A few weeks ago I got my blood tests back from my new Endocrinologist and the biggest issue was a very low count of vitamin D. This was news to me! I was expecting it to be my adrenals or my hormones, but vitamin D? How strange. The doctor’s answer was to prescribe 50,000 IU’s of vitamin D to be taken twice a week. She also said that I should check my levels again in three months to see if I have made any progress.
Well, it was no surprise to me that my body couldn't tolerate such a high dose of the supplement. The first time I took it, I ended up having to lie down for a few hours until my feelings of sickness passed. About four days later I took a second dose (but this time at night) and the next two days were difficult for me as well. I felt dizzy, nauseated and a bit weak. Finally I decided that this was not the way for me to get my vitamin D levels up. My acupuncturist asked me to get some of the supplement in liquid form, which I may do, but I have a feeling it won’t come in a high enough dose to make a real difference. My other choice is to take a supplement- so within the next week I will make a choice and start to take care of this piece of my wellness puzzle. Feel free to share any experience you may have with this issue- I would love to hear what has worked or has not worked for you.
Causes of Vitamin D Deficiency
- Inadequate dietary intake of vitamin D
- Malabsorption of vitamin D
- Too little exposure to sunlight
- Chronic Pancreatitis
- Celiac disease
- Crohn’s disease
- Cystic fibrosis
- Colitis
- Fistulas
- Bilary Obstruction
- Renal disease
- Malfunctioning parathyroid gland
If you can’t go out and spend some time in the sun every day, here are some other ways of increasing your vitamin D:
- Take 2 teaspoons of cod liver oil daily
- Carlson Labs and Solgar make a 1,000 IU vitamin D supplement that can be very helpful. Take one daily. Swanson also carries some great brands too.
- Eat foods rich in vitamin D: bone broth, egg yokes, milk, salmon, sardines and cod.
- If you do decide to supplement do so under the care of your doctor- it is easy to increase your vitamin D to toxic levels- this can be avoided with regular blood tests to monitor your progress
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Maybe try your 50,000 x 2 as 100,000 / 7 per week, or 14-15,000 per day. That might be easier to tolerate.
ReplyDeleteI have been using the Carlson Ddrops brand for the past 4 months. No taste, easy to take (one drop a day) and very economical. I started on the 1000IU daily and am now up to 2 drops per day. Fantastic product!
ReplyDeleteAfter two years with RSD/CRPS, I have also been diagnosed with a vitamin D deficiency. Just a nice side effect from being stuck inside all the time! The doc has me taking OsteoVit-D, viatmin D3 1000IU, supplements. I only take one daily and have had no side effects :)
ReplyDeleteHow did they find that you were low on vitamin D? I wound up with low calcium and vitamin D after a thyroidectomy and my parathyroid quit working, permanently. It was found from symptoms and a PTH blood test.
ReplyDeleteFor this, I have to take Calcitriol, 50,000IU D weekly, calcium and a separate magnesium.
The side effects of the mega amounts of vitamin D will go away as you take it. It drove me crazy at first. I was on twice a week for a month (I think) now it is just 1 weekly.
Thank you all for the great input- I really appreciate the help!
ReplyDeleteVery good article. I know someone that gets nauseated every time she took a multi vitamin or vitamin B complex. I posted this issue here and got one response http://wholenessforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=32
ReplyDeleteI researched it and naturally found some people are more sensitive to vitamins. I also found that people get nauseous if their body did not need the vitamin (over dosing). But, I would suggest a water soluble vitamin, preferably one that is organic. If you take any fish oil go with one that test for lead and heavy metals coz these are the last things you want. Check out this Discussion Forum and plz post your experiences to help others with this problem: http://wholenessforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=32
Nice website. I'm a Top Health Blogger too in General Health. Hope your pain is low these days!
ReplyDeleteGood luck....
thematrix777
Lupus can also cause vitamin D deffiencies too. I was diagnosed at least a year ago...
ReplyDeleteI really like what you have done with your blog. Lupas is effective to cause the lack of vitamin D. Choosing the right vitamin supplements is necessary to keep our body fit.
ReplyDeleteWhat did you do to solve this.
ReplyDeleteEV,
I was also recently diagnosed with vit D deficiency. 50,000 IU per week ended up causing frequent Vertigo. So went off it and started 2000 IU per day over the counter D3 after a week 2 consecutive vertigo attacks....any kind of input that helped you would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Swarna
Hi Swarna,
ReplyDeleteI too take about 2-3,000 IU's per day and I also try and spend some time in the sun each day. It really makes a difference, but it does take time to build it up in your system. I also learned that the levels we need are much higher that what western medicine doctors tell us. About 2-3 times that much- so just keep going!