This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Knowledge & Support Community

I send my kids to play outside. All year round, many hours. They are homeschooled, so they can get a lot of hours in the sun.

Beyond that, just a standard multivitamin, 400 iu I think, probably 60% of the time on average. (Depends on the spouse remember to put vitamins out before he goes to work.)

That's what we do. Not proposing it based on anything other than my hunch about what is good for my particular kids. I could be wrong.

Jen.

I am on 4000 IU per day

Brad

my daughters pediatrician recommended one of the kids D drops per day. That is 400 IU. This was after informing him of my condition (MS) and expressing our intent to supplement our babies diet with more D.

As context, I am RRMS and we live in New England.

i just checked health canada dri tables for vit d3.

AI stands for Adequate Intake (in the absence of sufficient sunlight).
UL is the Upper Limit for daily intakes.

The table shows 2000 IU per day is the upper limit for about everyone, except infants up to one year. for them the upper limit is 1000.

personally it seems 4000 IU is more the thing for daily maintenance. that's from all sources of course, sun food and supps. i haven't linked to the supporting research here, but it's all available somewhere in a past post or ten, here at TIMS!

at the end of the day it looks like if your kids are older than 12 months the recommendation is the same as for everyone else - up to age 50 at least.

Vitamin D
Unit μg/day IU/day
AI UL AI UL
Infants
0-6 mo 5* 25 200* 1000
7-12 mo 5* 25 200* 1000
Children
1-3 y 5* 50 200* 2000
4-8 y 5* 50 200* 2000
Males
9-13 y 5* 50 200* 2000
14-18 y 5* 50 200* 2000
19-30 y 5* 50 200* 2000
31-50 y 5* 50 200* 2000
51-70 y 10* 50 400* 2000
>70 y 15* 50 600* 2000
Females
9-13 y 5* 50 200* 2000
14-18 y 5* 50 200* 2000
19-30 y 5* 50 200* 2000
31-50 y 5* 50 200* 2000
51-70 y 10* 50 400* 2000
>70 y 15* 50 600* 2000
Pregnancy
< 18 y 5* 50 200* 2000
19-30 y 5* 50 200* 2000
31-50 y 5* 50 200* 2000
*in the absence of sufficient sunlight

sufficient sunlight is a judgement call, since it depends on where you are on the globe, atmospheric conditions, whether your skin is light or dark, covered or bare, sunscreen used or not, how long you're out, how old you are etc.

different people's bodies absorb supplements with varying efficiency/efficacy so it's hard to know what level will work for an individual.

blood work removes the guessing and tells you easily whether you are getting enough or too much from a given regimen.

HTH!

oh jeez .. formatting.. i am not about to go back and code through all that right now LOL hope you can figure out the columns okay!

The role of hypovitaminosis D as a possible risk factor for multiple sclerosis is reviewed.

First, it is emphasized that hypovitaminosis D could be only one of the risk factors for multiple sclerosis and that numerous other environmental and genetic risk factors appear to interact and combine to trigger the disease.

Secondly, the classical physiological notions about vitamin D have recently been challenged and the main new findings are summarized....Read More - http://www.msrc.co.uk/index.cfm/fuseact ... ageid/1334

It's funny (spelled ironic) that vitamin D and MS is getting so much attention these days. 10 years ago when I was taking vitamin D my neurologist sent me to a dietitian and blood work because they were so freaked out about the vitamin D. Now my current neurologist (the other one moved away) sent me to do blood work for vitamin D and now they say I'm not taking enough. So I don't think that the consensus is it in.

the pros are finally catching up with the three decades of science that's all.

You gotta laugh. Sometimes you just smile, nod your head and laugh on the inside.

Ann Neurol. 2010 Aug;68(2):193-203.
Higher 25-hydroxyvitamin D is associated with lower relapse risk in multiple sclerosis.

Simpson S Jr, Taylor B, Blizzard L, Ponsonby AL, Pittas F, Tremlett H, Dwyer T, Gies P, van der Mei I.

Menzies Research Institute Private Bag 23 Hobart TAS 7001 Australia.
Abstract

OBJECTIVE: A protective association between higher vitamin D levels and the onset of multiple sclerosis (MS) has been demonstrated; however, its role in modulating MS clinical course has been little studied. We investigated whether higher levels of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OH-D) were associated with a lower risk of relapses in people with MS. METHODS: We conducted a prospective cohort study of 145 participants with relapsing-remitting MS from 2002 to 2005. Serum 25-OH-D levels were measured biannually, and the hazard of relapse was assessed using survival analysis. RESULTS: There was an inverse linear relationship between 25-OH-D levels and the hazard of relapse over the subsequent 6 months, with hazard ratio (HR) 0.91 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.85-0.97) per 10nmol/l increase in 25-OH-D level (p = 0.006). When variation due to timing of blood collection was removed by estimating 25-OH-D at the start of each season, this association persisted, with HR 0.90 (95% CI, 0.83-0.98) per 10nmol/l increase (p = 0.016). Taking into account the biological half-life of 25-OH-D, we estimated 25-OH-D at monthly intervals, resulting in a slightly enhanced association, with HR 0.88 (95% CI, 0.82-0.95) per 10nmol/l increase (p = 0.001). Adjusting for potential confounders did not alter these findings. INTERPRETATION: In this prospective population-based cohort study, in a cohort largely on immunomodulatory therapy, higher 25-OH-D levels were associated with a reduced hazard of relapse. This occurred in a dose-dependent linear fashion, with each 10nmol/l increase in 25-OH-D resulting in up to a 12% reduction in risk of relapse. Clinically, raising 25-OH-D levels by 50nmol/l could halve the hazard of a relapse. ANN NEUROL 2010;68:193-203.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20695012

Study confirms raising vitamin D level by 50nmol/L could reduce MS relapses by 50%



Higher 25-hydroxyvitamin D is associated with lower relapse risk in multiple sclerosis.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: A protective association between higher vitamin D levels and the onset of multiple sclerosis (MS) has been demonstrated; however, its role in modulating MS clinical course has been little studied. We investigated whether higher levels of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OH-D) were associated with a lower risk of relapses in people with MS.
... Read More - http://www.msrc.co.uk/index.cfm/fuseact ... ageid/1334

in 2006 the mcmaster drug info desk told me the quick way to jump up 50nmol/L is 50,000 IU per day for 10 days.

from experience and discussions i've had, people will react differently to this treatment.

i had been supplementing with calcium and magnesium prior to my 2006 megadose, and i went up by more like 75 nmol/L on this regimen.

it seems that folks with better zinc status would probably go even more than 50nmol/L higher. that's speaking from personal experience ..

megadosing d3 worked very well the first time when i did not know i was zinc deficient..

the second time i had fixed zn deficiency and even though i only megadosed d3 for 8 days, i jumped up 150nmol/L to end up at 273nmol/L (not safe).

i know other TIMS members have had recalcitrant suboptimal d3 levels until they got their cal mag and zinc status sorted out.

for more info see additional comment related to this finding, under the 'general discussion' vit d study topic by squiffy2

O. M. G.

news link

August 13, 2010 11:00 AM

Ontario is listening to expert medical advice and proposing to curb unnecessary Vitamin D testing for otherwise healthy people.

In June, Ontario's Health Technology Advisory Committee concluded that the routine use of Vitamin D testing for the general population could not be justified based on current evidence. This builds on other recent medical expert evidence that recommended changes to sleep studies, bone mineral density and pre-operative testing for cataract surgery.

Since 2004, Vitamin D testing has grown by 2,500 per cent - jumping from 29,000 tests to over 700,000 in 2009. Moving toward evidence based testing supports Ontario's Excellent Care for All agenda to ensure health care investments are getting results and improving patient care. The proposed change to Vitamin D testing would result in resources being redirected to other laboratory services.

The province would continue to cover Vitamin D testing for patients where medical evidence indicates there is a need. Ontario would continue to fund tests for patients with medical conditions such as Osteoporosis, Rickets, Osteopenia, Malabsorption Syndromes and Renal Disease. Ontarians who are on medications that affect Vitamin D metabolism would also still be covered.

The public is invited to comment on the proposed change to Vitamin D testing which will be posted on Ontario's regulatory registry until September 26.

In June, Ontario passed the Excellent Care for All Act, which lays the foundation for these improvements and is part of the Open Ontario Plan to improve the quality and value of health care.


QUICK FACTS

*This year it is expected that the government will be billed up to $66 million on Vitamin D tests compared to $1.7 million in 2004.
*If current trends continue, billings could reach up to $155 million by 2011/12.
*Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, Labrador and Saskatchewan have all moved to limit unnecessary Vitamin D testing.

this is where health care is heading, canada.

ontarians with ms, if multiple sclerosis is not on the list of exceptions, it is time to send the ontario govt our input.

I had my first major MS flare up when I was visiting the country Equador.

I had to go to the ER cause I couldn't move my left leg, & I got MRIs there, & the doctors told me I was the first patient they ever had in that country that ever got MS.

The neurologists were just amazed to see someone with MS lesions on their MRI.

Equador is right near the equator, so people there get more sunlight than anywhere else.

I grew up in Iowa where I only got sun part of the year, & I didn't know the benefits of sunlight -- so I went years without sun.

Since there's no MS in Equador, & there are lots of people w/ MS in Canada -- I have to agree that vitamin D is an essential factor in why people get this.

So, vitamin D probably can help control it too.