Vitamin D

[excel1234]

VIT D my Husband - who was diagnosed in 2016 with AF and has had three slight strokes has been told at the Hospital today, that he is deficient in vitamin D.In what form and quantity should he take this? He takes Warfarin, Digoxin Tamsulosin Bumetanide, Ranatadine and Dapsone. Would like your comments please. Thank you.

[Dawsonmackay]

I take these:

amazon.com/Potency-Vitamin-...

[10gingercats]

Is the hospital,or your GP not prescribing your husband with the vit. D?I thought in such . cases when the hospital diagnoses a deficiency they would prescribe.Vit D is usually sold over the counter as a combination tablet with Calcium.

[RiderontheStorm]

I take 2000 MG daily Vit D and 400 MG Magnesium.

[sleeksheep]

Its not straight forward whats needed without knowing the deficiency.

15 minutes of full sun twice a week gives the required amount but if using Vitamin D3 you need to take 100ui to raise it by 1 ng/ml .

400ui would take approx. six weeks to get from 18 ng/ml to 20 ng/ml.

25ng/ml to 35ng/ml is regarded as normal 20ng/ml is safe

Do not overdo the supplementation as too much Vitamin D is associated with people with poor balance , fractured bones and insomnia .

[CDreamer in reply to sleeksheep]

Can also cause kidney stones, and low levels are an indicator for dementia warned by my neurologist. Oh why aren’t these explained and why oh why aren’t we monitored.

[Auriculaire in reply to sleeksheep]

Sorry but "15 mins of full sun gives required amount " is meaningless. Do you mean exposing the entire body ? Do you mean getting this at midday? Both? What about age? A seventy year old skin makes only a third of the vit D a twenty year old skin does. Latitude counts as well. 20 ng /l night be regarded as "safe" in the UK but the levels there are among the worst in Europe and here in France it is classed as deficient. The amount needed to raise levels varies enormously between individuals and factors like obesity and liver function are important . All the vit d researchers believe that for optimum health we need levels of at least 40ng/l and preferably more so I don't know where you get your figures from. Studies done on Masai herdsmen show levels round about 49ng/l which id considered to be an evolutionary level. The only way to safely supplement is to test levels frequently but the NHS will not pay for that.

[sleeksheep in reply to Auriculaire]

Exposure to the sun is by its very nature different for everyone as everybody has different ultra violet light exposure , here in Australia 15 minutes would be our maximum without sunscreen but its probably "safe" unless your history of sun exposure goes back to severe sunburn while a child then no amount of sun is safe.

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/736...

Assessment of plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D response to ultraviolet irradiation over a controlled area in young and elderly subjects.

Found that there was no difference in the production of Vit. D between the ages all that did vary was there was less in the epithelial layer but the same amount deeper

The Institute of Medicine , US has released a paper :

Institute of Medicine report on "Dietary Reference Intakes for Calcium and Vitamin D

aace.com/article/106

Your figures of 40ng/ml are what the shortened paper suggests as a good level but further on Institute of Medicine suggests around 30ng/ml is their recommendation.

I dont regard anything that has been said as any more than a reference point for others to follow , its not my place to say what is meaningless or what particular points are of use and what is not.

[Auriculaire in reply to sleeksheep]

Sorry but to give a figure of 15 mins twice a week that might be ok for those living in a sunny place like Australia is pretty meaningless for those living in the UK where availability of sufficient UVB is much less. The Institute of Medicine report apoears to be from 2010.

[CDreamer]

The daily recommended dose for everyone in the northern hemisphere is 400idu per day but if deficient, I think you need a recommendation from a nutritionist. I take anything up to 4000idu, really doesn’t matter which brand as long as it is manufactured to pharmaceutical standards. Brands I tend to trust are Biocare, Lamberts, Solgar, Nature’s Aid but there are others. Please know your numbers and track them so ask your GP for the test results and ask what the treatment plan is.

[Kresta]

My gp prescribes a monthly VitD and calcium capsule. I take it on the 1st of every month.

[robert1957]

Please research magnesium deficiency and symptoms of magnesium deficiency also vitamins d3 k2mk7

[R1100S1]

Docs will prescribe at correct dose x

[Tapanac]

I would have thought that if the hospital said he was low in vitamin D, they should have prescribed it. I wouldn't have thought it sensible to self prescribe. Maybe a phone call to them or a visit, or failing that seeing your GP. All the best

[excel1234]

Thank you, I would have thought that too.

[Horse57]

One of the most astonishing facts about women who get breast cancer is that they are low in Vitamin D. There are many many articles that recommend 60-80 as the right number for protection against cancer and many other diseases. I take 10,000 IU per day and my body as many others does not absorb it properly. My last test was 42. So everyone is different. I do take a plant based Vit D. I find it to be a healthier choice for me. 400iu is a drop in the bucket in my opinion and does absolutely nothing to protect us. That recommendation will eventually be increased considerable when the medical community catches up with reality.