Vitamin D brand and results

I'd also like to know, because I had only minimal improvement with the brands that I used.

I started at 30 and after 3 months I was at 33 and after 3 more months I am at 36.

I am using Carlson Vitamin D3 2000 IU soft gels.

I also try to go out in the sun for a few minutes on the weekends.

Does 30 > 33 > 36 count as significant improvement?  My onc PA said it could take up to 1.5 years to get my levels up. 

I was at 16 after chemo.  I take about 3,000iu from several sources.  I take a regular multi-vitamin  with some D, also Caltrate calcium with some D, and a separate 2000iu D, made by Sundown Naturals.  My D level is up to the mid-30's and I have only been taking this for about 6 months. 

I take Vitamin D3, and use any brand that is NOT in soy.  MIne is in rice bran oil: Pathways Naturals from The Apothecary - in Bethesda, MD,  Available onine.  Most good health food stores will have a brand in RICE BRAN OIL.

The 50,000 ius by prescription are Vitamin D2.

I've also heard that absorbing it can be a problem, and was recommended that I drink and acidic juice at the same time, like grapefruit or orange juice.  I guess it breaks down better and get absorbed?  But, which vitamin D is best?  Plain D, D2, D3?  My level is still hovering at a 8, and has been consistent at that number no matter what I take, even prescribed D.  Granted, I have a parathyroid problem, but would I be able to raise the levels taking D3 rather than plain D?  I guess all D's are not made equally!

susan

Vitamin D is NOT peeoutable, cuz it's not water soluable - the person is referring to all the B vitamins - which can give you deep yellow orange pee.

DANGER of Vitamin D and Vitamin A is in taking an "over dose" because we don't pee them out.  They can accumulate in body tissues.

Have been told Vitamin D is "usually" safe under 10,000ius a day.  

Calcium AND magnesium pills are easier to tolerate - and the ratio should be 1 to 2, eg. 1,000 calcium to 500 magnesium.

37antiques, don'k know if you're on Tamox, but grapefruit juice is a no no, just in case you didn't know....

I've not read everything from the links, but I believe one of them says that D2 comes with a prescription.  What does your bottle say ?  If it's D3, it should mention the source.  Because D is fat soluble, it's way better to take it with milk or anything that's got fat in it.  That's why I take the cod liver oil, I've got my bases covered, and I know it's a natural source.  If you don't like the liquid, you can take it in caps.

ETA "Vitamin D2 is a synthetic drug that drug companies made so they could make more money off of you. Our bodies have a much harder time properly utilizing it"

Vit D3 = cholecalciferol 

Loads of info on D3 at http://vitamind3blog.com/tag/vitamin-d3-sources/ 

The following medications should not be taken at the same time as vitamin D because they can decrease the intestinal absorption of vitamin

Cholestyramine (Questran), colestipol (Colestid), orlistat (Xenical), mineral oil, and the fat substitute Olestra. The oral anti-fungal medication, ketoconazole, inhibits the 25(OH)D3-1-hydroxylase enzyme and has been found to reduce serum levels of 1,25(OH)D in healthy men . The induction of hypercalcemia by toxic levels of vitamin D may precipitate cardiac arrhythmia in patients on digitalis (Digoxin).

The flower that follows the sun does so even on cloudy days. ~Robert Leighton The power that made the body heals the body. It happens no other way.

Doc wants my blood levels around 80. I take 10,000 units a day via Vit D3 drops trying to get there. But you can't go by dosage --only by what your blood levels say in response to dosage.

One person can take 2,000 and raise blood levels. Another can take 20,000 and is still struggling. 

What a great thread. I have been trying to get my levels up for 2 years now. I don't know if anyone has done research on vitamin D levels and SAD, but it makes we wonder. I know when we lived in Chicago I had lots of trouble with SAD in the winter.

Now that we live in Florida I spent the last 8 years trying to stay out of the sun, and found most of the time I had symptoms of SAD. Since BC I have been trying to get some sun every day. My levels have come up a lot, and I seem to be doing better with my SAD symptoms.

I take 5,000 iu's per day. My level was at 31. 3 months later it was at 46. Make sure you get Vit. D-3.  I get mine from    www.biotechpharmacal.com   $15.70 for 250 capsules.

My personal physician himself takes 5000 iu / day of D3.  I'm following his lead that this is a safe and sustainable dosage.  We live in a Northern climate and consequently don't get much exposure to the sun.  Then come summer, we still cover up and use sunscreen extensively.  Can't be natural to get so little sun for that many months out of the year.

Calcium supplements need to be spaced out if you're taking more than 500 mg- you can absorb only 500mg at a time.  I don't remember my onc telling me that when she told me to take calcium supplements - I stumbled across that info on my own...

I began taking 2000iu to 4000iu everyday along with what's in my calcium.  That was a year or more ago.  In the last 4 months I took 5000mg per day and changed to 10,000 iu every other day the last two months.  I tested about 3 weeks ago and am at 80.  The brand I take is SOLGAR softgels.