Vit D Update

In March I had my labs done.  My Vit D level was 20 which is low.  My surgeon was no help.  Margo on the 'Over Fifty Board' suggested I get a prescription for Calcitriol (Rocaltrol.)  I talked my primary into giving me the prescription.   I started taking it in June.  Also Vitalady suggested I started taking D3-50 (50,000 IU of vitamin D) for a short time till I get my numbers back up.  I started taking it a couple of weeks ago.   I had my D check last week with the primary.  His nurse called to say my reading was 40--according to lab report 32-100 is normal.  Vitalady suggested I aim for 70.  Just thought I would let everybody know there is hope for the Vit D problem.  Also, no one is as interested in our health as much as we are.   WE HAVE TO LOOK OUT FOR OURSELVES.  The OH boards are a good place to do it.  Pat    262/130 ( well close--I deal with regain daily) 5'1'

Thanks for the info- and you are right, we have to look out for ourselves - My GYN is a lot of help, but I had to give him a heads-up about what to look for and extra labs to draw - DeAnna

Thanks for the reply.  I am working on getting my primary educated.  Sometimes he is a bit hard -headed, but I am trying to be patient with him.  LOL

When my D is low I make sure I sit in the sun for 15 miuntes a day..it really helps me 

Thanks for the reply.  I am glad that works for you.  I have been walking outside and working in my yard for years, but I still had a low reading. 

Thanks, Pat! My Vit D 1, 25DI-OH was 90, which is high (reference range for me is 15-75) and means--according to my PCP--that my intake is good. But my VIT D, 25OH is <7 (the reference range for me is 20-57), so that number is in the toilet and means--also according to the PCP--that my body just isn't converting the D which I take in to the D that I need. So I, too am on VitaLady's D-3, 50,000 IU's.  I have a blood draw scheduled for next week, so you have given me hope that I may be able get these numbers back where they belong! Sue

Sue, please post your D levels after your labs are done next week.  Hope you have good news then.  

and that is precisely the problem. we cannot convert the sun orfood sources of vit D into the D3 which is what we need to preserve bones, teeth, mood, joints (long list).

some labs are using the old range of 20-57, some use the newer range of 32-100.

there are 3 parts. Vit D, calcium (I shoot for 9.0 - 9.4), and parathyroid (nothing to do with regular thyroid), and I shoot for 20-40 there. That's one that high is bad. USUALLY when the D goes up, the PTH goes down (which is what we want).

I'm glad to see you guys tracking your labs so closely.

and yes, nobody cares about us as much as US!

And thanks for making those 50,000 IU D-3's available to us.  I'm hoping they do the trick and I can move down to the 5000 IU variety. VitaLady...I am glad I found you online here...and while we have some members on the DS board who are very well-informed on our metabolic issues, I don't think I've seen YOU over there.  I don't want to sound arrogant about this, but I suspect that DS'ers--because we hear all the scare stories in advance--are probably more on top of their labs than the average wls patient.  (I know I'm WAY more involved than I was when I had the band.)   So unless you have some reason to stay away from there, drop by.  Once in a while we address stuff like WHEN labs are reliable and additional informed input would be good.  I think that my surgeon thinks that the numbers just run the gamut for the first few months pre-op.  I know that for other issues he says that he isn't  inclined to treat a problem today that will be self-resolving tomorrow.  So his first  post-op labs are done at six months.  Yet others are having them at two or three months and then becoming really concerned when they are not near normal.  (My guess would be that NO DS patient would have normal labs two months out because the first few weeks, there's not a lot of EATING going on and even less absorption.  But I took Physics for Social Science Majors, so we can't trust me on scientific stuff.)  Anyway, input from another someone who HAS studied these things would, I feel, be a good thing. Sue

well, i do hang with some dsers, now. but many write me off immediately because i have that rny title, even tho i have the 100cm common channel. they're still thinking that the 2" of duodenum makes a huge difference. no, only a tiny diff. however, i have spoken to ds groups live about these issues.

also, as you mayu or may not know, i am currently dealing with a fractured arm that was bolted together. it's been 5 weeks since the break, 4 since the surgery, and i'm thinking i didn't graft back together, so not joining any new groups.

my participation in the ASBS conf was canceled thi year because of this emergency surgery.

SO, calcium and D, folks, however much they tell you take? take more!