My experiment with Vitamin D - totally anecdotal results

[Duer 157099]

As I first posted here several weeks ago:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=317&topic_id=3893&mesg_id=3893

I was going to do an experiment to see whether my vitamin D levels were having any effect on other things, such as cholesterol, glucose, etc.

My doctor had put me on 50,000IU/week of Rx vitamin D (D2). I was also taking 1.5g of calcium concurrently, as is CRITICAL.

So, has there been any affect on my numbers? Well, I got the results today (8 week time point).

Vitamin D: was 27, now 56 (ng/ml)

Total cholesterol dropped by 30 (mg/dl)
Triglycerides dropped by 22 (mg/dl)
HDL rose by 18 (mg/dl)
LDL dropped by 44 (mg/dl)
Fasting glucose dropped by 9 (mg/dl)

I MADE NO OTHER DIETARY/EXERCISE changes because I really wanted to isolate the effect to vitamin D (and perhaps Ca/Mg, which I *had* to take).

So. There you have it. I can't wait to talk to my doc, because I told him I had a hypothesis that these numbers might change!

[BrklynLiberal]

1. Excellent results.

i have also added Vit D and Calcium to my diet.

I also started taking cinnamon capsules to help with the blood sugar..

[roguevalley]

24. I have googled before I asked this but I can't figure it out. how

many tabs of d do you have to take to get the 50K iu's?

I am totally delighted for you. Using cinnamon for diabetes is great. Taking a folic acid every day will give you iron claw fingernails. get jell tabs from your local horse folks and make curry powder capsules for joint and arthritis pain. take it daily and be amazed.

[BrklynLiberal]

39. Thanks for the info

50 IU's would probably be something you should discuss with a physician or some health care practitioner you trust..

My Vit D pills have 1000IU per does. I would not be comfortable taking 50 doses a day.

Perhaps that is why the OP got it intravenously...and even with that, he was closely monitored.

Vit D is not water soluble, so your body retains it..and one can overdose.

[Duer 157099]

51. The prescription version is 50,000iu per week, not day

Now I'm taking 10,000iu D3 per day.

Also, it wasn't IV, just the Rx version of the vitamin (D2).

Barring any adverse indications, prescribing an 8-week high-dose regimen (50,000iu/week) is typical, from what I've read.

[havocmom]

2. Thanks for the update on your experiment

[librechik]

3. good news--I just started on a D program myself

motivation

[dixiegrrrrl]

4. What is the difference between D2 and D3?

I have seen both for sale.

[Duer 157099]

8. D2 is the form in the Rx version, and it's from plant sources

D3 *seems* to be the more bioavailable form, and is the form usually in the OTC preparations, but the highest dose you can get is 2,000IU tablets.

[MorningGlow]

13. I have it in 5,000 IU caps

I can only buy it through my doctor's office, though.

[BonnieJW]

55. I can buy them from the Vitamin Shoppe

Sogar brand in 5000 IU

[MorningGlow]

5. Excellent!

I have been on high doses of D for several months now, and I feel quite good (went from 23 to 87). Illnesses are fewer and farther between, and the ones I do get aren't as severe and don't last as long as they used to. I started taking D to alleviate polycystic ovary syndrome, and it's worked wonders with that. Interesting about the cholesterol--I didn't know it could help that too.

Keep us posted, won't you? Interested in hearing what your doctor has to say about your results! :hi:

[Duer 157099]

11. That's fantastic! I aspire to 87, lol

Well maybe not, I don't know, that seems like maybe it's a bit on the high side? Are you taking calcium/magnesium supplements too, and how much?

I also notice a difference in how I feel. MAJOR difference.

This began because my doc wanted me taking statins to lower my cholesterol, and I did that for awhile (over a year I think) and it didn't seem to do anything and in fact, was making me feel like shit and I was noticing side effects, plus after researching the literature I scared myself silly by what I found, so I decided I needed to go another route.

I may just become a vitamin D evangelist. I feel it coming, now that I have my own proof in real numbers... :D

[MorningGlow]

14. Thanks!

While my OB was concerned at the 87 result, my doctor said that it's fine. Many researchers feel that the 80s is fine, and some consider 100 the top limit! It certainly isn't bothering me!

I am not taking calcium/magnesium supplements beyond my daily vitamins. I wonder if I should...I'll look into it.

LOL I think I'll join you in being a vitamin D evangelist. Heck, I'm already one for natural thyroid, so why not? :D

[Duer 157099]

16. Please do look into the Ca/Mg aspect n/t

[sagetea]

6. Well good for you!!!!

Our little country town "Doc" had his patients tested, boy were we surprised! The highest one is a lady that takes a lot of fish oil she was at 46, other than that everyone else were very, very low, so he got all of us on vitamin D.

Ho
sage

[dixiegrrrrl]

7. and how do you take 50,000 per week?

once a week?
divided into daily doses?

[Duer 157099]

9. I was taking the Rx form my doc prescribed

they come in 50,000IU capsules in the form of D2.

Now that that course is done, I'm doing 10,000IU/day of D3 (OTC version, comes as 2,000IU/tab) but that may be overkill. I'm going to go down to 4,000-6,000IU/day because there's a delicate homeostasis between vitamin D, calcium and magnesium, and too much vitamin D without enough Ca/Mg in the blood can actually backfire.

I'll do that for 6-8 weeks and then have my numbers run again.

Edit: I was taking them once a week. I looked at the research and single high doses seems to affect blood levels for days/weeks.

[Autumn Colors]

10. Life Extension sells 5,000 IU vitamin D3 capsules

http://www.lef.org/Vitamins-Supplements/Item00713/Vitamin-D3.html

(They sell it in 1,000 IU capsules, too.)

My dentist is actually the one who recommended I take this along with some other supplements. She ordered blood tests based on the condition of my gums. Apparently, poor condition of gums can be a red flag to others things (i.e. heart disease, etc)

[Duer 157099]

15. That's good to know, I had read the max was 2000iu

But leave it to LE to go the extra mile! :thumbsup:

The brand I get at my local discount grocery store is "Naturalist" (D3) and it sells for $6 for 100 tabs of 2,000IU (so, 200,000IU for $6).

LE breaks down to 300,000IU for $11 (plus s/h?)

My Rx version was, I think $10 copay for 400,000iu total.

Since this is going to be a life-long thing for me from now on, I'm going to source the least expensive version.

It doesn't bother me to swallow a handful of pills, but some people can't do that, I know.

[Autumn Colors]

19. Member price is a bit better ($8.25 for 300,000IU)

Of course, I let my membership lapse, but I keep getting reminders that if I renew my $75 annual membership, that I'll get a credit for $125 worth of products (@ member prices). That brings it down a bit further, even with S&H, if bought in bulk.

[Shallah Kali]

27. Now Foods makes D-3 5000 IU - 120 for $6.83 or 240 for $11.38

They are tiny softgels about the size of a petite pea. S&H is flat $4.99 w/sometimes free shipping for larger orders. I order with family so we get good prices and if we do go under the free S&H offer it doesn't eat up the savings.

http://www.swansonvitamins.com/_/n-1z13uef?ntt=vitamin%2Bd

[Duer 157099]

28. Wow, that's a great deal!

I'll have to check them out. I've noticed that brand is also sold via Amazon.

I guess now that people (I mean, doctors) are finally recognizing how widespread deficiency is, and how the measly 400iu recommendation is really waaaaaaay too low, companies are starting to produce higher potency versions. Good!

Thanks!

:thumbsup:

[Shallah Kali]

30. I think swanson's own line has a 5000 IU as well

I get NOW as I have food allergies and intolerance so I stick to companies that label gluten, dairy and the rest. Swanson's usually has the lowest prices for things I the ones I order with need. If you have a question on a produce you can call, chat or email and they do their best to get you the information you requested. Sometimes I order from Lucky Vitamin ut their site is soooooooo slow on dialup I didn't look up the prices on 5000 IU d for you sorry.

[Autumn Colors]

37. Hey, I found 5,000 IU at a health food store today!

Not great price-wise, but wanted to let you know that higher doses are definitely showing up on store shelves now. This was by Solgar and is marked free of yeast, wheat, soy, gluten, dairy products, sugar, salt, and starch.

Price was $11.40 for only 60 caps, though.

[Shanti Mama]

26. other sources

I just checked out VitaCost, where I buy most of my vitamins. They've got a Country Life 5,000 and their own brand of NSI at 4,000. And many others. As I read down the list I see they have an NSI 10,000.
Country Life has a D/calcium-mag blend. Haven't checked but I'm sure the amount of D is too low.

[bemildred]

12. Look at it this way, statistics are really just large collections of anecdotes. nt

[Duer 157099]

17. The way I look at it is

Statistics are what doctors are interested in.

Anecdotes are what patients are interested in.

At least *this* patient. Because I AM an anecdote.

[bemildred]

18. And anecdotes are personal "observations" about what appears to work. nt

[The Backlash Cometh]

20. What is fasting glucose?

[Duer 157099]

22. Fasting glucose = blood level of glucose after 12 hour fast

It's basically to see how close you are to becoming diabetic

[The Backlash Cometh]

32. What does this Vitamin D do in relation to hypoglycemia?

I would never make it past hour two. However, I am showing some symptoms of diabetes too.

[Duer 157099]

44. It's usually an overnight fast.

The toughest part is making it to the blood lab before having coffee or tea, for me anyway.

I'm not sure specifically what vitamin D does relative to glucose, but when I was immersed in the literature a few weeks ago, there were certain groups of symptoms that kept appearing whenever vitamin D deficiency was mentioned, and pre-diabetes was one of those in the group. So I wanted to see if JUST the vitamin D supplementation would have any effect. Now, my result is small and it's based on just one sample, so...

Data is accumulating rapidly though; it truly seems to be one of the hottest research topics du jour.

[MorningGlow]

45. Vitamin D alleviates my polycystic ovary syndrome

which is exacerbated by high blood sugar (I'm "prediabetic"), so evidently it helps lower blood glucose and relieve corresponding illnesses. I'm not taking anything else at the moment (a number of years ago I was on glucophage to lower my blood sugar level but I'm not taking it now), so it looks like just the vit. D is doing the trick. :thumbsup:

[The Backlash Cometh]

50. Interesting.

I'm now on supplements of Calcium for 1800 units, and at least 600 IU's of Vitamin D. I just had a bone density exam which determined I needed to up my supplements. I'll soon get to see what kind of effect they'll have on everything else.

[tblue37]

21. D2? How odd. My understanding is that the supplement you should

take is D3. I have read that D2 breaks down into toxic substances in the body.

[Duer 157099]

23. Yeah, there is a debate about D2 vs D3 and I'm still on the fence

Apparently the form that's used for prescriptions is the D2 (ergocalciferol), although I don't know why that is.

The supplements that I buy myself are D3 (cholecalciferol)

[tiptoe]

34. D2 v D3 (new facet of the debate - MD's experience with patient neurological symptoms, 4/2010)

 

The Vitamin D Newsletter is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

The Vitamin D Newsletter, April 2010 (John Cannell, MD)
Even More Vitamin D Questions and Answers
...
D2 VS. D3

Dr. Cannell:
I am a neurologist in Oklahoma. I wrote to you a few months ago about the observation that all of my patients with sleep disorders had low vitamin D and that when I was able to replace D, and get the level above 50, their sleep and secondarily several of their neurologic problems, improved, especially their headaches.

I have since stumbled into a few unexpected holes and have learned a lot but now have some questions regarding the D2 imposter. My medical colleagues that are using D2 (Drisdol) for bone health have no symptoms to follow in response to supplementing and think that they have accomplished what they want when they get the 25(OH)D2 above 50. The problem is that I am using D3 supplement for other things and have learned that the sleep and headaches improve with the right dose of D3 but that the same dose of D2 does not work at all.

On several patients even though the 25(OH)D2 level is up, their sleep and headaches are no better. For example, today I saw a woman who has all the same symptoms as all my other patients; poor sleep, indigestion, daily headache, all worsening after her second pregnancy 4 years ago. Her 25(OH)D2 was 52 and she was not supplementing, so I did not ask her to take D3. After receiving several calls from her about her headaches not getting any better I decided to try supplementing D3 the way I am in all the other patients at 20,000 IU for one month. Since starting D3 supplement her sleep is better and her headaches are gone.

Why is D2 used at in a prescription when it is not natural to our body? What has been the motivation for using it? Why is it used in milk instead of D3? I am about to look into the literature about whether it has some exclusive effect on bone health but I'm noticing that most of the literature is sloppy about which D they're talking about in terms of the 25OH. Why are they sloppy about this? Has there been literature that supports the fact that D2 and D3 are actually identical?

The sleep effect ties to many of the neurologic disorders that get better with D3, improved sleep, seizures, headaches, vertigo, tremor, gait, Parkinson's, depression, psychosis, hypertension. I'm interested in anyone else watching similar effects on their patients?

Thanks for your comments, explanations, and exclamations.
Gormon Servasta MD,
Oklahoma

That is great news for millions of headache sufferers, as well as those suffering from other neurological disorders. I always recommend D3 and see no reason for anyone to take D2, it is not human vitamin D. It is a vitamin D analogue that happened to be discovered before D3 by the University of Wisconsin, who patented it. It was then sold, and still is, as the only available prescription vitamin D, Drisdol.

Currently, most scientists are specifying whether they use D2 or D3 in their studies, but that was not always the case in the past. All studies done with D2 will need to be repeated with D3; if the studies were negative, they need to be repeated to see if they are also negative with D3; if they were positive, they need to be repeated with D3 to see if the effect size is the same or not. Most milk now contains D3. If your patient had a 25(OH)D2 of 52 and had not been on D2 supplements or eating large amounts of irradiated Shitake mushrooms, the result was a lab error.

D2, or ergocalciferol, does not exist in detectable quantities in the human body, only in tiny quantities in some plants and, as such, is "unnatural" when in the human body. You cannot get any appreciable D2 by eating vegetables except for some irradiated mushrooms. D2 is metabolized to various substances in the body, many of which are not normally present in humans, although these metabolites have never been shown to be dangerous.

There is also some evidence that D2 is more toxic in overdose, which is curious as it is only about half as potent as the naturally occurring vitamin D3, cholecalciferol. I have seen evidence that humans prefer D3 over D2 in that, if both 25(OH)D2 and 25(OH)D3 are present in serum, over time the 25(OH)D3 falls faster than the 25(OH)D2, suggesting the body preferentially uses 25(OH)D3, if it is available. For any scientist readers, this would be an easy and important study to do.

Your experience that D3, but not D2, helps neurological symptoms is interesting. Such comparisons of the efficacy of D3 versus D2 on neurological symptoms do not exist in the medical literature, another important study to do. Since I have never given anyone D2, I cannot comment further.

[tavalon]

25. I've been in the healthcare biz long enough to know

that doctors know far less than they think they do. That said, remember this is a fat soluble vitamin so it can accumulate in your fatty tissues. I would recommend continued testing of your D levels to make sure you aren't getting toxic. Truth be told, I'm not really sure what happens if you get too much vitamin D. And since I live in the great northwest, I do believe I will never find out. I take 4000IU daily with my other vitamins.

[Duer 157099]

29. True dat

I plan to continually monitor. I'm more concerned right now about titrating my levels of Ca/Mg since not only are those critical participants, but because I don't know what my levels are. I know that it's a balancing act, though.

I wish there were easy ways to measure these things ourselves at home, like the glucose monitoring devices they have now. How cool would that be?

From what I've read about vitamin D toxicity, it's not subtle. You feel like shit and usually end up in the hospital.

I doubt I'll ever get there UNLESS by a formulation error, which accounts for the only cases of toxicity I've read about.

[tavalon]

31. Well, as a "patient" who is acting like a partner in your healthcare

you should do fine. I quite dislike the culture of the passive patient almost as much as I do the paternalistic culture of doctors (many nurses participate, especially in the hospital setting).

[The Backlash Cometh]

33. There was a thread here yesterday that provided the answer to your question.

He was accidentally taking too much from one of those supplemental meal shakes and it finally got his kidneys.

[tiptoe]

35. Seems to have been a mix up "50 micrograms" (2000 IU D) with "50 milligrams" (2,000,000 IU)

"..1,000X the amount of Vit D than label claimed...daily, he was ingesting 2 million IU..."

1 µg = 40 IU    1 mg = 40,000 IU    vitamin D

 

[BrklynLiberal]

40. Thanks for that link. Lots of good info.

[tiptoe]

36. John Cannell reported on the only case in the med lit as of 6/09 of toxicity from D3 and the result:

Medical findings in the Gary Null/Triarco case (involving the experience of Null, himself, and, possibly, at least a few users of the recalled Ultimate Power Meal product) might eventually appear in the medical literature. But as of 6/20/2009...

See here for Cannell's review of "the only documented case of pharmacological—not industrial—toxicity from cholecalciferol...in the literature" and its reflection on the safety of cholecalciferol.

The Null case would appear to be another example of an industrial accident — 2 million IU vitamin D per day over a month (i.e., presumably D3, but haven't seen the ingredients label online, product recalled).

[tavalon]

47. Thanks, that was interesting

I'm pretty good at ferreting out such information myself, but, like I said before, it isn't likely to happen in my family so the motivation isn't high.

[Autumn Colors]

38. OK, question about the Ca and Mg

You are (or were) on 50,000 IU of D2 per week and 1.5 g of Ca per week, correct?

How much Mg are you taking along with this? Was this combination/balance from your own research or from the doctor?

Thanks.

[Duer 157099]

42. Yes, 1.5g Ca. My doc actually didn't mention Mg at all

but the tabs I have come with both (and zinc too) so I'm stuck with that ratio for now until I can do more research on how to tweak it. I've read some studies that talk about this but it's not fully clear to me yet.

In any case, the tabs I'm taking are calcium carbonate 1000mg, magnesium oxide 400mg, zinc sulfate 15mg -- I take 1.5 daily and try to break them into at least 2 doses (some studies say you should only take 500mg Ca at a time, spread the dose out)

Also, to be more accurate regarding the D itself, I was actually cheating because in addition to the 50,000iu D2 Rx caps (one weekly), I was also taking store bought D3 tabs, to the tune of 6-10,000iu/day. The reason I did this was that I had been on this 8-week course of Rx D2 in the past, and it did not seem to do much, and now that I read upthread about the D2 vs D3, I see that adding D3 may have been a good idea.

[tiptoe]

46. Ah! Ok...all of my lipid results also were in range, tested along with D3 status.

I suspect I might have been the doctor's first Vitamin D-supplemented patient seeking to be tested as part of a basic checkup; the status test was not amongst its standard collection of tests offered, and, originally, she requisitioned the D-test for calcitriol (active vitamin d) instead of for calcidiol (serum vitamin D) -- I corrected her.

Tested at level 60 ng/ml (Quest Labs, scandalously 25%-too-high test results a few years ago, supposedly corrected, currently being reviewed via Dr. Cannell's Quest/LabCorp Vitamin D Testing Project!).

The doctor was very intrigued as to why none of my test results (lipids,CBC,PSA,comprehensive metabolic panel,TSH,) were out of range (I was worried what my lipid levels might show, but No!...LDL low, HDL almost 50, triglycerides very low, ratio fine). She specifically asked about the D3, how much I was taking, had I checked the manufacturer's credentials, quality, etc. (I sensed she was asking for herself.) I gave her and another doctor links to the "Myths, FAQs Vitamin D; A Real Mising Link..", so they'd be clued in to latest research findings, proposed new standards, optimal ranges, etc. and suggested to them that vitamin-d status was a most important/fundamental medical test, and one they should be *volunteering* to offer their patients (since the very great majority of them still are totally uninformed re vit D and wouldn't know to request the test), and that Kaiser Health Plan recently began doing just that for its subscribers as part of standard medical checkups. (I'll follow up later with them and remind.) I've met Kaiser subscribers who know they've been tested for vitamin D, have been told the results were "normal", yet *none* have been able to identify and relate to me the D-value, itself (presumably reported...which means Kaiser docs provide scanty info, do not impress about vit-d importance, and do not go into "optimal" at all with their patients...and certainly nothing mentioned about D2 vs D3). So, I'm curious about what's considered "normal" by Kaiser doctors (i.e., what is their true appreciation of the current lowest end of the test scale vs what they knew from before). (My suspicion is that old habits, i.e. 1997-era thinking, are hard to break, "normal" varies amongst the doctors, and they might not be attuned to latest research on what's "optimal", nor even advising patients means to achieve optimal levels). I also suspect Kaiser may have voluntarily begun testing Vitamin D status not merely because of the 19-to-1 Return on Investment demonstrated in the study for Western Europe but also because of the reported shockingly higher rate of autism manifested recently in California. I suspect that "preventive-medicine-oriented" Kaiser might have become particularly alarmed at the number of its own health plan subscribers' children being deemed autistic (usually by age 6 or 7), and that by implementing a general policy of testing ALL health plan subscribers, they are 1) getting valuable demographic info on Vitamin D status (and 2, shhh! discovering and possibly disguising *highest* rates of autism amongst its *own* health plan members' children, i.e. relative to those of other health-insurance providers. (See here and consider if a health system like Kaiser mightn't be a most efficient distributor of Amer Acad of Pediatrics 1999 directives in California.)

Finally, expect anger and defensiveness from many in the medical profession. Remember, if I'm right, it was not the evil power plants, or the mercury polluters, or the vaccine industry that caused your son's autism. It was the CDC, the NIH, the AMA, and all the other committees and organizations that fell for the dermatologists' calculations (the cosmetic industry will give me a larger grant if I warn about sunlight) and who then blasphemed the Sun God. That is, the worst charge you can level against medicine, "You have violated your primary duty; you have caused harm." If I am right, the current autism epidemic is the worst iatrogenic disease in human history — John Cannell, MD

The Quest "LCMSMS" method is able to separately detect, measure and report for both D3 and D2. (The multivitamin I chose for its 100% Beta-carotene vitamin A and reasonable price unfortunately includes 400 IU D2, not D3; I supplement separately with D3 in much larger quantity than the D2). "D2" < 4 ng/ml, combined "D2+D3" = 60 ng/ml.

[BrklynLiberal]

41. Which is preferable..calcium citrate or calcium carbonate? I have seen both sold

with Vitamin D.

The Magnesium/Calcium ratio is 2:1.


I LOVE DU. One can be sure to find answers here....

Does this appear to be a good supplement...?
http://www.swansonvitamins.com/NTP014/ItemDetail?n=0

I have been taking Shiff Super Calcium. It has 1200 mg of calcium per does and 800IU of D3...but no magnesium.
Dose is two huge capsules

[Duer 157099]

43. I'm not sure yet about the Ca/Mg

I *do* know that you need Mg and Zn as well as the Ca, but the ratios are still in question for me. I hope anyone who knows more about it will post.

And I'm not such about citrate vs carbonate. Yet.

[Shallah Kali]

49. Carbonate is the least absorbed but is better than no calcium

and if one is prone to constipation it might increase it. Folks with ibs-d take calcium carbonate exactly because of this. Citrate is better and I have read chelates, where the calcium is bound to a protein, are the best absorbed.

Only so much Calcium can be absorbed at one time so doses higher than 500mg are wasteful. Look for a supplement that comes in divided doses or in tablets that can be cut to the correct dose.

btw a tip for those who have problems swallowing pills - try putting them in a spoonful of something like apple sauce or pudding. My Mother was always nervy about me taking medicines when I was a kid so I got nervy about taking pills to the point I would almost choke every time. Taking them in apple sauce always helped me take them and over time the gag-triggering fear went away. I just wish I could have connived her I need to take them in pudding instead!

Oh the K2 is an very interesting form of vitamin k. There is actually more than one form of K2 with the supplement you linked to having the MK-4 form which happens to be the form found in human milk. Vitamin K1 is found in plants, MK2 forms are found in animals and fermented foods like certain cheeses and natto.

[Autumn Colors]

48. Someone asked about blood tests

Someone will probably accuse me of being a Life Extension shill soon (LOL), but L.E. has blood tests that can be done through their network of doctors. You pay for the test and then you can have the blood drawn by an L.E. member doctor in your area.

[Duer 157099]

52. I spoke with my doc today

I asked him what he thought of the results and he said they were very significant.

Then I told him that it was SOLELY due to the vitamin D (Ca/Mg/Zn) because I had made no other changes.

I couldn't gauge a reaction because we had very little time and many things to cover (and it was over the phone). However, when I asked for a complete thyroid panel (free T3 and T4 and antibody) he immediately agreed. No hesitation. I'm guessing he thinks maybe I know what I'm doing now? :D

[Manifestor_of_Light]

53. Millions of us have thyroid problems, usually dead ones.

To educate yourself about tests, go to www.stopthethyroidmadness.com

Hope your doctor treats you properly, should you have a problem. A lot of doctors don't.

Also adrenal fatigue goes along with dead thyroid. But you don't know if you need that info yet.

the Vit. D experiment is exciting! I wonder which form the injectable Vit D is? (IM, not IV).

[Duer 157099]

54. For years I was hoping it was my thyroid

but after taking synthroid (and even Armour) and getting my TSH into the 2 range, I don't notice any real difference, not ANYTHING like what I noticed from the vitamin D.

I started a new thread about my thyroid experiment I'm embarking on.

[Duer 157099]

56. I found a source for 50,000iu D3!

And it's less expensive than the D3 (2,000) from Costco.

http://www.antiaging-systems.com/iasstore/acatalog/D3_Pro.html

50,000iu x 100 / $40 = $1.60 per 200,000iu

Costco D3 is currently on sale for $11

2,000iu x 600 / $11 = $1.83 per 200,000iu

http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11467951&whse=BC&Ne=4000000&eCat=BC|589&N=4040654&Mo=36&No=19&ViewAll=37&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&cat=87243&Ns=P_Price|1||P_SignDesc1&lang=en-US&Sp=C&topnav=

edit to add: there is a coupon for free shipping thru the end of May, V-CAT10 -- it worked for me but then I've ordered from them in the past so don't know if that matters. fwiw.

[tiptoe]

57. Also this (from Cannell's site): 50,000 IU D3 / 100 ct / $30

Bio-Tech Pharmacal D-3-50 (50,000IU) 100ct

https://secure.bio-tech-pharm.com/detail.aspx?product_id=20&cat_id=2&subcat_id=0

BIO-TECH Pharmacal Inc., is a fully insured, state and federally licensed, FDA registered, cGMP pharmaceutical manufacturer, specializing in high quality hypoallergenic products, nutraceuticals, and pharmaceuticals.

[Duer 157099]

58. wow,that's even better

sheesh what next, they'll be *giving* sunshine away for free! :D