help with vit D levels

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  • unklezwifeonty
    unklezwifeonty Member Posts: 1,710
    edited March 2010

    My560sel, 175 is pretty good.....mine was 65 and the onc thought that was quite good.

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  • my560sel
    my560sel Member Posts: 1,065
    edited March 2010

    Weety911, I know, I was just hopingSmile....

    Going outside to try and get a few rays...it's about 40 degrees but the sun is shining!

    Terri

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  • robinlbe
    robinlbe Member Posts: 585
    edited March 2010

    I finally got my levels checked.....they came back low.  Even the NP thought they were low.

    21.8

    She wants me to take 1000 mg daily and have the levels rechecked in six weeks.

    blessings..robin

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  • robinlbe
    robinlbe Member Posts: 585
    edited March 2010

    bump for paula

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  • Nan56143
    Nan56143 Member Posts: 349
    edited March 2010

    Dear robinlbe,

    Sweetie, 1000 IU's will not get those D levels where they need to be, which is as close to 100ng/ml as possible.  5-10,000 IU's will. Just read all the articles here on this thread, and you will see what I mean.Smile  Here is just one more link which I just found today.

    http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/PDFs/2005-04-should-cancer-patients-die-vitamin-d-deficient.pdf

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  • robinlbe
    robinlbe Member Posts: 585
    edited March 2010

    Nan, that's what I thought....from everything I've been reading on these posts....  I've read everything on here (which is a LOT!!), and is also the reason I asked to be checked.  The oncologist didn't see any point in checking "this time of year" but the NP I saw on Monday did...

    thanks for posting the new article...I will check it out....

    blessings...robin

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  • Katiejane
    Katiejane Member Posts: 789
    edited March 2010

    Ladies,   I got a call today from my PCP with a Vitamin D level of 32. I had been taking 3000 IU(daily) of over the counter Vitamin D for about 6 months. She said this was in the low normal range but prescribed a slower absorbing Vit. D, 50,000IU's that I take once a week for 4 months and then go to a dosage of twice a month for 8 months. On the days that I don't take the prescription, I'm to take my regular over the counter Vit. D. Levels Will be re-checked in 1 year. I also take other supplements and thyroid meds.(chemo destroyed my thyroid). Sure looking forward to feeling more energetic!!! 

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  • ananda8
    ananda8 Member Posts: 2,755
    edited March 2010

    When you are tested be sure to ask the doctor to request both D2 and D3 levels be reported along with the total.

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  • ananda8
    ananda8 Member Posts: 2,755
    edited March 2010

    Bump

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  • PS73
    PS73 Member Posts: 469
    edited March 2010

    Hi girls, just following up.  I am still doing the protocol I listed above (the 12 weeks of 50K units of D3 BIO D EMULSION FORTE LIQUID (BIOTICS).  I started Jan 25th and Im on week 9 with three weeks to go.  I went from 32 and just re-tested thursday, I jumped to the 60s.  Its not as high as Id like but its within the normal range now - I still have three weeks on the protocol.  Ill follow up in about a month.

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  • O3132W
    O3132W Member Posts: 211
    edited March 2010

    PS73:  I followed the same protocol and was OK with my results.  Question:  Did you establish if your dose was Vit. D2 or Vit D3?  Mine was D2.  I think your 60s is very good, good luck in your future. 

    Has anyone found Vit D3 calcium tablets that are small in size????  I am having trouble swallowing the normal calcium as they are large for me.  Thanks  Cathey

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  • Nan56143
    Nan56143 Member Posts: 349
    edited March 2010

    Dear Cathey,

    I keep finding articles which state that vitamin K2 and not calcium is what we need to take. Here are a few articles explaining K2.A few years ago I read an article written by a doctor who was working at MSK. He published findings about vitamin K2 and it's ability to prevent cancer. He no longer works at MSK, and I cannot seem to locate that article. I guess they can't make money from a vitaminCry

    http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag2008/mar2008_Protecting-Bone-And-Arterial-Health-With-Vitamin-K2_01.htm

    http://products.mercola.com/vitamin-k/

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  • MariannaLaFrance
    MariannaLaFrance Member Posts: 777
    edited March 2010

    Any of you ladies who tested low for Vitamin D also experiencing any high calcium levels in your blood/ urine? I was being monitored a few years' back for hyperparathyroidism, and my calcium levels would creep up, then back down. All I have read about hyperparathyroidism is that your body starts to suppress Vit D to protect itself against damage from all the calcium your body is spitting out into the bloodstream.  Has anyone else heard of this or have any experience with hyperparathyroidism? I intend to get my calcium levels tested again before I start with my supplements, just in case I truly do have hyperparathyroidism.

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  • olivia218
    olivia218 Member Posts: 257
    edited April 2010

    Hi all - just found this board after someone else recommended I check in. I am taking 50,000 units for the next 8 weeks. The side effects were horrible for me - nausea, headaches, very thirsty, moody, -- oh I can go on. I think I had almost every side effect listed on the prescription handout.  

    Anyone else have this happen??

    Olivia 

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  • ananda8
    ananda8 Member Posts: 2,755
    edited April 2010

    Call your doctor.  Tell him or her about your SEs and ask if you can switch to 4000 IU Vitamin D3 per day.  You should not have a problem with D3.  You can get it over the counter at WalMart or any other store that sells vitamins.

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  • olivia218
    olivia218 Member Posts: 257
    edited April 2010

    Notself,

    I went to the oncologist and told her all the side effects and asked to switch. She said for now I need to stay the course with the 50,000 units for the next eight weeks and then we are going to a daily of 4,000. 

    I have not done enough reading or research yet to really understand why I have to do this at all -- I guess that is what I will be doing this weekend.

    Olivia

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  • tea
    tea Member Posts: 21
    edited April 2010

    Olivia -

     I had the same side effects when I took the mega dose of Vit D a few years back (pre cancer).  I'm now taking a lower dose and will get my levels checked at my physical next month.

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  • MaryNY
    MaryNY Member Posts: 1,584
    edited April 2010
    I had my Vit D level tested three months ago while I was midway through chemotherpy. Result was 18.8 ng/ml. I had it tested again yesterday and levels were much improved, it's now 37.3 ng/ml. At least now it's within the normal range though I know it would be better to be higher than this. I've been taking 2,000 IU/day of Vitamin D3. I'm glad to see that this is working and that I don't have to take the Rx version.
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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited April 2010

    According to the Vitamin D researchers, 80 is the optimal range. There is a whole web page of their speeches on this.

    The old reference ranges have been thrown out since so many people were sick on ranges under 70.

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  • MaryNY
    MaryNY Member Posts: 1,584
    edited April 2010

    Ranges seem to vary from one lab to another. My current results refer to the following ranges:

    Deficiency <10 ng/ml
    Insuffiency 10–30 ng/ml
    Sufficiency 30–100 ng/ml
    Toxicity >100 ng/ml

    The lab which did the previous test used this range:

    Mild to moderate deficiency 10–24 ng/ml
    Optimum level 25–80ng/ml

    NIH says  "A concentration of <15 nanograms per milliliter (ng/mL) (or <37.5 nanomoles per liter [nmol/L]) is generally considered inadequate; concentrations >15 ng/ml (>37.5 nmol/L) are recommended. Higher levels are proposed by some (>30 ng/ml or >75 nmol/L) as desirable for overall health and disease prevention [12], but insufficient data are available to support them."

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  • jude14
    jude14 Member Posts: 293
    edited April 2010

    Hi MariannaHB.....I had hyperparathyroid.  My calcium was running high in my blood work and d levels were low.  I found out the hard way by getting kidney stones.  I had to end up having the one parathyroid removed and now the calcium seems to run okay in the bloodwork but my d is still to low.  I take 4000 units a day right now.  Good luck and stay away from the stones they smart.....lol  jude14

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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited April 2010

    Mary, you can't go by the lab range or the NIH range or the American Cancer Society range. The Vitamin D scholars are doctors who have changed the range after years of combined research. They have had two conferences on this during the last year. Did you watch the videos of their lectures? Someone posted the website. Scroll back in this thread to find it.

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  • Janeluvsdogs
    Janeluvsdogs Member Posts: 242
    edited April 2010

    Yep, I was at the conference. They showed a diagram where breast cancer patients with the lowest vitamin D levels had the worst prognosis. Those with the highest D levels had the best prognosis.

    After a year at 5-7,000 units per day my level hit 102 and the doc said not to change a thing since I was in remission.

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  • Nan56143
    Nan56143 Member Posts: 349
    edited April 2010

    Jane....way to go woman!! We all should have levels of D at 100 or above!! You must be the gal to whom someone was referring when they said you were in remission, and with high D levels.

    Who the heck believes the NIH or the ACS? Not me!

    MaryNY...read this article from the Vitamin D council, a non-profit organization. Then go back over this thread and read all the other articles and watch the videos. Every lab has their own ranges.

    http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/vitaminDToxicity.shtml

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  • MaryNY
    MaryNY Member Posts: 1,584
    edited April 2010

    Nan: I'm different to you. When I want reliable health information, I do go to the likes of NIH or ACS. I always want to see supporting information in the form of scientific studies. There is so much spurious information on the Internet that I tend to be very sceptical. I've tried to find out more about the Vitamin D Council but they do not seem to be a neutral party in this debate. A couple of things I don't like—they are in the business of selling Vitamin D tests and their sponsors include companies who sell Vitamin D. Also I can't find any well-known scientific or medical organization that references them or their newletters.

    There is a recent thread where the cancer-fighting properties of asparagus are being hailed. There are/were a number of commenters who are putting their faith in asparagus based on nothing more than an e-mail that has been circulating on the Internet for years and which has been debunked. I'm not saying the claims about very high Vitamin D supplements belong in the same league, but until there is more data on the topic, I'm not going to go overboard on supplementation.

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  • mathteacher
    mathteacher Member Posts: 243
    edited April 2010

    But the NIH and ACS aren't looking at the studies. Have you read the actual studies?

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  • Janeluvsdogs
    Janeluvsdogs Member Posts: 242
    edited April 2010

    Yes, Mary, you have to read the studies evaluating the data before you make up your mind about your loyalty to the ACS. All you have to do is look back on this thread for peer-reviewed documentation.

    There are some very educated and informed people on this forum who ask penetrating and challenging questions. You can learn a lot here if you are open to checking things out.

    Nan, thank you for the generosity and intelligence you give to this forum.

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  • asschercut
    asschercut Member Posts: 159
    edited April 2010

    I was told that my D3 levels should be between 60-80. Mine were under 20 about five months ago. ( I was fading away Frown)I started taking Bioceuticals vitamin D3 drops, 3000 IU daily and my levels are now up to 78....and counting. Cool

    Victoria
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  • MaryNY
    MaryNY Member Posts: 1,584
    edited April 2010

    It would be nice if OP posted links to any recent peer-reviewed studies on Vitamin D. Looking back through the thread all I could find were links to the Vitamin D Council-sponsored presentations.

    Another thing that adds confusion to this whole issue is that many people refer to their Vit D levels as a number, without referencing any units. 

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  • ananda8
    ananda8 Member Posts: 2,755
    edited April 2010

    Here is a link on studies regarding Vitamin D.  You will have to look around to find all of the studies, the site is not the best designed I have ever been on. http://www.grassrootshealth.net/

    There are two ways of measuring Vitamin D just as there are at least two ways of measuring one's height.  One can use inches or centimeters.  Vitamin D uses ng/ml (nanograms per mole) or nmol/l (nanomoles per liter).  In order to know if one's Vitamin D level reaches the minimum to prevent rickets, one has to know the measurement.  This is all explained on the web site somewhere.

    Most people on this thread are speaking about ng/ml although it would certainly help if people would use the unit of measure after their number. 

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