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Fixing My Vitamin D Levels

MycasMommy

By MycasMommy
in Coping with Celiac Disease

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MycasMommy Enthusiast
MycasMommy
Posted

So the doctor called yesterday. I do not know why I am so upset about this.  She told me my vitamin D levels were still really low. I am taking D3 4000 IU every day (spaced out), in chewable form. She wrote a prescription for me for some D2 and told me that it may seem like a lot but just do it.  So i will take it for 2 weeks and then have another test in a month. I just dont know what else I can possibly DO to fix this! I am, thankfully, able to eat dairy and I do so often. I had surgery that removed part of my intestine so absorbing some things is harder, but my Vitamin D levels were below before that too. Maybe a tanning bed?? But i am SO SO white and burn in a heartbeat.. *sighs*  OK.. I really dont know why this is so upsetting.

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flowerqueen Community Regular
flowerqueen
Posted

Mine used to be low too. How long have you had celiac disease? It can take a while to build yourself up again from a host of deficiencies (vitamins and minerals). I wouldn't advise a tanning bed, these carry their own health risks without adding to what you have already. Supplements are a much safer alternative.

MycasMommy Enthusiast
MycasMommy
Posted
  • Author

Mine used to be low too. How long have you had celiac disease? It can take a while to build yourself up again from a host of deficiencies (vitamins and minerals). I wouldn't advise a tanning bed, these carry their own health risks without adding to what you have already. Supplements are a much safer alternative.

Gluten free for  about 2 years now. There have been accidents here and there along the learning curve and a few accidental incidents. I am just so frustrated. I am afraid to even ask about my folates.  If I want another baby, it will have to be soon (I am 38) and I need these issues FIXED first, for the safety of everyone.

flowerqueen Community Regular
flowerqueen
Posted

I can understand that. I have found that I need to take supplements all the time, as I don't absorb enough if certain vitamins and minerals. Before you get pregnant you should get all the levels checked, and take your doctor's advice on which supplements you can take whilst pregnant.

icelandgirl Proficient
icelandgirl
Posted

I'm sorry...that sounds frustrating! I had my last baby 2 months before I turned 40 so you have time! Do you know what your levels are now and what they were previously? It would be good to know that to see if there is at least improvement. I know that it takes a while for vitamin D levels to go up. I believe mine went up 3 points in 4 months. I'm still supplementing.

Also...As I understand it, you want to take D3 not D2. I believe that D3 is the usable form...someone please correct me if I'm wrong. Although apparently sun exposure is the best source...just enough for your skin to turn pink. I try to do that any day it's warm enough.

MycasMommy Enthusiast
MycasMommy
Posted
  • Author

I have been taking the D3 for just that reason Icelandgirl. My doctor asked and then said Hmm.... and said she wanted to try this in addition. I do not know the reasoning behind it though. I make sure I spend 20 minutes outside in the sun every day at least. I WAS living in Hawaii the past 8 years too and so had much more exposure. Ive only been here in Seattle 8 weeks now. Its too cold to expose much skin.

 

I am fine with taking supplements all the time flowequeen. In fact, I have been taking them religiously.. it just doesnt seem to be working.  I did not get to see my lab work directly so I do not know the exact levels. She called me on the phone and just said that it was still really low and then the new plan. :(

 

Thanks for the baby hope Icelandgirl!

icelandgirl Proficient
icelandgirl
Posted

Aww...it sounds really frustrating... (hugs)...I hope the new plan works quickly!

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frieze Community Regular
frieze
Posted

Vitamin D3 is the way to go, take as much of that as your doc gave you a script for the D2.  and get enough fat in you diet, with the D! it is a FAT soluble vitamin.  I don't know any stats on tanning beds...

knitty kitty Grand Master
knitty kitty
Posted

Hi. I had very low vitamin D levels, too. I took high doses of D3. Improvement was slow until I added flax seed oil for its Omega 3's. Progress was much better, but I didn't really feel healthier until I also supplemented other fat soluble vitamins, A and E. Just seemed like common sense, if I'm low on one fat soluble vitamin because of malabsorption, I'm probably low on the other similar vitamins. It's been several months and I'm feeling much better now.

It just seems like common sense to supplement the whole spectrum of fats the body needs but doesn't get with celiac disease.

sunny2012 Rookie
sunny2012
Posted

Mine stayed bad even after nearly two decades of gluten-free eating. I take several times the RDA of D and get plenty of sunshine. My personal theory is that that part of the intestines does not heal as well as others.

It is pretty common among older adults too.

  • 3 weeks later...
blueshades Newbie
blueshades
Posted

My Vit D levels were super low a few years back too. I took a pill everyday for 2 weeks and when tested it barely moved up! I was advised to take 2 pills a day and it improved but not much.

I have tried liquid vitamins recently as they are easier to absorb :) Especially for our weaker tummies. I take lots of multivitamins now and then (women's multivitamins) and found i feel so much healthier when im taking them (and not glutened). Give them a go :) Vit D takes time, just stay focused on it :) 

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