I was going to ask the same question today. My vit d was also very low so I had to take mega doses for a while and now maintain on 5000 iu pet day which is a lot. I am going to ask my doc about this on my next appt because I also read something about vit d and Lyme. Omg. I am so confused!
Hi
I haven't taken doxy (yet), but I have seen comments by others that say it does sensitize the skin. You could go to a website such as drugs [dot] com and see what it says about doxy, and of course calling your doc is always a good thing to do with questions about your treatments.
There is, I think, a controversy among even Lyme specialists about the meaning of low Vitamin D levels. I have not reached a conclusion about it, but here's what I've read: One group of docs thinks low Vitamin D is a bad thing, so supplementing is important. Another group (which follow Trevor Marshall's approach) thinks that the body is purposely keeping the Vit D levels low, because it's the body's way of fighting the bacteria.
Trevor Marshall's approach is referred to as the "Marshall Protocol", and as a kneejerk reaction from me, I tend to be very skeptical of *anything* called a 'protocol.' Beyond that, if you go on any message boards about the "Marshall Protocol", it reads a bit like a cult to me ... either you're a believer or you're not. I have a reasonably open mind about whatever works to get me well, but when it gets cult-like, I get suspicious.
I think the idea behind the so-called Marshall Protocol is that the body is purposely suppressing Vitamin D as a means of fighting the bacterial Lyme infection, and at some point, the body resets somehow to deprive the bacteria of something they need to survive, and a cure results. The biochemistry by which this happens is unclear to me, but I'm no biochemist. The idea as I understand it is to avoid all sun exposure and all Vitamin D intake, to starve the bacteria. And when they say avoid ALL sun exposure, they really really mean it.
On the other side of the argument, the current state of modern medicine is hysterical in its pronouncements that we are ALL deficient in Vitamin D and everyone MUST take Vitamin D supplements. That 'everyone must' approach also makes me suspicious ... so for a long time I avoided taking Vit D supplements on principle, and would get sun when I could.
Although I don't get a lot of sun exposure, my Vit D readings have been consistently low-normal, and that was okay with me. But just for the heck of it, I started taking 1000 IU of Vitamin D-3 aka cholecalciferol, to see if I felt any better. Maybe it's a coincidence, but I have been feeling better, and this time of year it's NOT from getting sunlight here in the Northern Hemisphere.
This is a data dump of everything I have experienced with Vitamin D, and doesn't answer your question specifically, because I really don't know the correct answer. Many of us with Lyme seem to have low Vitamin D, but whether that's a good sign of our bodies fighting the bacteria or a bad sign that our bodies need more help in fighting the bacteria, I really don't know.
Sorry not to be of much help on this point. Do let us know what you learn, okay? Would be much appreciated.