Last year my Vit. D level was at 85. I have been taking 5,000 IU's a day. My cardiologist repeated the test last week and just called to tell me that my level was 106. He told me to stop taking it for a month then take 2,000 IU's a day.
He's never heard of it being toxic, but does think that number is too high.
Any thoughts on this? I've never heard anyone on this forum mention a level that high.
Nancy
Vitamin D level
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Hi Nancy,
He's correct, of course. That's nowhere near a toxic level, but it's higher than it needs to be unless you're using vitamin D as a therapeutic treatment for a disease. Normally, the recommendations are to keep the 25(OH)D level below 100. If you were fighting cancer or some other life-threatening disease, then it might be helpful to boost the level to the 100–150 range.
My level was 96.8 a few years ago, and I've been trying to get it back up in that neighborhood, but so far I haven't had much luck. I'm taking 4,500 IU per day, during the summer, and I live in sunny Texas. After I had my surgery, and my colon and part of my terminal ileum were removed, my 25(OH)D level dropped into the 40's. I have a hunch that the terminal ileum is where the absorption of quite a few critical items are absorbed (including bile fatty acids, cholesterol, etc.), and that's making a big difference for me.
Tex
He's correct, of course. That's nowhere near a toxic level, but it's higher than it needs to be unless you're using vitamin D as a therapeutic treatment for a disease. Normally, the recommendations are to keep the 25(OH)D level below 100. If you were fighting cancer or some other life-threatening disease, then it might be helpful to boost the level to the 100–150 range.
My level was 96.8 a few years ago, and I've been trying to get it back up in that neighborhood, but so far I haven't had much luck. I'm taking 4,500 IU per day, during the summer, and I live in sunny Texas. After I had my surgery, and my colon and part of my terminal ileum were removed, my 25(OH)D level dropped into the 40's. I have a hunch that the terminal ileum is where the absorption of quite a few critical items are absorbed (including bile fatty acids, cholesterol, etc.), and that's making a big difference for me.
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.
Nancy,
My levels were a little higher than that, around 112. I was taking 10,000 daily. So, I dropped the 10,000 I was taking down to 5,000. It only took two months or less of taking 5,000 for my D levels to then drop to 85. And now, for the last two blood tests, I have been hovering around 85. For what it's worth, I wouldn't stop taking the D completely, only drop it to 2,000. What with the winter and flu/cold season, your high level just might come in handy.
Mandy
My levels were a little higher than that, around 112. I was taking 10,000 daily. So, I dropped the 10,000 I was taking down to 5,000. It only took two months or less of taking 5,000 for my D levels to then drop to 85. And now, for the last two blood tests, I have been hovering around 85. For what it's worth, I wouldn't stop taking the D completely, only drop it to 2,000. What with the winter and flu/cold season, your high level just might come in handy.
Mandy
My Vitamin D levels went up to 105 a few years ago and the doctor had told me to cut down on my dosage (was taking 5,000units/day). She said that was a little too high. Last year, it was 58. I'm assuming it's probably gone down since then with this nasty disease so I'm fixing to up it to 4,000/day, only doing 2,000/day right now.
@Tex....I didn't realize you had that kind of surgery. That must have been before all your research in regards to diet changes? Do some people with MC eventually need surgery? I've heard that a lot about Crohns, but not MC. Surgery terrifies me.
Terri
@Tex....I didn't realize you had that kind of surgery. That must have been before all your research in regards to diet changes? Do some people with MC eventually need surgery? I've heard that a lot about Crohns, but not MC. Surgery terrifies me.
Terri
Diagnosed with Lymphocytic Colitis in July, 2012 then with Celiac in November, 2012.
Hi Terri,
Actually, I started my research about 11 years ago, and I adopted the GF diet over 10 years ago. The surgery was in February of 2010, but it wasn't because of MC. I woke up one morning with massive colonic bleeding, and since they couldn't locate the source of the bleed, they took out my colon, cecum, and part of my terminal ileum in order to save my life.
When I got to the hospital, the bleeding soon stopped on it's own, but then it started again late in the afternoon, and I was bleeding faster than they could replace the blood, so they wheeled me into the OR and started slicing on me. LOL. The problem runs in the family, on my father's side. Both my father and an uncle bled to death in a hospital, apparently due to the same problem. I was lucky that the doctors didn't waste any time trying to decide what to do in my case. I signed the customary release forms without any argument, so that we could get the show on the road. LOL.
The interesting part was that my colon was severely enlarged (probably due to several years of severe bloating from MC, before I figured out the problem). Besides having a larger diameter than normal, it was about a third longer than normal.
But again, that had nothing to do with MC. And contrary to what most GI docs believe, I still have the same food sensitivities, without a colon, so obviously MC doesn't affect only the colon. The small intestine, and for many of us, the stomach, and even the esophagus in some cases, is also affected.
Tex
Actually, I started my research about 11 years ago, and I adopted the GF diet over 10 years ago. The surgery was in February of 2010, but it wasn't because of MC. I woke up one morning with massive colonic bleeding, and since they couldn't locate the source of the bleed, they took out my colon, cecum, and part of my terminal ileum in order to save my life.
When I got to the hospital, the bleeding soon stopped on it's own, but then it started again late in the afternoon, and I was bleeding faster than they could replace the blood, so they wheeled me into the OR and started slicing on me. LOL. The problem runs in the family, on my father's side. Both my father and an uncle bled to death in a hospital, apparently due to the same problem. I was lucky that the doctors didn't waste any time trying to decide what to do in my case. I signed the customary release forms without any argument, so that we could get the show on the road. LOL.
The interesting part was that my colon was severely enlarged (probably due to several years of severe bloating from MC, before I figured out the problem). Besides having a larger diameter than normal, it was about a third longer than normal.
But again, that had nothing to do with MC. And contrary to what most GI docs believe, I still have the same food sensitivities, without a colon, so obviously MC doesn't affect only the colon. The small intestine, and for many of us, the stomach, and even the esophagus in some cases, is also affected.
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.
Dear Tex,
Best, ant
Talk about living proof!And contrary to what most GI docs believe, I still have the same food sensitivities, without a colon, so obviously MC doesn't affect only the colon. The small intestine, and for many of us, the stomach, and even the esophagus in some cases, is also affected.
Best, ant
----------------------------------------
"Softly, softly catchee monkey".....
"Softly, softly catchee monkey".....
Tex,
What an ordeal you went through! You must have been terrified. Bless your heart. And now you are doing so well. Thanks for sharing....was feeling a little nosy. It's nice to know we can live well without our colons.
I get to start reading your book tomorrow....hubby has got it hidden until my birthday tomorrow. It's been more torturous trying not to get my fingers on that book than it was trying not to get into the Halloween candy. lol! Can't wait to start reading.
Thanks for everything you do.
Terri
What an ordeal you went through! You must have been terrified. Bless your heart. And now you are doing so well. Thanks for sharing....was feeling a little nosy. It's nice to know we can live well without our colons.
I get to start reading your book tomorrow....hubby has got it hidden until my birthday tomorrow. It's been more torturous trying not to get my fingers on that book than it was trying not to get into the Halloween candy. lol! Can't wait to start reading.
Thanks for everything you do.
Terri
Diagnosed with Lymphocytic Colitis in July, 2012 then with Celiac in November, 2012.
speaking about vitamin D, several days ago I posted about my and Dave's test results. His test results are now in -- mind you that he has a new pcp, old one totally refused to test D, so would you believe 19.2? Pacific NW weather, plus our dermatologist is anathama on sun, explain this. Dr. said take 2000 units a day since it is definitely in the "deficient" range, then return for retest in 6 months. I think he should have more, but decided to see what 2000 will do for test results. (probably not too much!) We were told that we'd probably have to pay $109 each for our tests, but yea, Medicare Advantage paid for the tests. There are so many things D does for health, I'm glad we changed doctors and are finally attacking this.
Beverly
Beverly
Hi Beverly,
FWIW, if that were my test result, and I lived in the PNW, and winter was coming on, I would probably take at least 6,000 IU per day (normal consumption is around 5,000 IU.
As it is, living in sunny Texas, I've been taking 4,500 IU per day since last spring, and I'll probably increase that soon, with winter coming on.
Regarding your dermatologist's position on sun exposure, while it's true that sunburn increases the odds of developing skin cancer, I've seen studies that show that sun exposure actually decreases the risk of developing skin cancer. I'm sure that correlates with vitamin D levels.
Tex
FWIW, if that were my test result, and I lived in the PNW, and winter was coming on, I would probably take at least 6,000 IU per day (normal consumption is around 5,000 IU.
As it is, living in sunny Texas, I've been taking 4,500 IU per day since last spring, and I'll probably increase that soon, with winter coming on.
Regarding your dermatologist's position on sun exposure, while it's true that sunburn increases the odds of developing skin cancer, I've seen studies that show that sun exposure actually decreases the risk of developing skin cancer. I'm sure that correlates with vitamin D levels.
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.
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Six months ago my total vitamin d was 51. Since then I have been taking 4000 IU daily. I decided to test my level again, thinking that it had probably gone up with my increased supplementation. It's 42 which was not the direction I wanted it to go in. I guess I will increase my daily supplement, maybe to 6000 IU daily. I use a home test from Grassroots Health http://www.grassrootshealth.net/ The cost is a little over $60 (can't remember exactly how much). Sometimes I prefer doing things myself rather than involve my doctor but that's just me. It is cheaper than the $109 that was mentioned as the out of pocket cost for the test.
Jean
Jean
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My level hovers around 30 even when taking 4,000 a day. It went to to 70 when I was taking 50,000 D2 daily for 6 months. Does anyone know how much D3 I should take to get the same results? My PCP never heard of D3! And he had just taken a course on vitamin D levels. All they taught was D2 because it's a scrip. Sheesh.
Also have sleep apnea
Marcia,
Apparently, vitamin D2 is less than a third as potent as vitamin D3. This means that a prescription for one 50,000 IU capsule of vitamin D2 per week, (as most doctors seem to prescribe to any patient who is vitamin D deficient), could be matched or exceeded by a daily dose of about 2,300 IU of vitamin D3. As we all know, that's too low a dose to do much more than to barely get someone's 25(OH)D level out of the deficient range. It's not likely to raise the level enough to get it up in the optimum range.
That suggests that in your example (did you really take 50,000 IU per day, or was it per week?), in order to replace a 50,000 IU per day dose of vitamin D2, one would need to take approximately 17,000 IU of vitamin D3. But that's a pretty stiff dose. Some authorities caution against taking 20,000 IU of vitamin D3, or more, per day, on an extended basis. Most of the cases where vitamin D toxicity has occurred, involved doses that exceeded about 40,000 IU per day, for many consecutive months. Here's a research article about a comparison of the effects of vitamin D2 versus vitamin D3:
http://jcem.endojournals.org/content/89/11/5387.long
Tex
Apparently, vitamin D2 is less than a third as potent as vitamin D3. This means that a prescription for one 50,000 IU capsule of vitamin D2 per week, (as most doctors seem to prescribe to any patient who is vitamin D deficient), could be matched or exceeded by a daily dose of about 2,300 IU of vitamin D3. As we all know, that's too low a dose to do much more than to barely get someone's 25(OH)D level out of the deficient range. It's not likely to raise the level enough to get it up in the optimum range.
That suggests that in your example (did you really take 50,000 IU per day, or was it per week?), in order to replace a 50,000 IU per day dose of vitamin D2, one would need to take approximately 17,000 IU of vitamin D3. But that's a pretty stiff dose. Some authorities caution against taking 20,000 IU of vitamin D3, or more, per day, on an extended basis. Most of the cases where vitamin D toxicity has occurred, involved doses that exceeded about 40,000 IU per day, for many consecutive months. Here's a research article about a comparison of the effects of vitamin D2 versus vitamin D3:
http://jcem.endojournals.org/content/89/11/5387.long
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.