I take a muti vit plus 5000 units of D every day, that keeps me in normal range, I have osteo also.
I just had my levels checked 2 months ago and everything was good.
My doc told me that vit D helps with other vit's as well,like plenty of Vit D helps other Vit's absorb better.
we have to take care of our bones :)

Rose,
Did your doctor do both blood tests to check for vitamin D levels, both D2,25 and D3, 25. One checks for circulating levels and one checks for stores. It's important to know both levels because if your circulating levels are low but your stores are normal, that's an indication of a different problem than if both levels are low.

In addition, that's a long time to be on that much Vit D. When my D levels (both) were low, my nephrologist prescribed the 50K capsules, once a week for 4 weeks, then waited an additional 4 weeks to see the results (your body will still be working on absorbing and storing the vitamin D at the 12 week point when you get your labs done.

50-80 may be normal, but above 50 can interfere with some medications and cause problems. Doctors are not the experts on medication complications, espeicially when it comes to supplements. Please check with your pharmacist to ensure that your vitamin D supplements will not interfere with or as your D levels increase it will not cause an inadvertent increase in phosphorous or potassium levels. I know for transplant patients, too much D (and it doesn't take that much, just going up too fast) can cause toxicity with immunosuppressants and can interfere with some anti-epileptic medication.

Instead of waiting 3 months, you may want to get some labs done at the halfway point and see where you are. You can always slow down a bit from there and take the capsules every other week. You'll still be getting the benefit, but not the blast that overworks and can overwhelm your body and cause problems with other medications as well.

FYI, in the 4 weeks I went from 22 to 36 and from there I was on Calcium with vitamin D (500/250 supposedly twice a day; I only manage it once a day due to interactions with everything else I take in the morning and a tendency to forget by the middle of the day). At 49 I have no bone problems despite a severe kidney disease (which can exacerbate bone problems and cause problems of its own) and my circulating D levels are in the high 40s and my stores are normal and my doctors aren't looking for them to go any higher unless symptoms and problems dictate additional supplements, which they don't at the moment.

We have to take care of our bones, but we also need to take care of our entire body and sometimes it's possible to get too much of a good thing. Excess Vitamin D is stored in the liver and fatty tissue; it's not flushed down the drain like Vitamin C or many of the B vitamins are.

Best wishes. :)

Hi
I had a vitamin D level of 13 when tested.. It took nearly 9 months and taking 50,000 vit D per week for 2 months finally to get it up to 35.

Now I am taking 2400 iu vitamin D with 1400 mg calcium.
I also have osteopenia (which is about half as bad as osteoperosis).

But I also have major heart problems and cancer.

I forced the doctors to check me vitamin D and bones (for osteopenia) when I saw on the internet that vitamin D deficiency is highly associated with cancer and heart problems.

And the doctors have given me a great amount of resistance to testing for the vitamin D. I am quite upset with them about that.

Raoulby

Hi again

I just remembered -

I also made the doctors re-test everything after a number of months - and found that the osteopenia had partially reversed toward normal after the vitamin D had been raised up. That is very significant in my opinion.

Again the doctors and the insurance companies gave me quite a lot of difficulty to get re-tested.

I think they all have their heads up their asses.

----

When I asked on doctor about treating my osteopenia - he said - well we do not usually like to treat for it until you break a few bones. I tyhought about that for a few days and especially realised that he meant majot bones - llike the pelvis or the femur (leg bone) , so I went back to him and asked again - saying - I do not want any bones to break. His answer was - oh well - you are doing the best you can do by taking the vitamin D and calcium for the osteopenia, and that is what they treat with.

Caution - do not take too much vitamin D or calcium - because that can cause a calcium problem which is dangerous.

Raoulby

I would imagine my insurance company might fuss at too frequent of testing but then maybe not since I have had a total thyroidectomy with two parathyroid glands removed and two replanted. That was in 2007. At the time of my surgery my blood calcium level was slightly elevated but was normal three months ago as were the rest of the CBC tests.

I'm concerned with all my chronic illnesses, pain and stress that being Vitamin D deficient may be partly to blame.

Circulating Vit D level remains for 2-3 weeks and gives the best evaluation of a person's Vit D status. That number for me was 24.

I don't know a whole lot about the test or the way the metabolites are measured, but I do know, from recent discoveries that optimal health requires a number above 50 and I want my number to be much higher.
Here is a chart you might find interesting, recommended blood tests for some illnesses/diseases

http://www.greatplainslaboratory.com/home/eng/recommendations_chart.pdf

The URL didn't copy correctly so I shortened it at tinyurl.com

Here it is: http://tinyurl.com/2fhdgw7

I work in a lab, it is the most popular blood test we draw for , so doctors are aware that a deficiency can def cause many things, funny Ive never had mine drawn! I would like to, just not the copay to go the doctor.

i had low vit. d levels too. I was at 19 had to take the high levels of pills too. also shots. I guess it is normal now cause she did not tell me to continue taking meds. I wonder why it is so low?

I had mine done and it was 9.0. My dr has yet to call me or tell me, thank God I insist on copies of all my results. I thank you for giving me an idea of what to take, I'll start treatment on my own until I see him to question.
This is another example of inadequate attention from a medical professional. Boy, this is a dog eat dog racket anymore. Thanks for the info!

I had to request the test. In all places you would think a pain doctor would be looking at D levels.

I dunno, I guess they get into certain habits and fail to keep up with what's really happening in the medical field.

Mine was 12 I think i take 20,000u a day. Not sure if it helps-i still feel terrible.

I was at 11 ng / mL. After 2 months on 4000 IU vit D3 per day with 1000 mg flax oil, I was at 68 ng / mL. I find it preferable to take vit D everyday than a megadose once per week, less chance of bothersome side effects. Are you taking your vit D with oil? It helps the uptake, since vit D is oil soluble.

With osteoporosis you need to make sure you exercise as much as you reasonably can to build your bones, and avoid dairy products and soda.

I hope that this advice helps you as much as it did me. Have a good one!

So i get nowhere with my docs, half the time i only get to see nurse practisonors after i said that i did not want that. If we pay for a doc we should get a doc right? Anyway my vit D level was 25 a month or 2 ago. She said to take 5,000IU a day on top of my multi. So thats what i take but i asked about taking it with oil or even that seems like a high dose and i just got a aw whatever kind of anwser. Docs tend not to care about supplements. Thats too easy, they rather give you top dollar pills to better line their pockets and get big pharm happy. I am going to ask for a re-test in a month or 2 and maybe lower the dose. I have not felt any better on the D, in fact probably worse. I am trying out different vitamens right now and none seem to be helping. But sometimes they are helping even if we dont feel it directly.