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Eek!
Mine was 34. My 3-year old's was 22. Yikes! This is after a month of 5000 IUs daily for me and 2000 IUs for my son.
I'd emailed Dr. Cannell back in September when we first started to ask about whether the baby should receive additional supplementation (of D3, in addition to breastmilk). I didn't hear back, but I just read on his site that he recommends 1000 IUs for kids under 1 year.
So, here's my question: Should I continue on the 5000 IUs for myself & 2000 IUs for my son? Or up it more? I think I will buy the D3 drops for the baby. Tex, I saw your link for the 50,000 IU supplement for illnesses. Probably a good one to have on hand, but what would you recommend be my daily intake for the next few months? Also, I bought the brand that is linked to from the Vitamin D Council site (Stop Aging Now). Any other good brands you can recommend?
The pediatrician recommended 800 IUs/day for my son, which I KNOW is not enough. Would appreciate your thoughts...
Our vitamin D numbers
Moderators: Rosie, Stanz, Jean, CAMary, moremuscle, JFR, Dee, xet, Peggy, Matthew, Gabes-Apg, grannyh, Gloria, Mars, starfire, Polly, Joefnh
Our vitamin D numbers
Kimberley
MC diagnosed 2004
Suspected Eosinophilic Gastroenteritis...??
Meds/Supplements: Probiotics, Prenatal Vitamins, Vitamin D3.
MC diagnosed 2004
Suspected Eosinophilic Gastroenteritis...??
Meds/Supplements: Probiotics, Prenatal Vitamins, Vitamin D3.
Hi Kimberley,
That's a tough request, and as always, keep in mind that I'm not a doctor. I'll certainly give it my best guess, though, as to what I would do if I were in your shoes.
According to your IP address, you're living just above the 37th parallel, (IOW, a little south of mid-continent), so most of the year, you should be able to get some vitamin D from the sun, (if you take advantage of it). If you and your son have only been taking a supplement for one month, I'd say that your results are probably pretty typical for that latitude. IMO, it probably takes more time to see a significant change in 25(OH)D levels, (3 months is a pretty good testing interval, I believe), unless you're taking megadoses of vitamin D. Of course, from about now through roughly February, neither of you will be likely to get very much vitamin D from the sun, so more supplementation will be needed. The half-life of 25(OH)D is about 20 to 29 days, so that's why it takes several months for the body storage level to reach equilibrium, (or homeostasis, as the doctors would say).
Earlier in the year, I was taking only about 1,400 to 2,400 IU daily, (my multivitamin contains 400 IU), but I upped it to 4,400 IU along about mid-February, (I'm not sure about the exact time frame, but this should be reasonably close), anyway, I continued with 4,400 IU per day until mid-July, at which time my 25(OH)D level was 96. I live in Central Texas, where the sunshine is abundant, and since we were in a drought, we had a lot of sun during the spring and summer, and because I spend a fair amount of time working out in the sun, on a fairly regular basis, obviously, I shouldn't have continued taking that much vitamin D supplement past about April or May. I probably don't need any supplement at all, during the summer, provided that I spend time regularly in the sun. Anyway, my point is, the amount of sunshine that you are exposed to, and the latitude where you live, make a lot of difference in how much supplementation you may need, at various times of the year.
I wish there were more reliable research data on what kids can safely handle. Based on body weight, assuming that your son weighs something over 30 pounds, 2,000 IU is a reasonable dose, but as you pointed out, obviously that doesn't seem to be adequate. IMO, you can safely take up to about 10,000 IU of D3 per day, on a long-term daily basis, provided that you check the level every few months, and adjust accordingly. At your son's age/weight, about 8,000 IU should be a safe long-term upper limit. What level are you shooting for? If it's a 25(OH)D level of about 50 ng/mL, I would suggest 6,000 IU for you, and 3,000 IU for your son, and then get the blood levels tested for both of you, about 3 months from when you first started taking D3, (IOW, about 2 months from now). If you're shooting for a blood level of 70 or 80 ng/mL, then I would suggest trying 8,000 IU daily for yourself, and 4,000 IU for your son, but keep a close watch on him, and if any signs of overdose should show up, stop the vitamin D, and cut his calcium intake way down. At those dosage rates, there shouldn't be any significant risk of overdose. All known cases of vitamin D toxicity, (with hypercalcemia), have involved intake of over 40,000 IU per day, and that includes infants. At 40,000 IU per day, for example, infants will begin showing signs of toxicity, in about 1 to 4 months.
The Biotech brand of vitamin D3 is the only 50,000 IU capsules that I have tried. They are free of all typical intolerances:
Inactive Ingredients: Microcrystalline cellulose, fumed silica, gelatin.
http://www.vitalady.com/cgi-bin/commerc ... n&key=1070
These are a private-label offering, with identical specs, priced about a dollar or so cheaper:
http://www.vitalady.com/cgi-bin/commerc ... n&key=1079
Alternatively, you could take about two of these 50,000 IU capsules per week, (instead of a daily dose), to kick your 25(OH)D level up much faster, but I'm not sure that would be a safe treatment for your son - I don't believe that he should take more than one of them per week, if you decide to to that route, and this dosage would probably need to be adjusted downward, as your storage levels rise, based on test results, of course.
Remember, extensive vitamin D3 knowledge is still in rather limited supply.
Tex
That's a tough request, and as always, keep in mind that I'm not a doctor. I'll certainly give it my best guess, though, as to what I would do if I were in your shoes.
According to your IP address, you're living just above the 37th parallel, (IOW, a little south of mid-continent), so most of the year, you should be able to get some vitamin D from the sun, (if you take advantage of it). If you and your son have only been taking a supplement for one month, I'd say that your results are probably pretty typical for that latitude. IMO, it probably takes more time to see a significant change in 25(OH)D levels, (3 months is a pretty good testing interval, I believe), unless you're taking megadoses of vitamin D. Of course, from about now through roughly February, neither of you will be likely to get very much vitamin D from the sun, so more supplementation will be needed. The half-life of 25(OH)D is about 20 to 29 days, so that's why it takes several months for the body storage level to reach equilibrium, (or homeostasis, as the doctors would say).
Earlier in the year, I was taking only about 1,400 to 2,400 IU daily, (my multivitamin contains 400 IU), but I upped it to 4,400 IU along about mid-February, (I'm not sure about the exact time frame, but this should be reasonably close), anyway, I continued with 4,400 IU per day until mid-July, at which time my 25(OH)D level was 96. I live in Central Texas, where the sunshine is abundant, and since we were in a drought, we had a lot of sun during the spring and summer, and because I spend a fair amount of time working out in the sun, on a fairly regular basis, obviously, I shouldn't have continued taking that much vitamin D supplement past about April or May. I probably don't need any supplement at all, during the summer, provided that I spend time regularly in the sun. Anyway, my point is, the amount of sunshine that you are exposed to, and the latitude where you live, make a lot of difference in how much supplementation you may need, at various times of the year.
I wish there were more reliable research data on what kids can safely handle. Based on body weight, assuming that your son weighs something over 30 pounds, 2,000 IU is a reasonable dose, but as you pointed out, obviously that doesn't seem to be adequate. IMO, you can safely take up to about 10,000 IU of D3 per day, on a long-term daily basis, provided that you check the level every few months, and adjust accordingly. At your son's age/weight, about 8,000 IU should be a safe long-term upper limit. What level are you shooting for? If it's a 25(OH)D level of about 50 ng/mL, I would suggest 6,000 IU for you, and 3,000 IU for your son, and then get the blood levels tested for both of you, about 3 months from when you first started taking D3, (IOW, about 2 months from now). If you're shooting for a blood level of 70 or 80 ng/mL, then I would suggest trying 8,000 IU daily for yourself, and 4,000 IU for your son, but keep a close watch on him, and if any signs of overdose should show up, stop the vitamin D, and cut his calcium intake way down. At those dosage rates, there shouldn't be any significant risk of overdose. All known cases of vitamin D toxicity, (with hypercalcemia), have involved intake of over 40,000 IU per day, and that includes infants. At 40,000 IU per day, for example, infants will begin showing signs of toxicity, in about 1 to 4 months.
The Biotech brand of vitamin D3 is the only 50,000 IU capsules that I have tried. They are free of all typical intolerances:
Inactive Ingredients: Microcrystalline cellulose, fumed silica, gelatin.
http://www.vitalady.com/cgi-bin/commerc ... n&key=1070
These are a private-label offering, with identical specs, priced about a dollar or so cheaper:
http://www.vitalady.com/cgi-bin/commerc ... n&key=1079
Alternatively, you could take about two of these 50,000 IU capsules per week, (instead of a daily dose), to kick your 25(OH)D level up much faster, but I'm not sure that would be a safe treatment for your son - I don't believe that he should take more than one of them per week, if you decide to to that route, and this dosage would probably need to be adjusted downward, as your storage levels rise, based on test results, of course.
Remember, extensive vitamin D3 knowledge is still in rather limited supply.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Of course...I just wanted the "If I were you..." sort of advice. You all are far too helpful, quick & free to confuse you with "official medical advice." 
Tex, I was leaning toward 4000 IUs for my son, who weighs 31 pounds, at least until his 12 week re-check. I may give him a 50,000 IU dose every two weeks, temporarily. For myself, I'll do 10,000 IUs (double my prior dose) and may also add in the 50,000 IU dose for myself every other week. I don't have these 50,000 IU capsules yet, so I won't do that anytime soon.
Since I was 'technically' within the normal range at 34, my doctor will be hesitant to re-check my levels. Other than the Vitamin D Council's information, is there any documentation stating that 50 is a better 25 (OH)D level? I assume the AMA and other professional organizations are still using the old numbers.
Also, do you feel any different at all when your levels are higher? I imagine this would be subjective and would vary widely with the individual.
Thanks for your feedback.
Tex, I was leaning toward 4000 IUs for my son, who weighs 31 pounds, at least until his 12 week re-check. I may give him a 50,000 IU dose every two weeks, temporarily. For myself, I'll do 10,000 IUs (double my prior dose) and may also add in the 50,000 IU dose for myself every other week. I don't have these 50,000 IU capsules yet, so I won't do that anytime soon.
Since I was 'technically' within the normal range at 34, my doctor will be hesitant to re-check my levels. Other than the Vitamin D Council's information, is there any documentation stating that 50 is a better 25 (OH)D level? I assume the AMA and other professional organizations are still using the old numbers.
Also, do you feel any different at all when your levels are higher? I imagine this would be subjective and would vary widely with the individual.
Thanks for your feedback.
Kimberley
MC diagnosed 2004
Suspected Eosinophilic Gastroenteritis...??
Meds/Supplements: Probiotics, Prenatal Vitamins, Vitamin D3.
MC diagnosed 2004
Suspected Eosinophilic Gastroenteritis...??
Meds/Supplements: Probiotics, Prenatal Vitamins, Vitamin D3.
It appears that research projects using a quantitative approach, are just now being pursued. For example, here's an interesting project that is in it's third year, where prostate cancer patients are being treated with vitamin D3, at varying dosage levels:
According to this abstract of a recently-published article, not much research is being done, regarding the role that vitamin D3 plays in breast cancer:
http://edbook.ascopubs.org/cgi/content/ ... /2009/1/71
I think that most mainstream doctors aren't very concerned about it, at this point. As long as a patient's test results are within the "normal" range, they're happy.
In all honesty, I couldn't feel any difference, when my 25(OH)D level was near the upper limit of the "normal" range. I didn't have any colds or other viruses, though. After I stopped taking D3 supplements completely, a couple of months later, I did have a cold, and some sort of virus, which had the characteristics of the H1N1 strain, but it was very mild, and I didn't go to a doctor, to get a diagnosis. Since I've been taking a D3 supplement again, I haven't had any more viruses.
Tex
http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00524680* Arm I: Patients receive 4,000 IU of oral cholecalciferol (vitamin D3) once daily.
* Arm II: Patients receive 6,000 IU of vitamin D3 once daily.
* Arm III: Patients receive 8,000 IU of vitamin D3 once daily.
* Arm IV: Patients receive 10,000 IU of vitamin D3 once daily. Treatment in all arms continues for 6 months in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.
According to this abstract of a recently-published article, not much research is being done, regarding the role that vitamin D3 plays in breast cancer:
http://edbook.ascopubs.org/cgi/content/ ... /2009/1/71
I think that most mainstream doctors aren't very concerned about it, at this point. As long as a patient's test results are within the "normal" range, they're happy.
In all honesty, I couldn't feel any difference, when my 25(OH)D level was near the upper limit of the "normal" range. I didn't have any colds or other viruses, though. After I stopped taking D3 supplements completely, a couple of months later, I did have a cold, and some sort of virus, which had the characteristics of the H1N1 strain, but it was very mild, and I didn't go to a doctor, to get a diagnosis. Since I've been taking a D3 supplement again, I haven't had any more viruses.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.