Vitamin D deficiency Replacement Amount

I was diagnosed with vitamin D deficiency, my blood result for 25-OHD3 was flagged low @ "17 ng/ml" and my 25-OHD2 was "<4 ng/ml". I have Hashimoto's thyroiditis and being treated for hypothyroidism caused by it. My thyroid levels are very good but I feel very ill with muscle weakness, bone type pain and fatigue, so am desperate for answers in regard to my D deficiency treatment. Please help!

My Dr. started me on 50,000 units - one caplet per week of generic Drisdol (D2) and after 10 weeks I have noticed no difference in my body-wide muscle weakness symptom and fatigue. I have read mutiple sources, MDs, cardiologists etc..., saying D2 supplementation can literally be out of the body by your next dose if you are on only 50,000 units, once per week, due to its short half-life. Even research published by some of the major medical groups is recommending against D2 to treat vit D deficiency.

My doctor (a DO physician) is open to my input and she being new in her practice, may not know that I'm needing D3 replacement rather than D2.

My question: What dose of D3 should I be taking, if I switch to it from D2?

[Renee Radenberg]

Sorry about the mix up with your questionn. Hashimoto or Hashi Thyroiditis is different from hypothyroidism. Hashimoto is an autoimmune thyroid disease and hypothyroidism is a condition of the thyroid. What happens with this disease is that antibodies react against protein in the thyroid gland, which causes gradual destruction of the gland itself. Eventually it is will be unable to produce the thyroid hormones the body needs. One of the characteristics of the disease is the severe fluctuation of the hormone levels (hyperthyroidism / hypothyroidism), which causes fatigue, and fluctuation of weight (loss and gain). You need to be followed by a specialist for this disease. The medication may need periodic adjustments depending on hormone levels. There is no ‘diet’ for this disease, however, you need to eat healthy and continue exercising in order to maintain your weight and health. Vitamin D may decrease from certain medications such as certain anti-seizure, corticosteroids, heparin, certain antibiotics, mineral oil, and antacids; or certain disease states such as celiac disease, Crohn’s disease and Whipple’s disease. Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin which means the vitamin goes into our fat cells and the body does not excrete it. You should not go over in supplementation. 2000 IU is the tolerable upper intake level for adults; supplementation over that may cause a risk for toxicity (increased calcium, weak muscles, weak bones, excessive bleeding, severe headaches, and kidney stones). Vitamin D is available through our foods - Fortified milk, breakfast cereals, egg yolks, fatty fish, and fish oils. Sit at a window with the sun shining in for about 1/2 hour (few times a week) and that will help you get enough Vitamin D. Since you have been taking vitamin D supplementation for awhile, suggest getting retested. Hoped that helped you.

[LowMac]

I felt it important to add that my blood lab was done through Quest Diagnostics (my calcium is normal range) and their statement on the result read:

"Therapy is based on measurement of total 25-OHD, with levels 30 ng/ml."

I have read many sources re: replacement for deficiency and they always state amounts in the 1,000s of IUs until deficiency levels rise to normal.

How soon after taking the higher dose, is a Dr. supposed to recheck the level?

(Sorry if this amounts to two questions - not trying to take advantage but I'm not being very well informed at this point.)

[LowMac]

Incredibly, my added-on post only partially appeared, so let me add the part that did not appear. (aha! I just figured out it was due to the arrows it contained)

Quest Diagnostics statement: ""Therapy is based on measurement of Total 25-OHD, with levels below-20 ng/ml indicative of Vitamin D deficiency, while levels between 20 and 30 suggest insufficiency"

My level at "17 ng/ml" is why I'm undergoing D-replacement therapy.

[LowMac]

Apparently, I ran you off from this thread due to adding more posts because I've been skipped as far as your responding to my question or possibly it was outside of your scope.

I posted another one on "E deficiency" I was also found to have but will move it to a forum that has a doctor answering or some knowlegable fellow-patients because my newer question is at the bottom of many that have mounted up.

It's not that I'm "owed" answers but have been supporting MedHelp International with donations since 2004. Sorry for the inconvenience.

[BrianYYC]

Go to the Vitamin D Council: http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/
and to Grassroots Health for up to date information on Vitamin D.  I'm sure most if not all of your questions can be answered there.

Brian

[LowMac]

Thanks Brian! I will do that. I appreciate your taking time to post a reply to my question.

[LowMac]

Thanks for the...response.

Yes, I mentioned the Hashimoto's but my question was in regard to the vitamin D, which you did answer. I know Hashimoto's is an autoimmune disease and also called chronic lymphocytic thyroiditis and has no treatment and only the hypothyroidism caused by it (most common cause in the U.S.) can be treated. My reason for the mention is because thyroid patients report vitamin deficiencies more frequently than do the healthy public.

In regard to replacement amount of vitamin D for deficiency, my MD (board certified)prescribed me 50,000 unit caplets, once weekly and my neurologist confirmed to me that this was a correct replacement amount for deficiency - which occured after I had posted my question here. They stated that with what they call "overt D deficiency" the highest RDA amount WILL NOT correct it and when a D level is actually flagged below normal as mine was, that D toxicity will not occur unless the 50,000 units per week continued for many months and that even then it is rare for it to occur at less than 10,000 IU per day. Ive since found many medical research sources to confirm this.

Thank you again for the reply.  

[txd89]

The best info can be found at http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/  as suggested above. I concur with the recent posts. Vitamin D deficiency can cause many problems unknown or ignored by some doctors. I am proof. My level was <7 and I had many symptoms associated with the deficiency. I was prescribed 50,000 units once a week and noticed almost immediate improvements in my level of energy. For years I complained of being tired to my doctors and my age, job, menopause, etc. was always blamed and I was dismissed and told to "diet and exercise". (which I already did) Thank goodness I finally found a doctor who would listen and do further testing to try and find me some relief.
Please keep in mind.... you need testing. Do not "up" your vitamin D dose without proof that you are in fact deficient.

[LowMac]

Thanks for your input, I read your story with interest.

I agree with the warning that people who suspect deficiency but haven't confirmed it via blood testing should never take the mega dose needed to treat Vit D deficiency.
As I note in my starting post, my deficiency was found with my blood test result @ "17 ng/ml" (Range 20 to 100 with insufficiency starting at 30 and deficiency starting at 20).

In my case, I have more than one deficiency and my vitamin E was my worse one coming in at "0.4" with the range for it being 3.0 to 18.5. If you left out the decimal point and made the range read similar to that of vit D, that would be like having a reading of 4, in a range of 30 to 185.

Vitamin E deficiency has the potential to cause significant neurological damage, which I have indications of, in fact I go for a nerve conduction study (NCS) at my neurologist's tomorrow. I was hoping, like you, that my vitamin D being fixed, would resolve my symptoms but it didn't and then the E deficiency was found, so hopefully the treatment for it will halt and hopefully reverse my neuropathy symptoms and chronic fatigue.

Thanks again, it was nice hearing from a fellow vitamin deficiency patient!