Low Vitamin D level appears to cause sleep apnea

I have not watched the vidoes yet, it is late, and I just got up to go to the bathroom and realized I had some work I needed to finish before 5 AM so I am here. Vit D can not be absorbed without fat eaten at the same time you take your Vit D. I asked my Dr for a D3 level to be done, but all he would do was D-25 hydroxy and I was very low at 22, and he only did it because I became severely osteoporotic and broke a vertebra just trying to open a window! After a kyphoplasty, he put me on Fosamax once a week and that pretty much disabled me over each weekend after I took it on Fridays with severe muscle and joint pain on top of my fibromyalgia that I have had for over 30 yrs. When I refused to take any more Fosamax because of the disabling pain he decided to test my Vit D level. He put me on 50,000 IU Vit D prescription (D2) weekly for 3 months, whilst I was also taking 1200 mg daily in my OsCal with D, and tested me again, and decided my Vit D was OK at 50 for him to have me take 2,120 IU Vit D 3 daily and he put me back on Fosamax after he got the Vit D up to what he considers "normal", using the wrong test as far as I am concerned but he refuses to do a specific D3 test. Now the Fosamax does not hurt me much, just a few more aches and pains than my normal fibromyalgia that weekend following the Friday dose of Fosamax.

The reason for my post is to tell you who are taking Vit D supplements that they don't absorb if you haven't eaten a fat to digest with them. I usually have toast with butter or a small slice of cheese with mine if there are no other fats eaten at the time of the dose. I take my Vit D three times a day. (one separate tablet of 1000 IU Vit D 3 and an Oscal containing calcium 600 mg with 400 IU Vit D at breakfast, and just the same Oscal with D for lunch and supper.

I did notice after I completed the high doses of Vit D he prescribed (D2) I slept better (with dreams-don't usually have them for years), and awoke with more vim and vigor. Tghought at the time it was just the CPAP i have been using since Feb that all of a sudden started to allow REM sleep. I plan to show him the videos and urge him once again to order a D3 test for me at my next blood draw in Dec. I would like to get to 70-80 just to see if it makes a difference in my REM sleep and my fibromyalgia. I have an appointment with a rheumatologist next week and maybe I can get her to order a D3 test. What test again is it for D3?? I will re-read these posts to arm myself with the answer before I go to the Rheumy Dr on Monday of next wk. If rheumy agrees to test D3, I think she will recommend same to my Dr to keep tabs on the level frequently.BTW, I DO take lovastatin daily for high cholesterol.

I will watch the vidoes over the weekend. Thanks for this post. I don't think it will cure my OSA, but might help it, and am also hoping my fibromyalgia might be helped too by additional Vit D.

DaveLP wrote:And all this time I thought that it was my 18" neck size that contributed to my SA! Skinny people with low fat deposits in the neck area seem to be less apt to develop sleep apnea, according to my sleep doctor.

Good point, but it's possible that, even with the neck size, you wouldn't have apnea if your vitamins are correct. (I have no opinion on the vitamin theory, just discussing the logic.)

Codinqueen, She said D25OH which I believe is the test you had. I also found this.

What blood test should I have to check my vitamin D levels?
The only blood test that can diagnose vitamin D deficiency is a 25-hydroxy-vitamin D (25 OH vitamin D). Unfortunately, some doctors are still ordering the wrong test, 1,25-dihydroxy-vitamin D. In fact a common cause of high 1,25-dihydroxy-vitamin D is a low 25(OH)D or vitamin D deficiency. So when doctors see the 1,25-dihydroxy-vitamin D is normal or high and tell their patients that they are OK, they are often vitamin D deficient.
Your doctor should do this test for you. Unfortunately even some of the labs, in particular Qwest, have had problems with correct results, usually giving erroneously high results.

If you don’t want to go through your doctor, the ZRT lab does a blood spot test that you can order without going through a doctor.

But watch her video, because she also discusses D's role in B12 absorbtion, among lots of other things.

@ codinqueen...... Don't get D2 and D3 confused. D2 is a vitamin; D3 is actually a hormone. The 25 hydroxy test is the one for D3 and a level of 22 is very low. That your doctor supplemented you with Rx D2 for a D3 deficiency tells me he/she is not up to speed on D research. Optimal levels for D3 should be between 60-80 so you should be taking a good amount of D3 to reach that level. As I said earlier. I scored a 33 on my 25 hydroxy and it took me 3 months of taking 8,000 IU's daily of D3 (in a micellized, liquid form) to get to 60.

Here is an excellent site that Dr. Gominak also recommends: http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/about-vi ... deficient/

Ha Ha funny!!!! I take vit d as prescribed by my doc...still have sleep apnea.....I have a bridge I`ll sell ya Oh, how about 10 acres of land...reallllly cheap

nanwilson wrote:Ha Ha funny!!!! I take vit d as prescribed by my doc...still have sleep apnea.....I have a bridge I`ll sell ya Oh, how about 10 acres of land...reallllly cheap

Do you mind sharing what your doctor prescribes?
I'm also curious if you watched the 5 videos...

@Lizistired Nan is in Canada so it may be something you can't get in the USA. D2 is the Rx version of D in the USA and that is NOT what you want to be taking to increase your levels. D3 is OTC here in the states. Someone from the UK posted that they have D3 in Rx form, so I presume Canada does, too.

Do take a bit of time to read the web site for the vitamin D council... I put the link in a post a few back.

I just wondered why Nan seemed to think it was a joke. I find the information very interesting and am interested in other's experiences, not just opinions.

I find this to be an interesting thread. Many of Dr Gominak's assertions seem logical. Now, here's something interesting too - I checked my refrigerator and found my skim milk had 25% DV of vitamin D and my soy milk had 30%. Checking the ingredients, the skim milk had D3 while the soy milk had D2! Who knew there was a difference?

Jay

Lizistired wrote:...she gives a target level of 60-80 and has found that going over the 80 will cause the same problems/return of symptoms as being below 60.
How often do you have your level tested?

I typically test at 65-75 or so every 3-4 months 'cept for that one time at 144 following European Stoss protocol fighting a viral infection. I did not notice a return of symptoms but my levels might not have been high very long.

One thing to remember is it is sleep, not the D3, that improves many of the symptoms attributed to low Vit D levels. After attaining a level of 60 to 80 ng, it takes several additional months of restful sleep each night before changes occur. Vitamin D3 serves as the catalyst for restorative sleep. It is during deep sleep that the body repairs itself. At least that is the theory.

I started taking 10,000 IU of vitamin D3 several days ago and now I dont feel so well. As if my heart is racing ,feel week,almost fainting. I will cut it back to 5000 IU and see how I go. any comments?

ozze_dollar wrote:I started taking 10,000 IU of vitamin D3 several days ago and now I dont feel so well. As if my heart is racing ,feel week,almost fainting. I will cut it back to 5000 IU and see how I go. any comments?

On what did you base that amount to take? Were you tested first and found to be severely deficient? If you didn't get tested, why on Earth did you jump in at such a high dose? Please visit the site on the vitamin D council and read what they say.... http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/about-vi ... -toxicity/ You'll note that all the symptoms you had are on the list.

Emilia wrote:

ozze_dollar wrote:I started taking 10,000 IU of vitamin D3 several days ago and now I dont feel so well. As if my heart is racing ,feel week,almost fainting. I will cut it back to 5000 IU and see how I go. any comments?

On what did you base that amount to take? Were you tested first and found to be severely deficient? If you didn't get tested, why on Earth did you jump in at such a high dose? Please visit the site on the vitamin D council and read what they say.... http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/about-vi ... -toxicity/ You'll note that all the symptoms you had are on the list.

My last test was in the forties and I was already taking 1000Iu.My doctor was surprised my result was so low considering I was already taking a supplement. But as with many doctors thats all he did,express surprise.

My last test was in the forties and I was already taking 1000Iu.My doctor was surprised my result was so low considering I was already taking a supplement. But as with many doctors thats all he did,express surprise.

I think you should back off down to 4 or 5,000 IU's and perhaps get retested again soon. I think I read on the site that it takes about 5,000 IU's a day to maintain an optimal level of 60. That site has some good info, but you have to drill down in the left hand navigation to get to a lot it. When you click on a main navigation tab it will bring up a new left side navigation on that main topic so don't miss all that good stuff.

My last test was 58 and I am taking 8,000 IU's most days of the week. I will be tested again next month.