Vitamin D level 36, too low or enough?

stephilosphy00

I have been taking 2000iu Vit D3 for almost a year and my recent number was 36. My onc said it was too low and asked me to be on 5000iu per day. I saw it somewhere even 30~40 of vit D is actually enough. What are your thoughts and experience with vitamin D level? Thanks!

ksusan

My MO wants me at 60.

Trishyla

My MO wants me around 60 also. The pills, even the 50,000iu ones, didn't do a darn thing for me. The only thing that got my level up was natural sunlight, on my entire torso and limbs, without sunscreen. It helps that I'm in California, but any natural sunlight helps.

Good luck.

Trish

leftduetostupidmods

Studies have shown that the levels of vit D that are most efficient in preventing BC are 60-65

DebAL

I was told 60ish is good also. Do you have any GI issues that would contribute to less absorbtion of vitamin D? I take 2000 daily but will bump up to 4000 in the winter months. Find that sunshine if you can!

stephilosphy00

My level was close to 50 six months ago. I have lost 12lb since then, not sure if this is the reason lead to the dropping of my vit d level.

Lula73

70 is where my dr wants me. But D is a crucial comment/building block for proper cell replication. With insufficient amounts of Vit D, cells end up with errors in their DNA and its these errors that can develop into cancer if the cells aren’t recognized and cleared from the body by the immune system. The IU numbers sound so high and scary...reality =10,000IU = 250mg. I take 10,000 IU 5 days a week. Using a D3 vs a D2 is important and softgels are absorbed better than capsules/tablets.

Spookiesmom

I’ve been taking 5,000 D3 for years, before BC . I’m in low 30s even though I’m in Florida. I’m 6 years out, still NED

Lisey

My levels were in the 20s when I was diagnosed and 2.5 years later I'm in the low 40s.  I've been taking 10,000 IUs and NOTHING helps.  I stay out of the sun because I'm a melanoma survivor and red head.  It's a horrible pickle to be in. 

stephilosphy00

Hi spookieman, are your levels still at low 30s?

Shellsatthebeach

I've been in the single digits years before BC. I have got my levels into the 50s by walking every day without sunscreen for about an hour. I try to go when the sun is not at its strongest so I don't burn and I hide my face with a hat. Supplements never worked for me. I also have GI issues so assume I had a hard time absorbing.

ceanna

I was at bottom of range and it took quite a few months to raise level to around 50. It stayed there for years even with sunshine in the summer before I started taking Vit. D3 capsule in a flaxseed oil base and my last numbers went up to around 60. I currently take one 5000 IU capsule daily--Trader Joe's brand.

NancyD

Is anyone taking their Vit D3 with calcium? I switched from just Vit D3 to 800 IU of Vit D3 with 600 mg of calcium last Spring. My diet wasn't bringing in enough calcium and I worried about my bones while on anastrozole. The pills are HUGE...not sure if I could take two at a time.

I'm on an AI break right now until January, so the calcium is less of an issue. With the shorter daylight hours, I'm thinking of going back to a higher Vit D3 dosage. Do you think jumping up to 5000 IU cause any problems? (My reading was up to 78 last year while taking a larger dose...it's dropped since then).

ksusan

I take a calcium supplement with my handful of pills, plus a Tums before bed.

KF2018

I have been taking vitamin D since my diagnosis - but was disappointed to see a study come out this week about vitamin D and cancer. I can't post a link at this time but if you google "vitamin D cancer" it will pop right up.

Having said that... even with that study - I plan to keep taking it... a ha!

Mamabear0

KF2018, I just looked up that study! I take Vitamin D and Fish Oil to try to make my body more inhabitable for cancer cells. There was some good news hidden in there. It said although they did not find evidence that Vitamin D prevents cancer, "it appeared to reduce cancer deaths – although not cancer diagnoses – by 25 percent." So a 25% reduction in cancer deaths? I will take that!

Spookiesmom

Hi sorry for the late reply. Yes, my D level is still lowish. In the 30s. I started it years ago to help with fibromyalgia. And it does. I can really notice a difference if I forget to take it.

Then when my MO was done with active tx, he said to take 5000 daily and 1200 calcium, any kind, to help my bones with aramidex. I did, and developed osteoporosis anyway. The pills are big, I crunched them in my mouth. No taste to them.

I’m off all AI now, have stopped calcium. DEXA in Jan, we’ll see how bones are then.

I’ve never been one to seek the sun. No beach frying for me, even though it’s 5 min away. I just turned 70, I’ll deal with anything that does, or doesn’t happen.

stephilosphy00

I paid out of my pocket to have my vit d checked yesterday after being on 7000iu d3 daily for 3 weeks. The result came back 72!! How can my vit d doubled in such a short time？

ksusan

20 minutes of sun exposure can temporarily raise D by 10,000 IU. It's quite variable.

Egads007

If you’re taking a vitamin d tablet instead of a gel, eating healthy fat/oil with it helps adsorption

FarAwayToo

I'm thinking that results really vary by the lab. According to my doctor and everything I read, it can't change quickly because it's a fat soluble vitamin which is stored in the liver.

At diagnosis my level was 16 - low! My MO wants it at 50-60, and told me to take 4,000 IU daily. I had Vit D level checked at a different lab after 6 months of 4,000 a day (also those were winter months and times of chemo/surgery) and was pleased to get 52. A month later, at the same lab that gave me 16 at the beginning of my treatment I had 32. Three months later - 33, same lab. I've been taking 4,000 IU all this time. I'm like Lisey - I can't do too much sun exposure, I have family history of melanoma and have had many atypical moles. Still, I did about 15-30 minutes of sun during the summer, but my level is still in the 30s. I'm going to check it again at a different lab, because I still can't believe my levels could drop by 20 points in a month.