Crohn's Disease & Ulcerative Colitis Support Group

I'm not sure what "massive" amounts means but I do think that just because we have absorption problems doesn't necessarily mean we are always going to be deficient in certain vitamins. For instance, I was seriously deficient in vitamin D so my doc, at the time that I was diagnosed with a deficiency, prescribed mega doses of vitamin D until my levels came up. Now I take a maintenance dosage of 2000 a day and my levels are steady. I do think Vitamin D is really important so you may want to start taking it, but I'd stick to a reasonable dosage. I've never been vitamin B12 deficient and have been tested several times for deficiency. I don't take vitamin C either.

I wouldn't go over board with the vitamins or supplements. Sometimes if you take way beyond a recommended dosage of a vitamin or supplement, you can feel really sick. That happened to me once, and I think someone else here had that issue as well.

Vitamins may make you feel better with the fatigue and what not, but specifically to treat IBD, I think that's a crap shoot. You may have better luck trying the Specific Carb Diet, which some people have had great success with in terms of keeping their disease under control.

I saw on Dr. Oz that taking "massive" amounts of vitamins isn't the answer. RMB is correct- too much can make you sick. Dr. Oz also said that your body can only absorb a certain amount before it's flushed out. So, you shouldn't take it all at once. It kind of makes sense to me. I was going to ask my doctor the next time I go in.

I guess I should have worded this a little differently. I didn't reallly mean "massive" I more so meant more than the average person because we do not Absorb normally. It does make sense and not only to in some way help with the disease but more so to treat the other symptoms...fatigue, not feeling good ect.

Sure, I think incorporating vitamins into your regiment may make you feel better, and probably wouldn't hurt.

It would be best to get the nutrition we need from food. Unfortunately, because our American diet is fekin' screwed up in addition to the craziness that is going on with our guts (especially for Crohn's sufferers) any kind of non-irritating nutritional supplement is worth trying.

Most nutrient absorption takes place in the small intestine which is why Crohn's sufferers have a more difficult time eating healthy compared to UC folks. All those foods that are good for you are sometimes just salt in the wound. As a UC person who has gone vegan/vegetarian, taking vitamins other than B12 are just a waste of my money.

I think you are just going to have to experiment with the foods and supplements that seem to work for you.

I have been doing some reading on Vitamin D. Vitamin D is known to have anti-inflamatory properties. It turns out that many Americans are Vitamin D deficient and the "normal" adult dose of 400 IU's per day isn't nearly enough. My doc put me on 6000 IU's for 30 days and I am now down to 2000 IU's. Is this a massive dose? I don't know, but I sure feel better since I started taking it.

I think it depends on the person. I take 5000IU daily, not dr perscribed, but I also live in the NW. It does seem to help a little. I do notice a difference when I forget to take it on a regular basis

Here's a pretty good article on vitamin D levels.
http://drhyman.com/blog/2010/08/24/...

vitamins are eliminated daily by the body. so what it doesn't need it gets rid of sometimes through diarhea. minerals on the other hand sticks with you and builds up so it can get toxic if you take more than 100% usda. it can cause you all kinds of problems. so i just stick to 100% usda. if you are getting these from foods then you need alittle less suppliments

I was just talking to a dr that said that vitimin d is really important for immunity and that 70 is normal not 30! He told me to take 10,000 IU's since mine is like 26 and said to get rechecked in 4-6 months.

He told me while I am in remission that Vd and and meditation will keep me healthy. He talked about meditation lowering cortisol levels and that cortisol which comes from stress makes us sick and fat! He said I need to do it daily or else it doesn't work! I have been and I notice a difference.
I keep hearing everywhere about D- our levels are all low! It's a great idea to keep on it!