I tested 9 ng/l.

So what do I do now? I work from morning to dusk and my skin is fairly dark also. I think D3 supplementation is the only way to go for the time being. But how much do I take? I've read of people experiencing angina with heavy doses of 50,000 IU. Our bodies can make 10,000 IU a day if we get ample sunlight. So is that how much I should supplement with? Is it even enough to get me to normal range? Do I have to also supplement with calcium, magnesium, etc?

So many questions. I don't have health insurance so no doctor to consult with. I am scared.

It often depends on how deficient you are. Do you have numbers for your blood tests? Did you talk to the doctor or whoever ordered your tests?

I ordered this test (standalone) from a site and got the results online.

30 ng/l is the lower end of normal. I'm at 9.

I think that if I take 50,000 IU once a week for 8 weeks, I should see improvement on my next test. But I am not liking the side effects I'm reading from people taking that amount. If I disperse that amount to 10,000 everyday would I respond better?

Another option would be tanning bed, but I'd have to find the safe type of bed.

Fruitylou, I'm not going to give medical advice, and I think you should see a health care professional about this. Your levels are low enough to constitute a serious problem and you will need to have your levels monitored for some time. Your bones could very well have already suffered from some damage (mine did). At the very least you probably want to double check the accuracy of your results before going on therapeutic doses.

But, I will tell you that when I first had my serum D measured 2 years ago, it was at 6 ng/dl. I went on 50,000/week and for some weeks per day and it still took me 11 months to get it up to 45 ng/dl. I then switched back to a maintenance dose of 50,000/month and my levels had dropped down to 29 ng/dl in 3 months. It can often be an ongoing struggle for those with osteomalacia to keep their levels balanced and there is always a possibility that there is another underlying pathology, not just lack of sunlight.

Also, if you do decide to go on D, you should know that there are 2 types: ergocalciferol(D2) and cholecalciferol(D3). The D3 has been found to be far more effective at raising serum D levels. The prescription D is ALL D2 even if the bottle says D3.

Is there a free/low-income clinic near you? Could you see a nurse practitioner or physicians assistant at a lower rate? Is there somewhere that would let you make regular payments instead of being billed all at once? Have you called your local health department?

Hi Fruitylou,

I also had the same problem. Two years ago, mine was 8. That was in the spring, and so I went in the sun for about 20 minutes a day whenever it was sunny, and by fall, it was up to 20. But the next spring it was back to 10, so I think the best thing is just going out in the sun as much as possible all year long.

Anyway, I was doing some research and ran across Algal Oil. (I also did a search on here and found a few posts about it) It's a vegan source of Vitamin D.

Here are some links to article I found this morning --

Vegetarian Omega 3: Algal Oil?

[ifitandhealthy.com]

************

Martek's DHA algal oil reduces brain lesions in Alzheimer's animal model

[www.news-medical.net]

************

Algal-oil capsules and cooked salmon: nutritionally equivalent ...


[www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/17/2011 12:24AM by KidRaw.

A few minutes a day is not going to cut it if you have a severe deficiency.

Quote
http://jcem.endojournals.org/cgi/content/full/87/11/4952?ijkey=178b39a2528400c60db29ac5d6c0ff39b77b58d7
Moreover, even rather intensive sun exposure did not regularly protect against a winter deficit (and, in some participants, not even a summer one), defined as serum 25(OH)D levels below 75 nmol/liter. Based on the average rate of decline observed in our subjects, it can be estimated that in individuals for whom summer sun exposure is the principal source of vitamin D, a late summer 25(OH)D level of approximately 127 nmol/liter is needed to avoid levels falling to less than 75 nmol/liter by late winter. Without another substantial source of vitamin D, it is unlikely that occasional sun exposure by persons who spend most of their daylight hours indoors can support vitamin D repletion, a conclusion congruent with that reached by Glerup et al. (22).

In latitudes above 30 degrees or so vit D isn't produced in the winter. Having darker skin doesn't help with production either.

Quote
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1046/j.1525-1497.2002.20731.x/full
Increases in skin pigmentation and zenith angle of the sun markedly diminish the production of vitamin D3.2 During the winter at latitudes above 35 degrees North and South, very little, if any, vitamin D can be produced in the skin. For example, in Boston (42°N) no vitamin D is produced from November through February. In Edmonton, Canada and Bergen, Norway, vitamin D production is halted between the months of October and April.2 Thus, there is a relatively short window of opportunity to produce vitamin D3 in the skin.