Vitamin d deficiency and pregnant

The high dose you are on should get your levels up in that time - and they will check it at the end of the 8 weeks to be sure. 

You would have to take something like 10,000 IU every day for months and months to get your blood vit D level to being so high it is bad for you - above 30 ng/mL/50 nmol/litre is taken as acceptable by everyone, some say higher,  50 ng/mL/75 nmol/litre. Up to 100 ng/mL/150 nmol/litre is the top end of the range - and it isn't until you get to 200 nmol/litre that you have to worry.

I was originally told 50 was normal but since then it seems have changed to 70. Anything below 26 is getting pretty low and you should get a prescription. I have to renew my prescription every month and get a month's supply. I don't think they like giving too many tablets out at one time in case they are wasted or sold! I am able to do the renewal on line through patient.co.uk and I just have to go to the chemist to pick them up. Perhaps your doctors offer a similar facility. It saves lots of time and you can order them while watching TV! 

Back in March 2016 I was "low" with a reading of 59.6nmol/L with a range of 80nmol/L to 150nmol/L

 

I was prescribed 1 – Colecalciferol 800 Unit 20mcg (Vit D) every day for 3 months. At 5600IU per week it is a significantly lower amount than you are taking

I was still slightly low in October with a reading at 74.9nmol/L so was again given the same prescription except now it is to be permanent because at my age (75) I am unable to absorb Vitamin D via my food.

I have shown you my results to give you an idea and example of the sort of figures you will be quoted when you ask for your own.

Do you have any idea why you are deficient?

Apart from exposure to sunlight the main sources of Vitamin D are Fatty fish, like tuna, mackerel, and salmon. Foods fortified with vitamin D, like some dairy products, orange juice, soy milk, and cereals. Beef liver. Cheese. Egg yolks etc..

If your vitamin D deficiency is possibly caused by your not including the above foods in your diet then I worry that you may also be Vitamin B12 deficient as B12 too is only naturally obtained from the same foods and the symptoms of both are similar.

Do you know whether your serum B12 and serum Folate (B9) levels were tested at the same time as the Vitamin D?  If not I suggest that you ask your doctor to have them checked when you speak with him to obtain the vitamin D results.

I am not a medically qualified person but one who has suffered from B12 Deficiency (due to Pernicious anaemia) for 45 years so am aware of how important it is to keep a healthy balance.

I wish you well in your pregnancy and for the future.

That's all great advice but I wouldn't recommend tuna because large fish contan more mercury. Smaller wild fish such as trout, wild salmon, sardines etc are best.

Hi Georgina

Just to say that clive has measured his vit D in nmol per litre. Where I was talking about ng per millilitre. I should have said. Clive's vit D in my language would be under 24 ng/ml, which is considered deficient. You will need to check which measurement you are given. You can get vit D from sunshine and about twenty per cent from food. You can Google foods with vit D but there are not than many. It is important to ensure your vit D level is good particularly if you are pregnant. I read somewhere that in UK around 35% of children are now considered vit D deficient. Probably because they are sitting inside with their tablets and X boxes! In the US they are reckon that 97% of the elderly are deficient! 

Thank you

Tbh i live where theres hardly any sun, i dont spend alot of time in the sun or outside really. I dont eat fish. I dont like it. My diet hasnt been the best for a while. I dont tend to eat cereals and i may jave the odd glass of orange juice. Dr has mentioned he thinks its more to do with the lack of sun, md tje fact i wear makeup with spf in it aswel as face cream. I tend to cover up aswel.

I was thinking for him to prescribe that much it must be low! Ive been feeling very tired and achy lately but put it down to being pregnant. Im guessin its more likely down to the deficiency. It was checked earlier this year and was fine. As far as im aware e ertthing else is fine in terms of levels. Im only young.

It is highly likely it is due to lack of sun. It seems vit D deficiency has gone up a lot since we started covering ourselves in high factor sun screens and have it in our make up etc. It is incredible the effect vitamins, minerals etc can have on how we feel. I am sure a lot of people with achy limbs just need a bit more vit D. I think chemists should start offering to measure it for people. A lack of it can be quite debilitating sometimes. 

"at my age (75) I am unable to absorb Vitamin D via my food.

... Apart from exposure to sunlight the main sources of Vitamin D are Fatty fish, like tuna, mackerel, and salmon. Foods fortified with vitamin D, like some dairy products, orange juice, soy milk, and cereals. Beef liver. Cheese. Egg yolks etc.."

Age doesn't make that much difference - and it is more likely you won't make enough vit D from sunlight at 75, at 70 you make a quarter of what you could make at 20 via the sunlight on skin route.

Less than 10% of requirements comes from food - there simply aren't that many foods with significant amounts of vit D in them. Egg yolk, mushrooms and oily fish are the most likely sources but you would need to eat over 1/2lb of salmon, a 17-egg omelette or a couple of kilos of mushrooms to get your daily "fix".  Not going to happen is it - I love all of them, I couldn't do it!

I see the "fortified foods" mentioned almost every time someone replies - IT ONLY APPLIES IN THE USA. Food in Europe is NOT fortified other than margarine which is "fortified" to contain the same amount as butter. There is no fortification in milk or organge juice in the UK where Georgina lives.

As for why Georgina is deficient - here where I live in northern italy, where we have shed-loads of sun and theoretically we can make vit D at midday all year round, some 80% of the population is deficient. Because when there is sun we walk on the shady side of the street, we don't sit in the direct sun without covering up - and people use sunscreen. Using Factor 8 sunscreen reduces the amount of vit D made by well over 90%, even a suntan is the same as a Factor 12 sunscreen. 

According to NHS Choices:

"From about late March/April to the end of September, most of us should be able to get all the vitamin D we need from sunlight on our skin. The vitamin is made by our body under the skin in reaction to sunlight.

If you are out in the sun, take care to cover up or protect your skin with sunscreen before you turn red or get burnt. Between October and early March we don't get any vitamin D from sunlight.

Vitamin D is also found in a small number of foods" which I listed in my original reply. 

"Current UK recommendations say people aged over 65 should take a daily supplement of 10mcg. This is the equivalent of 400 IU a day" which is the amount my doctor has prescribed for me

The UK Association of UK Dietitians say:

"Vitamin D helps your body absorb calcium for healthy bones and teeth. You make vitamin D under your skin when you are outside in the middle of the day in the summer months. You can get vitamin D from some foods including fortified foods or by taking a supplement. There are some at risk groups who are recommended to take daily vitamin D supplements".

Unfortunately, many of the sites in the UK are old or based on purely theoretical information - and even the Gateshead Health Trust takes a very different attitude! My post was quoting established facts too.

I don't CARE what the THEORY is, the practice is that most people DO NOT make enough vit D by exposure of skin to the sun. Because they don't go out in the sun, because they cover up in the sun and because their skin vit D factory isn't functioning as well as it did. The recommended daily levels in these sites are out of date - here in northern Italy the top osteoporosis expert in the region says 2,000IU throughout the winter. 

The NHS still recommends a low fat diet as the best way to manage weight - when it is clear that it is advice that has been paralleled by increases in obesity and Type 2 diabetes and it has been established by top experts all over the world that the work it was based on done by Ancel Keys is seriously flawed. It was then subsequently supported by the food manufacturing lobby because it helped them build their empires and profits.

There were around 21 countries in Keys study and he only chose 7 of them to include in his results, choosing the ones which best fit with his theories. He's got a lot to answer for. It's hard to believe that what we've all been eating and a lot of the diseases we've been experiencing are largely down to this man.

And leaving out France and Germany who also had low heart disease rates - but diets relatively high in fat. Using self-reported food diaries in predominantly Roman Catholic regions during Lent - when no self-respecting RC at that time would have eaten meat during Lent... 

He certainly does have a lot to answer for!

I recently did an open university assignment on the low carb, high fat diet and that's how I came across Ancel Keys. You're not doing that module too are you? Lol

Nah - too old for that! Been at the physiology/medical game for the last 40+ years! You learn a lot when you do the background reading to answer questions on a medical condition with support charities/forums!

I was around when AK started his stuff and never believed the hype anyway. I worked in clinical chemistry/biochemical medicine (as it was called then) when the cholesterol story became vogue and never did believe it. Diet isn't going to change what your liver is producing to keep you alive.

You NEED cholesterol for neuronal function - and how much dementia now is to do with blanket prescribing of statins? And PPIs for gastric acid production? That cholesterol levels rise with age isn't surprising - and since it is required for the production of vit D what happens if patients are forced to lower their cholesterol levels? We get low enough vit D anyway - and they go on about why! It's obvious given the advice given in the last 40 years: Don't go out in the midday sun, slip slap, slop, don't eat eggs, don't eat liver, don't ... Then they wonder why we are deficient!

That must have been a really interesting module!

That's brilliant! You must've helped a lot of people over the years. 

The module is very interesting; It's on sport, fitness and nutrition. The essay I'm reading up for now is on sports recovery modalities and I have to choose 2 to compare out of compression garments, cryotherapy or massage. Even though I'm too sick to do any sports I'm learning a lot about health.

It's a crime and a murderous one what they've done over the years with controlling our diets and killing people or making us sick. Perhaps you could write a book about it?

"Perhaps you could write a book about it?"

I think a lot of people got there first!

At least your module will be teaching you to critically appraise what is written - rather than believing Gwyneth Paltrow and the Daily Mail about what we should eat/not eat/do/not do for health! There was a really good article in the Guardian (I think) the other day about throwing money down the drain (literally) by buying protein supplements! 

Do come back and tell me which is the best of the recovery modalities!

I have just read a book called Sugar, Fat, Salt, which you may enjoy. It is mainly about the way the various industries have sold us sugar etc. It really opens your eyes to how we are being conned, but us quite fascinating. Ancel Keyes is mentioned and does not come out too well. I suppose I should not speak ill of the dead but he has a lot to answer for.

I've got several very long review articles, mainly meta analysis, to go through but from what I've read so far cryotherapy may be good as in invigorating athletes and as an analgesic but there's no evidence that there are any beneficial physiological changes. It's thought by some researchers that there's a substantial placebo effect involved.

I expect I'll find more actual physiological benefits associated with massage, at least I hope so. I've decided they're the two I'm going to compare so I'm skipping compression garments for now.

The trouble with not taking supplements is that our soils our so depleted of nutrition that we're not getting enough in our foods and I think there are some excellent supplements. I've recently found some sites that sell only naturally sourced products with no chemical additives. I'm really pleased! 

There is a lot of guff talked about soils being depleted but I won't get into that here (or anywhere else preferably).

I know cryotherapy seems to make a big difference in certain forms of arthritis but a friend on Germany had a "Kur" at a rheumaotlogy clinic where she was sent for cryotherapy. She, like me, has polymyalgia rheumatica, a muscle problem due to an autoimmune vasculitis. I'd always suspected that cold was maybe not a good move in PMR - and she went home in a far worse state than she had arrived there! I'd still like to try it though!