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Finally got my Vitamin D level back. 8.6. Neurologist's office called and told me to pick up a script for 50,000 units, once per week. Maybe this explains all the weird symptoms I've had lately that brought me here. (feeling faint, tunnel vision, mild headaches, aching neck, numb feet, hands, left arm).

Is there a link between low vitamin d and MS? 6 lesions in my brain. None in my c-spine. Staring down the barrel of a lumbar puncture maybe.

wowww what units? i have to assume ng/mL can you confirm?

short answer YES d3 is in the nutritional picture where ms is concerned. it helps regulate your immune system. puts on the brakes in the 'attack' vs 'stop attacking' equation. among other things. it is BY NO MEANS the only nutrient of concern for MS patients. and it by no means acts in isolation. everything is interconnected and complex!

can we assume this script is for 50K D3 per week, not D2.

remind me if you have a good sense of where the magnesium comes from in your day to day, and if you have a good quality mag supplement on hand? docs are not in the habit yet of recommending appropriate cofactors when prescribing vit D3.

magnesium status is likely to affect your serum response to this prescription. it should just work better if you have more mag in your system.

related study (not that this study group is representative of the world, but this kind of thing is what we are stuck with until more studies are done)

Determinants of vitamin D status in patients with hip fracture and in elderly control subjects13
http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/46/6/1005.full.pdf

Sunshine score and dietary and biochemical data from 125 patients with hip fracture and from 74 elderly control subjects
....................................................control subjects....patients
Vitamin D intake (IU/d)..........................114 ± 44..........116 ± 63 ............< roughly equivalent (but low) d3 exposure
Serum Magnesium (mmol/L)......................0.82 ± 0.07........0.76 ± 0. 12 .......< better mag status in controls, and look both avgs are low 'normal' ;)
Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (nmol/L).........32.9 ± 13.6........18.5 ± 10.6 ..........< WAY better d3 status in those w higher mag (still crap though, cautious target would be more like 80-100 to start)
.....subgroup w low sunshine score.............24.3 ± 9.1........13.3 ± 5.7 .........< still way better d3 status even in those with low sun exposure

2015 discussion context: http://www.thisisms.com/forum/general-d ... ml#p231513

i wonder what the serum d3 levels would be if those folks all had *optimal* serum mag levels (and say 10x the daily d3 intake).

oh yes and here's the link for conversion factors between diff units: http://hijazi.us/ClinicalData.htm

re mri results: this study found better brain condition (increased grey matter and whole brain volume) with summer sun exposure and NOT higher serum d3 level
http://jnnp.bmj.com/content/84/10/1075.short

jimmylegs wrote:wowww what units? i have to assume ng/mL can you confirm?

short answer YES d3 is in the nutritional picture where ms is concerned. it helps regulate your immune system. puts on the brakes in the 'attack' vs 'stop attacking' equation. among other things. it is BY NO MEANS the only nutrient of concern for MS patients. and it by no means acts in isolation. everything is interconnected and complex!

can we assume this script is for 50K D3 per week, not D2.

remind me if you have a good sense of where the magnesium comes from in your day to day, and if you have a good quality mag supplement on hand? docs are not in the habit yet of recommending appropriate cofactors when prescribing vit D3.

magnesium status is likely to affect your serum response to this prescription. it should just work better if you have more mag in your system.

related study (not that this study group is representative of the world, but this kind of thing is what we are stuck with until more studies are done)

Determinants of vitamin D status in patients with hip fracture and in elderly control subjects13
http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/46/6/1005.full.pdf

Sunshine score and dietary and biochemical data from 125 patients with hip fracture and from 74 elderly control subjects
....................................................control subjects....patients
Vitamin D intake (IU/d)..........................114 ± 44..........116 ± 63 ............< roughly equivalent (but low) d3 exposure
Serum Magnesium (mmol/L)......................0.82 ± 0.07........0.76 ± 0. 12 .......< better mag status in controls, and look both avgs are low 'normal' ;)
Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (nmol/L).........32.9 ± 13.6........18.5 ± 10.6 ..........< WAY better d3 status in those w higher mag (still crap though, cautious target would be more like 80-100 to start)
.....subgroup w low sunshine score.............24.3 ± 9.1........13.3 ± 5.7 .........< still way better d3 status even in those with low sun exposure

2015 discussion context: http://www.thisisms.com/forum/general-d ... ml#p231513

i wonder what the serum d3 levels would be if those folks all had *optimal* serum mag levels (and say 10x the daily d3 intake).

oh yes and here's the link for conversion factors between diff units: http://hijazi.us/ClinicalData.htm

When the nurse called with the result she used the word "unit" but I can't confirm what that means just yet. I'll pick up the script tonight on my way home from work. I'm sure you're correct with what it means. I currently do not take any supplements and I'm not sure how much magnesium i would derive from my daily which is fairly well rounded but still probably not enough to help with absorption of the d. i will definitely look into that. my husband takes magnesium so maybe i'll start too.

ok i am just going to go with 8 ng/ml more positive than 8 nmol/L haha. that way you're aiming for the 40-50 range, rather than 100-150!!

there are very specific next steps info and links for magnesium from a wide variety of sources in this recent post, you can make sure you get lots daily: http://www.thisisms.com/forum/undiagnos ... ml#p245230

(fyi it's established fact, due to a number of systemic factors, most ppl get about half the daily min requirement)

adding these:
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tnam ... e&dbid=101
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tnam ... e&dbid=100

aaaand, reaching back into the archives for a couple recipes
http://www.thisisms.com/forum/undiagnos ... ml#p223022
http://www.thisisms.com/forum/undiagnos ... ml#p211851

what kind of mag is hubby doing? how much per day? just curious
i would suggest, not to omit any other sly little cofactors, that a really high quality daily multivitamin, in addition to high mag foods and a decent mag supplement, would be a wise addition to the routine.

since you are dealing with a once a week d3 routine, timing shouldn't be a *huge* deal. if you are going to do anything at all with a mag supplement, i would say take it right along with the d3 , at the absolute minimum. in contrast for folks on daily d3, they would need to take some of the mag with the d3, and some at a separate time. ok that should do it for now i think

oh wait one last thing - overview info on other d3 cofactors here: https://www.vitamindcouncil.org/about-v ... -minerals/