I think I finally got my vitamin D levels to acceptable! I took 20,000 i.u. with magnesium for the past 2-3 months. I was not getting anywhere without the magnesium (started taking it with magnesium about 2 months ago after reading the posts here).

My kidney hurt a bit and my appetite decreased significantly (child sized portions are enough to make me feel full) as of yesterday. I did not take vitamin D yesterday and my kidney pain went away. I had kidney pain for the past 2-3 days. I read on another site that kidney pain is a sign of vit. D overdose. As soon as you notice it, stop taking the vitamin and the pain should go away within a week.

I also have lovely Cali sunshine so I think I am finally getting back to normal (no more tanning beds, etc.).

Have you been getting your levels checked regularly? I've heard that 10,000 iu is the highest "regular daily dose" that's safe, although higher doses can be used in the short-term to correct a deficiency. Even 10,000 iu is a high daily dose, and I don't  give my kids more than 5,000 iu a day.

I'm personally taking 10,000 iu per day because of how I've responded to it over time. My levels went up on 10,000 per day. I misunderstood my dr and lowered my dose way too much after the levels finally got up, and then my levels dropped again. After taking 5,000 some days and 10,000 some days (1 or 2 pills, 5,000 iu each) for a few months, my levels were higher than they were at my first reading, but not as high as they were when I first cut down. It seems to me that taking 10,000 iu per day keeps me in a good range, while taking less than that makes my levels drop. So I plan to keep taking that dose indefinitely, with lab tests to check my vitamin D level once per year.  But I wouldn't reccomend somebody else take that much all the time without careful monitoring, since I was monitored more closely when I started taking higher doses.

What you want is a level of supplementation that keeps your vitamin D blood levels stable. You may need a low dose over the summer, or you may not need to supplement over the summer at all. You want to be careful that your levels don't drop too much when you stop supplementing, and also that they don't get too high if you continue to supplement. That's what the blood tests are for.

You're probably safe to stop taking D completely for a week or two; beyond that I'm not sure.

The last time I got checked was in October 2011. I was at 33, up from 16. So, I was still quite low. I quit taking the 50,000 D2 pills that was rx-ed to me and took massive doses of D3.

I am also back in L.A. and getting as much sun exposure as possible. I am sure that is helping tons!

Quoted from ruthiegirl

Have you been getting your levels checked regularly? I've heard that 10,000 iu is the highest "regular daily dose" that's safe, although higher doses can be used in the short-term to correct a deficiency. Even 10,000 iu is a high daily dose, and I don't  give my kids more than 5,000 iu a day.

I'm personally taking 10,000 iu per day because of how I've responded to it over time. My levels went up on 10,000 per day. I misunderstood my dr and lowered my dose way too much after the levels finally got up, and then my levels dropped again. After taking 5,000 some days and 10,000 some days (1 or 2 pills, 5,000 iu each) for a few months, my levels were higher than they were at my first reading, but not as high as they were when I first cut down. It seems to me that taking 10,000 iu per day keeps me in a good range, while taking less than that makes my levels drop. So I plan to keep taking that dose indefinitely, with lab tests to check my vitamin D level once per year.  But I wouldn't reccomend somebody else take that much all the time without careful monitoring, since I was monitored more closely when I started taking higher doses.

What you want is a level of supplementation that keeps your vitamin D blood levels stable. You may need a low dose over the summer, or you may not need to supplement over the summer at all. You want to be careful that your levels don't drop too much when you stop supplementing, and also that they don't get too high if you continue to supplement. That's what the blood tests are for.

You're probably safe to stop taking D completely for a week or two; beyond that I'm not sure.

My level was 16.4 when I got tested around September last year - then after being on 20,000 a day for 2 weeks, 10,000 a day for another two weeks, and then 5,000 a day for about three weeks thereafter (I was taking 450mg magnesium with this and took the vitamin D with my fattiest meal, usually including avocado), I got retested and my level was a 72!

It made no difference to how I felt but was still good to know it was up.  

Yay, Niagreen!

It took me almost 9 months or so to get to 33 from 16 even with weekly 50,000 D2+ 1,000 D3 daily. I was always tired and sick. I am doing much better now.

Summer Sunshine and Vitamin D

I forgot to add, my appetite always decreases during the summer in L.A. It is probably a sign that I have enough Vit. D. in my system. When I was in the midwest where I did not get enough sunshine, I did not notice any changes in my appetite (even with laying out and tanning).

It sounds like you weren't absorbing the D2 at all PP.

I still think you should find yourself a doctor in your new town and have your vitamin D levels checked several times this year. Right now, between the summer sun and the previous over-supplementing, it's wise to stop all the supplements. But you may or may not need to supplement again in the fall, and I'm not sure how much you'll need to supplement with. It's best to get periodic blood tests to monitor things so you can adjust the supplements accordingly.

I don't get much vitamin D from the sun, in part  because of how far north I live and in part because of how I dress. So I feel safe using the same dose year-round.

I am back in L.A. and will be here for a while. As long as I am here, I will not need to continue supplementing. I only developed the insufficiency after a year in the midwest.

The D2 sucked and my endocrinologist said 33 was good and I should keep it around 35. I was still feeling very sick at 33... so I gave up! For now, I am going to be okay with not supplementing. I am keeping an eye on my body, though... If I start to exhibit any symptoms of being insufficient, I will start supplementing again.

My body feels different when I get enough sunlight. I guess I really AM a Cali girl!

Thanks for your concern!

Quoted from ruthiegirl

It sounds like you weren't absorbing the D2 at all PP.

I still think you should find yourself a doctor in your new town and have your vitamin D levels checked several times this year. Right now, between the summer sun and the previous over-supplementing, it's wise to stop all the supplements. But you may or may not need to supplement again in the fall, and I'm not sure how much you'll need to supplement with. It's best to get periodic blood tests to monitor things so you can adjust the supplements accordingly.

I don't get much vitamin D from the sun, in part  because of how far north I live and in part because of how I dress. So I feel safe using the same dose year-round.

I've been using cod liver oil, need to remember to take.  

Thanks to all of you on this thread, when I recently went in for my annual visit to reg doc, I asked for lots of blood testing, and specifically vit D levels.

Got the results, and it was a 10!    Though kind of not surprised as I live in the Midwest USA and don't really get much sun throughout the winter plus was wearing sunscreen on my face due to rosacea and other skin problems. And I don't 'tan' anymore and my clothing choices tend to be more modest as I age...    Also don't drink milk with vit D and while I had been thinking about CLO I hadn't started it yet. So I guess I realized as I was reading these posts that I probably was low on D.

Anyway, my doc prescribed D2 50,000 1x/week with retest in 2 months. But I just didn't want to take that much at a time and thought I'd prefer D3 after reading all that you guys had written and elsewhere. I asked if I could take D3 instead and the nurse called back saying he said I should take Caltrate D. Oh, ok, not! As I didn't want to take supplemental calcium since my blood calcium level is not low and the supplements are horribly constipating for me.

So I saw a study that compared the rx-D2 as above and 2,000 D3/daily and the results were comparable. Though only generally got levels from below 20 to up between 40 and 50 within the 2mos. However I decided to start with 1,000 D3 2x/daily, NOW brand, and have appt to go back in 2 mos for the retest.

But now I'm wondering if I should be taking more... and if I should add magnesium even tho he didn't mention it... and after re-reading here I think maybe I could take 2,000 1x/day instead of 2 doses of 1,000 each without it bothering my stomach.

So I don't really know if I have a question or if I just want to chime in with my experience so far... I know that if my level is not up at 2mos, I may feel an implied "I told you so" from him. He already probably thinks I'm nuts because I asked for so many tests (since I wanted info for SWAMI!).

And I haven't followed up on the referral to a rheumatologist yet because I sort of hoped that higher D levels would improve the way I feel overall so that I might not need to go...

ruthiegirl, do you think the D3 supplementation directly impacts your fibromyalgia pain? I haven't been diagnosed, but I wonder if that is where he thinks he is heading...

Well, anyway, thanks to all... for reading and for any input or encouragement.  

Quoted from veggiequeen

Got the results, and it was a 10!    

I took 50,000 ius of D2 , 1 capsule a week for 10 weeks when I first got tested at 25.  I didn't have any problem with taking it. It got my level up to 29 in 3 months. I take 5,000ius of Now brand. It's not bothering me this time. I thought it was giving me a rash but it turned out to be something else.  I believe the right level is individual for everyone.

I met Dr. T. Colin Campbell (China Study) this past Thursday. He came and gave a Grand Rounds lecture at my university. I couldn't believe that my director booked him. He was not into vegetarianism for kids. He must have changed his mind.  I asked Dr. Campbell about vitamin D and he said we should get our D as nature intended...from the sun.  The Chair of my department and I said it at the same time...we have no sun in NJ . !  He kind of just looked at us. He said his level was 19 and he was perfectly healthy.  He had a nice tan too.

All I know is when my level was 40, I felt a lot better, and I noticed that I wasn't getting sick..even bacterial infections were not happening like they were when I was at level 25. As soon as my level dropped to 38...I caught a URI virus and was sick for a week. So I think my normal is 40, not 30 like the lab says.

Have you had a bone density test to check for osteoporosis? At the level of 25 I have osteopenia that I'm trying to reverse.  I would think at 10  you'd have bone issues... yes?

Mayflowers, I don't know what my Vitamin D level was when I was first diagnosed with osteopenia, but the osteopenia has not gotten any worse since then, and I have had several tests over the years since the first one. I had been taking Vitamin D nearly all my life along with the other stuff necessary for good bone density. My guess is that getting on the BTD stopped the osteopenia in its tracks. I will learn more about the numbers during those first years on the diet when I see my doctor again. And if there has been actual improvement.

There is this mixed message..Get your D from the sun...but also stay out of the sun or you'll get skin cancer....wear sun screen with high numbers when you're in the sun..but doesn't sunscreen block vitamin D from being absorbed?

I wish there was a way to safely get enough D from sun and eat foods high enough in D to impact
a blood test...that we weren't having to pop pills and get our D levels tested all the time.  Would we more readily absorb D from foods than from the sun?  I know many people who have been sun worshipers and they still have low levels of D when measured.

Are the tests accurate?  Is D measured from blood actually an indication for what gets absorbed
into bone.

These are rhetorical questions...I don't expect scientific answers.

There is something about this entire subject that has a missing link...It's been puzzling me since
the Vitamin D council started publishing their findings...

Who ever ate concentrated lanolin?  That's what's in the NOW vitamin D.  And there are
a bunch of co-factor nutrients that help D get absorbed into the blood.  Dr. Cannell
of the Vitamin D council has created his own D supplement...

These are the ingredients in the formula created by the man who did all the D research.  Dr.
John Cannell...I've tried this formula and it was no different or better than the NOW brand
or any other plain D I've taken....including Dr. D's formula of D3.

Fruitex B® is a patented boron/calcium complex that has been shown to uniquely support normal Vitamin D metabolism, maintain healthy joint comfort and flexibility, and promote healthy bones.*

Vitamin K2 is a special form of Vitamin K that has been researched for its special ability to support bone health, arterial health and cardiovascular health. Working in combination with Vitamin D, Vitamin K2's main job is to help make sure that calcium winds up in the right places, like the bones, and not in the wrong places, like blood vessel walls.*

Magnesium Citrate is a key mineral that is involved in hundreds of enzymatic processes in human cells. As a supplement, Magnesium Citrate plays a key role in bone health, immunity, cardiovascular health, muscle and nerve function, and many other essential areas.

Taurine is an important amino acid that plays a key role in muscle and nerve tissue function. Research also suggests that Taurine may play a useful role in promoting healthy Vitamin D metabolism.*

So, what about the sun would give us anything more than just D without all those nutrients
that are considered D co-factors? ...Are there people who don't absorb D through their skin very
well and if not, why?

I'm just wondering if optimum D levels for everyone everywhere should be the same or are there
differences in our genetics that would allow some people to thrive at lower levels or even higher levels than others. Would a blonde, fair skinned person who would easily get over exposed to bright sunshine need the same amount of sun as what a dark skinned person can tolerate?

The variances in individual tolerance of the sun has to matter, so it seems.  Twenty minutes of
sun exposure for a very fair skinned person could burn their skin.  And so it seems to me that
these people weren't meant to be in the sun.  So if not, where do people of the world who have
fair skin get their D from?  What's in their diets that provide enough D to insure strong bones,
insure a healthy immune system....An entire group of fair skinned people would have become extinct by now if their immune systems had to rely on getting plenty of sun exposure.

Our ancient ancestors didn't have sunscreen, vitamin D pills or blood tests.. and had to rely on their native diets.  They obviously survived or we wouldn't be here..  Each native group, so it seems has a different need for sunshine...and I'm deducting that they possibly have a different
optimum level for vitamin D that hasn't been factored into this research.
..

Maybe this was mentioned already in this nice long thread, but I don't remember.  Does anyone know the source of the vitamin D3 in the Superior Source sublingual D3?

Quoted from Victoria

Maybe this was mentioned already in this nice long thread, but I don't remember.  Does anyone know the source of the vitamin D3 in the Superior Source sublingual D3?

I can't find the source of the D3. I tried to find it but so far, can't.....Your product is made by the Continental Vitamin Company as shown on the informational page for this product....Maybe contact them and ask...It does contain dairy so I hope you're okay with that..Also contains acacia gum.

Did this product raise your D level?

http://www.luckyvitamin.com/p-.....-1000-iu-100-tablets

Quoted from Chloe

I can't find the source of the D3. I tried to find it but so far, can't.....Your product is made by the Continental Vitamin Company as shown on the informational page for this product....Maybe contact them and ask...It does contain dairy so I hope you're okay with that..Also contains acacia gum.

Did this product raise your D level?

http://www.luckyvitamin.com/p-.....-1000-iu-100-tablets

I emailed them today.  Hopefully I'll know next week.

Yes, the product worked well for me, but I take the 5,000 iu sublingual (not 1000), maybe 5 x weekly.  I started at about 38 and after a year, my bloodwork showed 80.  I haven't been retested in a year and a half.

Quoted from Victoria

I emailed them today.  Hopefully I'll know next week.

Yes, the product worked well for me, but I take the 5,000 iu sublingual (not 1000), maybe 5 x weekly.  I started at about 38 and after a year, my bloodwork showed 80.  I haven't been retested in a year and a half.

This form is obviously very absorbable for your body...I'd be curious to know the source as well...Can you please share with us when you find out?   Thanks!  

I'm not going to worry if my D level is not over 50. I don't want it to be under 50 ..either..I used to want  it to be close to 100 but what I'm looking for is a reversal of the osteopenia.. If I get another bone density test and it's reversing at the level I'm at and I'm healthy and not getting sick,  then I know I'm doing ok. I'm not going to obsess about my D level. I think that was the message Dr. Campbell was trying to make and that our attitudes have a lot to do with our health. Wise man.  

Spring what is your vitamin D level?  I don't want my osteopenia any worse.. I want it reversed.

I am starting to realize the same, MF. Vitamin D levels are also individual!

Being a native Californian used to huge amounts of strong sunlight, my body went into vitamin d deficiency mode when I lived with very little sun. My East Coast relatives and cousins, on the other hand, are not used to the sunlight here. They burn within minutes when they visit during the summers. I do burn quite quickly (takes about 10 min. to become red at the beach) but I do not burn as bad nor as quickly as they do.

I hung out in my backyard this weekend with my laptop around 5 p.m.ish and got a nice tan since the sun was still out. I stopped wearing any sort of sunscreen since I came back. I use grapeseed oil as a facial moisturizer. If I want something more nourishing, I take some milk kefir and massage it into my skin (natural AHA! I can stop using Retin-A and paraben based cosmetics which exacerbate my estrogen dominance).

Quoted from Mayflowers

I'm not going to worry if my D level is not over 50. I don't want it to be under 50 ..either..I used to want  it to be close to 100 but what I'm looking for is a reversal of the osteopenia.. If I get another bone density test and it's reversing at the level I'm at and I'm healthy and not getting sick,  then I know I'm doing ok. I'm not going to obsess about my D level. I think that was the message Dr. Campbell was trying to make and that our attitudes have a lot to do with our health. Wise man.  

Spring what is your vitamin D level?  I don't want my osteopenia any worse.. I want it reversed.

Quoted from Mayflowers

I'm not going to worry if my D level is not over 50. I don't want it to be under 50 ..either..I used to want  it to be close to 100 but what I'm looking for is a reversal of the osteopenia.. If I get another bone density test and it's reversing at the level I'm at and I'm healthy and not getting sick,  then I know I'm doing ok. I'm not going to obsess about my D level. I think that was the message Dr. Campbell was trying to make and that our attitudes have a lot to do with our health. Wise man.  

Spring what is your vitamin D level?  I don't want my osteopenia any worse.. I want it reversed.

Mine was 30 several months ago, and that is when I got so sick. Of course, I started taking more Vitamin D. I am going to have it checked again at my next appt.. My osteopenia has not gotten any worse since the first time they checked it several years ago. In fact, it has improved, gradually. I credit the diets with that as much as any supplements.

Quoted from Spring

Mayflowers, I don't know what my Vitamin D level was when I was first diagnosed with osteopenia, but the osteopenia has not gotten any worse since then, and I have had several tests over the years since the first one. I had been taking Vitamin D nearly all my life along with the other stuff necessary for good bone density. My guess is that getting on the BTD stopped the osteopenia in its tracks. I will learn more about the numbers during those first years on the diet when I see my doctor again. And if there has been actual improvement.

I want to add here that there was some improvement, but I am going to find out exactly how much!

I was really sick with the head cold from hades and my D level was 38. It could have been lower if I wasn't going to the tanning salon.. It really helped my SAD.  That's why I think 50 would be a good level for me.

I don't really know how the vitamin D levels affect my health, or how various levels of D in my blood affect my energy levels. I've had so much going on with me and vitamin D is only one piece of the puzzle. Certainly, I felt lousy when my D levels were too low. But something else is still wrong, and I'm not sure what, and even a healthy D level isn't letting me feel good right now.

It might be "just" stress- my levels were the highest (when the miscommunication with my dr had me dropping the supplements way too low) right before my father died. I got the results about a week before he died, and then I let my levels get too low again by dropping the supplements too  much.

I just saw a new large survey published here in DK yesterday

Quoted Text

If the blood contains less than 10 nanomol (nmol) of vitamin per liter of serum, mortality is 2.31 times higher. However, if the blood contains more than 140 nmol of vitamin per liter of serum, mortality is higher by a factor of 1.42. Both values are compared to 50 nmol of vitamin per liter of serum, where the scientists see the lowest mortality rate.

http://news.ku.dk/all_news/2012/2012.5/too_much_vitamin_d_can_be_as_unhealthy_as_too_little/

However I do think they also lack the connection between enough vitamin A- D and K2
http://www.westonaprice.org/bl.....autoimmune-diseases/

Most danes don´t get enough A and K2 - due to fatfobia
and other reasons like diabetes- too much protein and a gene deffect that make them less likely to convert betacarotene into retinol...

Normal is 100 according to my lab.  So, 140 is OD'ing on vitamin D. Understandable   That's why I like the middle of the road figures...50-ish...