Vitamin D

[ShannonA]

What is the difference between vitamin D and D3? I saw both at the store an don't know the difference. About a year ago my doctor put me on vitamin D because of low levels and now I want to start them again but I don't know the difference between the two.

[IrishHeart]

this may shed some light?

Open Original Shared Link

[ShannonA]

this may shed some light?

Open Original Shared Link

Thank you!

[Marilyn R]

That was a good article, Irish, thanks for sharing.

OP, I like Vitamin D 3 drops. You just stick a drop in your water, juice, whatever. It's tasteless. I get mine at the healthfood store.

[IrishHeart]

Me, too--I take D3, 2000 IUs now (I was tanked in D upon DX and at one time was told to take 5,000 IUs until the level came up over 60) and I have used both capsules and sub-lingual drops.

Some people use the D2, but I think the D3 is preferable?

[frieze]

Me, too--I take D3, 2000 IUs now (I was tanked in D upon DX and at one time was told to take 5,000 IUs until the level came up over 60) and I have used both capsules and sub-lingual drops.

Some people use the D2, but I think the D3 is preferable?

Yup, don't take that D2 ...stuff. getting sun is even better. no sun tanning, that actually sort of, defeats the concept....

[Kar1972]

I have low vitamin D too. Last check was at 41 and I'm taking 5,000 IU per day! Will it ever be in the normal range? Is this a celiac thing?

[IrishHeart]

I have low vitamin D too. Last check was at 41 and I'm taking 5,000 IU per day! Will it ever be in the normal range? Is this a celiac thing?

It will come up in time as your gut heals. Eat foods with Vitamin D, too and get some sunshine.

41 is within normal range, according to the lab where I have my tests done, but some suggest over 60 is optimal.

[kristenloeh]

When I was diagnosed my D levels were at 17. Not sure where they are at now, but I'm on about 6,000 IU a day.

[squirmingitch]

My vit D was 25 with a range of 30-100 so the doc put me on Vit D3 5,000 IU per day & I got the drops too but have been unable to tolerate them at those rates. Made me get the shaky kind of indigestion & made me nauseous. I tried 1/2 the dose & still couldn't do it. I have discovered that 1/2 dose 2 or 3 times per week is the max. I can tolerate.

[frieze]

My vit D was 25 with a range of 30-100 so the doc put me on Vit D3 5,000 IU per day & I got the drops too but have been unable to tolerate them at those rates. Made me get the shaky kind of indigestion & made me nauseous. I tried 1/2 the dose & still couldn't do it. I have discovered that 1/2 dose 2 or 3 times per week is the max. I can tolerate.

get out in the sun! if you are fair skinned, you may need to break it up, but 15-20 daily, with large skin areas exposed, no sun screen. NOT enough to tan, that defeats the purpose.

[Kar1972]

Is sunlight from a window on your lower legs good enough? That's the kind of exposure I get.

[squirmingitch]

I do that twice a day.

[IrishHeart]

When I was diagnosed my D levels were at 17. Not sure where they are at now, but I'm on about 6,000 IU a day.

Your doc should check you after 6 months of supplementing.

And IMHO, any sunshine is a good thing.

[kristenloeh]

Your doc should check you after 6 months of supplementing.

And IMHO, any sunshine is a good thing.

I LOVE the sun, but the catch is, I live in Seattle. So we only get MAYBE 2 months a year if we are lucky of sun.

[IrishHeart]

I LOVE the sun, but the catch is, I live in Seattle. So we only get MAYBE 2 months a year if we are lucky of sun.

Sorry, hon.

er, um, move to California? (just teasing)

I've been to Seattle. Had a blast!! Pike Place Market, very cool.

[GottaSki]

I find this subject very interesting. At diagnosis my D was at 17 - I live in sunny San Diego and rarely missed at least a 45 minute walk outside - most days I was out in the sun much more than that.

I have been above 35 for about a year, but don't think I would have got there without supplementation.

So while sunshine is very important - for vitamin D and much more - I don't think it is possible to get enough strictly from sunshine.

Edited to add: for me it was the combination of removing gluten and supplementation == for the first year gluten-free I supplemented D specifically - for the past couple years I've been fine with getting it from food + sun

[frieze]

I find this subject very interesting. At diagnosis my D was at 17 - I live in sunny San Diego and rarely missed at least a 45 minute walk outside - most days I was out in the sun much more than that.

I have been above 35 for about a year, but don't think I would have got there without supplementation.

So while sunshine is very important - for vitamin D and much more - I don't think it is possible to get enough strictly from sunshine.

Edited to add: for me it was the combination of removing gluten and supplementation == for the first year gluten-free I supplemented D specifically - for the past couple years I've been fine with getting it from food + sun

it could be a combo of issues, not right time of day, not enough skin exposed, and ? too vigorous washing too soon after exposure. maybe a very low fat diet?

[GottaSki]

it could be a combo of issues, not right time of day, not enough skin exposed, and ? too vigorous washing too soon after exposure. maybe a very low fat diet?

Still seems strange. When I was extremely low I was out ALL times of the day with at least head, arms, part of legs exposed - only used sunscreen if I was going to be out longer than 1/2 hour. Never wash vigorously afterward...except for my face. Pre- celiac diet was not intentionally low fat - sure I was getting plenty between meat, cheese and oils/butter from cooking.

I am in the sun FAR less now - severe heat allergy has worsened so I only exercise before 8am, but am now absorbing nutrients from food -- I'm not saying that we do not get Vitamin D from sunshine, only that it is puzzling that I wasn't getting enough when exposed to quite a bit of sun each day prior to Celiac Dx.

[frieze]

Still seems strange. When I was extremely low I was out ALL times of the day with at least head, arms, part of legs exposed - only used sunscreen if I was going to be out longer than 1/2 hour. Never wash vigorously afterward...except for my face. Pre- celiac diet was not intentionally low fat - sure I was getting plenty between meat, cheese and oils/butter from cooking.

I am in the sun FAR less now - severe heat allergy has worsened so I only exercise before 8am, but am now absorbing nutrients from food -- I'm not saying that we do not get Vitamin D from sunshine, only that it is puzzling that I wasn't getting enough when exposed to quite a bit of sun each day prior to Celiac Dx.

could have been a degree of fat malabsorbtion, do you/did you take a statin?

[GottaSki]

could have been a degree of fat malabsorbtion, do you/did you take a statin?

no meds then or now....maybe it could have been fat malabsorbtion since I was low in every other nutrient measured at diagnosis. Sure didn't seem like I was having a problem absorbing fat -- was always far too heavy for the healthful diet I ate along with getting plenty of exercise.

It does makes me curious, but am happy that although I still have serious health problems caused by decades of undiagnosed celiac - absorption no longer seems to be one of them

[IrishHeart]

So while sunshine is very important - for vitamin D and much more - I don't think it is possible to get enough strictly from sunshine.

Edited to add: for me it was the combination of removing gluten and supplementation == for the first year gluten-free I supplemented D specifically - for the past couple years I've been fine with getting it from food + sun

Yes, I do not think any of us suggested sunshine alone would boost those D levels up where she needs them, rather we suggested it would help. (makes me want to move to Florida. The winters are long up here in the Northeast)

Medline:

Ten to 15 minutes of sunshine three times weekly is enough to produce the body's requirement of vitamin D. The sun needs to shine on the skin of your face, arms, back, or legs (without sunscreen). Because exposure to sunlight is a risk for skin cancer, you should use sunscreen after a few minutes in the sun.

and from a recent U.S News Health report (citing a study from the Archives of Internal Medicine):

"In the winter, it's impossible to produce vitamin D from the sun if you live north of Atlanta because the sun never gets high enough in the sky for its ultraviolet B rays to penetrate the atmosphere. But summer is a great time to stock up on the nutrient. When the sun's UV-B rays hit the skin, a reaction takes place that enables skin cells to manufacture vitamin D. If you're fair skinned, experts say going outside for 10 minutes in the midday sun—in shorts and a tank top with no sunscreen—will give you enough radiation to produce about 10,000 international units of the vitamin. Dark-skinned individuals and the elderly also produce less vitamin D, and many folks don't get enough of the nutrient from dietary sources like fatty fish and fortified milk.

The government's dietary recommendations are 200 IUs a day up to age 50, 400 IUs to age 70, and 600 IUs over 70. But many experts believe that these recommendations are far too low to maintain healthful vitamin D levels. They advocate for supplementation in the winter of about 2,000 IUs per day and a dose of daily sunshine in the summer."

[heather806]

I've crawled my way from 13 to 44 in the past year by taking 2,000 IU's of D3 each day...but I wasn't gluten free until my diagnosis in June, so I am hoping my absorption improves. My B-12 is great, 875! (am supplementing with B-12 but bad about taking it every day)

[IrishHeart]

I've crawled my way from 13 to 44 in the past year by taking 2,000 IU's of D3 each day...but I wasn't gluten free until my diagnosis in June, so I am hoping my absorption improves. My B-12 is great, 875! (am supplementing with B-12 but bad about taking it every day)

Sounds like you are making good progress and yes, absorption will improve and those vitamin levels should normalize more rapidly.

Hang in there!