Experience with UVB Lamp for raising vitamin D

[dulceopinador]

25-30 cm.


Yes 50 ng/ml. Last time I checked it was 45, actually.
No side effects of any kind.

What have you noticed in your health since restoring your levels?.

Thank you for answering my questions. I think that would be helpful also for others. I plan to write here my experience when I begin with the lamp. I usually measure my levels, so I will post it.

Something I did not say is that Vitamin D supplements are horrible for me. They hurt me a lot.

 

[MeSci]

Something I did not say is that Vitamin D supplements are horrible for me. They hurt me a lot.

In what way?

 

[PeterPositive]

What have you noticed in your health since restoring your levels?.

Not much, to be honest!
When my doc saw that I had no vitamin D he jumped on his chair and told me about all horribile things that can happen with a severe D deficiency.

Turns out I have probably lived with such a deficiency for several years and had little to no related symptoms. After restoring the D3 levels I have experienced minor improvements in overall inflammatory status, in other words I suffer a bit less pain, about 10% less. And it's been a consistent thing since my levels have gone up again. So that's pretty much all I have noticed.

There might have been also a few improvements in mood but I can't say if they are related to vit D or something else, such as B12, folate or ashwagandha which all affect my mood in a positive way.

Something I did not say is that Vitamin D supplements are horrible for me. They hurt me a lot.

Same for me, my stomach can't really process more than 1-200 IU, tops.

Good luck

 

[dulceopinador]

In what way?

They always induce me a magnesium deficiency with all its symptoms. I end up with headaches, vertigo, dizzyness, anxiety attacks, panick attacks, palpitations. I've been even 3 days with 0 sleep. There´s research about this. Vitamin D supplements increase magnesium excretion. I don´t even consider safe taking Vitamin D without magnesium. This is the proof that the sun is not the same as the supplements.

That´s why a lamp is the closest thing we have to real sun.

 

[dulceopinador]

Not much, to be honest!

Hi, as I said, Magnesium activates Vitamin D. Without it, there´s not conversion from the inactive form, the one that is measured in the tests, to the active substance, the one that gives the true benefits. The levels can go up but if there´s not conversion, the benefit is very low.

You could try taking some magnesium, maybe 200 mg of some ionic form, lactate, chloride or carbonate. Lactate is the most friendly to the gut. They´re the most safest ones as they are the forms that appear in food. If you decide to take it, don´t take much magnesium. It´s better just add some to the diet. 200 mg is a very good dose. In about 10 days you could feel the difference. It could even happen that your Vitamin D levels increase more as Magnesium has a modest influence in 25 dihidroxicolecalciferol(the inactive form), but it has a really big influence in the active form, the 1,25-dihidroxicolecalciferol. Magnesium is involved IN ALL the steps of Vitamin D metabolism.

As i said my Vitamin D levels went up to 76 ng/ml after the summer. But until I did not add the magnesium, the improvement was a roller coaster.

We´re all magnesium defficient because of soil impoverishment. They don´t add magnesium after every harvest. Just potassium, phosphorus and nitrogen. This happens since 1950´s.

 

[PeterPositive]

@dulceopinador
I see what you mean, but we're all different.
Over 10 years ago I could still tolerate oral magnesium and I was taking a full dose (400mg/day) on daily basis. I did it for months with no noticeable changes.

SInce ~2007 I can't tolerate any form of oral or transdermal magnesium, but I do eat quinoa on a daily basis which is very rich in it.

As a side note my labs didn't report any issues with Mg levels, bot in serum and RBCs so I have no evidence that I have a deficiency.

cheers

 

[dulceopinador]

@dulceopinador

SInce ~2007 I can't tolerate any form of oral or transdermal magnesium, but I do eat quinoa on a daily basis which is very rich in it.

cheers

Ohhhh, I know what you´re saying. Electrolytes should not be taken isolated from the ones that must be in balance with them. In food, magnesium always comes with lots of Calcium and some potassium or with a lot of potassium and some calcium. I mix my magnesium with yogurt that has much calcium and potassium. Never alone. Also it´s better to take enough of something to get the daily amount you need, not more. That´s why I take just 260 mgs of magnesium.

There was a time I saw the same as you was happening to me with magnesium, until I mixed it with yogurt and then I could tolerate it. I need to take it now because the Vitamin D caused me a deficiency, but I will make a pause in a month or so.

Anyway, I will post my experiences with the lamp in the future.

 

[Athene*]

In case anyone is wondering, there are 2 units of measurement for vitamin D, ng/mL and nmol/L

The UK tests tend to use nmol/L and the US ng/mL

To convert nmol/L to ng/mL divide by 2.5.
e.g. 75 nmol/L would give 75/2.5 = 30 ng/m

If you are having trouble getting your doctor to agree to a vitamin D test, you can send your own to an NHS (UK) lab:

http://vitamindtest.org.uk/index.html

According to Dr Stasha Gominak, the sweet spot is between 60ng/mL and 80ng/mL (150nmol/L and 200nmol/mL)

She has more information on her site:

http://drgominak.com/vitamin-d-hormone.html

I have recently bought a UVB lamp. I can tolerate supplements, but I've been taking them for 5 years and they haven't made any difference to my health. When I had my levels checked they were "undetectable" which is what made my start taking supplements in the first place. I currently take 5000IU a day.

Discovering that vitamin D is a hormone and not a vitamin has made me think that taking supplements probably isn't the best way to go anyway. I wouldn't mess about with thyroxine unless I had a doctor regularly checking my levels, so I shouldn't be doing the same with vitamin D.

I've only been using the lamp for a few days, but I have been feeling a lot less tired. However, it's too soon to tell whether this is just a coincidence.

This is the lamp I bought.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Care-Lamps-Psoriasis-Narrowband-deficiencies/dp/B00IHMANTG/

I've attached the vitamin D instructions they sent me in case someone would like an idea of what to expect.

Thanks for this info @tandrsc I was thinking of getting that lamp by Care Lamps you're using - it's more affordable than the bigger one mentioned above. Is it big enough for increasing one's vitamin D level (rather than using for patches of psoriasis for e.g.?) How are you getting on with it?

 

[Athene*]

I bought a sperti vit D lamp about 5 weeks ago and have been using it 3-4 x a week since then.

The big change I've noticed is better sleep. I wake less often, go back to sleep when I do and sleep more deeply. A few times I've actually woken up feeling good in the morning, wow...

Sounds good @helen1 Can I ask which lamp you use? Are you still feeling the benefits?

 

[tandrsc]

Thanks for this info @tandrsc I was thinking of getting that lamp by Care Lamps you're using - it's more affordable than the bigger one mentioned above. Is it big enough for increasing one's vitamin D level (rather than using for patches of psoriasis for e.g.?) How are you getting on with it?

According to their instructions it is big enough to increase vitamin D, but I have to admit that I haven't had another test recently.

I really like it. The instructions say to use it on skin that doesn't usually see much sun, but I don't leave the house much and my part of the world doesn't get much sun anyway, so I sit with it on my face for 15 mins 3 times a week (Mon, Wed and Fri). It attaches to the arm of a chair so it 's all very easy and I don't need to shed any clothing.

 

[Athene*]

Great to hear that, thanks @tandrsc We don't get much sun here either. Do you have to wear safety eye goggles during your sessions?

 

[brenda]

Just received my Care lamp and might try it tomorrow. Am going on a sun bed once a week as well.

 

[Athene*]

Just received my Care lamp and might try it tomorrow. Am going on a sun bed once a week as well.

I ordered one last night, @brenda Looking forward to seeing how we all get on. I'm due a vitamin D test in the new year, so that would be useful too. Would be great if we could get before and after vitamin D levels, but I know that's not easy for everybody...

 

[Athene*]

Oh, just realised you're using a sunbed too. Has it raised your D level, @brenda Is it UVB?

 

[brenda]

Only two sessions so far. It has little uvb. I am going to check my vitamin D in February. It was 82 at the end of summer.

 

[Horizon]

I am interested but it is a very hefty price and see very little reports of a before and after vitamin D test. A lot of people say they feel better but that is not enough clinical proof that this works in raising the levels.

 

[Athene*]

Only two sessions so far. It has little uvb. I am going to check my vitamin D in February. It was 82 at the end of summer.

Is that 82 nmol/L, brenda?

 

[Athene*]

I am interested but it is a very hefty price and see very little reports of a before and after vitamin D test. A lot of people say they feel better but that is not enough clinical proof that this works in raising the levels.

I have to give it a try anyway, because I can't tolerate oral or transdermal forms and there's no sun here and not much even in summer...it's not the more expensive one - this one is around £127. If it doesn't work for me I'll give it to my sister to use on her psoriasis patch...she was getting a similar treatment in hospital before and it cleared it up better than the vitamin d cream she was using before that.

 

[brenda]

Is that 82 nmol/L, brenda?

I am in the UK and had the usual one on offer. It was so high because of all the sun l got this year. I was out in it as soon as it peeped out of the clouds.

Don't buy the Amazon one , it is £119 elsewhere.

 

[brenda]

Just checked and it was 90.4 nmol not 82 sorry about that. That's quite a good level but not optimal I believe. Last year at the end of summer it was lower - about 65 I believe but I got a lot more sun this year, intentionally.