Re: Report that lack of vitamin D can...

KatieB · ‎03-10-2010

@hoosieroriginal wrote:
contribute to likelihood of MS - also taking Vitamin D if you have MS can help reduce the recurrence of relapses. Do you take enough Vitamin D? The more reports I see on the good effects of Vitamin D, I think it should be something that is routinely checked during annual checkups. A co-worker was vegan and she went for an annual exam and he said he had never seen anyone with such a low level of Vitamin D in their system. I take it regularly with my vitamins (800 mg) and then take another 1,000 mg a couple of times a week, plus I'm outside every day walking dogs.

@hoosieroriginal Thanks for this post. I started taking Vit D supplements last fall due to the beginnings of osteoporosis.. But since I have MS, it's good to know that it will reduce exacerbations of the disease. I take 2000 mg per day along with 1200 mg calcium...

Bri36 · ‎02-20-2017

@Lipstickdiva wrote:
@Bri36 wrote:
I just had my annual exam last week. My doctor, for the first time, said I should have my Vitamin D checked.

Imagine my surprise when I saw on MyChart, my Vitamin D level is 8.3. I'm horrified that it's so low. I'm curious what he's going to tell me about it when I talk to him tomorrow.
I want to find out exactly what mine was. My new doctor is sort of in between practices and her office isn't running very efficiently. I'm hoping that changes when she's in a permanent office in November.

Anyhow, in the past I always saw all of my results via a website or they were mailed to me. This time I received a call from her office and nothing more, so while I was told everything except my Vitamin D came back ok, I don't know what the numbers were.

Oh and they also did a blood glucose test on me but my doctor told me not to worry about fasting. I ran to have everything done after work. My reading came back at 115 and the girl that called me was insistent it should have been under 100. I told her I didn't fast and she still insisted it should have been under 100. I just told her okay and hung up. I wasn't going further because I know she's wrong. LOL

I like seeing the exact numbers on My Chart.

You need to fast for the blood glucuse. They lab tech even asked me before she started drawing the blood if I fasted.

Do you have to go in for another blood test? Or you can just use one of your husband's test strips.

Moonchilde · ‎05-23-2010

@Lipstickdiva wrote:
@Moonchilde wrote:
@maestra And @Lipstickdiva -

When I was given the Rx by my doctor it was for vit D2, because for some odd reason, vit D3 (which is the form sold everywhere and is much better absorbed by the body than D2) is the only form insurance will pay for. My doctor said she does it that way because she knows that if she just tells someone to start taking vit D most people probably will blow it off and not bother, but if she writes a Rx people will take it seriously; I think she's right.

There are all sorts of doses but as 5,000 IU is the recommended max per day, I buy that - one pill per day instead of trying to remember multiple smaller doses. I have never had a single "toxic" side effect from "too much."

I just buy the ones in CVS, either theirs or Nature's Bounty, that are usually 2 for the price of 1.
@Moonchilde, I'm not sure what my RX is because it just says Vitamin D on the label.

I recently started taking Andrew Lessman's Essentials Complete which has 2,000 IUs of Vitamin D in it and it is Vitamin D3. I'm hoping that is enough but if it's not, I'll take another OTC supplement.

@Lipstickdiva, I would think that's fine for most people - a good amount, but not so much you'd need to worry about "too much."

Life without Mexican food is no life at all

Moonchilde · ‎05-23-2010

@Lipstickdiva wrote:
@Bri36 wrote:
I just had my annual exam last week. My doctor, for the first time, said I should have my Vitamin D checked.

Imagine my surprise when I saw on MyChart, my Vitamin D level is 8.3. I'm horrified that it's so low. I'm curious what he's going to tell me about it when I talk to him tomorrow.
I want to find out exactly what mine was. My new doctor is sort of in between practices and her office isn't running very efficiently. I'm hoping that changes when she's in a permanent office in November.

Anyhow, in the past I always saw all of my results via a website or they were mailed to me. This time I received a call from her office and nothing more, so while I was told everything except my Vitamin D came back ok, I don't know what the numbers were.

Oh and they also did a blood glucose test on me but my doctor told me not to worry about fasting. I ran to have everything done after work. My reading came back at 115 and the girl that called me was insistent it should have been under 100. I told her I didn't fast and she still insisted it should have been under 100. I just told her okay and hung up. I wasn't going further because I know she's wrong. LOL

Sheesh, @Lipstickdiva, are you a Bad Girl, then? Numbers are what they are, it's not like you have total control - ooh, must make sure my BG will be under 100 when I go to the doctor! (Without fasting, that is).

Every doctor makes different decisions on who does what in their offices, but neither my long-time previous nor current offices told me anything unless they were the doctor or a PA or NP and knew what they were telling me. That could freak a newly diagnosed person out or make them feel "guilty" for no reason.

Life without Mexican food is no life at all

Moonchilde · ‎05-23-2010

@Bri36 wrote:
@Lipstickdiva wrote:
@Bri36 wrote:
I just had my annual exam last week. My doctor, for the first time, said I should have my Vitamin D checked.

Imagine my surprise when I saw on MyChart, my Vitamin D level is 8.3. I'm horrified that it's so low. I'm curious what he's going to tell me about it when I talk to him tomorrow.
I want to find out exactly what mine was. My new doctor is sort of in between practices and her office isn't running very efficiently. I'm hoping that changes when she's in a permanent office in November.

Anyhow, in the past I always saw all of my results via a website or they were mailed to me. This time I received a call from her office and nothing more, so while I was told everything except my Vitamin D came back ok, I don't know what the numbers were.

Oh and they also did a blood glucose test on me but my doctor told me not to worry about fasting. I ran to have everything done after work. My reading came back at 115 and the girl that called me was insistent it should have been under 100. I told her I didn't fast and she still insisted it should have been under 100. I just told her okay and hung up. I wasn't going further because I know she's wrong. LOL

I like seeing the exact numbers on My Chart.

You need to fast for the blood glucuse. They lab tech even asked me before she started drawing the blood if I fasted.

Do you have to go in for another blood test? Or you can just use one of your husband's test strips.

Apropos of all this - I used to think you had to be fasting for an a1c, but you don't, in case anyone might wonder.

Life without Mexican food is no life at all

Bri36 · ‎02-20-2017

@Moonchilde

I believe you have to fast for a lipid profile.

Is blood glucose the same as A1C? My dad has been a diabetic for over 45 years. He always has to fast for his blood work.

Mothertrucker · ‎01-30-2015

I take 50,000 IU daily...Seems like they just can't get me up to a therapeutic level..and I live in So Cal and am outside daily, so the idea that an extremely deficient person can "get all they need from the sun" seems ridiculous....

Moonchilde · ‎05-23-2010

@Bri36 wrote:
@Moonchilde

I believe you have to fast for a lipid profile.

Is blood glucose the same as A1C? My dad has been a diabetic for over 45 years. He always has to fast for his blood work.

@Bri36, yes, I thought it might be the cholesterol that needed fasting, wasn't positive.

There are different times and reasons for fasting (or not needing to) with BG. Diabetics test their own BG at home, several times a day (except that Medicare restricts this by not paying for more testing supplies than once a day...grrrr).

If the doctor's office wants a fasting BG, that's perfectly logical - first thing in the morning OR minimum 8 hrs without food. That's a "picture" of what your BG is at that moment.

An a1c test is a picture of what your average BG has been for the past 90 days; you don't have to fast for this test. Most diabetics get an a1c test ordered by their doctor every 90 days to see if they're stable as far as needing meds, change meds if they've gone way up, etc.

Life without Mexican food is no life at all

Bri36 · ‎02-20-2017

@Moonchilde, the doctor's office just called right on the heels of our posts.

He explained to me what the difference was between blood glucose and A1C. Since I'm not diabetic, there is no need to order that specific test. I wasn't sure if it was included in the CBC or not.

I asked him about fasting for blood sugar - he said it's preferred. You defintiely have to fast for lipid panel and some other tests.