Q about vit. D and side effects

[Hawkgirl]

My neuro had my blood tested for vit. D level, and I was at 23; she wants me at 30-80. So I'm taking 2000 units of vit. D a day.

Now, I have felt like I'm in a relapse because of worsening balance and dizziness. But I have just read that side effects of vit. D are: bad balance and dizziness, and bloating (another of my problems but not MS-related, I don't think). So is this because of the vit. D or because of MS?

I have an appt. with my neuro next week, regardless.

[Sequoia]

It's impossible to tell whether the symptoms you're experiencing are from Vitamin D or from MS, but at a dose of just 2,000 IU I'd be inclined to say Vitamin D is unlikely to be the culprit. I'm not a health care professional, though.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/vit...SECTION=safety

It's definitely something to discuss with your doctor.

[MSW1963]

I have low double digit Vit D. My MS neuro rx'd 4,000 daily OTC Vit D supplement. I purchased a drug store brand of the suggested dose, took it for approx. 1 week and felt sick.

I can't remember all the side effect sx's. My doc add a couple of meds at one visit, although I did not start them at the same time. I avoid taking new meds at the same time in the event of side effects I'll know which one is causing side effects.

I researched vit d tolerance problems and recognized my sx's.

Couple of things from the searches jumped out at me. One is that some of us in the general population do not tolerate the 'fillers' used in manufacturing of meds and supplements. Lower priced generic brands more likely to contain the offending fillers?

Taking some meds and supplements on an empty stomach is a no-no for some of us, and is specifically mentioned on the VitD label of my generic brand.

I grew up in the sunny south, a beach bunny, sun goddess, so the low sun exposure wouldn't hold up as an likely explanation for low Vit D.

Low Vit D & MS connection could be either cause or effect scenario? Has that been determined yet?

[Sequoia]

Couple of things from the searches jumped out at me. One is that some of us in the general population do not tolerate the 'fillers' used in manufacturing of meds and supplements. Lower priced generic brands more likely to contain the offending fillers?

If you're taking Vitamin D3 in the liquigel form, there are no fillers. Taking it in tablet form is not recommended because it's unlikely to be well absorbed that way.

Generally speaking, though, your point about fillers is well taken.

[Hawkgirl]

I will report it to my neuro and see what she says. I am just taking the generic tablet form, probably whatever was cheapest. They don't bother me in any other way (like making my stomach hurt etc.).

I got a lot of sun as a kid, but I have a history of skin cancer and now stay out of the sun as much as I can. Lots of sunscreen and all that.

Depending on what the neuro says I might check the price for the liquigel form.

[MSW1963]

Good to hear that Vit D liquigel exists. With tolerence problems and fillers sometimes responsible for it, I would have expected my ms neuro to mentioned it. Although I'm not all that surprised. More surprised that he advanced the vit d connection without giving greater consideration to the cause or effect possibility, or other possible explanations. With the number of MS sun worshipers with low Vit D who don't fit the low sun=low vit d scenerio, I'm skeptical.

Could it be the power of the plecibo effect in beneficial situations guiding my doc's behavior? If ingesting a harmless supplement could result in restoring a feeling of well being because of plecibo effect, I would welcome it, although it has not been my experience so far.

[Sequoia]

Tara has said that liquigels are much to be preferred over tablets. They're pretty widely available, and are not particularly expensive.

Also, in case you're not aware of the distinction, Vitamin D3 is preferable to Vitamin D2 (again according to Tara).

[Toomnyhats]

Also, in case you're not aware of the distinction, Vitamin D3 is preferable to Vitamin D2 (again according to Tara).

My neuro specified D3 when he advised me to take this supplement.

[nutritiontara]

Here' the dope on liquid vs. tablet vit D:

vit D is a fat-soluble vitamin. Dried and compressed in a tablet destroys the vitamin...it needs to be in its liquid fat-form; taken with protein to be absorbed.

[jumpinjiminy]

The sun/vitamin D MS link - it's still being considered. According to one of the researchers, your skin makes additional compounds when exposed to UV light, not just Vitamin D. There is a question now as to whether these other compounds are involved in the process somehow.

There is another thing they're discovering with the genetic research - some of the segments flagged as potential risk elements are on areas of the genome associated with vitamin D processing and availability. There appear to be quite a few variations suspected to interfere with Vitamin D, and so could be expressed in a number of ways from individual to individual.

Vitamin D is important in the normal function of the immune system. A low level of it is also found in other autoimmune diseases. They're finding some of the same genetic markers show up as risk flags in these other diseases as well - type I diabetes, psoriasis and more.