vitamin d
thank you for sharing your info/experiences. Kelly you mentioned what i had been reading and was concerned about –the vitamin d enhancing verses boosting the immune system. that was my concern, if one were to have an overactive immune system, how the vit d would effect it.
i also read through older posts regarding this and it does seem there is a large number who were tested and come back low. I have been very concerened with the whole nutrition/supplements/vitamins since getting cidp–the ivig can stop the attack, but it is our body that needs to heal and regenerate the nerves–I just want to be sure it has every thing it needs to do that. : ) Lori
Vitamin D…
Northern Guitar Guy,
We live in northern MN which probably has the same forecast as you (maybe even colder) during the winter months. We do hibernate during the winter months, & it is very cloudy here for many of the months. But he had gone in in Oct & we had a beautiful summer, having spent most of the time outdoors at our cabin. Also, we broke warm record temps in Sept & Oct, even into the middle of Nov. I just thought it strange that he would have this deficiency after being outside in the sun all of those months. Have they always checked for this in routine blood screenings?
BTW we are really paying for the warm fall now, with lots & lots of snow!
vitamin D
The most common cause for vitamin D deficiency is not getting as much sunlight–this is why a lot of people get vitamin D deficient in the winter in especially the Northern US (or colder parts of the world) when we stay indoors more and the days are shorter. Drinking vitamin D enriched milk can help prevent becoming deficient, but most people tend to drink less milk as adults than we probably used to as a people. Other causes of vitamin D deficiency are malabsorption in the GI tract (as Dawn reports) and kidney failure. People with darker skin are more likely to have problems getting enough vitamin D. People that take some seizure medicines or medicines for malaria can get vitamin D deficient. I have not heard of getting deficient from IV IgG. Steroids can affect vitamin D absorption. My guess is that one might get deficient from having CIDP because it is so much harder to get outside much. Fatty fish are fish are a good source of vitamin D which is part of the reason that our grandparents believed in Cod Liver Oil (Yuck!). Other sources listed are saltwater fish, liver, and egg yolks. My doctor has suggested that I take a calcium supplement with vitamin D to help keep my bones strong. People that are vitamin D deficient have diffuse pain in the the muscles and body. Since I started taking vitamin D, I feel better. I do not know if it is that or other changes, but it seems worth doing. Vitamin D is one of the fat soluble vitamins that one needs to be careful not to take too much of it because it is stored in the body. If one gets too much vitamin D (a lot more than 2000 IU/day for months), you can get “intoxication” from it with too high levels of calcium, confusion, vomiting and loss of appetite, muscle weakness, and bone weakness and pain. The recommended dose for an adult used to be 400 IU/day; now it is somewhere between 800 and 1000, with some places saying up to 2000 IU/day. 2000 IU/day is considered the maximum recommended dose for an adult and medical literature does NOT recommend taking more than 2000 IU/day routinely. Be careful not to take really big doses of it Dawn even briefly as you try to “catch up”. It is a really good thing at the doses that nature intended, but more is not always better. Many of the vitamins (like many of the Bs) will not hurt you if you take high doses since any extra just goes through the body, but you have to be careful with the fat soluble ones like A and D since they can be stored the body.
WithHope
Vitamin D
Hi Schel,
I’m so sorry your little guy has got the flu. I’m sure with your care and attention he’ll recover just fine.
I understand your concern about the flu shot — and especially for a child. I’ve been following the vitamin D research and their Oct newsletter was all about the flu and maintaining higher vitamin D levels in the winter.
Here’s a link to the newsletter:
[url]http://www.vitamindcouncil.com/newsletter/2006-oct.shtml[/url]
Here’s a another link:
[url]http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20061111/bob9.asp[/url]
Considering the lack of confidence in the flu shot — I think going forward I’m just going to monitor our families’ vitamin D level — grandkids included — and just skip the flu shot from now on. I think monitoring our vitamin D levels is a lot less risky — especially if a family member has gotten GBS. I’ve asked my brother to check with his neurologist and see if he has an opinion on this.
If you haven’t already I would show your family doctor / neurologist this research and ask if they would agree?
Best wishes to you…
Jann