Vitamin d and the sunshine: I stay in a lot work... - Thyroid UK

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Vitamin d and the sunshine

missthyroid profile image
18 Replies

I stay in a lot work from home and I lack vitamin d which I believe is one of the major contributors to my hypothyroid.basically I get no sunlight or not enough .Now I have bought a sunbed and I am only going on it twice a week for ten mins I don't burn I use after cream and I am sensible.before I would have said no no no in Amy winehouses woods to a sunbed but if used only twice a week it's yes yes yes to boosting my vitamin d levels .this is why I'm worse in the winter and I can't tell you how much I've improved ,it has given me a nice glow cheered me up made me less tired made me feel better all over .so please think about sunbeds in responsible ways and maybe it's easier than pills as vit d can be toxic if overdone and hard to boost by diet....just a though I wanted to share

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missthyroid
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18 Replies
RedApple profile image
RedAppleAdministrator

Thanks for sharing your experience. It's great to hear of anything that people find helpful. I would love a sunbed in my home, but simply don't have the space to accommodate one! Presumably then you have bought a sunbed which doesn't only tan you, and give you that oh so needed bright light, but also has the vital UVB rays to boost your vitamin D?

Out of interest, have you had your vitamin D level measured before and since using your sunbed?

missthyroid profile image
missthyroid

hi red apple

I bought a stand up sunbed from eBay there's lots for about £100 it's a Philips stands in corner of room and I out it over the bed .yes I had vit d levels checked and they were well out then I got sunbed and now it's better.maybe your local gymn does a sunbed .yes it has UVB rays

I think you can get the UVB only or full spectrum lamps, but they're expensive - for those a bit dubious about the sun beds (I'd love one too btw).

Meanwhile taking Vit D3 drops, and feeling better! (it takes a lot to overdose, but some folks can't take them with other medication I believe). You only get 10% max from diet sadly, and even an Egyptian holiday didn't make much difference for me! J :D

richard123 profile image
richard123

dailymail.co.uk/home/search... sunbeds. Not sure if you can use the link above but

A google search will take you to the article.

Whilst providing a good source of vit D remember

Skin cancer risks. I work in a skin cancer clinic

And sunbeds definentley ain't recommended for

Topping up vit D levels. That said its weighing up

Risks and benefits! Take Care and glad you feel better

X

RedApple profile image
RedAppleAdministrator

Getting out for a walk in the middle of the day is great advice for getting the blood flowing and letting your eyes experience natural daylight, but unfortunately it will do absolutely nothing for your vitamin D level.

In order to make vitamin D from sunshine, you need to expose large areas of your bare skin to the sun... not something you're likely to want to do at this time of year in the UK! And even if you were super brave enough to try this, the sun is not strong enough at this time of year for this to happen anyway.

Lots of info on the Vitamin D council website. It's worth taking the time to learn about this vital hormone.

vitamindcouncil.org/about-v...

France1 profile image
France1

This time of year my GP always gives me a liquid dose of vit D - it comes in a glass tube (almost as if it can be also injected). This started long before I had a problem with thyroid issues. He always said it was to improve my mood during the winter (I must have always looked cross). I think the dose is meant to cover 3 months. I am in the South of France and so we have far more sunshine than the UK, but they still recognise that longer nights etc can have an impact on 'moral'.

RedApple profile image
RedAppleAdministrator in reply to France1

If only all GPs were so 'enlightened'!

snowstorm profile image
snowstorm

Re vitamin D --- can anyone help. Had a test done; range 50 to 250, mine at 54. This to me is far too low. GP said as I am in range no need to supplement?. I beg to differ. Taking Holland & Barrett Vit D 3 (not with calcium) 50mg daily in the morning. Is this sufficient dosage and, as I am on quarter of 25mg T3 daily which I also take in the morning is one likely to outwit the other so there is no benefit. Not been taking it long. Reason for T3 is am highly intolerant to T4 so cannot ever take that again. T3, well, will have to have a break from it very so often. Many thanks for reading and for all the wonderful blogs with fabulous information. x

in reply to snowstorm

do you mean mcg? (microgram) not mg (milligram) as that would be 2000iu a day (not 2 million!)

2000iu is a good dose, but Ted's link & chart above recommends double that (grassroots page 3) to get to optimum 125 nmol/l. Make sure you get tested regularly to check your levels. J :D

snowstorm profile image
snowstorm in reply to

Hi, yes it is mcg and it is 1/4 of a 20 (not 25mg)

Here's what my test gave me:

Serum vitamin D: 41nmol/L (should be greater than 60

Less than 30nmol/L Vit D deficiency

30-50nmol/L Vit D insufficiency

If it's over 50nmol/L should be sufficient.

I'm currently taking 400IU of vegetarian vit D every other day (about twice the recommended amount)

lemurtail profile image
lemurtail

My GP thought I might be Vitamin D deficient and the bloodtests show that I indeed am at 27.3 nmol/L. Crikey!!

He's prescribed me Colecalciferol capsules (50,000 unit dose) which I initially had to take once a day for 3 days, then once a month. Between these megadoses I have to chew Adcal-D3 Lemon tablets (1500mg per tablet) twice a day. I've not noticed any difference yet, but then I didn't have any symptoms before. The GP thinks that once my Vitamin D status is remedied, I will be able to better tolerate the B12 injections (I have Pernicious Anaemia as well as hypothyroidism) - which have been put on hold as I was having very nasty reactions to them.

The follow-up bloodtest should be interesting...

RedApple profile image
RedAppleAdministrator in reply to lemurtail

It will be very interesting to know if raising your D level solves the B12 injection intolerance. I wonder what makes your GP think this will work... please keep us posted on how things go :)

lemurtail profile image
lemurtail in reply to RedApple

Personally, I think he's clutching at straws! ;o)

NaamiSue profile image
NaamiSue in reply to lemurtail

Vit D3 is essential for the good health of the mucosal lining of the gut, if the gut health is poor the first thing affected is absorption of most anything.....perhaps this is behind your GP's thinking.....???

alchemilla profile image
alchemilla in reply to NaamiSue

injections of B12 are going to by pass the gut though ( there is also the problem of pernicious anaemia in the first place where lack of intrinsic factor causes failure to absorb B12 from the gut which is why injections are used !)

in reply to lemurtail

My colleague's Mum is having difficulty with B12 injections and was recommended to boost her Vitamin D first too (she has PA) J

cloud1 profile image
cloud1

Dr Mercola website has useful info about sunbeds.He does reccomend them for vit d but says must avoid the ones that have electromagnetic ballasts(i think thats what they're called).

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