Happy New Year Everyone!
Just got word from my new rheumy that my Vit. D is very, very low again, 13, so back to mass doses of D for the next 4 months. She is giving me a low dose trial of prednisone too (5mg) to see if it helps with the inflammation I'm experiencing as well. Does anyone know if the low D is common with us? It seems like once a year I go through this even though I take 1000 mg a day as part of my normal medication. Wishing everyone a great New Year and hope for getting better.
Deb
Deb, I went through the same thing. My first Vit d check was 8. I was on the little green pills for almost a year and it only went up to 18. I found a compounding pharmacist to do my hormones and I told her about this problem and she said to try Vit d drops. Each drop of the particular brand she got me is 2000 IU and she told me to take five drops a day. By the end of eight weeks, I was up to 34. I now take two or three drops a day and I'm maintaining.
She told me to try Rx Vitamins LiquiD3 drops. I found them on amazon dot com.
Thanks for the advice Nara! The regular Vit. D are obviously not doing their job and didn't know there was such a thing as liquid ones. I will see what happens after this round and try that instead.
Deb
Vitamin d deficiency is very common in people with autoimmune diseases. Mine is low also, having hard time maintaining it at a normal level :P
I also have a low vit D level.
Nutritional malabsorbtion can be an issue for people who have Sjogrens, and it is for me, so I also switched to a good quality vit D3 drop which I take daily. That's improved my vit D levels as well but its taken the better part of a year to see a significant improvement.
Daisy
Quote from: Daisy1234 on December 31, 2011, 01:53:07 PM
I also have a low vit D level.
Nutritional malabsorbtion can be an issue for people who have Sjogrens, and it is for me, so I also switched to a good quality vit D3 drop which I take daily. That's improved my vit D levels as well but its taken the better part of a year to see a significant improvement.
Daisy
I agree Daisy. My problem now is I can't get above 35. I've been on the drops for quite awhile now too. She'd like to see it above 40 but it won't budge.
I am having mine checked next month. What is the figure they say is 'normal' - not that anything is normal for us.
The place where I get my bloodwork done claims btw 40-80. I've seen numbers a little higher and a little lower.
Hi Deb,
Yeah, I know that "dance" well. I was put on a high dose of those lovely little green pills once a week and the level climbed to a nice normal range. Then had to take it only once a month and the rate dropped back down to below scale (it was 20-80 at that time; now its 30-80) and the dance commenced once again with the same results. Finally the internist jumped in and upped it to twice a week and my level went up to a low normal range. Ugh.
Take care of yourself -
Patze
Thanks everyone, I know she said she wanted to see me in the 30's so will find out more when I go back in 3 weeks. I will switch to the drops though once I'm through with the pills.
Deb
I've been making myself take at least 1/2 of a Vit D w/ Calcium pill a day. They give me a horrrrrrible stomach ache! My blood work last week showed my level is still low - 27. My GP wants me to take Caltrate 600+D twice a day! HAHAHAHA :o
Mine is also low all the time...around 20, when it gets like that I take Vit D3 I was told it works better. My daughter has a positive ANA and painful joints, were not sure what's going on with her yet but her Vit D is also low, I think it's very common for us to have low readings! We need to have it checked all the time.
Stay Well My Friends
Mary
Yes, mine is super low too. I've been on the mega dose for three months and will get tested again in a few weeks. My legs were really aching before, right down to the bone. Since that has gone away, I'm hoping it was from Being low in D.
I DVRd Dr Oz today because Dr Mercola was on. Just heard (and I didn't know this and it explains why it doesn't work for some) that the little green Vit D pill that docs prescribe is D2 which is synthetic and/or plant based. I've known from the start that D3 was the way to go but trusted my rheumy's advice. Dr Mercola also said that Vit D should also be supplemented with 150 mcg Vit K because it has a synergistic component.