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Experience with UVB Lamp for raising vitamin D

PeterPositive

Senior Member
Messages
1,426
Hi,
just wanted to report what I think is a positive experience of using an UVB lamp for recovering a sever vitamin D deficiency.

At the end of June 2015 I was tested and found literally no vitamin D in my body, the serum level of 25OH-D was zero. Naturally the doctor wanted to immediately start with high dose (50-100K IU) shots to remedy the situation but I have a very bad history with high dose shots of anything, so I passed and looked for alternatives.

Since it was summer the obvious choice was to be in the sun for at least 30-50min a day, every day, with no protection. I sticked with this "protocol" for all July and August, exposing the legs directly and the rest indirectly to avoid being overwhelmed by the heat.

Additionally I bought a narrow band UVB lamp from Amazon, this model:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B004NOPC9S?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00

and started using it every day for a few minutes, slowly building up the tolerance, until I reached a total exposure time of 20 minutes (5m legs front + 5 legs back + 5m chest + 5 back). and I kept doing this for all September and October as substitute for sun exposure.

Today I got back the vitamin D results and, to my surprise, the level is now 45... which I didn't expect considering it usually takes 6-12 months to recover from a severe deficiency.

In any case I think the lamp has helped quite a bit especially in the last 2 months and in the cloudy days or when I was not able to be out in the sun.

The UVB lamp I linked is definitely not cheap and I wouldn't have bought it if I tolerated any decent amount of oral D3. Unfortunately my body rejects oral and even transdermal D3... so I had no choice and wanted to avoid shots, if possible.

I've read several other people in this forum have similar issues with D3 supplements, so maybe this could be an alternative solution to recharge your vitamin D levels.

I will keep using the lamp 2-3 times a week to maintain the current level and re-check during spring time next year.

Hope this helps people with similar issues :)

Cheers
p.s. = it goes without saying that I have no interest or agenda in promoting the specific brand/model of UVB lamp.
 

FTY

Messages
75
Thank you for sharing this. Sounds interesting. Is it not like going on a sun bed though in that it is not good for the skin? How do you know it is safe?
 

barbc56

Senior Member
Messages
3,657
Intriguing. It does cost a lot but I have to be careful of D3 because of kidney stones. I do use the blue light therapy starting in September but you can't get vitamin D with that.

Thanks.

Barb

@FTY

I don't think you can get vitamin D from the tanning beds. I need to look more into this as I may not be remembering correctly.
 

PeterPositive

Senior Member
Messages
1,426
Thank you for sharing this. Sounds interesting. Is it not like going on a sun bed though in that it is not good for the skin? How do you know it is safe?
Good question.
UVB lamps are usually prescribed by doctors for a range of skin issues such as vitiligo, psoriasis etc... so there is some reasearch in this field.
https://www.psoriasis.org/about-psoriasis/treatments/phototherapy

They should be reasonably safe if used within the recommended limits. The idea is to start with a short exposure of 20-30 seconds and slowly build up to the "minimal erythema dosage" (MED) which depends on the skin type. In other words, if the skin starts to redden slightly after, say, 1 minute you should reduce the exposure to a lower time, such as 40 seconds.

These lamps are quite effective even when used below the MED.

Although narrow band UVB lamps are also used for vitamin D production they lack in documentation. The instructions coming with the one I bought said nothing about the amount of IU produced with a session, not even a rough idea.

I wrote to the company and asked more details but they also had no idea, they never tested, and pointed out that it can vary between skin types etc...

One way to know would be to buy one of those Vitamin-D meters that can measure the UVB radiation and calculate a rough value of IU produced. But that's quite an expensive gadget.

As regards tanning beds, the problem is that you get a lot of UVA radiation, which is mainly what gives you the tan, but not much UVB. You would need longer exposures without protection to make more vit-D... but that's not good.

cheers
 
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maryb

iherb code TAK122
Messages
3,602
Location
UK
@PeterPositive
Do you wear goggles to protect your eyes or is it not necessary?
Its okay I just looked at the lamp, it comes with protective goggles:)
 

Crux

Senior Member
Messages
1,441
Location
USA
Hi Peter;

Would you please describe any changes in your state that may be attributed to this treatment?
Thanks.
 

PeterPositive

Senior Member
Messages
1,426
Hi Peter;
Would you please describe any changes in your state that may be attributed to this treatment?
Hi,
it might be still a bit too early to quantify the results, since I think I've reached a decent level of vitamin D only in the last month (e.g. > 30ng/ml).

At the moment the noticeable change is spider veins in my ankles which were not looking good, especially the left ankle and foot. The change has been quite dramatic since September, I'd say.

I have also noticed an improvement in mood stability, which would be expected from recuperating a severe D deficiency... but I can't be 100% sure that's the cause.

Lastly I was surprised at how quickly I recovered from a flu episode at the end of October, which started pretty nasty but resolved very quickly. This is unusual for me, I typically drag with symptoms for a couple of weeks. Could be related to improving vit D, but I am waiting to see how this next winter goes...

cheers
 

Crux

Senior Member
Messages
1,441
Location
USA
Thanks @PeterPositive ;

The UVB lamp looks like a great thing to trial...affordable too.
My vitamin D was down to a 9 when last checked. I couldn't tolerate supps. , transdermal, etc.
I've been able to tolerate sun some.

Now that I've improved in health from treating infections, maybe the UVB lamp will help.

Thanks again, and cheers to you!
 
Messages
94
Location
NZ
I'm quite interested in this approach as well. Dr Terry Wahls advocates using sun light or narrow band UVB to boost D levels oppose to supplements. The reasoning is vitamin D is actually a hormone that your body is very sensitive too. Supplements are difficult to utilise and may boost levels beyond what is healthy.


In this link Dr. Stasha Gominak explains how high D causes havoc. It looks like a natural method of sun light or narrow band UVB is safest.

Gary
 
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Seven7

Seven
Messages
3,444
Location
USA
I remember seeing in a thread but cannot find it that you have to make sure to buy the lamp 10,000 Watts or what was the minimum Spec???
Can somebody pls help me? I have again low D so I need to buy a lamp but cannot find the minimum specs for Us.
 

barbc56

Senior Member
Messages
3,657
I just got an alert for this thread and I only read "help".but then realized what this thread is about. I have very low vitamin D so am also interested in the lamp though it may be too expensive.

I was planning to check this out tonight so will look for this. look tonight. Sometimes you can get the manual that goes with the lamps. online which might give you this information.

Good luck.

Barb
 

MeSci

ME/CFS since 1995; activity level 6?
Messages
8,231
Location
Cornwall, UK
In case anyone is still watching this thread, I have the same lamp as @PeterPositive, and used it for a while from about 2013 but then stopped (not sure why - I think it was because I couldn't be bothered and decided to try high-dose oral supplementation, which I seemed unable to tolerate).

I can't remember whether I noticed any positive effects, but I don't think I had any problems, and have started using it again since yesterday in the hope that it will help with what appears to be seborrheic dermatitis. I'm not using it directly on the affected skin, but hoping that it will have a systemic effect as suggested by this paper.

My serum Vitamin D was tested recently and was 61 nmol/l ((presumably 25-hydroxyvitamin D) which the doc said was classified as 'adequate' but still suggested supplementing. I already get 600 iu of D2 from supplements.

BTW there is a lot more info about the lamps on Androv Medical's website here.

EDIT

BTW, I am also suffering hair loss, so the cited article may be directly relevant.

Does anyone have progress updates?
 
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PeterPositive

Senior Member
Messages
1,426
Does anyone have progress updates?
Sorry no. I will re-check my vitamin D in March as I have other tests to do as well.

Interesting that you have a very good Vit. D level and you doc suggested to keep supplementing. I thought a level of ~60 it would be perfect.

cheers