Vitamin D deficiency again!

[DebbiK]

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

[Narablueeyes]

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.

[DebbiK]

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

[Autoimmunity]

Vitamin d deficiency is very common in people with autoimmune diseases.  Mine is low also, having hard time maintaining it at a normal level 

[Daisy1234]

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

[Narablueeyes]

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.

[divingdancer]

I am having mine checked next month.  What is the figure they say is 'normal' - not that anything is normal for us.

[Narablueeyes]

The place where I get my bloodwork done claims btw 40-80.  I've seen numbers a little higher and a little lower.

[Patze]

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

[DebbiK]

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

[artsyamerican]

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

[mews]

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

[Jenny]

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.

[Narablueeyes]

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.