How Much Vitamin D to Take

nana2thegrls

Boy, I think this is an important thread!!! I just got my results for Vitamin D... My level is 17NG/ML .. I had a bone density last month and my osteopenia is getting worse..I was prescribed 50,000 units One a week for 8 weeks.. Then go down to 1,000 units a day with calcium.. I had no idea.. I live in Southern California / and I am out in the sun alot with NO sunscreen. After reading on the internet they are starting to see a corelation between Breast Cancer and this vitamin deficiency.. I also suffer from Hoshimoto's disease (no thyroid) which was diagnosed the same time as my breast cancer. Could all this be related???? I have an excisional Biopsy scheduled in a couple weeks to see if I have more cancer on my axilla area of my Tram Flap (original site).. scarey!!!!  IDC.. stage 2 ..no node..strong family history.. bilat mastectomy.. chemo.. tomoxifin. going on 6 yrs clean...  Blessings,

dlb823

I take 400 IU's of D3.  I just had my D level tested this week, and it was 78, which my PCP said is ideal, and that I do not need to take more, which is what I had been wondering.  I also live in Southern CA, so get plenty of sunshine.  But I can't help but wonder when I see some of you taking 4,000 or 6,000 or more units, if maybe there's an absorbtion problem or other reason why that much isn't getting your levels where you want them -- like maybe your body is lacking something it needs to metabolize the D or some such thing???  Just a thought, although I suspect you've all read up or asked your doctors if there was anything that might be missing that would help you better absorb what you're taking.  The other thing I firmly believe in is using only high quality natural supplements -- not the synthetic stuff you get at Wal-Mart, but good, organic, natural brands that health food supermarkets (like Whole Foods) carry.  I think the quality is very different.    Deanna

Anonymous

dlb823 - I live in Seattle, have been in the Nortwest for 15 years but grew up in the Bay Area.  There is  a significant difference in the amount of sunshine we get here in Seattle - especially compared to you in Southern California!  I have also read that northern states and countries get virtually no natural vitamin D from the sun in the winter - due to how far the sun is from this area. 

I come from a largely female dominant family and am the only one to get any form of cancer.  I am also the only one who lives in the Northwest - my vitamin D was 23 and I am pretty outdoorsy.  I really think that it had something to do with my personal breast cancer.  The BC rate in Oregon and Washington are much higher than average.

I also agree with you on the quality of supplements.  I take high quality supplements and was told my my naturopathic doctor to take 5000 mg daily (not during chemo).  I will start again after chemo and get retested in 6 months.

Susan

marejo

Could you share where you purchase and what kind of "high quality supplements" you use?

Thank you,

Mary Jo

dlb823

Mary Jo ~ I buy most of my supplements at the larger health food supermarkets in our area -- Henry's (which is part of Whole Foods), Clark's, and Sprouts.  I tend to buy what's on sale, knowing that they have already chosen excellent quality brands.  Some of the brands I have on my shelf at the moment are Henry's own brand, New Chapter, Solaray, MRM, Natural Factors, and Paradise Herbs.  I've also taken a few basic things (C, B-Complex, etc.) made by Shaklee for many years.

UCLA, which has a whole department of integrative medicine, has some good information on their website about what to look for on a label.  I'll try to give you a link to that page:

http://www.simmsmanncenter.ucla.edu/reflections/section/nutrition.asp

Two of the brands they sell in their boutique are Metagenics and Integrative Therapeutics.

There have also been recent discussions about an on-line source that some of the gals on the "Motivation" thread and/or the "Natural Girls" thread use.  Can't think of the name of it off-hand, but I'm sure you can easily find it on one or both of those threads. 

Susan ~  I'm sure that you're right about the lack of sunshine in many areas, including Seattle.  And I also agree that we are each very individual, as is our bc.  Since being dx'd, I've wondered if certain areas have more bc than others.  I don't recall knowing anyone with bc when we lived in the Colorado mountains, and it's interesting that the Pacific NW ranks high.     Deanna

vivre

My vit D levels started out in the 20's. I started out taking a metagenics supplement of 6000 IU a day. After 6 mo. the level only went up to 45. So I kept at it. I found a liquid drop by Carlson that is 2000 per drop. I put a drop in my green tea, which is supposed to be synergistic, and I also take it with 500 mg of vit c. They are all supposed to absorb better. My last D level was over 100 so I have cut down to 4000 a day. I do not get a lot of sun here in the midwest. Even though I am outside a lot,  I tend to be covered up a lot since it is cold most of the year. But I swear by these drops and my blood tests confirm that they work.

Gez052

Wow this is so interesting. I've never heard anything about cancer and Vit D before.  I thought Vit D could be toxic in large doses, but you guys seem to be talking HUGE doses!!!

I take a Calcium and Magnesium combo with 200iu of D in each tablet. Usually I take 1 or two tabs per day as I eat a lot of dairy products. I have osteopenia and am about to start chemo. They want me to follow that with an aromatase inhibitor, which may cause further bone loss. 

 Is it alright to take high dose Vit D while undergoing chemo or should I wait till after treatment? How difficult is it to get tested and is it expensive?

brcagrl

There's some excellent information on vitamin D3 at www.Grassrootshealth.org

Not all D supplements are the same and getting your serum levels tested is key.

FloridaLady

I had something strange happen over the last three months with my D levels.  I was tested three months ago and it was 50 ( I have been supplementing for two years)  I just had it redone and it is down to 32 and the doctor has givin me high dose D pills for a few weeks to correct this.  My disease is advancing fast right now and I wonder if that is why my D level is dropping off? 

Flalady

cp418

The Carlson drops also worked better than pills for me.  I had burping issues when I attempted to increase pills.  The drops are very easy in a cup of tea and had increase seen in blood test results.

brena

Sahalie,

I stay in the tanning bed between 5-7 minutes, never longer. I believe this is what increases my Vitamin D level. I am reading more daily on how it is important to maintain a high level even more so if you have been diagnosed with BC. What is your vitaming D level?

thenewme

This discussion is very interesting to me too - as I was also tested as D deficient! I live in Colorado,where we have tons of sunshine, so maybe my body doesn't metabolize it well. 

Flalady - I read about the study you posted about the other day and hope it will come out with some good information.  I'm triple negative too, and my tumor was also very large and aggressive, and I wonder if/how it's related to our vitamin D deficiencies!  I wonder if they're looking for study participants. 

http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/research.shtml  has links to quite a few studies on vit D, and the prognosis statistics scare the bejeebers out of me. 

Springtime

My levels were "low normal" when I was first dx'd with BC.

I started taking 5000 /day, and got retested, they were then up to the mid-ranges. I am still taking 5000 but I will get tested every few months to make sure I'm still okay. When it gets up high, I might scale back some, and continue to test. 

My husband recently had a yearly checkup, and his GP found he needed to supplement with D! IT seems to be the "new hot thing".

Spring.

Verebey

I recently saw my Doctor at Sloan Kettering integrated medicine department. She has me taking 2,000 Vit D daily plus she had me take a Rx for 2 weeks to jump start the Vit D levels. My levels were 27, which wasn't that bad, but she wants it to be 40 to prevent recurrence.

Yazmin

My Vitamin D level is currently 41. My doctor wants to get it up to about 60. I have heard that there is such a thing as too high a level of Vitamin D. Can anybody tell me which level of Vitamin D is considered to high?

sakura73

It is   interesting to read what different doctors thinnk is the right level. I asked to be tested and came back at 60 which my onco said was a 'little low'. He said 70-100 is the right level. I gather toxicity occurs in the 200 plus range. There is a very well known anti-cancer campaigner here called Ian Gawler and he swears by a level of 140 or so.

Since being tested I have started on the white fluid supplement. I take 2000 daily. Am still doing chemo - onco was fine with me having the supplement during treatment. I already take about 8 other things (curcumin, reishi mushroom, etc) so have just added it to the morning ritual.

Yazmin

Thanks, Sakura73. Yes, I just found this from the National Institutes of Health, showing that, indeed, "too high" starts around 200. No danger I could there!

http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/vitamind.asp

Also, I have noticed that you are ER+/PR+, HER2-. I am too. Diagnosed in January 2006. Got started on chemo, went through 5 out of 6 rounds, but abruptly stopped because my second-opinion oncologist informed me at that point that most oncologists no longer apply chemo to fight those tumors, due to the fact that after many decades of applying adjuvant chemo to such cases, it has become abundantly clear that the risks from chemo largely outweigh the benefits. This new finding dates back to 2006, I believe, and is widely discussed on the net (including this site), if you do a search. Take care.

Sandra2

I read this thread a short while ago and realized that I had my vitamin D levels taken last fall (2008) and had never found out what they were. I was at my GP yesterday and she told me they came back at 105 which made me very happy! She said that this was an optimal level (confirmed 200 was toxicity).

I'm 54 and live in northern Canada - lots of sunshine but not out in it all that much. When I was diagnosed with bc, I was told that I should start taking 1000IU of vitamin D daily which I did on a pretty regular basis.

Last summer, I fell off of a horse and crushed a vertebrae in my back which made me even more concerned about my vitamin D and calcium levels (bone density) so became militant about taking my vitamins each day and eating lots of raw greens (rich in calcium). That's when I requested to have my vitamin D level taken.

I take 1000IU daily (HealthBalance tablets) along with Jamieson cal chews (calcium - 650mg 2x daily) which also has 200IU vitamin D3 in each chewable. So I guess I have been taking 1400IU of vitamin D a day for about a year now.

Since my level was taken last fall, I am wondering what I am at now... I think I will ask to have it taken again when I go back to the doctor in the fall. Now I'm worried I might be too high!

I haven't posted much on this site but have found it to be a wealth of information and support over the last couple of years and I thank everyone for that. If this little bit of info helps anyone out, I'll be happy.

Hugs to you all...

luckofthedraw

I had my Vitamin D measured last week.  It's currently at 35.  This is after I had unsuccessfully decided to try to get a little sunshine several times a week during the summer.  Mosquitoes and the heat gave me other ideas.

My April level was at 76, with a 1000IU supplement from February through April.  So, even though my levels are technically sufficient, the ND suggested that I boost Vitamin D to 2000IU's temporarily, until I reach approximately 100.  

mb2226

I asked my oncologist to check my Vit D levels after reading that deficient Vit D may be related to the aches and pains of aromatase inhbitors. When I called, they said - it's fine. So, as usual, I asked for the lab report...... My level was 20!  (below 20 is deficient and 20-30 is "insufficient"). So, I called and said - hey, these levels look low to me - what should I do? They said - Nothing. ha! I've been taking 1000 IUs a day for the past 4 months and I live in a sunshine state so I've been trying to get some sun. But, reading these threads, it seems like I should take a higher dose to get my levels up. I'll have them checked again in September and see what they are. All these responses were helpful, though, given the lack of info from my onc.

Sandra2

If you are taking vitamin D, make sure you are also taking calcium to help your body make use of the vitamin D. If you're not getting enough calcium, you could be taking large amounts of D but not absorbing it.

I love the cal chews I discovered (chocolate and vanilla) which are kind of like having a treat not a vitamin. Plus, adding those calcium packed green leafy vegetables will also help.

Sandra :-)

klp

My nurse practioner told me to take 2000IU of D but at the time I thought it was too much so I took only 1000. I'm out in the sun each day to walk my dog too. I requested the Vit. D testing and was pleasantly surprised..my count was 72. I still take 1000IU of D but D is also in my Calcium and multi.

pip57

I take about 1400 a day.  I recently had a blood test that include Vit D and since I did not get a call I assume it was at an acceptable level.  I am lucky enough to have a gp that agrees on the importance of Vit D.  I will check out what the exact level is at my next appointment.

gscott

Has Vit D actually helped anyone here with their cancer to where they didn't need chemo or radiation?

Sandra2

Hi gscott,

I think vitamin D is thought to be preventative more than anything else. After I was diagnosed I was part of a group who received medical, lifestyle, and diet counseling and based on some new research at that time (2007) we were told to start taking the 1000 IU of vitamin D daily to hopefully help avoid a recurrence. It would be a supplement and not replace any treatment.

wwgoddess

Sandra,   Any more info on lifestyle and diet that was recommended.

deborye

my onc wants me to take 800IU and Calcium 1000 mg

Calypso

I was in the low 30s for a long time, despite 5000 ius daily.  So I took 12,000 for two months and happily got my level up to 80.  I'm also giving my kids 1000 ius daily.  Having bc makes me want to think very seriously about finding prevention for them (boy 16 and girl 13). 

Naner

About five years ago my integrative doctor put me on 5,000 u daily of D3. I live in a northern state and don't get much sun. My last level just the other day was 48. I haven't talked to the doctor but I increased my daily intake to 6,000 and I'm trying to get a little sun. My understanding is levels around 60-90 are optimal for treating cancer.

deni63

When I was first diagnosed on March of this year, my D levels were at 35. My naturopath put me on 5000 IU per day of D3. The last test, which was about one month ago showed my levels at 67 - huge improvement. He wants me to stick with the dosage I am currently taking. It is a once per day capsule.