Vitamin D and Crohn's Disease

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Please be careful about blindly supplementing folic acid. At the very least do it under the supervision of your doctor. Folic acid supplementation can interfere with zinc (which Crohnies are commonly deficient in) and the University of Maryland Medical Center cautions about supplementing just one or two of the B vitamins without the others as it may lead to imbalances. In addition, in some cases, folic acid supplementation can mask symptoms of B12 deficiency which is common in people with Crohn's. If you're deficient in folate, then absolutely. But treat this stuff as a medication and do it under the supervision of your doctor.
 
Just had all my mins/vits tested. 7 vials of blood this morning, so hopefully my dietician will help me sort out whats absorbing and whats not. Really looking forward to getting back on the D3 as i swear it improved my health. Dietician made me stop until she had actual information on my bloods.
 
David -

I will look into your concerns further. All sides of the vitamin puzzle need to be considered.

Spooky1 -

Until this is all sorted out, my daughter is going to continue with the D3 and Folic acid. She just feels so incredible, it would be insane at this point for her to stop. She is having her inflammation levels tested soon and I know the results of that test will be positive. We asked her GI to test her vitamin levels again but she wants to wait a couple more months before doing that.

Hey, if it works, take your viramins!! Definitely check your vitamin levels often but in the meantime, take your D3 and Folic acid. Take them until your blood test shows your levels are too high.

Thanks all!

Lisa
 
david I got my Vit D checked..last time it was 11.3 ng/ml and now its 13.2 ng/ml..not a significant improvement...after more than 3 months of sun exposure and no supplement. ( I still kinda think its because of the timing of the day and less skin exposure). Anyways , I showed the test result to my GP and he has prescribed me D3 dosage of 60,000 IU once in a week.
 
I assumed the sudden increase in D from 40 to 80 was a result of my increased D dose. I also started taking vitamin K supplements at the same time.

It is possible that the vitamin K helped to bring up the serum levels.

At least some doctors say that any large doses of vitamin D should also be accompanied by vitamin K. The reason is to prevent calcium from depositing where it should not be. This is the main symptom of vitamin D toxicity.

Since K is needed to keep bones strong anyway, it may be worth getting more in our diets or supplementing.

Dan
 
Had a call from the infusion clinic about my vitamin D level - it is 15...low/normal is 30 for reference....she was going to check with the doctor on what to do next, as I am already on a weekly dose of V D12 1.25mg (50k units) - the little green oval pill...
 
An article on naturalnews recently said to take D3 in the morning (makes sense circadian rythm-wise), and it will counter the afternoon energy drag. Just a random D3 tip I've been trying out. Seems to help.

Though I have also been occasionally taking a melatonin supplement and keeping my room dark (alarm face down)--I say occasionally because you don't want to become dependent. This stuff gives me dreams and may counter fluoride's effects on the pineal gland, along with iodine.
 
sid said:
david I got my Vit D checked..last time it was 11.3 ng/ml and now its 13.2 ng/ml..not a significant improvement...after more than 3 months of sun exposure and no supplement. ( I still kinda think its because of the timing of the day and less skin exposure). Anyways , I showed the test result to my GP and he has prescribed me D3 dosage of 60,000 IU once in a week.
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My daughter's GI prescribed 50,000 IUs of D3 once a week for eight weeks, but she only took this mega weekly dose for a couple of weeks and then stopped and elected to take a lower dose on a daily basis to keep a constant stream going through her system. She did not notice a marked improvement in her health until she took 5,000 D3 and 400 Folic Acid every day.
 
The only difference I noticed with the higher D levels was my response to the Flu.

Normally, I can get the Flu and not get very bad symptoms. I rarely ever miss work because of it. A few weeks ago I got walloped by the Flu. Missed a day of work and would have missed more days but luckily I was on my days off by then.

I only had this happen once before when I was on LDN.

The reaction could have been from a more normal immune response.
However, it could have been a particularly bad strain of the Flu also.

Other than that, I have not noticed anything in particular.

Dan
 
***Lisa*** said:
My daughter's GI prescribed 50,000 IUs of D3 once a week for eight weeks, but she only took this mega weekly dose for a couple of weeks and then stopped and elected to take a lower dose on a daily basis to keep a constant stream going through her system. She did not notice a marked improvement in her health until she took 5,000 D3 and 400 Folic Acid every day.
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Lisa can you tell me what was her Vit D level before starting the weekly dose ??
 
Sid, can i be naughty? i'd like to know what sort of diet you have as its interesting that Asians also have crohns. is there much in the way of Crohns in Asia?
 
sid said:
david I got my Vit D checked..last time it was 11.3 ng/ml and now its 13.2 ng/ml..not a significant improvement...after more than 3 months of sun exposure and no supplement. ( I still kinda think its because of the timing of the day and less skin exposure). Anyways , I showed the test result to my GP and he has prescribed me D3 dosage of 60,000 IU once in a week.
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Hope you get it back to where it should be sid! Hope you had a lovely vacation and holiday. How was the wedding?
 
sid said:
Lisa can you tell me what was her Vit D level before starting the weekly dose ??
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Unfortunately, they did not give me her actual level nor was I savvy enough then to ask for it. Her GI simply said that her level of Vitamin D was so low that it was off the charts and they prescribed 50,000 of D3 once a week for eight weeks. I am going back to the GI now to ask what it was as I do want to know.
 
723crossroads said:
My Dr, always just tells me my vit. D level is low normal, what is the actual optimum level???.
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80-100 ng/nl is a healthy range but I would be happy to get my daughter's up as high as 150 so that if her level starts to drop when her system is trying to fight a cold or a flare, she has a cushion.
 
I'll have to ask him next time what it is now. He said it was 50 I think. That sounds low. I take 5000 mcg. a day or mG. not sure.
 
We need to get better about utilizing the units of measure since we're an international forum and it makes a HUGE difference. Someone may or may not be deficient depending on the unit of measure. "My vitamin D level is 50" tells us nothing without the unit of measure and advising someone without it is not a good idea.

pg/mL and ng/ML are conventional units and pmol/L and nmol/L are SI units.

1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D pg/mL 2.6 pmol/L
25-Hydroxyvitamin D ng/mL 2.496 nmol/L

To convert from the conventional unit to the SI unit, multiply by the conversion factor (2.6 and 2.496 depending on the form of vitamin D).

To convert from the SI unit to the conventional unit, divide by the conversion factor.
 
I was, but have been out for about a month. Going to get some more today. I do one tablet that is 5,000. It's a gel tab.
 
CLynn said:
I was, but have been out for about a month. Going to get some more today. I do one tablet that is 5,000. It's a gel tab.
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Hi Lynn:

When my daughter starts coming down with a cold or if she has a hint of any Crohns symptoms, she takes 5,000 IUs of D3 and 400 of Folic acid TWICE a day until her symptoms go away. It gets her back on track very quickly. Then, she goes back to taking D3 and Folic acid once a day. If she let's the symptoms go on too long before increasing her D3 intake and gets really sick, she takes a mega dose of D3 (between 10,000 to 50,000 IUs of D3 - her GI prescribed 50,000 IUs) just one time in a one week period of time, and that really works, but she never takes those high doses on a daily bases.

You know how diabetics test their blood sugar level everyday so they know how much sugar they need to get I to their system to remain healthy? I wish there was an at home vitamin D test that anyone could take anytime to determine their vitamin D level. Then, rather than guessing, we all would know exactly how much D3 we should take on any given day to keep it at an optimal level.

Just passing along what works for her!

Lisa
 
Thanks, Lisa, that is very helpful! My husband was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes at age 35 (crazy, nearly unheard of) so I know exactly what you mean. Yes, I would love a meter that would test our blood levels, for D, for B12, etc. Maddening that I've had to learn things here and then ask my GI about it before anything gets done as far as supplementing.
 
I know what you mean, Lynn. We need to blaze the trail here. Meds just did not work, long term, for my daughter but I know that by tracking out vitamin levels, and supplementing accordingly, we can control IBD rather than having it try to control us.
 
The GI that diagnosed me, I went to for 16 years, until he left the city he practiced in (was sick of dealing with the hospital and how they try to micromanage what the doctors do and don't do) for Alabama. I truly miss him, have not found a GI that I "gel" with since. They don't understand where I am at, all these years into it. I take it seriously, and will take meds when I flare. As far as taking meds long term, that may or may not prevent recurrence, I am cautious. I know that every med they give us has side effects, some short term during the course, some long term in what it does to our bodies. So if they can't give me really decent numbers as far as the likely hood it will keep me in remission, I won't do it. I'd rather look at the diet, vitamin and minerals, etc to help keep me as healthy as I can be.

I'm Cheryl, by the way. Great to meet you! :)
 
So great to meet you, too, Cheryl!

You and I have like minds so please keep in touch and let me know how things are going for you and I will let you know how my daughter is doing, as well. We need to decide how we are going to attack this and by sharing our successes and failures with each other, we will, in the very near future, learn how to keep the ugly Crohns monster at bay!

Take care.

Lisa :sun:
 
The side effects of the "treatments" for Crohn's/colitis caused me more problems than the disease itself. I have corrected my mineral and vitamin deficiencies, as well as probiotics and haven't felt this good in years.
 
It seems a good organIc yogurt is best but I have also take S Bouhlardii (sp?) which is actually a beneficial fungus that keeps harmful bacteria at bay. I also sometimes take bifidus and acidophilus combo. I have also taken mutaflor. I am also about to have my gut flora sequences while healthy and before after flares to see what's up. I'm realizing that the gut flora landscape is complex and unexplored. I think we always have good and bad bacteria but sometimes the bad overtake the good and need to be knocked back with antibiotics. The jury is still out.
 
I did try Align once, but didn't notice much difference. I am wondering if more expensive probiotics are more effective, or if it doesn't matter. I think the scientists don't concentrate enough on this, or the natural side of things for that matter.
 
Nuking and rebuilding seems to be working for me. Nuke with cipro/flagyl for ten days then yogurt and probiotics for a few weeks. Eating bananas and apples, throwing sprouts in my salad for enzymes, eating nuts. I think im basically eating Paleo type diet but do eat cheese and yogurt a few times a week There was some info about pistachios increasing beneficial bacteria in gut after a month of consumption. There will never be studies done on anything natural and cheap because there is no interest in paying millions to prove something non profitable works. Meanwhile they sell their $20,000 a year snake oil (humira). Ever see the commercial? They call death a "fatal event" to blunt the reality of side effects.
 
Oh, I know. Kills me, what the years of prednisone alone have done to me. Back when i was first diagnosed and it was at it's worst for the first few years, there wasn't Himuira and Enbrel, etc....it was flagyll, prednisone and then later instead of prednisone it was Imuran. And the world wasn't online to share all our info.
 
CLynn said:
Oh, I know. Kills me, what the years of prednisone alone have done to me. Back when i was first diagnosed and it was at it's worst for the first few years, there wasn't Himuira and Enbrel, etc....it was flagyll, prednisone and then later instead of prednisone it was Imuran. And the world wasn't online to share all our info.
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Yeah I went through all those too! Awful drugs.
 
We all have to keep sharing our experiences with what works and what doesn't work because meds only mask the problem for a short time, never gets to the root cause of what is created the Crohns in the first place, costs an arm and a leg (which is beside the fact when you are sick as we are willing to pay ANYTHING to feel better), and the meds cause a "fatal event." We will never go the med route again. Never.

Thank you all for sharing. This really is the best forum out there for sharing thoughts and experiences. This disease can make you feel so isolated, but not anymore!
 
Kiny just posted this in another thread (thanks) which backs up what we've been saying for years.

Active Crohn's disease is associated with low vitamin D levels.

Jørgensen SP, Hvas CL, Agnholt J, Christensen LA, Heickendorff L, Dahlerup JF.

Department of Medicine V, Hepatology and Gastroenterology, Aarhus University Hospital, Denmark

2013 Feb 8

BACKGROUND AND AIMS:

Crohn's disease prevalence increases with increasing latitude. Because most vitamin D comes from sunlight exposure and murine models of intestinal inflammation have demonstrated beneficial effects of 1,25-(OH)(2) vitamin D treatment, we hypothesised that Crohn's disease activity is associated with low vitamin D levels.

METHODS:

In a cross-sectional study of 182 CD patients and 62 healthy controls, we measured serum 25-OH vitamin D. Stratified analysis was used to compare 25-OH vitamin D levels with Crohn's disease activity index, C-reactive protein, smoking status, intake of oral vitamin D supplements and seasonal variation in CD patients and healthy controls.

RESULTS:

Serum 25-OH vitamin D was inversely associated with disease activity: Median 25-OH vitamin D levels of Crohn's disease in remission, mildly, and moderately active diseases evaluated by Crohn's disease activity index were 64, 49, and 21nmol/l (p<0.01) and by CRP 68, 76, and 35nmol/l (p<0.05), respectively. Patients who took oral vitamin D supplementation had lower Crohn's disease activity index (p<0.05) and C-reactive protein (p=0.07) than non-users. Crohn's disease patients who smoked had lower vitamin D levels (51nmol/l) than patients who did not smoke (76nmol/l), p<0.01. Overall, Crohn's disease patients did not differ from healthy controls regarding 25-OH vitamin D levels

CONCLUSIONS:

Active Crohn's disease was associated with low serum 25-OH vitamin D. Patients who smoked had lower 25-OH vitamin D levels than patients who did not smoke, independently of disease activity.
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http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23403039]Source
 
Thanks, David & Kiny! This demonstrates, once again, the importance of taking Vitamin D3 supplements everyday if you have Crohns, although virtually everyone is deficient so everyone should supplement. The only real question is how much to take? That depends if you are flaring. During a flare, you should increase your dosage of Vitamin D3 and then reduce to a lower dose after the flare had passed.
 
David said:
What do you base this suggestion upon?

Thanks :)
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David:

I base it on the fact that when my daughter was her sickest, her GI reported that her Vitamin D level was <13 which is the lowest threshold level for the lab. When anyone is having a flare, they need to ask their GI to test their Vitamin D level and supplement accordingly and keep having it tested until it is where it needs to be and their flare has passed.

723Crossroads:

I suggest you have your Vitamin D level tested ASAP and then supplement as recommended by your GI.
 
***Lisa*** said:
When anyone is having a flare, they need to ask their GI to test their Vitamin D level and supplement accordingly and keep having it tested until it is where it needs to be and their flare has passed
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I agree 100%. It's all about the testing and dose optimization in my opinion :)
 
i got a call from the Drs surgery and they've booked me an appointment for next week to discuss my vitamin blood test results. Can't wait. dietician made me cut my vitamins out until results. I had only taken vitamin D3 for around 3 months and found good results. I am so looking forward to resuming it. there could be that cure yet. anyone heard of Gattex (i think its called that), its for those with short bowel syndrome and us crohnies. very expensive but that and D3 could see my life turn around entirely.
 
I currently supplement with Vitamin D tablets twice a day and am due to have my levels tested soon. How long before I am tested should I stop taking these tablets in order to get a fair reading of my baseline?
 
I was thinking that I should stop supplementing in order to give a true reading of how much Vit D i'm absorbing Beach and then supplement accordingly? Is this a poor idea?
 
I wouldn't stop supplementing Jam. We're not interested in how low you can go off supplements, we're interested in making sure your level is high enough ON the supplements. If your level gets above 100ng/ml then you can lower your dose, but that is very unlikely unless you're taking huge doses.
 
I would keep taking the supplements up till testing. That is what I have done. Once the results are back make adjustments to the dosage, if more or less vitamin D is needed.
 
Thought I'd give a quick update on my Vitamin D experience so far...

After reading this thread I decided to give Vitamin D a shot. While I was hoping for some improvement in Crohn's symptoms, my primary goal was to help with extreme fatigue and the lack of desire to do anything; the "nothing sounds fun" type of fatigue/depression combo that had become rather overwhelming. I also had pretty nasty "brain fog" that so many people with an auto immune disorder suffer from.

I started taking 6k I.U. of Vitamin D per day, along with Calcium and Magnesium on Feb. 6.

I didn't notice any change at all for the first week. Over the next few days, however, things started changing for the better.

As I write this, I am feeling better now than I have in years. Stuff sounds like it's fun and worth doing again, I have the energy to make it through the day, and (best of all) I'm Happy again. The "brain fog" has almost completely lifted as well. I even started Spring Cleaning without the wife's urging to do so (our bedroom carpet, walls, baseboards, doors, glass are all sparkling clean). I must admit, however, that starting on the garage Spring Cleaning is still a rather depressing thought. ;)

While I feel *much* better overall, I have not noticed a decrease in Crohn's symptoms from Vit D, but that could also be due to the fact that I'm not taking it at a high enough level to have an effect on CD. I'm not going to increase the dosage anymore, though, until I have my GI check my levels at my next appointment in May.

While I can't (at least at this point) say that Vit D has helped my primary Crohn's symptoms, it has done wonders with the secondary symptoms (fatigue, depression, fatigue, brain fog, and fatigue) so many of us CD sufferers experience. Edit: I think I should add that another possibility for Vit D not helping with my primary CD symptoms could also be due to the fact that I've only been taking it for 21 days so far. That's most likely not enough time to feel the full effects/benefit of Vitamin D supplementation yet.

If you're at the point where doing the smallest things sounds like way too much trouble, you should at least consider adding some Vitamin D to your life. Hopefully you'll have results like mine... or better!

To me, it's pretty shocking that just a simple vitamin could be responsible for such an amazing change. I never would have imagined that such a simple thing could do so much.

Huge thanks to everyone for the information shared in this thread. Thanks to you, I feel *so* much better.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go get to work on that garage.... :)
 
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That's fantastic CrohnsDaddy, I'm so happy for you!

Out of curiosity, how much magnesium are you taking as well?

I think that combo is a HUGE key for people with Crohn's disease.
 
David sorry, I lost the stickynote with proper type of magnesium and dosage you recommend?? Could you plz refresh my memory? I did look at store for the Mag. citrate. They had oxide. Is that any good?
 
David said:
Oxide is the one you do NOT want because it is poorly absorbed. Citrate is one of if not the best. But be careful, sometimes the label will say CITRATE then you read the back and it is 80% oxide and 20% citrate. If those number were backwards, that's be fine. And make sure that you don't get anything with magnesium stearate (a common filler in vitamins) as it can be toxic: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/06/23/whole-food-supplement-dangers.aspx
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Thankyou so much! Got it all down!:D
 
David said:
That's fantastic CrohnsDaddy, I'm so happy for you!

Out of curiosity, how much magnesium are you taking as well?

I think that combo is a HUGE key for people with Crohn's disease.
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David, I gotta start by saying "Thank You!" to you directly. The information you have posted here about Vitamin D has been extremely valuable. I probably wouldn't have ever started it without the information you have given, as I'm one of those guys that won't do anything unless there is scientific evidence that it actually works.

Since I was in a hurry to start supplementing Vitamin D, I rushed out to the local health food store to grab enough to carry me over until the BioTech D3Plus gets ordered.

So for now, I'm taking:

Vitamin D: 6,000 I.U as Cholocalciferol in a base of Soybean Oil, Gelatin, Glycerin and Corn Oil

Calcium: 1,000 mg as Calcium Citrate

Magnesium: 500 mg as Magnesium Citrate and Magnesium Oxide (not happy about the Magnesium Oxide component, as it's been stated in various places that the Citrate form is much easier to absorb than the Oxide form).

I have enough of this combo to last for another two months, but after it is gone, I will be switching over to the BioTech D3Plus formula. The BioTech is much more expensive than the cheap stuff I'm taking now, but after getting these results, I'm not a bit hesitant to throw more money at a more effective formulation.

Thanks again, David!
 
NaturalNews.com is a greatsource of info about vitamins and what to look for and what ingrediemts are truly harmful. Go to their website, I just got a newsletter and it's talking about this and Magnesium sources. Really good read!!!!
 
It's my pleasure but it has definitely been a community effort.

In my opinion, the magnesium you're taking is likely just as if not more important than the vitamin D. I think the next big thing in Crohn's disease treatment will be proper magnesium supplementation. Point being, keep it up :) Have your doctor monitor you but I would be careful about dropping too low with the magnesium supplementation if the D3 biotech doesn't have as much. I forget how much magnesium it has.
 
David said:
Oxide is the one you do NOT want because it is poorly absorbed. Citrate is one of if not the best. But be careful, sometimes the label will say CITRATE then you read the back and it is 80% oxide and 20% citrate. If those number were backwards, that's be fine. And make sure that you don't get anything with magnesium stearate (a common filler in vitamins) as it can be toxic: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/06/23/whole-food-supplement-dangers.aspx
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Is Natural Calm Mag good?
 
Also, the Recommeded Daily Intake (RDI) for Folic Acid is 400 MCGs. If you take this with your D3, I think you will notice that your CD symptoms will lessen more and more as time goes on.
 
My vitamin D level was tested and it is 12. Whenever I try to take vitamin D it makes me very sleepy almost like a "drugged" feeling. Has anyone experienced this when taking vitamin D?

Also, I bought an Ionic Magnesium supplement. It is in liquid form and is supposed to have trace minerals in it. Anyone familiar with this type of magnesium?

Thanks.
Jac
 
How much vitamin D are you taking a day (how many IUs)? Are you taking vitamin D3? Are you taking the Recommended Daily Intake (RDI) of Folic acid (400 MCGs), too? Generally, D gives the opposite affect as it gives you more energy, not less.
 
Lisa- I take 1,000 IUs of Vitamin D3. I have a messed-up body chemistry and get opposite reactions to meds. For instance Benadryl will wind me up instead of sedating me like it does most people. Pain meds that knock most people out will have the opposite effect on me.

I am new to all of this and I honestly don't know anything about Folic Acid or its uses. (I am trying to learn though).

Thanks.
Jac
 
Jac - Have you discussed your supplements with your GI? Since you do not have the typical reaction, you should ensure that they work with you to come up with the best combination for you. You need to find a way to bring your D level up to the 30 to 80 ng/nl range. If your GI does not support vitamin therapy, try to find a good neuropathic doctor to work with. It will take some trial and error to find the right dosage, but you will find that it is worth the time and effort when you begin to feel better.

Lisa
 
i'm about to visit doc and find out all my vitamin/mineral results. Will be interesting. can't wait to restart D3 and all those b vits again. will keep you informed.
 
I am new to the website and came across this..Recently my Vitamin D is low and the doctor put me on 2000 IU a day.. I have Crohns and MS and I am wondering if it is my diseses or if the fact that my Vitamin D is low that is making me so exhausted all the time.. I go to bed tired and wake up tired:D
 
Vitamin D can definitely affect fatigue. What was your vitamin D level when you were tested? The three big nutrients for people with Crohn's who are fatigued are vitamin D, vitamin B12, and magnesium. Deficiencies in any of those can lead to feelings of fatigue and people with Crohn's are commonly deficient in any combination of them.
 
David, thanks for posting! I have found fermented cod liver oil to be the most beneficial for me. It is unprocessed, therefore there has been no compromise to the vitamin content through processing(heating) the oil. I have noticed that I feel better and have better energy and clarity when I take it consistently.
 
I was just listening to an interesting discussion on the radio. It was reporting some research done in Australia that showed that very young children with Vitamin D insufficiencies (their term) were much more likely to develop food allergies. Here in Australia, although we have plenty of sunshine, we have a very well established "slip, slop, slap" program and, unfortunately, this is causing one of the highest rates of Vitamin deficiency in the world.
 
soccermom081105 said:
I am new to the website and came across this..Recently my Vitamin D is low and the doctor put me on 2000 IU a day.. I have Crohns and MS and I am wondering if it is my diseses or if the fact that my Vitamin D is low that is making me so exhausted all the time.. I go to bed tired and wake up tired:D
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Interesting that you have both Crohn's and MS. I have a few MS symptoms, but they're not really serious, so I've never bothered to see a neurologist about it. Often wondered how many Crohn's sufferers also have MS or at least MS-like symptoms to some degree.

But I can certainly relate to how you're feeling... Extreme fatigue, lack of desire to do even the smallest things, going to bed tired, then having a difficult time sleeping, just to awake feeling even more tired after the little sleep you got. Been there, done that, got the T shirt and the coffee mug.

I'm happy to report that, in addition to the improved energy, Vitamin D has helped a *ton* with being able to go to sleep quickly, sleep longer between wake-ups, and feeling more refreshed in the mornings.

I'm still in the "this is too good to be true" stage; I certainly hope that this is a long term benefit of vitamin D supplementation, and not just a short term respite. I feel better than I have in years, and just don't want to lose that.

Vitamin D has given me my life back. Sound like an overly powerful, dramatic statement from an infommercial? Two months ago, I would have agreed. Too dramatic. Today? Not at all.

Now I'm not saying I'm ready to jump tall buildings in a single bound at all; I'm still not at what I'd consider 100% on the energy/fatigue scale, but I'm closer to it than I've been in the last 20 years. Let's say around 85% now with the vitamin D supplementation, and that's up from 1% before supplementing.

Hopefully adding in the additional vitamin D co-factors, some B12, folic acid, and a good quality mutivitamin will get me that last 15%.

Since you mentioned MS, I'll give an MS example of how vitamin D has helped me...

Prior to vitamin D supplementation, taking a hot shower was out of the question; I'd emerge from the shower drained of energy, weak, shaky, and nauseated. I can now take a hot shower. For the first time in 20 years I'm not freezing when I get out of the shower. :) I still can't take a shower as hot as my wife does, but it's still nice to not have to take cold showers every day (although I'd forgotten what a hassle it is to have the bathroom mirrors fog up from a hot shower).

Give Vitamin D a shot. It certainly can't hurt, and you have the potential of improving your quality of life... a lot.
 
Crohn's Daddy,
So glad you are feeling so much better. That is wonderful and inspiration for those still struggling to climb out of bed or do simple things each day!!!:)
 
Vitamin D really has done miraculous things for me as well.
However, I can't seem to get my levels past the "low range normal".Now after being on 100,000 units a week it was still just 22.I am 20 weeks pregnant, and my OB decided to bump me up to 150,000 units per week, so we'll see if that makes a difference.
When my Vitamin D was only 14 a couple of years back, I could tell it was very low and after my very first dose, I woke up feeling like a new person! It was amazing.I was so full of energy, mentally and physically but unfortunately it didn't last long. :( I had a massive amount of fibromyalgia type pain that completely disappeared after a 50,000 unit pill.
Also, I think this is important to anyone who is experiencing RLS.I was off Vitamin D for a few weeks (unable to get my script) and started experiencing extreme RLS.It was so bad, I was only getting a couple of hours of sleep per night.I thought it had something to do with being pregnant, but after getting back on the D, I woke up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom and realized that was the first time I had been up and my legs weren't bothering me!At first I thought it may be some kind of coincidence, but I haven't had one bad night since being on D regularly!I remember with my second pregnancy I suffered through the same thing, and my OB at the time kept pushing magnesium on me.I was up to 3 pills a night, and it wasn't helping me at all.After doing some research I now know that you have to take Vitamin D and magnesium together in order for it to work, and I know there is mag in my prenatal vitamins although I'm unsure how much.Obviously enough to help though.I've also heard Vitamin B can help, but I haven't had any need to try it.There is some research on the net about RLS and Vitamin D, but not very much.
I would like to encourage all those who suffer from RLS to give D and magnesium a try.It worked wonders for me.I always thought that RLS was caused by being deficient on some kind of vitamin/mineral.I know alot of people who have crohns have RLS as well, and it makes sense to me at least, because having crohns means we are usually deficient on something since we don't absorb nutrients as well as others might.
Anyways, I hope someone will find this post helpful.I can't say enough great things about how good vitamin D is. :)
 
Dixiedoll, I'll bet any amount of money you're deficient in magnesium as well. Supplement magnesium and I bet your RLS and fibromyalgia improve (both are symptoms of magnesium deficiency) if not disappear and your vitamin D will normalize much faster too (it's a co-factor for vitamin D).

People with Crohn's disease are COMMONLY deficient in magnesium and that prilosec you're on? Yeah, the FDA put out a warning about that and magnesium.

I bet proper supplementation of magnesium makes an enormous difference for you (do it under supervision of your physician please).
 
The only kind I found so far is the mag oxide or stearate and it is not good for you. I can't get stuff online, so I have to look here. GNC should have it I would hope.
 
i got my results from doc, well, almost did. She agreed to b12 being injected until i reach normal levels and then discontinue it. Moreover, she refused to give me figures on the results so only said my vit d was 'adequate'. she then harped on about her gp friend in melbourne Australia who said they're all deficient so don't worry about it. Oh right. Back on to my own supplementation me thinks! Will try and get numbers for results from dietician when she does my peg change.
 
I make them give me copies of the results. They may not like it, but I insist. After all, it's my money paying for it, thru my insurance and my own money.
 
David is right. Time to get a new doc, for sure! At my daughter's doctor's office, we have to submit a written request for the results. After we send in the form, they send us the results - with the actual numbers - in the mail. Try calling your doctor's office and ask them if you send in a signed, written request, will they honor your request and send you the results? If they say "no," that is absolutely ridiculous as those are YOUR records!
 
They are supposed to give you a paper, that you can understand, with the numbers on them and the control values next to it, anything less is inexcusable, they are $20 tests.
 
Thanks for all your support. I'll have words with my dietician, she's a lot more interested in me and my health. Think my doc is young and new, she does come across as uninterested.

Might take a trip to Birmingham.
 
Ok, men...sorry for this, but have to ask the women on this thread...

Has anyone supplementing D3 noticed a change in their menstrual cycle?
 
I was lucky if i weighed enough to menstruate, lol. now i'm just through menopause. Glucosamine didn't do much for the joints but helped with pmt when i got it.
 

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