Need Help - my Vitamin D is 15.8L - normal is 30-80
MIchelle, what was your PTH ? Is it in normal range ? and your calcium levels are they normal ?
I would have a real problem taking Actonel with the D3 being so low. It is proven that if the D is too low and the PTH and calcium is not in range you are wasting what actions of a bone building. Then Actonel is not a very good pick for a DS'er either. Sorry ! It is a time released medication, which is not good for us.
I would also recommend you find an endo who knows about malabsorption and osteo. They do not have to know about the DS, just about intestinal malabsorpiton issues
When my D3 was low, I did FOUR 50,000 IU's a day for a month, then backed off to 3 a day and had labs at 3 months. It had risen some but not enough. I did the same again and in 3 more months it was back to normal. With as low as you are, I would be tempted to do 4 day for two months and then drop down to 3 a day until the lab at 3 months out and see where you are at. You CANNOT overdose on D3 ! You will urinate it out if it gets that high. I doubt you would get that high in 3 months as low as you are. I now maintain upper levels with 3 a day or 150,000 IU's a day. I know it's more than some, but you have to go by your labs. We are the same, yet all different.
Also, what does your dexascan say about your osteo ? Have you had one ? I would want to see on scan that a bone bulder is really necessary before taking one. I was on Forteo for two years and had a 25% improvement in bone mass. I am fighting now to keep bone mass with lots of calcium, D3 and magnesium and homones. I am surgically post menopausal from a tumor.
Hope that helps. Stay on top of those labs. Let me know if you have any other questions on this, I been thru it the last couple of years. This years dexascan for me is in a few weeks and then I will know how this past year has been for me.
BTW I hate it when docs use scare tactics on topics... grrrrrr
I would have a real problem taking Actonel with the D3 being so low. It is proven that if the D is too low and the PTH and calcium is not in range you are wasting what actions of a bone building. Then Actonel is not a very good pick for a DS'er either. Sorry ! It is a time released medication, which is not good for us.
I would also recommend you find an endo who knows about malabsorption and osteo. They do not have to know about the DS, just about intestinal malabsorpiton issues
When my D3 was low, I did FOUR 50,000 IU's a day for a month, then backed off to 3 a day and had labs at 3 months. It had risen some but not enough. I did the same again and in 3 more months it was back to normal. With as low as you are, I would be tempted to do 4 day for two months and then drop down to 3 a day until the lab at 3 months out and see where you are at. You CANNOT overdose on D3 ! You will urinate it out if it gets that high. I doubt you would get that high in 3 months as low as you are. I now maintain upper levels with 3 a day or 150,000 IU's a day. I know it's more than some, but you have to go by your labs. We are the same, yet all different.
Also, what does your dexascan say about your osteo ? Have you had one ? I would want to see on scan that a bone bulder is really necessary before taking one. I was on Forteo for two years and had a 25% improvement in bone mass. I am fighting now to keep bone mass with lots of calcium, D3 and magnesium and homones. I am surgically post menopausal from a tumor.
Hope that helps. Stay on top of those labs. Let me know if you have any other questions on this, I been thru it the last couple of years. This years dexascan for me is in a few weeks and then I will know how this past year has been for me.
BTW I hate it when docs use scare tactics on topics... grrrrrr
Ginger<><
Revision #2 Dr John Rabkin June 21, 2013; First Revision DS - Dr Maguire 5-18-09; First DS 7-15-2003 Dr Clark Warden = Third time is the charm
puppysweets1
on 10/11/12 3:18 pm - CA
on 10/11/12 3:18 pm - CA
gak, that was very imformative. Thank you.
RNY to DS 210 lbs gone for 5 years.
Most of the bone-building drugs (the first generation anyway) rob from other parts of the body, like the jaw bone. (Dental background here) I personally wouldn't take them.
Get your Parathyroid lab level, and your calcium. Do your research on the "three legged stool" that is D, calcium and PTH. Understand that very well, and go from there. Get a dexascan, or bone scan to confirm whether or not your bones are in trouble. If they are, go to a specialist, armed with your DS data and diagram, prepared to explain it like to your grandmother. Because you really never understand something well until you can explain it to her.
Here's where I totally disagree with others on the D supplementation. I would be taking 250K a day of Vitalady dry D3 and getting my labs checked in ONE MONTH increments. VERY SHORT TERM, I would also start TANNING in a tanning bed. (Very short term won't kill you). It's one of the very best ways to drastically increase your D intake. Not very many people will tell you this, however, because of the dreaded skin cancer risk.
Here's how I took my D, and it shot up like a rocket: I took 250K a day, every day. I tanned 4 times a week for 6 minutes at a time, with sunscreen all over (naked). That's not enough to burn, for me.
I took my Vitalady dry D3 a little at a time, two doses in the middle of the night, when I got up to pee. If you take it all in one dose, you might as well be dumping it right down the ****ter. IMHO There are different avenues of taking D, but I only have experience with Vitalady's Dry D3 in the 50K capsule form. It worked for me.
GET YOUR LABS CHECKED MONTHLY while you are taking megadoses of D. I didn't. I got mine done after 6 months of heavy supplementation, and it was 348. It shot up there without me knowing it, because I didn't get my labs done like I should have. On a happy note, when my D was 348, my parathyroid was a freaking 12. Yes, a 12. And I had NO symptoms of D toxicity whatsoever. I find that my D level is strongly tied to my depression also.
Get your Parathyroid lab level, and your calcium. Do your research on the "three legged stool" that is D, calcium and PTH. Understand that very well, and go from there. Get a dexascan, or bone scan to confirm whether or not your bones are in trouble. If they are, go to a specialist, armed with your DS data and diagram, prepared to explain it like to your grandmother. Because you really never understand something well until you can explain it to her.
Here's where I totally disagree with others on the D supplementation. I would be taking 250K a day of Vitalady dry D3 and getting my labs checked in ONE MONTH increments. VERY SHORT TERM, I would also start TANNING in a tanning bed. (Very short term won't kill you). It's one of the very best ways to drastically increase your D intake. Not very many people will tell you this, however, because of the dreaded skin cancer risk.
Here's how I took my D, and it shot up like a rocket: I took 250K a day, every day. I tanned 4 times a week for 6 minutes at a time, with sunscreen all over (naked). That's not enough to burn, for me.
I took my Vitalady dry D3 a little at a time, two doses in the middle of the night, when I got up to pee. If you take it all in one dose, you might as well be dumping it right down the ****ter. IMHO There are different avenues of taking D, but I only have experience with Vitalady's Dry D3 in the 50K capsule form. It worked for me.
GET YOUR LABS CHECKED MONTHLY while you are taking megadoses of D. I didn't. I got mine done after 6 months of heavy supplementation, and it was 348. It shot up there without me knowing it, because I didn't get my labs done like I should have. On a happy note, when my D was 348, my parathyroid was a freaking 12. Yes, a 12. And I had NO symptoms of D toxicity whatsoever. I find that my D level is strongly tied to my depression also.
I. am. not. a. doctor.
HW 250ish SW 219 CW 110 LW 100