I've been doing a lot of reading post from everyone. There is a lot of info on this site. I think I've learned more today than in the last 6 months!
But I'm still very confused about the vitamins. I've read that too many are bad, but certain ones you need.
My question is, should I go up to the Dr and get a blood test to see if I'm low on vit. D, B-12, magnesium etc? Or should I just start taking the vitamins?
And what about a multivitamin? Wouldn't that cover everything?
And can you just go to the drugstore and get any brand or are there "good" and "bad" brands?
I'm sure these questions have been asked before, but I couldn't find an exact answer to my questions.
Mandy
Questions about vitamins
Moderators: Rosie, Stanz, Jean, CAMary, moremuscle, JFR, Dee, xet, Peggy, Matthew, Gabes-Apg, grannyh, Gloria, Mars, starfire, Polly, Joefnh
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Gabes-Apg
- Emperor Penguin
- Posts: 8332
- Joined: Mon Dec 21, 2009 3:12 pm
- Location: Hunter Valley NSW Australia
If you are going to the doctor - to check the Vit D levels and Vit B12 levels would be very useful
(there is no easy way to effectively check magnesium levels - long story)
based on the experience of most here, in the early stages of healing, when you are sorting out your safe eating plan, and there is still a fair bit of inflammation, taking Vit D3 (high doses) is best option. and avoid others for a while until things settle down a bit.
the main reason for this is that until the inflammation reduces and you have good Vit D3 levels in your cells, you wont absorb the nutrients/minerals of foods or supplements from your gut. (if you are still fairly inflammed you are likely to pass partial or whole tablets so it is a waste!) when there is high levels of inflammation, most people struggle with any product - meal or supplement that has too many ingredients.
Once you have a safe eating plan figured out, inflammation reduces, healing has begun, then it is good to start adding other supplements.
Like Magnesium, Zinc, Vit C, B12, B6 etc
NOW brand (available via iHerb) majority of their products are gluten, dairy, yeast, soy free. if you do a search of the archives of this forum there will be previous discussions of other safe brands. i like iHerb as site to use, as it provides good clear information about the inactive ingredients of all brands/products. (and they do cheap shipping to Aus so compared to buying products here it saves me a heap of money) i know that others buy products via Amazon etc. I have found iHerb site way way better to confirm that the products are free of my main triggers.
my other recommendation 'bang for your buck' to optimise healing and wellness is home made bone broth made from safe meats. Home made bone broth is anti-inflammatory, gut healing, and has good minerals and amino acids needed for cell health / brain health etc. you dont have to drink it straight, use it to make stews, soups. make gooey rice with it, boil veges with it etc. It is easy to incorporate into your eating plan. When I was working full time, on the weekend i would make big batch of bone broth, freeze it into containers that had a couple of days worth. Keep some in the pot and make big batch of stew and then freeze this in portion size containers to take for my lunch every day.
It has to be home made from the right sort of joint bones to have the full benefit. Commercial stock products do not have the goodness.
(there is no easy way to effectively check magnesium levels - long story)
based on the experience of most here, in the early stages of healing, when you are sorting out your safe eating plan, and there is still a fair bit of inflammation, taking Vit D3 (high doses) is best option. and avoid others for a while until things settle down a bit.
the main reason for this is that until the inflammation reduces and you have good Vit D3 levels in your cells, you wont absorb the nutrients/minerals of foods or supplements from your gut. (if you are still fairly inflammed you are likely to pass partial or whole tablets so it is a waste!) when there is high levels of inflammation, most people struggle with any product - meal or supplement that has too many ingredients.
Once you have a safe eating plan figured out, inflammation reduces, healing has begun, then it is good to start adding other supplements.
Like Magnesium, Zinc, Vit C, B12, B6 etc
NOW brand (available via iHerb) majority of their products are gluten, dairy, yeast, soy free. if you do a search of the archives of this forum there will be previous discussions of other safe brands. i like iHerb as site to use, as it provides good clear information about the inactive ingredients of all brands/products. (and they do cheap shipping to Aus so compared to buying products here it saves me a heap of money) i know that others buy products via Amazon etc. I have found iHerb site way way better to confirm that the products are free of my main triggers.
my other recommendation 'bang for your buck' to optimise healing and wellness is home made bone broth made from safe meats. Home made bone broth is anti-inflammatory, gut healing, and has good minerals and amino acids needed for cell health / brain health etc. you dont have to drink it straight, use it to make stews, soups. make gooey rice with it, boil veges with it etc. It is easy to incorporate into your eating plan. When I was working full time, on the weekend i would make big batch of bone broth, freeze it into containers that had a couple of days worth. Keep some in the pot and make big batch of stew and then freeze this in portion size containers to take for my lunch every day.
It has to be home made from the right sort of joint bones to have the full benefit. Commercial stock products do not have the goodness.
Gabes Ryan
"Anything that contradicts experience and logic should be abandoned"
Dalai Lama
"Anything that contradicts experience and logic should be abandoned"
Dalai Lama
Thanks for the info! I'm still at the very beginning of all of this. Almost 2 weeks onthe brat diet minus the apple sauce. That's all I can handle right now. Apples put me into a major flare so I assumed apple sauce was out??
I just made my third batch of bone broth. Its my new obsession! Lol. I love it. It really soothe my stomach. Maybe that's a mind thing? But either way I love the stuff. I don't like the beef broth, but I love the chicken and turkey broth. I just bought some chicken feet to put in there and my kids think I'm crazy! Lol
So since I'm still fairly inflamed I should just start with the vitamin D then?
I just made my third batch of bone broth. Its my new obsession! Lol. I love it. It really soothe my stomach. Maybe that's a mind thing? But either way I love the stuff. I don't like the beef broth, but I love the chicken and turkey broth. I just bought some chicken feet to put in there and my kids think I'm crazy! Lol
So since I'm still fairly inflamed I should just start with the vitamin D then?
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Gabes-Apg
- Emperor Penguin
- Posts: 8332
- Joined: Mon Dec 21, 2009 3:12 pm
- Location: Hunter Valley NSW Australia
Some can handle cooked puree apples - some dont
this is the sucky part of MC, what works for one person, may not work for another. we all have to do trial and error to figure out what works best for you!
Awesome that you are doing the bone broth, and you like it!! if you remove the snacking on the kids meals, and gluten and dairy is totally eliminated, then you should start to see improvement within a few weeks....
5 years down the track, I am still having home made bone broth.
yep - for now I would just go with Vit D3. and see how things proceed over the next few months...
you are asking good questions so you are doing well with wrapping your head around MC world! well done!
hang in there. All this effort is worth it
this is the sucky part of MC, what works for one person, may not work for another. we all have to do trial and error to figure out what works best for you!
Awesome that you are doing the bone broth, and you like it!! if you remove the snacking on the kids meals, and gluten and dairy is totally eliminated, then you should start to see improvement within a few weeks....
5 years down the track, I am still having home made bone broth.
yep - for now I would just go with Vit D3. and see how things proceed over the next few months...
you are asking good questions so you are doing well with wrapping your head around MC world! well done!
hang in there. All this effort is worth it
Gabes Ryan
"Anything that contradicts experience and logic should be abandoned"
Dalai Lama
"Anything that contradicts experience and logic should be abandoned"
Dalai Lama
Hi Mandy,
Here is some more information (and some of my thoughts) on those vitamins during recovery from MC. Early on, the tests are kind of optional, because unless you have been spending an above-average amount of time absorbing sunlight (somewhere near the equator), your vitamin D level will very likely either be at the low end of normal, or below normal. IBDs deplete vitamin D. That means that we have to ingest or generate an above-normal amount of vitamin D, at least while our MC is active, just to maintain the status quo.
Whether of not you might need vitamin B-12 or folate depends on whether you have been a vegetarian or vegan for years (in which case you would definitely need it), and/or how long you have been reacting with MC symptoms. The liver can store enough B-12 to last for up to 5 years, so if you went into the disease with a good supply, and you were diagnosed relatively quickly, then you probably won't need any B-12 for a while. The malabsorption problem caused by MC slowly depletes those vitamins, so those of us who react for years before being diagnosed tend to be low on them. That said, we seem to do better when our vitamin B-12 level is near the top of the normal range, because many systems in the body do not function normally when MC is active. IOW, just because our blood level of a vitamin is adequate does not mean that the cells are receiving enough to function normally. That applies to B-9 (folate) also.
Magnesium deficiency is extremely common in the general population (most people in the general population would benefit from a magnesium supplement), so the odds are relatively high that most of us can benefit from magnesium supplementation. Doctors don't usually recognize the problem, because they don't know how to properly test for a magnesium deficiency. Almost universally, they order a blood test, and that test is pretty much worthless for determining the availability of adequate supplies of magnesium in the body. The reason is due to the fact that magnesium is such a critical electrolyte that the body will try to maintain a normal level in the blood, regardless of the actual availability of magnesium in the body. It will pull magnesium from the cells, in order to maintain a relatively normal blood level. Therefore a blood test cannot actually detect a magnesium deficiency before the magnesium level in the cells is so low that a life-threatening risk may be a distinct possibility. IOW, there's little point in asking your doctor to test magnesium, because she/he is going to order a blood test, not a cell test, and the results are virtually guaranteed to be normal, regardless of your actual magnesium supply. That's why Gabes pointed out that magnesium testing is complicated and confusing.
However, since magnesium is not only a critical electrolyte, but also a laxative when ingested in larger amounts, we have to limit the amount we take orally. Topical applications work better for many of us, especially while we are recovering and our gut is still hypersensitive.
So unless you've already been taking substantial doses of those vitamins (and magnesium), you probably don't need to test your current levels, at least not for a number of months.
I hope this helps.
Tex
Here is some more information (and some of my thoughts) on those vitamins during recovery from MC. Early on, the tests are kind of optional, because unless you have been spending an above-average amount of time absorbing sunlight (somewhere near the equator), your vitamin D level will very likely either be at the low end of normal, or below normal. IBDs deplete vitamin D. That means that we have to ingest or generate an above-normal amount of vitamin D, at least while our MC is active, just to maintain the status quo.
Whether of not you might need vitamin B-12 or folate depends on whether you have been a vegetarian or vegan for years (in which case you would definitely need it), and/or how long you have been reacting with MC symptoms. The liver can store enough B-12 to last for up to 5 years, so if you went into the disease with a good supply, and you were diagnosed relatively quickly, then you probably won't need any B-12 for a while. The malabsorption problem caused by MC slowly depletes those vitamins, so those of us who react for years before being diagnosed tend to be low on them. That said, we seem to do better when our vitamin B-12 level is near the top of the normal range, because many systems in the body do not function normally when MC is active. IOW, just because our blood level of a vitamin is adequate does not mean that the cells are receiving enough to function normally. That applies to B-9 (folate) also.
Magnesium deficiency is extremely common in the general population (most people in the general population would benefit from a magnesium supplement), so the odds are relatively high that most of us can benefit from magnesium supplementation. Doctors don't usually recognize the problem, because they don't know how to properly test for a magnesium deficiency. Almost universally, they order a blood test, and that test is pretty much worthless for determining the availability of adequate supplies of magnesium in the body. The reason is due to the fact that magnesium is such a critical electrolyte that the body will try to maintain a normal level in the blood, regardless of the actual availability of magnesium in the body. It will pull magnesium from the cells, in order to maintain a relatively normal blood level. Therefore a blood test cannot actually detect a magnesium deficiency before the magnesium level in the cells is so low that a life-threatening risk may be a distinct possibility. IOW, there's little point in asking your doctor to test magnesium, because she/he is going to order a blood test, not a cell test, and the results are virtually guaranteed to be normal, regardless of your actual magnesium supply. That's why Gabes pointed out that magnesium testing is complicated and confusing.
However, since magnesium is not only a critical electrolyte, but also a laxative when ingested in larger amounts, we have to limit the amount we take orally. Topical applications work better for many of us, especially while we are recovering and our gut is still hypersensitive.
So unless you've already been taking substantial doses of those vitamins (and magnesium), you probably don't need to test your current levels, at least not for a number of months.
I hope this helps.
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.
That's really interesting that you brought up folate because 9 years ago my son was born with spina bifida even tho I had been taking folic acid 4 months before conceiving him. The Dr said, after all the testing, that I probably wasn't absorbing any of it due to IBS. Which now I know it was probably the MC. Since getting pregnant with my first daughter, 18 years ago, I've been suffering. Year after year the Dr said its just IBS. About 8 months ago I had the worst flare of my life. The pressure and inflammation was so terrible it felt like I was having a heart attack. I ended up in the ER due to severe dehydration from the D. I was going probably 20+ times a day. Sleeping in the bathroom. I'd never been so sick. It took the drs a few months to finally agree to a colonoscopy. Then they found the LC.
I feel so blessed that I found this site! It truely has been a Godsend! My family and friends are supportive, but they have no understanding of what ALL this entails.
I feel so blessed that I found this site! It truely has been a Godsend! My family and friends are supportive, but they have no understanding of what ALL this entails.
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Gabes-Apg
- Emperor Penguin
- Posts: 8332
- Joined: Mon Dec 21, 2009 3:12 pm
- Location: Hunter Valley NSW Australia
Very interesting about the folate and your son...
when you have done some healing, and you have some spare braincells - we will talk about methylation and active forms of B6.....
There will be lots of 'AHAH /lightbulb' moments as you read through discussions... various health events of your life will start to 'make sense'!!
the flares you have had, especially the one 8 months ago, should be encouragement to stick to the strict diet. Your body is screaming out for help...
if you do the right things now at Age 36, you can minimise other chronic issues later in life. ( I was age 40 when Dx'd)
and as you read and learn, you will actually see lots of things that will help the whole family, and help your daughter and her long term wellness.....
when you have done some healing, and you have some spare braincells - we will talk about methylation and active forms of B6.....
There will be lots of 'AHAH /lightbulb' moments as you read through discussions... various health events of your life will start to 'make sense'!!
the flares you have had, especially the one 8 months ago, should be encouragement to stick to the strict diet. Your body is screaming out for help...
if you do the right things now at Age 36, you can minimise other chronic issues later in life. ( I was age 40 when Dx'd)
and as you read and learn, you will actually see lots of things that will help the whole family, and help your daughter and her long term wellness.....
Gabes Ryan
"Anything that contradicts experience and logic should be abandoned"
Dalai Lama
"Anything that contradicts experience and logic should be abandoned"
Dalai Lama
Mandy,
Wow! You've really had a tough time of this for a long time. Shame on your doctors for incorrectly assuming that only old people develop MC. The sad part is that the reason they've made that mistake for so many years is because it was a self-perpetuating problem. They can't find MC unless they do a colonoscopy and take biopsies. And they rarely ordered colonoscopies (or biopsies) for younger people, because they assumed that the disease didn't affect younger people.
It was a variation on a "Catch 22" theme. Many GI specialists are doing much better at diagnosing the disease now, as they recognize that MC can develop at any age. Our youngest member here was only 2 years old when diagnosed (back in 2008). She's now a happy, healthy 9-year old. Fortunately her mother believed us instead of her team of doctors who wanted to prescribe Entocort for her. Here's a link to her story, if you're interested in the details (it's 7 pages long), and later posts can be located by searching the archives:
My 2 Year Old was just diagnosed with LC :(
If your folic acid level was low when tested after your son was born, then it may well have been due to the malabsorption problem associated with MC. However, as Gabes mentioned, many people have methylation problems, and even though their folic acid level is high, their cells are not getting much methylfolate (the active form that the cells can utilize), because their body is unable to properly methylize it. Those of us in that situation have to take the active form of folate (methylfolate), and avoid folic acid, because as the folic acid level builds up to excessive levels in our body, it can cause an increase in homocysteine levels, which raises cardiovascular risks.
Tex
Wow! You've really had a tough time of this for a long time. Shame on your doctors for incorrectly assuming that only old people develop MC. The sad part is that the reason they've made that mistake for so many years is because it was a self-perpetuating problem. They can't find MC unless they do a colonoscopy and take biopsies. And they rarely ordered colonoscopies (or biopsies) for younger people, because they assumed that the disease didn't affect younger people.
It was a variation on a "Catch 22" theme. Many GI specialists are doing much better at diagnosing the disease now, as they recognize that MC can develop at any age. Our youngest member here was only 2 years old when diagnosed (back in 2008). She's now a happy, healthy 9-year old. Fortunately her mother believed us instead of her team of doctors who wanted to prescribe Entocort for her. Here's a link to her story, if you're interested in the details (it's 7 pages long), and later posts can be located by searching the archives:My 2 Year Old was just diagnosed with LC :(
If your folic acid level was low when tested after your son was born, then it may well have been due to the malabsorption problem associated with MC. However, as Gabes mentioned, many people have methylation problems, and even though their folic acid level is high, their cells are not getting much methylfolate (the active form that the cells can utilize), because their body is unable to properly methylize it. Those of us in that situation have to take the active form of folate (methylfolate), and avoid folic acid, because as the folic acid level builds up to excessive levels in our body, it can cause an increase in homocysteine levels, which raises cardiovascular risks.
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.