Vit D3>125nmol/L (50ng/ml) in blood. Goal for pwMS

[hopeful2]

Bump.

Endothelial health is very important especially if you're considering a venoplasty procedure and D3 plays a huge role in it.
Thanks Mark W.

Patrice

[jackiejay]

I have lately seen more liquid vitamin d on the market....is this a better option or are the tablets just as good?

[auburntiger]

Jackie,

Since you haven't had a response, I'm going to post with second hand knowledge. There is a site called Patients Like Me for MS where there is a thread on vitamin D with thousands of posts. When perusing the thread, many have spoken about the liquid drops raising their doctor tested vitamin D levels while a vitamin D pill was little to not effective.

It may be like the sub lingual form of B12 being better absorbed through the bloodstream than going through the digestive system.

This may be why you are seeing more marketing/manufacturing with the liquid form.

[MarkW]

When buying vitamin D, choose vitamin D3. This is offered as soft gelatin capsules (liquid filled) and drops. It is possible and cheap to buy 5000iu in a single small capsule, hence I suggest capsules. Drops maybe difficult to measure accurately but its personal choice. Vitamin D3 is usually well adsorbed. Be careful with adsorbtion of vit D2.

Disregard the standard recommended doses. I suggest 5000iu per day, then have a blood test to check levels. Increasing to 10,000 or 20,000 may be required. There is lots of info in this thread about safety. In summary - its safe to take 5-10,000iu D3. The USA dosage recommendations are way too low for pwMS.

MarkW

[MarkW]

I take 10,000 iu a day and enjoy sunbathing as well.

How much D3 do you take ? If none why not ?

MarkW

[Rokkit]

Hi Mark, a recent study showed that many vitamin D3 supplements aren't as potent as advertised. Which one do you take and how confident are you that the dose is as stated? Thanks!

P.S. I haven't tested my blood yet, will do so in a couple of months, but right now I'm taking this 5000 iu LSG by Nature Made:
http://www.naturemade.com/Products/D-Vi ... SG-5000-IU

[MarkW]

Rokkit, sorry for my late reply. Life is busy.

I use Healthy Origins brand but I have no reason to say it is better than any other soft gelatin capsule (liquid filled cap). Making soft gelatin capsules is very specialised (few manufacturers). If the product is US/EU production I am relaxed about the brand.

If the study you mentioned shows low doses from soft gelatin capsules please post details of those brands. I will investigate the manufacturer cos under US and EU law the dose must be as stated on the label.

Kind regards,

MarkW

[MarkW]

More good reasons for Vit D supplements as well as vascular health.
MarkW

Widespread vitamin D insufficiency: A new challenge for primary prevention, with particular reference to multiple sclerosis.
Presse Med. 2011 Feb 16. [Epub ahead of print]

Abstract
In the past 10years, our knowledge of vitamin D has been revolutionized on two main points. Firstly, this vitamin is not only crucial for bone and calcium metabolism but also exerts major hormonal actions via its active metabolite (calcitriol) and specific receptors in almost all organs. The diverse non-classical actions of vitamin D-i.e. anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, antiproliferative and as a neurotransmitter-could have protective and preventive effects for a wide variety of pathologies, such as autoimmune diseases, cancer, infections and cardiovascular affections. Secondly, daily vitamin D requirements have been redefined thanks to many recent metabolic and pathological studies and are about 10 times higher than the amount considered sufficient until a few years ago. The fact that sunshine is the essential natural source of vitamin D and is limited in temperate and Nordic countries, coupled with the fact that modern lifestyle increasingly removes people from exposure to the sun, could explain why a great majority of the general population in these countries are in a state of vitamin D insufficiency. A lack of vitamin D can therefore also be observed in all pathologies but it may play a pathogenic role only in some of them. The incrimination of hypovitaminosis D as a risk factor is a reasonable assumption when several different research approaches used in a given pathology have consistently concluded that vitamin D is likely involved in that pathology. In multiple sclerosis, taken here as a prime example, there is a substantial rationale for vitamin D involvement, based on the findings of different experimental, epidemiological, genetic and immunological studies. Possible curative effects of vitamin D, in addition to a preventive action, are currently being tested but have not yet been demonstrated in most pathologies. However, these two questions appear to be clearly distinct and may involve notably different mechanisms. Lastly, since vitamin D insufficiency exists in most people living in mid- or high-latitude countries, vitamin D could exert multiple major preventive actions, simple supplementation is both safe and inexpensive and, for a vitamin-hormone, supplementation seems obligatory from a general preventive medical point of view alone, it follows that vitamin D supplementation should be organized in these countries to treat all those currently in a state of insufficiency, patients and 'normal' subjects alike, without further delay.

Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.
PMID: 21333483 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

[SaintLouis]

Can someone in the US give me a clue as to where you find the liquid/drops? I searched my Walgreens and grocer and could find none. Thanks!

[MarkW]

I use iherb in California (www.iherb.com) for my Vit D3 5000iu liquid filled caps. This supplier ships worldwide, there are others selling similar capsules in USA.

MarkW

[SaintLouis]

Thanks Mark. I'm actually interested to know if there is a good source for liquid drops - not in capsule form. That might come in a bottle like Vitamin E often does. Preferably where it doesn't have to be ordered online, but I will if I must.

[1eye]

I got the idea I should be on 4000 units a day from Dr. OConnor's 'MS' book.

[NHE]

Can someone in the US give me a clue as to where you find the liquid/drops? I searched my Walgreens and grocer and could find none. Thanks!

I did a search for liquid vitamin D at a retailer and found several products.
SuperSupplements

Other retailers, such as Vitamin Shoppe, likely carry similar products.

NHE

[MS_HOPE]

I buy my Vitamin D3 (small softgels, 5000 IU each) and several other supplements at www.vitacost.com. Their NSI brand is generally high quality and a very good value, I've found.

By the way, thanks, MarkW, for reminding/telling everyone about this. It seems that every day another study is coming out that supports the many benefits of Vitamin D. Actually important for everyone, but of course, particularly those of us with MS (and other ailments), whether before or after angioplasty.

(Edited to correct: softgels, not caplets.)

[MarkW]

My training as a pharmacist told me to get patients to take a number of capsules rather than expecting a patient to measure out the correct number of drops to get the correct dose. I realise that some people prefer liquid products but pwMS sometimes have dexterity problems so cannot do drops.

Remember 5-10,000 iu per day is needed for pwMS and it is cheap. I will remind people every few weeks, sorry if you are taking Vit D3 already.

MarkW