Vitamin Deficiencies- D & B12

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roundtuit

roundtuit

Joined
Aug 8, 2010
Messages
125
Wow...I have been getting an education in vitamins, vitamin deficiency, and Crohn's. I am now deficient in D and B12. I have taken multivitamins religiously all of my life...in pill form. Wrong! My Dr explained Liquid or Chewables are the way to go even if a person doesn't have an IBD.... and especially if a person has Crohn's!

Even though I do not have severe malabsorption issues,( ie food doesn't usually look the same going out as it did going in), I evidently do have malabsorption issues with regards to absorbing vitamins and nutrients, hence the Vitamin B12 and D deficiencies I have been diagnosed. There are others that we can become deficient in too including A, E, and K ...those absorbed in the ilieum.

I was a little mystified why my gastro never tested me, since deficiencies are common in Crohn's patients. I assumed he did, with my semi annual check up and blood work...I am learning to never assume. My gynocologist is the one that suspected Crohn's in the 1st place, and also suspected & confirmed the vitamin deficiencies. I guess I should feel lucky that I will be seeing her monthly for the B-12 shots and monitoring...she takes better care of me that any of my other Drs do.
Bring on the gummy vitamins!!!!
 
Gummy Vitamins are so much fun! try the sour ones.

I also have malabsorption issues. which is why I crohn's was suspected. It's odd how often Anemia and B12 deficiency is over looked and nothing is done. I think every doc i ever had comment on it but no one put two and two together. That i was take iron and B12 but still deficient.
 
If i feel a cold coming on etc i usually stock up on these or a similar style vitamin as well as the 'normal' ones: http://www.berocca.co.uk/vitamin-c.htm

I've often thought the high levels and the fact it is liquid would help people like us as it gives the body more of a chance to absorb them. I might be totally wrong. Does anyone know how effective these are in patients with crohns (i too have it in the terminal ileum).
 
Ahhhh! So I am not alone in my gummi-ness!!! haha!

My Dr is having me take gummy D and Calcium in small doses all day long. She said it is like feeding a whole bunch of little balls down a shoot with one little hole. The balls roll faster in people with Crohns. If I take one large dose, a couple will go in, but the rest will shoot past instead of waiting for their turn.
She did suggest liquid or chewable multi vitamins, and I was finally able to find a liquid one that included Vitamin K. No easy trick and not cheap either. Darn it.

Liverpool FC...I think you are correct in your assumption about the liquid vitamins...that we will absorb them better. It is my understanding that we have to worry about the deficiencies of fat soluble vitamins, besides the B12, and nutrient malabsorption severity depends on how much of our innards are inflamed and/or missing. I read that we have to be careful about taking more vitamins than we need...so Dr supervision is important when taking more than the RDA of any one vitamin. For instance, I am taking large doses of Vit D and it has to be monitored because folate comes into play and a person could really mess themselves up by taking too much of one and not the other. My tests showed extraordinary low level of B12, but I am not anemic, so I don't need iron. Everyone is different.

I am looking forward to feeling better.
 
I've been wanting to start taking a multi vitamin. Right now I just take Calcium w/ D. I have always been afraid that they will go thru me. I might have tried taking one years ago and felt it gave me more 'D', can't remember honestly. Do you think I'd have better luck with the chewables or the liquid vs the pill form?
 
After all I have read and from what my Dr told me...taking calcium -w- D in pill form is like peeing on a forest fire....regardless of whether you have an IBD or not.
She acually had me put one of my vitamin pills in a cup of water and it never did dissolve. I do not understand why the companies that sell totally useless vitamins ...get away with what they do. They know that the stupid things don't dissolve, don't work and therefore are totally useless...and they continue to sell them. I guess our food and drug administration is really looking out for us....NOT!
 
B-12 shot # 2 today. I noticed a difference in how I felt for about 3 days after the 1st shot. Not a huge difference, but noticable. More energy and less joint pain. I did notice that I felt worse and worse as time went on,( joint pain and fatigue) and it was only 2 weeks before I showed up ( 2 weeks early oops) for my shot #2. I must've looked like felt, because they took pity on me an gave me shot #2 ahead ot time...And I still get shot #3 in 2 weeks. Yippee!
I am disappointed that I am not getting immediate relief as some do, but it is evidently because my levels were so low...140. Even a few days of feeling better makes it worth it though.
 
roundtuit said:
After all I have read and from what my Dr told me...taking calcium -w- D in pill form is like peeing on a forest fire....regardless of whether you have an IBD or not.
She acually had me put one of my vitamin pills in a cup of water and it never did dissolve. I do not understand why the companies that sell totally useless vitamins ...get away with what they do. They know that the stupid things don't dissolve, don't work and therefore are totally useless...and they continue to sell them. I guess our food and drug administration is really looking out for us....NOT!
Click to expand...

Have serious concerns about what you're being told. I've read the medical journals; there is no consensus that liquid vitamins work and solid ones do not. Just because a pill does not dissolve in water does not mean it's useless -- try putting a piece of steak in water for a few days & see what happens - there are specific enzymes in your saliva and stomach/first part of small intestine that break down foods; your teeth cannot break down food to the level that your body can absorb nutrients, this is done in the mouth through enzymes, or in the stomach/small intestine.

Do a google search on "liquid vitamins" and all the links that come up are companies selling their products; do the same search on pubmed (source used by professional researchers) and info comes up on treating cancer patients & bariatric patients who do not have normal stomach functions. I suggest you research this further.
 
Hi UC...no offense but I have no reason not to trust my Dr. She is very knowlegable and I trust her completely. I would likely be dead if it were not for her.

I have done some limited research...and believe me I am smart enough to look at the source when I am reading the information online. I have taken multivitamins and supplement all my adult life... in pill form... Vitamin D and Calicium included. I am deficient. I could continue to take the vitamins in pill form...but to me that seems much like "peeing on a forest fire". It did not work for me and is not likely to start working anytime soon, so I do not see the point of not taking my Drs advices and going to injections, gummy vitamins, and liquid vitamins.

Thank you for the referral to pubmed. It is am amazing size database of medical information. I did stop in and searched the liquid vitamins on it as you suggested. Quite frankly I do not have the energy to sift through the 11,869 results to figure out which one you are citing...the one says liquid or chewable vitamins are not digested better than those in pill form by cancer patients with abnormal digestion. I have a disease that makes me very tired and I work full time...so I just cannot get to that level of research.

At this point I will keep my faith in my Dr's advice. She will be monitoring my levels with regular blood tests to make sure I am improving.

Just curious...are you a professional researcher..or possibly a medical professional? I see you have not introduced yourself on the forums...?
Thanks again for your help, Joni O
 
My vit b levels look good, but I am definitely low on the vit d. I take one of those little green 50,000u gel tabs once a week.

EDIT: changed from green pill to gel tabs
 
Last edited:
There is a vit D called d-drops...I seriously think that they are the best way to take vit D
 
If you start having night vision problems insist on having a Vit A level done. My husband was scared he was going blind. Had all kinds of eye tests done until finally I did some research and suggested they check his Vit A. It was bottomed out. He had a round of 17 Vit A injections. After the 3rd injection he said it was like a miracle. He sked his doctor what the plan ws for keeping the level up and his doctor told him he didn't know. He'd never prescribed Vit a injections before. Needless to say after the above run-around with innept doctors my husband switched. The first thing his new doctor said was that they'd have to look into all of the nutrient malabsorption problems. Most vitamins are absorbed in specific parts of the small bowel. If you've had that part removed it won't matter how much vitamins you take orally - they won't be absorbed. Also beware of a substance called oxalyic acid that is in many foods especially anything from the cocoa plant (chocolate, cola products), peanuts, asparagus, rhubarb, berries. If you've had a resection and had the part removed that makes this substance harmless, you may end up full of kidney stones. He found this out the hard way, too.
 
I figured I would share that I am also B-12 and vitamin D deficient. I go to the doctor every month for a B-12 injection and that seems to be the only thing that helps keep my levels reasonable. For my Vitamin D I just take an over the counter supplement.
 

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