Non existent vitamin D level...

[PeterPositive]

I should have imagined it, but my doc has never tested me for vit D levels.

Recently I have done a test for intracellular minerals and have included 25(OH)D... and the result is zero, none, zilch, zippo.

Argh, I expected it to be low... I am still mostly home-bound and spend little time outside. My digestive problems are also helping this disaster...

Of course the solution is to boil in the sun for enough time, as often as possible, and endure the headache and other lovely symptoms that I get when I spend time under the sun during summer.

Supplements don't work for me, my system rejects them, even D3 cream.

Sorry... this is mostly a rant, not much of a interesting post

 

[anciendaze]

If you have problems absorbing oral supplements you may need injections. I have known some such people. It is also very likely you have some pathological process which is destroying vitamin D. If this rate is greater than the rate at which you generate the vitamin, you will be constantly losing ground.

 

[PeterPositive]

If you have problems absorbing oral supplements you may need injections. I have known some such people. It is also very likely you have some pathological process which is destroying vitamin D. If this rate is greater than the rate at which you generate the vitamin, you will be constantly losing ground.

Yeah, that is something worth investigating.
I plan to use the sun as the primary source of D and some supplements to the best of my tolerance, then re-test in a couple of months and see if 25(OH)D reappears in my blood.

If it doesn't work I will look into possible nastier issues.

 

[Effi]

@PeterPositive I get my blood tested on vit.D and the other basics once a year. I don't take any supplements, as I'm highly sensitive to any and everything. I have been housebound for four years, curtains closed, bad light sensitivity and hardly ever go outside. Can't tolerate sitting in the sun. But...[drumroll] my vit.D levels have been RISING all these years! So to me that shows it's not true that you only get vit.D out of direct contact between sun and skin (that or I have vampire genes).

The only thing I do is, I eat a lot of fatty fish. So maybe you could try that, if you're not doing that already?

This is for you: hehe

 

[whodathunkit]

@PeterPositive: really sorry to hear that. Intransigent deficiencies are a PITA.

I like @Effi's suggestion, and I'll add one: have you tried cod liver oil? Supposed to have a fair amount of vitamin D in it. I like it. I take a teaspoon every day for EFA, vitamin A, and vitamin D.

 

[deleder2k]

Tried 10,000 IU dialy?

 

[Kathevans]

Like @whodathunkit I was going to ask if you'd tried cod Liver Oil. For years I used Garden of Life: http://www.iherb.com/Garden-of-Life...ver-Oil-Lemon-Mint-Flavor-8-fl-oz-236-ml/3154
and never had any trouble with the burping. Recently I switched to one of Freddd's recommendations for fermented CLO, Green Pastures. I've tried it only once, but spent the afternoon burping it. Yuck. I may go back to the Garden of Life.

 

[deleder2k]

If his level really is 0 cod oil with 450 IU won't do it. He needs 10,000 IU daily or injections. I would see a doctor about this matter as quickly as you can.

 

[TheChosenOne]

Do you get headaches because of the sunlight or because of the heat?
You don't need direct sunlight to generate vitamin D. Indirect sunlight also works (although much less).

 

[satori]

Did you check 1,25 D? I also had very low levels at one point and discovered it was all getting converted to the active form. Never found out why, for sure, but it did eventually improve (not sure which treatment did it, though).

 

[Kathevans]

@deleder2k Of course.

 

[PeterPositive]

Thanks for the comments.

@Effi: fortunately you can take it for the diet, I am in the opposite situation where I can bear the sun, although it's not without some discomfort, but I can't process fatty fish.

@deleder2k: I wish I could take 10000 IU/day, my system doesn't like it, be it from tablets or D3 cream. I can kinda tolerate ~1000 IU from cream although it makes me nauseous.

I spoke with the doc and he has proposed monthly injections of 100 000 IU (yep, hundred thousands), or 10 000 orally.

With the kind of sensitivity I have I would not dare to shoot 100K IU in my system.

@satori: I did not, but I'll see to have it tested next time.

@TheChosenOne: sometimes I do, or it just makes me feel more fatigue, although I am not sure if it's the sun itself or the heat (difficult to separate the two). On a sunny day without excessive humidity I usually get less malaise from sun exposure, so I guess it's more the heat.

I tend to have low BP and photosensitivity.

 

[PeterPositive]

@Kathevans , @whodathunkit ... cod liver oil... so horribly disgusting!
I can usually gobble up all sorts of icky medicines or concoctions, but that's on my black list

 

[PeterPositive]

For those interested here's a simple Vitamin-D calculator which asks your longitude/latitude and a bunch more parameters, and tells you the minimum sun exposure to get the basic 1000 IU of D3.

http://zardoz.nilu.no/~olaeng/fastrt/VitD-ez_quartMED.html

For this time of the year and my location it says around 3 minutes... so I guess I could do 2-3 15 minutes sessions every day to reach 10-15000 IU.

 

[deleder2k]

@PeterPositive, I am not a MD, but I would be listening to yours. No D-vit levels over time can have serious consequences. Take the injection.

 

[SOC]

I wish I could take 10000 IU/day, my system doesn't like it, be it from tablets or D3 cream. I can kinda tolerate ~1000 IU from cream although it makes me nauseous.

Injections sound like a good idea given how extremely low your Vit D level is. That's not a safe situation. You might consider trying a sublingual liquid if you have some tolerance for Vit D in a skin cream form.

Sun is a good idea, of course, if you can tolerate enough sun to make a significant difference.

What does your doctor suggest you do about that extremely low level?

 

[Sushi]

Did you check 1,25 D? I also had very low levels at one point and discovered it was all getting converted to the active form.

@PeterPositive This is a very important question. Finding out what your D 1,25 is could help solve the mystery.

 

[PointsNorth]

I take a 50,000 I.u. Gelcap + some 5000iu caps for a total of 75,000iu/day. Btw 20min in the sun gives you 10,000iu.

 

[sscobalt93]

Are you house bound? Like you are unable to go out? I'd recommend getting the supplements as per your doctor, but sunlight is much needed! I live in Florida so I am always exposed to the sun. If you cannot tolerate the sun there are tanning beds that actually allow the body to make vitamin D. I believe they are called UVB tanning beds, not 100% on that though.

I can tell you this I am fair skinned with freckles. I used to burn so bad when I was younger I had 3rd degree burns on me. That was when I used lots of sun screen. I realized that sun screen has been linked to skin cancer. And it's also loaded with toxins, not good for our bodies. Now I go out in the sun and I do not burn! It's crazy, I do not need sunscreen. I mean I'll get red for a day and then it turns straight to a tan. I don't get super dark I am just tolerant to the sun. I did construction last year before and I was dark! My hair went from brown to blonde. I had my vitamin D levels tested and they were in the optimal range.

Vitamin D has helped out with so many things, I have read a report that Vitamin D deficieny is linked to some food intolerance and can contribute to a leaky gut. If you do take Vitamin D orally make sure to eat it with some type of fat so it is properly absorbed, maybe thats why you get nauseous?! I wouldn't doubt low Vitamin D effecting methylation as well. Good Luck!

 

[PeterPositive]

Injections sound like a good idea given how extremely low your Vit D level is. That's not a safe situation. You might consider trying a sublingual liquid if you have some tolerance for Vit D in a skin cream form.

Yeah, like I said I don't tolerate vit D supplements very well. Orally 200 IU is all I can take, more than that will cause lots of stomach upset.

The D3 Cream provides 1000 IU but it makes me very nauseous within 10 minutes from using it and it usually lasts 4-8 hours. Oh joy.

Sun is a good idea, of course, if you can tolerate enough sun to make a significant difference.

The sun is the least obnoxious of the options and I can usually handle it. I might get an headache or feel more tired but it's best than having my stomach upside down for hours, skipping meals and loosing more weight.

This morning I have had two 20 minutes sessions exposing legs and arms.
And I can add one more session in the afternoon, although I will probably start with two sessions to avoid overdoing it.

What does your doctor suggest you do about that extremely low level?

The doc of course wants to do the 100K or 300K IU injection. He doesn't care about my supposed intolerance.
Just like when I was deficient in B12 he wanted me on 2000mcg shots of cyano-B12. Problem was at the time even a small dose such as 10mcg had very bad effects on me, with histamine rashes, heart pounding and lots of anxiety.

I took the slow route with crumbs of sublinguals and my body gradually got used to it, over the course of 6 months or so. Now I can take megadoses without problems.

thanks