassroots Health recommending at least 125nmol.
For Vit K2-mk7 I like Vegavero or Vitabay brands which contain the recommended "All Trans" form rather than the "Cis" form, All Trans is the converted form, a bit like methylfolate is the converted form of folic acid.
Not always easy to find but sometimes available on Amazon or Ebay or you can order direct but they are a German brand so website is in German.
Currently Amazon has this one which is 200mcg and when I can only get the 200mcg size I take them on alternate days:
If taking K2 tablets or capsules you will need fat for them to be absorbed so they should be taken with the fattiest meal of the day or something like cheese or a full fat yogurt.
Thank you for your reply. I was thinking of self medicating but I feel rotten I just want to treat it as quickly as possible. I will get another test done after 6weeks once I complete my d3 loading doses and go from there. I didn't think 800iu would be enough hence why I was thinking of just going for a spray or sublingual drops which contains both d3 and k2 and possibly magnesium too. I'm so rubbish with this malarkey I'm more concerned about overdosing at the min but with a level of 25 I highly doubt that'll happen.
Hi SeasideSusie,I take 2000iu of Vit D3 daily (has been my maintenance dose for a long time). If I take 200mcg of K2-mk7 on alternate days, can I stick to my current schedule for Vit D or should I double it and only take it with the K2?
K2 is vitally important when taking D3 as it ensures that the calcium gets to your teeth and bones, not your arteries where it can cause very serious blockages. The Vit D and Co factors group on Facebook has a protocol for boosting and maintaining adequate D3 levels, their recommendation for the ratio of D3 to K2 is 10:1, but I can’t imagine that would apply to such large loading doses. They are very helpful, might be worth joining, even temporarily, to get a copy of the protocol and advice on ratios etc.
I think you should be aware that AnxietySufferer is in the UK, she has been diagnosed with Vit D deficiency and is being prescribed the loading doses by her GP, this is the normal procedure here. Loading doses total 300,000iu or 280,000iu over a few weeks and can be 6 x 50,000 once weekly or 20,000iu twice weekly for 7 weeks, it's up to the GP.
Keep above 50 or 60.
As you are in the US and your unit of measurement is ng/L then this level applies there. Here in the UK the normal unit of measurement is nmol/L and the equivalent level is 125-150nmol/L. Best to make clear these things otherwise if the OP took your advice she would have too low a level.
Glad you clarified this I was a bit confused and wondering why my gp prescribed it if it wasnt good for me lol!
Another question.. Will I be OK to just continue my loading doses for the next 5 weeks and then when I get tested and go on a maintenance dose (hopefully), then I will combine d3 and k2 together. I won't get calcification issues in 6 weeks will I? Ps you can tell I'm worried lol.
If you are definitely going to get a combined D3/K2 supplement later on then you'll be OK not to take K2 with your loading doses (I didn't because I didn't know about it at the time). But please be careful about the combined supplement and check the amount of K2-MK7, you don't want more than the recommended amount of 100mcg for up to 10,000iu D3. So if your maintenance dose was 2,000, or if it was 5,000iu you'd still only need 100mcg K2. Many combined supplements give too much K2-MK7 for the amount of D3.
If you like, when you have your new results after the loading doses, come back to me so I can suggest what your new D3 dose should be and I can help you find a combined supplement if that's what you want.
Also, when buying your own D3 then be aware that tablets and capsules are the least well absorbed, some people like the oral spray but I don't as it contains too many excipients and it's expensive. I go for separate D3 and K2-MK7 and like Doctor's Best D3 softgels which are pure - just D3 and extra virgin olive oil, nothing else - and very budget friendly.
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