Vitamin D2 Question

I'm still pre-op, will be getting vsg in a couple of months.

Six months ago, I had my blood work done and my vitamin D levels were very low. So my doc put me on 2x 50,000 units of vitamin D2 once a week.

Today I read online that vitamin D2 is not nearly as effective as vitamin D3.  Now I'm confused.

I won't see my doc again for a couple of months and that's when my next blood work will be tested, so I don't know if taking the D2's has helped because I have not had any further blood work done since I started taking it.

What should I do OH'ers?

Thank you guys!

 

Good for normies not good for people with malabsorbtion....such as DSers and/or RNYers.

It should be fine for you now, I'm not sure if is as effective for VSG patients.

Scott

I have always been told that D3 is more bioavailable, I have only taken D3.  I have a huge family history of auto-immune and everyone on my Dad's side of the family has been told to take high levels of D3.  So I was taking 2,000 IU daily, and my levels still came in low when my rheumatologist tested me.  So I take 5,000 IU daily now, and my levels are finally within normal range.

I don't know that it's critical that you switch over before you speak to your doc, or you run out of your D2 supply.  D2 still works, just not as well as D3.

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/746941

It's been general practice for several years now to use D3 instead of D2, so I'd be curious as to why your doc prescribed D2 specifically.  It may just be what he's always prescribed, or he may have another reason.

The only prescription D that I have ever seen was always D2. So when a doc gives a prescroption, that's what you get.

Your body has to convert D2 into D3, and a small percentage makes the transition. This is true for anyone, not just those with WLS.

Find D3 over the counter. Preferably dry D3 -- not the sort in little oil-filled football shaped thingies. That's imperative for RNYers and DSers, but it's better absorbed by VSGers too. For most people the cost for good D3 over the counter will still be less than the insurance copay for prescription D2.

Thank you so much Grim. This is super helpful!

I just ordered dry D3 from Amazon, after doing a bit of research for myself.   D3 comes from the fat off lambs wool   D2 from irridated fungus.  You chose.  5,000 units.

I wish I was making this up - but this is from webmd.com which is usually a sound site.

I buy D3 from Amazon in 5000 IU pills and it's stupidly cheap, yes :)  Cheapest of all my vites!  (But I am also getting the fat capsules, not dry, since VSG.)  My Vitamin D is kickass these days.  It had always been in the teens or single digits prior.  

I think this is one of the things I like about WLS.  I care so much more about my body now.  

Well **** I just bought a new bottle of D3/ 5,000 IU's... and they are the oily ones....

Why didn't I already  know this??? 

(luckily I do have the patch that I wear daily, but I like to supplement with D3 because it used to be low... and maybe I did know this because my last bottle was not the oily ones... damnit!)

"Dry" D does not just refer to a powdery pill vs. an oil filled capsule, as vit D is a fat soluble vitamin (along with vits A, E and K) rather than water soluble as are most other vitamins, which makes it difficult to absorb when one has a fat malabsorbing procedure like the DS (and to a lesser extent, the RNY.) You need to look for a water soluble form of vit D which is specifically manufactured and labelled as "dry"