Adcal-D3 Caplets&Superstrength Vitamin D3

I didn't ask you where you live in America.  I am at present taking Ad-cal D3 caplets 750 mg/200 I.U. so I think I am taking 1500 of calcium and the 200 I.U. is vit D.  So I have just ordered Magnesium 375mg one a day but I think I will take two a day as I am taking 1,500 of calcium and it is suggested that you should take half the dose of magnesium according to your calcium intake.  I think that's right but am not sure lol a wee bit of brain fog.  ME never went away, fibromyalgia did.  If I had a choice of which one I had to take it would be ME and fibro definately not PMR and steroids.  

I put all of my illnesses down to stress.  Being a single parent, no emotional support, taking on a mortgage when I was a full time student at University, ock sure you name it, I probably have gone through it lol

Yes we must look after our bones especially for our implants.  It takes about 6 to 8 months for procedure as the titanium implants are put into the bone (lower down) in the bone and then bone should grow, fingers crossed.  Lots of healing and positive energy going your way.  Catch it    ((((Hugs)))) to you as well.

Dear Pat, I am late answering your message. I was so busy this morning.  I live in Vancouver, Washington (Pacific Northwest) I take care of my 10 year old granddaugher and help with their household as much as possible because her parents work.

It gives me a purpose NOT to think too much about my PMR problems and back pain which is hanging on but getting better.  I am widowed and live alone in a Townhouse which I need to sell this summer because of 2 steep stair cases.

You had to go through a lot, and I agree with you that STRESS can cause a major problem with what we are going through.

I agree with you to take half of Magnesium of the total of calcium. I often take a bit more of magnesium because I tend to have heart palpitations with the higher dosage of prednisone. I am taking rght now.....30 mg for 7 days because of terrible flare, than 25 for 7 days, 20 for 7 days..... and then 1 mg per month after that.  My GP does not cause problems telling me to lower the intake too fast.  Hugs and all the best to you, Erika

 

Morning Erika, don't worry about answering late.  It's not a problem.  You can only do what you can do and the website will always wait for us.  Vancouver, Washington, well I have never been to America and I don't think I will be travelling anywhere with this illness.  It's great you can look after your grandaughter, it helps their mum and dad out,

I have two grandchildren, my grandson is 8 and my grandaughter is 6, my son is divorced from their mother, but he gets them every weekend.  

So I will be taking my Magnesium when it arrives.  The internet is brilliant for ordering stuff and getting it delivered to your home.  I would have been lost without it.  I do all of my Christmas shopping on line.  Like ME I forgot that I had it until it stopped me in my tracks, I don't focus on PMR I just do what I can do, which is not much at present.   But I get on with it.  So you are a widow, sorry to hear that.  I am also a widow although I was separted for 23 years.  My youngest son who is nearly 33 still lives at home.  Well I am going to log off as I have a wee bit to do in the house.  My sister-in-law is coming over, she is great at doing things for me, she is full of energy and a good soul.  You take care now and look after yourself.  Lots of positive energy and healing going to Vancouver.    Pat

Hi Sheila, my gp told me that 75 is normal.  I don't know who is right or wrong, I am a very young 60 that sometimes feels like 38 in my head and yet 90 in my body.    

Forgot to say this site.

This isn't really just aimed at Barbara, it's to answer a lot of the comments, but it should give me a bit more space to expand this post box to see what I've written!!!!

Part of the reason the lower levels for vit D are so variable is historical. They were set originally once they had a test and they measured the levels in large numbers of (apparently) healthy people setting the range of "normal" in the usual statistical way: figures that covered 95% of the population. In recent years however they have begun to come round to the idea that the normal range isn't necessarily the optimum range. The top end is the level above which you could start to get vit D toxicity but it is fairly unlikely you'll get up there. The lower level has been found to simply not be enough for healthy body functioning and so, slowly, the recommended lower level is being raised. But even with the old figures large numbers of people were deficient.

The main way of getting vit D is the action of sun on bare skin. Everyone knows that. You get less than 10% of what you need daily from diet as there are very few foods with large amounts of vit D - there are more in the USA as several foods are fortified with vit D including milk, orange juice, cereals and bread. In the UK there are NO fortified foods - it is said margarine is fortified, no it isn't really, it has added vit D to bring it to the same level as butter. Again, this is historical, during and after the war foods were fortified in the UK until a manufacturer made a mistake with something and small children were made quite ill. Fortification with vit D was stopped - talk about throwing the baby out with the bath water!

The vit D is made in the skin by the sun's rays flicking a switch and setting off a factory production line. By a very complex process, very basically cholesterol is eventually turned into vit D. In order to have enough power to flick this switch the sun has to be fairly high in the sky so in the northern hemisphere and north of Turin it is only high enough in the sky to do the job between 11am and 3pm and during the summer months from May to September. The rest of the time - it's on strike. Even then, the skin must be bare and there must be enough exposed: at least face, neck, shoulders and arms.

So what does bare mean? It means not only no clothes in the way, it also means no sunscreen and no makeup. Every day. How often do you do that? For the last 30-40 years we have been told not to go out without sun screen, especially at midday, slip, slap slop at all times. The vast majority of women may not use sunscreen but they wear makeup and long sleeves, especially in the UK! Add to that the fact that if you were to take the factory being at 100% efficiency at age 20 - by age 70 it has steadily declined to about 25% output at best. And if you are dark skinned or have a tan that also makes a difference. 

In fact, studies showed that in the Boston Mass, USA region (which theoretically is at this magic latitude where you make vit D pretty well) a very high percentage of 20 year olds (who theoretically not only make vit D most effectively but tend to wear less clothes) are very vit D deficient with levels often below 20 ng/ml (IU is the unit for the substance in food not in blood) which even at the old concept was low. If 20 year olds are deficinet - what chance have people over 50? Who probably don't go out in the sun at lunchtimes and wear a lot more clothes. A study here in northern Italy, also around that magic latitude, a couple of years ago suggests that about 80% of the general population are vit D deficient.

The Vit D council has been banging on for years about it but have been perceived as a bit eccentric. But in the last few years in the UK increasing numbers of children have been found with poor bone health. Rickets has reappeared and the number of autoimmune disorders are on the increase. Low vit D is often found in patients with autoimmune disorders but it isn't known whether that is cause or effect - except that a study in Finland showed that if children were supplemented with a good dollop of vit D the rate of Type 1 diabetes in that population in their teens was reduced dramatically. That suggests it could at least contribute to the disease process.

Just 5 years ago the Gateshead Healthcare Trust in the north of England revised their guidelines to levels of 75-150 ng/ml after a study - which established that osteoporosis patients have particularly low vit D levels. Vit D is essential for calcium to get from the gut to where it is meant to be in bones.

If you google vit D Gateshead you will find a load of links - including this one:

https://patient.info/forums/discuss/vitamin-d-32868

and this is the thread MrsK refers to

https://patient.info/forums/discuss/at-mrsk-s-request-ask-about-your-vit-d-level-and-why--32770

I hope you get paid for the amount of time and information you give on this forum!

No - all voluntary! 

Doctors need educationg about the most common inflammatory arthritis in over 60 - because they don't act as if it is! And educating the patients is one way of doing it. I have a passion about education.

Perhaps you could read the first part of my post again?

Not just in the over 60s! I'm only 51!! I always was mature for my age lol

It's the most common in over 60s - under 60s get it but it isn't as common as other forms of arthritis!

I was 51 when mine first was noticeable. In retrospect it had been there before.