Have Been Prescribed Vitamin D

[emmie]

isn't that not getting enough sun?

[Buenchico]

. . .or sardines ;-)
http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/vitamins-minerals/Pages/Vitamin-D.aspx

[emmie]

thank you - i do eat fish, but obviously not enough.

[Mamyalynne]

It's very hard to get enough VitD during a British winter by food alone.

If you don't go out much you are even more likely to be deficient, mine was very low and I had an intense course now take a daily tablet.

[pastafreak]

Apparently,having low levels of vitamin d is very common in the UK due to the lack of consistent, strong sunlight. We can't get enough via food either...particularly if our levels are already low.

[emmie]

i have been prescribed them for life......

[granny grump]

Me too emmie - I was so tired all the time - It seems to be making a difference

[pastafreak]

Make sure the form of vitamin D is D3 or cholecalciferol...vitamin D2 is not utilised by the body as efficiently.

[emmie]

prescribed by the doctor so don't know what type, presumably she does. Also have to take a folic acid supplement, will be rattling soon.

[Garaman]

I was prescribed some quite strong vitamin D capsules, but I came out in a rash all over my body. I have since used Dlux spray which I think is doing the trick, though I haven't had my blood checked for a while so can't really confirm that. For some of us, our body doesn't produce vitamin D quite so well as we get older even with sun.

[Sqad]

"isn't that not getting enough sun? "

In a nutshell...YES....although there are a dozen or so much less commonest causes.

[Mamyalynne]

My Daughter uses the spray Garaman as she didn't get along with the tablets.

[Hopkirk]

If you don't want to swallow yet more tablets, just strip off and lie in the garden.

[emmie]

hopkirk
rather chilly at the moment..

[Hopkirk]

Fair enough.

Nip down and visit Sqad.
He won't complain about a bit of naked flesh.

[Sqad]

Nah!....I am into a bit of sexy underwear..........

[emmie]

no good looking at me then, Bridget Jones has nothing on me..

[theprof]

pastafreak, emmie need not worry as to whether her GP has prescribed D2 or D3. They are both effective for straightforward Vitamin D deficiency and there are clinical indications for prescribing D2 in preference to D3 in some circumstances.

D2 is largely derived from plants, whereas D3 is mostly from animal origin - it's not the whole story but I don't want to overcomplicate the matter here. D2 has been the Vitamin D version of choice for vegans for very many years for obvious reasons and therapeutic doses can be just as effective when taken regularly as D3. Vitamin D3 is metabolised in the body via simpler metabolic pathways than D2 and it is the conventional treatment for the majority of patients. Nevertheless, the value of D2 should not be dismissed.

The British National Formulary, which can be regarded as the doctor's bible on drugs, continues to list D2 and D3 along with other analogues as prescribable. The BNF does not advise that D3 should be given preference over D2 and quite rightly so. The other analogues are available for patients with renal disease, some endocrine disorders and other disorders.

The one and only issue over D2/D3 prescribing in a patient with no other comorbidities other than strightforward deficiency is availability. D2 is more costly to manufacture and there is less of it around. Health food shops charge a great deal more for D2 than D3 and add to the issue by confining sourcing to exotic mushroom species etc.

Biochemists such as myself teach this stuff to medical students and my own staff lecture on vitamins in the university medical school. Believe me, there is a lot of misinformation on the internet regarding this issue of the preferred vitamin D analogue and a lot of it should be taken with a pinch of salt.

The vast majority of vitamin science is taught to medical students by
biochemists and my staff d

[theprof]

Cutting and pasting will be my ruination. Time I went home to MrsProf methinks!

[pastafreak]

Thank you for that,the prof. Several years ago, when nosing around the internet, I came across the info on D3 being preferable...this was just in terms of dietary supplementation,...not for specific health/disease issues.

[theprof]

Thanks pastafreak. Sorry if I seemed to turn it into a lecture!