He tells me the best way to get Vitamin D is from the sun. Yeah, well, I worship the sun in the summer. I am outdoors every single moment I can be, even taking the sun with no sunscreen, so how the hell can I be deficient? He shows me the level -- I'm at 18 when the minimum in supposed to be 30. Who decided the numbers anyway? The vitamin manufacturers?
He already suckered my husband into taking a prescription of 100,000 mgs per week -- yes you read that right -- 100,000 mgs per week. Apparently the 50,000 mgs didn't have any effect on his levels after two months. We thought it was a scam until my husband's painful charlie horses returned when he finished the first round of pills. So begrudgingly he allowed himself to be tested again and that's when the doctor pushed him to 100k. The only way you could get that dosage is through a prescription. The largest dose I found was 2,000 mgs. He would have to take 50 pills at once, the entire bottle to meet his doctor's recommendations.
The doctor wants me to take 4,000 mg a day. I'm tired of going to Kroger Pharmacy practically weekly with all the medications my husband and I suddenly have had to take so told him to forget the prescription. I'll just buy them off the shelf. I found one bottle left at CVS. Apparently a lot of folks in this valley is Vitamin D deficient, or they all go to my doctor.
Supposedly my bones are supposed to feel better by taking these pills. I heard the same thing about taking the methrotrexate which I'm still waiting for the increased dosage to kick in. So if I do begin to feel better I won't know if it's because of the Vitamin D or the MTX. I have to go back to him in three months for more blood work, and naturally, it's not a cheap blood test either.
On the bright side he was happy with my cholesterol progress although he thought my good levels should be higher so he's keeping me on the pill. He was also happy with my weight loss. His scale registered 18 pounds shed, much better than the rheumy's scale.
Since he was the first one to think I might have rheumatoid arthritis -- correctly diagnosed it -- gave me a decent diet to follow, and brought down my cholesterol levels I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt regarding my D deficiency so will add another two pills to my daily regiment. I just hope we're not all being scammed.
I don't know if it is just the deficiency du jour or not, but I also believe a lot of people are really not getting the full nutritional value they think they are (or should be) from their food. But that is a very generalized statement.
ReplyDeleteGood luck!
Carrie, my doctor specifically said that we could never get the amount of Vitamin D we need from food...the sun is the key. But, a poster on Facebook had a good point...they tell us to use suncreen constantly so how are we supposed to get D from the sun???
ReplyDeleteThe new finding is that more is not better. Sort of like wine..1-2 glasses a day is good for you but 1-2 bottles is not. I take 2,000 mg a day of the D but the news stated 600mg daily would be more appropriate. Like all supplements, wait a few years and we will be told not to take it at all and that it is bad for our health. D is the supplement of choice these days, you are right.
ReplyDeleteElena,
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you're comfortable with your doctor, that is one of the most important things out there.
That being said. MOST (and I stress that) doctors just don't know what the hell they're really talking about here. I've had doctors try to advise me against organic food. I've been told that being pregnant was no time to be concerned about my diet (um..dude -- DIET, not dieting!). The benefits of lavender to calm and soothe comes as a shock to some doctors.
So .. when it comes to food .. meh. Too many people don't even know what real food is anymore, and doctors are listed among them.
Look at the foods listed in your last picture there. If the dairy foods on there were made from raw milk, then you (said in general term, not specific) might be able to meet that requirement. Here's a link that helps show the difference and how they effect us: http://www.realmilk.com/tworawmilks.html
Carrie, it wouldn't matter if I had a cow living in my yard that I could milk because I hate milk and the amount I drink daily is about a teaspoon, which is probably why I have a Vitamin D deficiency.
ReplyDeleteI hear ya about the docs...believe me I don't put all my trust in any of them. We all have to be our own advocates. Same thing with "studies"...like Cheryl says in a couple of years the results will change and everything we thought was "good" won't be. Remember when cigarettes were "healthy?" LOL