Vit A Infusions?

I am 13 months out & have been tracking my labs.  All my levels are good and are either tracking up or are staying even.....all except for Vit A.  On a 'normal' range of 38-98 ug/dl, I have been at 36, 43, 39, & 43 at my 3, 6, 9, & 12 month labs respectively....so at the very lower end of the scale.  I had been taking 150k iu/day, but since my 9-month labs dropped down, I have upped it to 225k iu/day.  This amount only increased my Vit A a very little bit.  I know my doctor is going to 'fight' me because I am in the 'normal' range...but just barely!  I really want to get this level up.  At what point do you consider getting an infusion?  Are there such treatments for low Vit A...I hear about them with iron?  What type of medical facility do you go to for this?  Please let me know if you have fought low Vit A & what you did to correct it.  Thanks!!

I will start by saying this could be controversial. You will likely get a lot of different viewpoints on where your levels should be. My viewpoint could be in the minority.

Lab values are set so that the ranges cover 95 percent of people. Thus, 38 could be normal for you....or 98 could be normal for you. Five percent of people will have normal ranges outside of that range.

There is a thought by many, that you should aim for the higher levels in the range. I don't believe that approach as a one size fits all approach. And your results support my thought.

You are already taking a lot of A. And there was little movement when you increased your A. If I had your A results, I would continue with either the 150 (did your level drop at 150?) or increase it to a level to maintain your A blood levels. It would be something that I test regularly, say every three months, because the levels are low (but still normal). This is something that may require a little extra attention for a lifetime (I get iron labs done quarterly).

I don't believe you need an infusion to be healthy. It would be an interesting experiment, however, to get an infusion and measure your A levels a couple months later (I don't know if A infusions are even readily available). Will your body hold on to the A? Or will your body get rid of it? Because it appears that your body is getting rid of a lot of A, as shown with the 225 dose and the low A increase.

Those are my thoughts. You will likely get others that have varying thoughts. Put them together and you will come up with the path to take that is right for you.

Thanks...I really appreciate your feedback.  Yes...my Vit A was dropping, slighlty, on 150k iu/day...so that is why I upped it to 225k iu/day, which I know is a 'boat-load'!  I even take my doses of Vit A away from all other vitamins...by at least 1/2 hour...still not much of an increase.  You have a great point about my body may not hold onto Vit A through an infusion either.....

Vitamin A is toxic at high levels.  You are in the normal range so I seriously doubt any ethical physician is going to prescribe any kind of infusion.

Normal is different for everyone.  The only way you could possibly make a case for infusions is if you were tested preop and can prove your normal is a lot higher than where you are today.   You are right in the middle.  Is there a reason why you are so concerned about this number?  Looks like you are doing fine with the extra supplementation.  Are you taking dry A or gel caps?

What you are already taking sounds extreme to me.  But that's just me.  And BTW, if you are taking gelcaps now and decide to switch to dry, you will absorb a LOT more so cut your dose WAY back!  Better to be a little low than have vitamin a poisoning.

Can you tell us what type of vitamin A you are taking? I have less time in than you (10 months ) but nothing I've read says there is an extra benefit from being on the high end of the scale. If it tanks for long enough you can have vision issues - starting with night blindness but were talking really low levels for that to develop.

Thanks for the responses!  I am taking dry A from Vitalady....they only kind I have ever taken since my surgery.  Even though I am 'normal', I just assumed that I should be trying to get to the higher end of the scale & it concerns me that I would need to take so much A just to keep it at the lower end of 'normal'.  I plan on staying on top of this as I do not want this level to go any lower.

Ok.. so I'm 4 yrs out... I was low on Vit A before surgery . Every 6 months I have gotten my labs done.  As of this pass Nov I'm finally in the low range, but in range.  (42) I think.  I'm at work so can't check for sure.  Anyways, I'm also up to taking 150,000 iu's.  I started out with 50,000 iu's 4 yrs ago... My surgeon did have me do the Vita A shots ( which had to be compound at a pharmacy).   I was allergic ( had large swollen / heated spots come up at the shot area) so I had to stop them...I guess at was about 2 yrs ago.  so we just increase the pills.  But I'm with the others, if you are in range, even if it's the lower spectrum I wouldn't be concerned.

Thank you...this makes me feel so much better!

Try taking your Vit A 2 hours away from calcium and break up the dose into 3 batches. Worked for me.