Vitamin D Deficiency

I have to throw in a caution along with our pharmacist guest. I once was a quite well informed lay person nutritionist (like snoredog is here for apnea - rivaling experts). Be careful. The vitamin D in pills is not the same as the stuff our bodies synthesize from the sun. You can get quite a lot of vitamin D from just baring about 9 inches of skin to the sun without sunscreen for 10 to 20 minutes. Don't do at high noon or you still risk other sun/skin dangers. I try to also be careful with vitamin A. It is also fat soluble and also possibly toxic at high doses. Its precurser, beta caratene is much less so it is a better choice.

crossfit wrote: Be careful. The vitamin D in pills is not the same as the stuff our bodies synthesize from the sun. You can get quite a lot of vitamin D from just baring about 9 inches of skin to the sun without sunscreen for 10 to 20 minutes. Don't do at high noon or you still risk other sun/skin dangers.

If it's so toxic, I don't understand why I'm still alive. I'm one of the lucky folks that turn deep brown with a little sunshine. As a kid I lived in the sunshine shirtless and sometimes less than that.

I would start out the spring with a couple sunburns but they turned dark and after a week or so I couldn't get a burn. I'd play all day every day until school started up again. Later years I worked all day in the sun. It wasn't until I worked in an office that I had to stop. No Cancer or even close to it (so far - knock on wood).

If 10-20 minutes is a lot of vitamin D and too much is dangerous, why aren't I dead?

The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition has an article at http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/abstract/85/1/6 PDF download of article at http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/reprint/85/1/6

"Collectively, the absence of toxicity in trials conducted in healthy adults that used vitamin D dose ≥250 µg/d (10 000 IU vitamin D3) supports the confident selection of this value as the UL."

Well, y'know, Vitamin D isn't really a vitamin, it's a hormone.

The biggest proponent of "Vitamin" D is probably Michael Holick, MD. Had a chance to see him at conference (talking about Vitamin D, of course), he was fabulous. His story is equally fascinating.

SAG

Vitamin D is NOT something they regularly or even normally check for unless there are symptoms that indicate a possible problem. Quite likely this may be the first time a Vitamin D check has been ordered for you.

Slinky wrote:Vitamin D is NOT something they regularly or even normally check for unless there are symptoms that indicate a possible problem. Quite likely this may be the first time a Vitamin D check has been ordered for you.

I was just about to say that, Slinky. The doctor ordered a Vit D test for me because of something I came to him about. I don't believe that I've ever been tested for Vit D in my life prior to that.

Pam

A progressive rise in alkaline phosphotase can be an indication of vitamin D deficiency. And you are right, SAG, vitamin D really is a hormone. There are actually two forms of it in the body.

well lookie what I found:
http://www.robertbarefoot.com/c-7-coral ... -dogs.aspx

Slinky wrote: Vitamin D is NOT something they regularly or even normally check for unless there are symptoms that indicate a possible problem. Quite likely this may be the first time a Vitamin D check has been ordered for you.

(and ....)

A progressive rise in alkaline phosphotase can be an indication of vitamin D deficiency. And you are right, SAG, vitamin D really is a hormone. There are actually two forms of it in the body.

Agreed - I have loads of blood tests regularly and if they've ever tested for vitamin D, it certainly wasn't recently. And, since vitamin D deficiency (other than what was discovered years ago) has only fairly recently been recognized (as far as I'm aware), it wouldn't be surprising that most people haven't been tested.

Interesting about the alkaline phosphatase ... mine was somewhat elevated (they check it because I'm on Imuran) and several months ago I started taking cod liver oil with vitamin D (2000 IU/day of Vit d) per my nutritionist; he actually wants me to up to 3 tsp of cod liver oil which would then be 3000 IU per day. My ALT and AST recently have both been starting to drop for the first time in a number of years.

Mindy

The 25-hydroxy vitamin D test is the most accurate measure of the amount of vitamin D in the body. In the kidney, 25-hydroxy vitamin D changes into an active form (called 1,25-dihydroxy vitamin D). The active form helps control blood levels of calcium and phosphate. A vitamin D deficiency may lead to low blood calcium levels (hypocalcemia), thin or weak bones (rickets, osteoporosis and osteomalacia), and high levels of parathyroid hormone (secondary hyperparathyroidism). Excessive vitamin D can lead to high calcium levels (hypercalcemia).

If calcium is low or the patient has symptoms of vitamin D deficiency, such as bone malformation in children (rickets) and bone weakness, softness, or fracture in adults (osteomalacia), the 25 OH Vitamin D test usually is ordered to identify a possible deficiency in vitamin D.

If calcium is high or the patient has a disease that might produce excess amounts of Vitamin D, such as sarcoidosis or some forms of lymphoma, the 1,25 di OH Vitamin D test usually is ordered.

Vitamin D tests also may be used to help diagnose or monitor problems with parathyroid gland functioning since parathyroid hormone is essential for vitamin D activation. When vitamin D, calcium, phosphorus, or magnesium supplementation is necessary, vitamin D levels are sometimes measured to monitor treatment effectiveness

High levels of vitamin D and calcium can lead to the calcification and damage of organs, such as the kidneys, as the body tries to lower blood calcium levels by depositing calcium phosphate compounds into the organs.

If magnesium levels are low, they can cause a low calcium level that is resistant to vitamin D and parathyroid hormone regulation. It may be necessary to supplement both magnesium and calcium to regain normal function.

http://www.labtestsonline.org/understan ... /test.html

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency ... 003569.htm

I also have been put on Vitamin D after having stress fractures. My level was almost non-existant. I took massive doses for a year.
I now take 1.25 mgs once a week, with regular blood tests. It's still not normal,but it's better.
The Vitamin D has helped so much for the pain and fatigue I was experiencing.
There's a lot more info comming about this, according to my Rhuemotologist. Stand by.
I wonder if it may play some part in OSA? You never know!

my Rheumatologist at the VA is a Professor @ Vanderbilt(lucky me) sharp as a tack, found a vit. D insufficiency in labs a year ago. ever since i have been taking Caltrate 600 +vit D. to bring it up. also , my 90 year old mom was having a painful time with her stenosis & fractured her T7 besides , plus another vertebrae just by picking up a small bag of trash....she received the glue injection procedure to those areas, which seemed to stabilize the area and took care of the majority of pain....6 months ago i told her about the caltrate & she has been taking ever since with good results(fingers crossed)....i definitely think it has helped her & i'm sure gonna stick with it.

deerslayer - what type of arthritis do you have? What does Caltrate 600 with Vit D do for it? How much do you take a day?
Sorry for all the questions but I have rheumatoid arthritis and osteoporosis and always looking for something to help! Thanks.

hey Hawthorne , i have rheumatoid arthritis . right now it is quiescent ,but that doesn't mean i don't feel the crap. my right ankle tends to swell due to pooling blood. rheumatologist says most likely from baker cysts behind knee affecting circulation. ....only know that after checking blood work said my vit. D was low. this was when i was on methatrexate..but they told me to continue with it. 1-600mg Caltrate with vit. D tablet twice a day. doc did say i could stop the folic acid if i wanted to, but could continue because it was water soluble. have also been on 150mg ranitadine twice daily to protect stomach from ibuprofin. hope i wasn't rambling too much. remember now i'm just a guy who listens to his doc. you need to run info by yours, hope this helps. tim

deerslayer - thanks. I appreciate your info and your caution. I have had rheumatoid arthritis for 19 years and have been through a pile of drugs. I take Voltaren and Prevacid to protect my stomach, methotrexate and the folic acid. Was on gold for a lot of years. I have been on Humira and Enbrel - Humira - no use at all for me. Enbrel real good for about 2 years. I'm now in a drug trial for Actemra. Been in it for just over 2 years and doing quite well with it. Like you though, "that doesn't mean I don't feel like crap sometimes!" I do take a calcium supplement and 1000 mg of Vit D every day. That's for the osteoporosis I also have, but never made a connection with it and RA.
I will speak to my Rheumatologist and see what she says about the Caltrate 600 and Vit. D. I'm lucky to have a great Rheumatologist too. She is certainly far better than my sleep specialist!!