Appt #7 -- High Vitamin D protocol?
Appt was Thursday. Sorry I'm so slow to post update.
We reviewed how my week went, in terms of compliance. I'm doing pretty well, as far as diet. I also shared some of my thoughts on his list of lifestyle changes. We had some discussion about that. We didn't always agree on what activities are stress-reducing and which are stress-producing. But, he's somewhat flexible. I'll see what he says next visit, when I document things my way, instead of his way. I could try to do all of his suggestions and check off his little boxes to make him happy. But, making Dr. G happy isn't going to help to manage my stress; I have to make me happy, not him. I'm going to need to manage / prevent my stress in ways that work for me, not for him.
Dr. G also talked alot about Vitamin D supplementation. He'd like to recommend a really high dose -- like maybe 40,000 mg daily. I'm currently taking 10,000 mg a day, which my MS Specialist (Dr L) already believes is too high.
Dr. G is aware that Vitamin D can be toxic at doses too high. He believes that, if taken correctly, it can be safe up to 60,000 mg. I don't remember all the protocols for taking it safely at high doses. It involved some additional supplementation of other things and drinking lots of water, I believe.
We spent a good deal of time talking about that, because I have some reservations. It's a dilemma when two doctors are recommending very different strategies. Dr. G reminded me that I am paying him for his expertise. I reminded him that I am also paying Dr. L for her expertise. Dr. G's training, however, is specifically in clinical nutrition. I don't know how much training a neurologist gets in nutrition, but I would guess that it is not much.
Dr. G is going to send me some links to some articles from medical journals that support his recommendations. I'll read them and see what I think. He believes that high doses of vitamin D have the potential to reverse myelin damage. And, he says, there are not many strategies that can make that claim.
He, actually, just learned about this research recently. Another MS patient of his asked him about it, and he just recently read the research himself. He has not tried it with anyone else yet. Maybe that would make me his guinea pig.
But, I'm not opposed. I just want to think it through a little bit first and make sure that, if I take a high dose of something that is potentially toxic at high doses, that I am also taking appropriate precautions.
Appt was Thursday. Sorry I'm so slow to post update.
We reviewed how my week went, in terms of compliance. I'm doing pretty well, as far as diet. I also shared some of my thoughts on his list of lifestyle changes. We had some discussion about that. We didn't always agree on what activities are stress-reducing and which are stress-producing. But, he's somewhat flexible. I'll see what he says next visit, when I document things my way, instead of his way. I could try to do all of his suggestions and check off his little boxes to make him happy. But, making Dr. G happy isn't going to help to manage my stress; I have to make me happy, not him. I'm going to need to manage / prevent my stress in ways that work for me, not for him.
Dr. G also talked alot about Vitamin D supplementation. He'd like to recommend a really high dose -- like maybe 40,000 mg daily. I'm currently taking 10,000 mg a day, which my MS Specialist (Dr L) already believes is too high.
Dr. G is aware that Vitamin D can be toxic at doses too high. He believes that, if taken correctly, it can be safe up to 60,000 mg. I don't remember all the protocols for taking it safely at high doses. It involved some additional supplementation of other things and drinking lots of water, I believe.
We spent a good deal of time talking about that, because I have some reservations. It's a dilemma when two doctors are recommending very different strategies. Dr. G reminded me that I am paying him for his expertise. I reminded him that I am also paying Dr. L for her expertise. Dr. G's training, however, is specifically in clinical nutrition. I don't know how much training a neurologist gets in nutrition, but I would guess that it is not much.
Dr. G is going to send me some links to some articles from medical journals that support his recommendations. I'll read them and see what I think. He believes that high doses of vitamin D have the potential to reverse myelin damage. And, he says, there are not many strategies that can make that claim.
He, actually, just learned about this research recently. Another MS patient of his asked him about it, and he just recently read the research himself. He has not tried it with anyone else yet. Maybe that would make me his guinea pig.
But, I'm not opposed. I just want to think it through a little bit first and make sure that, if I take a high dose of something that is potentially toxic at high doses, that I am also taking appropriate precautions.
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