Did Your Vitamin D Levels Go Up?

[FruitEnthusiast]

Hmmm... sunscreen blocks out the rays that provide vit D. I'm fair so I'm going to use sunscreen and take a D supplement. I've had family with minor skin cancer, but it was easy to remove and not serious. Still I have to be careful. Does anyone else ever feel like they weren't made to survive on this planet?

[frieze]

you only need 10/15 minutes per day of sun for Vitamin D.  you DO NOT want to develop a tan!  If you tan, you need more sun, rinse and repeat.

[frieze]

what side effects??  unless you have a problem with the oily kind?  that may be gall bladder.

[1desperateladysaved]

I got a new reading for my vitamin D.  Just to remember previous readings were 30(Minnesota Mn after diagnosis and some supplements, 33 (last June while gardening) and current (June) is 48!  That really jumped compared to the last time!

[dilettantesteph]

Good news

[motheroftwins2010]

Yes, for unknown reasons pre-diagnosis my Vit D levels were a bit high at 79 (I did not take any supplements and was not eating dairy so we chalked it up to being outside a lot and being very fair) now I'm nearly 90 and they've asked me to cut back on my new multivitamin, even though I'm low on other things, to prevent it from getting dangerous.

[greenbeanie]

Does anyone have reliable info about what the recommended D level is? I've heard wildly different things from different doctors. My daughter and I were both tested in early summer last year, at the same lab. We both spend lots of time outside. Her level was 29, and her doctor said he wants to see it much higher, to 50 at least. My level was 30, and my doctor said that's more than enough and that there's no need to try to raise it through supplements or ever retest it to see if it goes up. Again, our blood was drawn at the same lab in the same week, presumably using the same testing methods. I have trouble believing that a 1-point difference between us shows that hers is much too low and mine is more than high enough. Or are there really drastically different levels of D that are considered adequate for children and adults?

I took supplements anyway, based on info from my daughter's doctor who seemed more informed - but I'm really just wondering if there's any actual medical consensus on adequate levels, or whether it just depends on each particular doctor's opinion.

[GottaSki]

I'd say you both are at minimal acceptable. Do you have previous tests to compare if either of your levels have risen?

As example...mine was 17 at celiac diagnosis....rose to 28 with supplementation first year gluten-free...has continued to rise without supplementation each subsequent year since.

[greenbeanie]

I'd say you both are at minimal acceptable. Do you have previous tests to compare if either of your levels have risen?

Thanks for the info, Lisa. My daughter has no other tests to compare to, but after that she started taking an adult dose of chewable Caltrate every day (which has 800IU of D3) on the recommendation of the dietitian at her GI's office, mainly for the calcium. My level was retested by a different doctor about six months after the first test and had risen significantly, though I forget the exact number now and the lab had a different reference range. I'd been supplementing with 4000IU per day in between and was feeling much better, so I stopped taking it regularly. I was never really clear on what level to aim for.

[dilettantesteph]

I have some information about vitamin D levels.  It seems that there were some very high levels of vitamin D being recommended. Then the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies were asked to study the matter by the US and Candian governements.  They came up with lower recommendations.  Many labs and doctors are still using the very high levels.  Also, different units are used in different countries, which further complicates matters.  You can read about it here: Open Original Shared Link

[SkyBlue4]

My Vit D went from the low end of insufficient (on supplements for years) to the high end of sufficient (without any supplements at all) after just 6 months gluten free. My antibodies were all down to almost nothing as well.

 

I was so happy that I wanted to frame that lab report! 

[frieze]

medscape.com/viewarticle718671 

 

you can try this, copy and paste wouldn't work....

[across]

My doctor was appalled that I was at 20 and said she wants me to be near 80! That sounds pretty high to me. I'm not sure what to make of it.