Vitamin D and sleep apnea

My Sleep Doc told me to take 5,000 units of Vitamin D3 a day. Some of my OSA buddies take 8,000 a day. Has anyone heard of an increased need for Vitamin D3 with OSA ?

Indeed my initial serum Vitamin D was low at 15, and I've been on Vitamin D3 (Nature Made) 5,000 or more I.U. a day for two years. Anyone else here taking supplemental D3?

This is just a recommendation and nothing else. I would bounce this off your doctor first. I would try starting with the 5,000UI daily for about 6 months and have another blood test. Too much vitamin D can become toxic to the body. Also, if you get outside in the sunshine, think about reducing your dosage while your active outdoors. I was very low as well and after 6 months on a 5,000 unit dosage, I was starting to approach the upper limit. Use this vitamin wisely.

Physician wrote:My Sleep Doc told me to take 5,000 units of Vitamin D3 a day. Some of my OSA buddies take 8,000 a day. Has anyone heard of an increased need for Vitamin D3 with OSA ?

Indeed my initial serum Vitamin D was low at 15, and I've been on Vitamin D3 (Nature Made) 5,000 or more I.U. a day for two years. Anyone else here taking supplemental D3?

Yep! I've been taking 8,000 units per day for quite a few years. (Spring Valley - Walmart brand)
The probability is that OSA messes with your metabolism and is a cause for the low Vitamin D levels.
Your Vitamin D levels ( in a blood draw ) need to be between 30.0-100.0 ng/mL. So, if they're not, you need to add more from some source.


Den

.

I supplement D3, and I'm keeping my Vitamin D levels around 70 -80. BUT, it's important not to supplement JUST Vitamin D. Vitamin D works in synergy with vitamins A and K2. You need all three for optimal health. I get plenty of A through chicken and beef liver, pastured egg yolks and butter from pastured cows, plus lots of yellow and green veggies. I supplement K2, since I can't be sure I'm getting enough from fermented veggies and I don't eat that much cheese. The best dietary source of K2 is a fermented soy bean called natto. I don't mind the strong cheesy flavor, but I try to limit my soy intake. It's definitely an acquired taste. K2 helps regulate calcium by keeping it in your bones instead of your bloodstream.

Chris Kresser's blog has a good article here: http://chriskresser.com/how-to-keep-you ... aleo-diet/

I take this Thorne Supplement: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0038N ... 1P8JBNW1H8

It seems expensive, but I take only 5-10 drops a day under my tongue (5 during the summer, 10 the rest of the year). A bottle lasts me about 3 months.

CAVEAT: I don't think my good Vitamin D levels have done much, if anything for my sleep apnea. What I DO notice is that when I keep my levels up I don't seem to catch viruses everyone else is getting--that's HUGE considering the fact that I have pretty severe asthma. This recent bout of cold/bronchitis was the first time in nearly 2 years and after a huge amount of stress-- and very mild, thankfully. Prior to this regimen, I had cold/bronchitis 6 or more times each year!!!! I am doing a lot of things for my health, so it's hard to sort out, but I think the Vitamin D is the main reason.

Yes, mine was low at sub 30. I began supplementing with 5000 iu per day. In about 2 months, I was above 50. I now take 2000 iu per day (in the morning) and maintain my serum level between 50 and 60 (forgive the lack of units, I'm to lazy to look them up

Many are now recommending higher levels (50-80) over the "normal" 30-100. See the vitamin D council for news and recommendations.

I can't say vitamin D helped my apnea or decreased my fatigue because I did other things at the same time, but my fatigue has decreased since I began taking it.

As with all supplements, I recommend monitoring with blood tests to determine need and results.

See this thread for opinions and comments re Vitamin D and sleep apnea
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=69331#p642946

I supplement D3 at 8000 units/day, and I get a good amount of sun exposure. My blood levels are (IIRC) about 50-60 ng/ml.

My doctor recommended taking 4000 units after my surgery last year. My levels have been in the 50-55 area and he still recommends 2000 units...I have an additional 500 units in my Multi Vitamin. All of this has done nothing to change my OSA.

My doc has me on 10,000 units per day which finally got me back into the normal range.

Like others, I can't say that having normal Vitamin D levels has made a huge difference, but that + B12 supplements + getting sleep at night + finally having energy to exercise = a healthier me with a clearer mind.

About a year and a half ago I tried a quality Vit D3 supplement therapy, mostly under my doctor's guidance and found absolutely no benefit after six months. Yes, I took the right kind and had the recommended tests, blah, blah, blah.

Sir NoddinOff wrote:I tried a quality Vit D3 therapy under my doctor's help and found absolutely no benefit six months. Yes, I took the right kind and had the tests blah, blah, blah.

"No benefits".......in what regard? Did you have blood tests to check your levels? And, along those lines, did the D3 increase your levels, no effect on your levels........or what?


Den

.

LSAT wrote:My doctor recommended taking 4000 units after my surgery last year. My levels have been in the 50-55 area and he still recommends 2000 units...I have an additional 500 units in my Multi Vitamin. All of this has done nothing to change my OSA.

My PCP said that a serum level above 50 does no additional good. I see websites which insist that people benefit from a serum level 75-100.

Physician wrote:

LSAT wrote:My doctor recommended taking 4000 units after my surgery last year. My levels have been in the 50-55 area and he still recommends 2000 units...I have an additional 500 units in my Multi Vitamin. All of this has done nothing to change my OSA.

My PCP said that a serum level above 50 does no additional good. I see websites which insist that people benefit from a serum level 75-100.

When mine tested out at 60 last year, my PCP wanted me to lower the amount I was taking for reasons I didn't quite understand. I kept taking the same amount since I felt better taking the 3000IU I had been consuming. This year, it tested out at 40 since I am assuming I skipped a few days and she didn't say anything. I am back to taking what I took previously.

None of this has changed my OSA either.

I have been talking about 17,000 IU par day for the past 2 years and monitoring my serum level for about 5 years. I finally got my level up to 74, where I want to keep it, based on several sources I believe.
It has had no known affect on my OSA.