Vitamin D

[mint]

I'm lobbing the subject of Vit D into the forum in case it's of help to anybody and also in order that people can give their views or experiences on here.

Last year, I was at the end of my tether with exhaustion and just put it down to aggressive cancer treatment.  Then, I was continually getting infections and my MT ordered a full blood test.  Turned out I was low in Vit D.  She gave me a single dose to take (in a little glass pipette).  Cue Disney music and bells and birdsong and flowers and clouds because, within a very few days, I'd recovered energy and morale.

Then I was talking about this to a French friend and she told me that many older people in France took Vit D during the winter months precisely to counter fatigue and insomnia.  Having been told this, I asked the doctor to give both OH and me some Vit D at the beginning of this winter and he actually gave us 3 doses each to take every month or so till the spring.  The difference it's made is substantial.

So if you too feel a bit weary and under the weather, perhaps Vit D could help you?  I don't know whether you could buy it from the pharmacie.  We have always taken a multi vitamin pill year round and Vit D would already be in the pills.  Therefore, these pipettes could be some super dose and could need a prescription.

[Alan Zoff]

Good advice on the subject here: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vitamins-and-minerals/vitamin-d/

[suein56]

Mint you don't say what concentration of vit D you and your hubby have been prescribed BUT 3 doses a month is potentially a huge amount .. to be taken with extreme care.

Whilst it can often be usual in France to prescribe vit D phials for older people in the winter .. it is usually at the max rate of 1 phial per month.

For the first time in my life I was given this winter a prescription for vit D .. following a disastrous summer when, due to medication I now take, I could not go outside during the, seemingly unending, very hot weather .. I was given 1 prescription for 1 phial each 3 month period for Sept and Dec to take me through to March 2019 when my MT would review the situation.

[mint]

AZ, I checked my info against your link and really there was nothing startling in it.  Most of it is common knowledge.  It was only the blood test that revealed my lack and I thought I'd give it to OH as well as he is nearly 88.  The doctor was quite happy to give us both ordonnances.

Sue, I expressed myself badly:  I meant 1 pipette a month for 3 months!  Thanks for pointing that out.  I was outraged to find I lacked Vit D when I live in the SW sunshine.  However, like you, I had to keep covered all summer and, in any case, I couldn't stand the heat and lived like a mole for months.

Need to keep covered again this coming summer but, after that, I hope I can walk again without taking too many precautions.  It was a bind to walk in the heat, fully covered up in special sun-resistant clothing and scarves and shawls.......grrr....I felt as though I was being boiled alive.

So, Sue, do you feel better with the Vit D?

[mogs]

I take one of the vials every month in winter, usually from October to April. The dose is mega, 100,000 I think (if memory serves me right).

I didn't think it was possible to overdose on Vit D as the body naturally gets rid of any not needed?

To answer Mint's question, I do not feel any less tired while taking it and I can't blame it on my cancer treatment as that was 10 years ago. Sometimes a lack of Vit B9 (folic acid) can also cause tiredness so I usually take a 5 mg supplement of this as well.

[suein56]

mint wrote : So, Sue, do you feel better with the Vit D?

Not sure if I felt much different but I certainly didn't feel any worse .. so I shall take the second pipette of my winter duo shortly.

If I then note a sudden increase in energy or feeling of well-being I shall report back with the startling news.

[Judith]

Following on from reading these posts, and telling the doctor I wondered if it would help as I always seemed to be tired though sleeping reasonably well, she has just prescribed one dose and suggested it is sensible to take one every three months - I don't get out as much as I should since the hip op and I've still to get back to full fitness so don't walk that much at the mo.

She did say that there is more vitamin D deficiency in the south of France than the north - and she agreed when I said, yes, they don't go out when it is too cold in the winter, and in the summer they stay inside because it is too hot!  We laughed together at that one!

However, my question is, can anyone who has taken Vit D tell me when I am supposed to take it (with a meal ??) or indeed do I take it neat or in water.  Leaflet does not make it clear at all, or indeed, it is not clear how I open the thing.  Cut the end off??

Any suggestions gratefully received!

[mint]

Judith, protect your fingers with a bit of tissue or a tea towel, grasp one end and break it off (easily broken), then break off the other end in the same way, making sure you don't lose any of the contents.

Tip into a small glass and top with water.  The contents turn cloudy.  I say add water because it is thick and oily and a lot of it will stick to the glass otherwise.  If you see any contents left in the glass, add more water and take to ensure you get all of the goodness.

I take mine first thing in the morning before breakfast but I don't think it matters when.  Probably better to take it (like antibiotics) between meals because possibly this allows for better absorption.

Do come back and tell us if you feel different afterwards?

[Gardian]

The French do like a suppositary, but perhaps inadvisable in this instance !

[Judith]

Thanks Mint.  Just opened it all up, and examined it with a friend, we both think its a very stupid way to offer this, though I can see why glass for security and sanitary reasons, having to break both ends of a glass phial is not my idea of a sensible operation!

Will try it out and see what happens.

For me it's not as much to do with just tiredness, but I just cannot get on with things that I once did without any problem.  Psyching myself up to doing things is now so hard! 

May try later this afternoon ... but it still weird that there is no instruction on how to open it - we are not all chemists used to dealing with such stuff - just had a thought, hubby was, maybe he could do it????? 

Will feedback when I know more.  Thanks!

[mint]

[quote user="Judith"]

Thanks Mint.  Just opened it all up, and examined it with a friend, we both think its a very stupid way to offer this, though I can see why glass for security and sanitary reasons, having to break both ends of a glass phial is not my idea of a sensible operation!

Will try it out and see what happens.

For me it's not as much to do with just tiredness, but I just cannot get on with things that I once did without any problem.  Psyching myself up to doing things is now so hard! 

May try later this afternoon ... but it still weird that there is no instruction on how to open it - we are not all chemists used to dealing with such stuff - just had a thought, hubby was, maybe he could do it????? 

Will feedback when I know more.  Thanks!

[/quote]

Judith, it's no great shakes, honestly.....you just wrap a bit of kitchen roll round the ends and snap them off one after the other.

I think that possibly they are in glass vials because they might be for injections as well.  In brown glass because obviously sensitive to light (methinks) and oily because Vit D is fat soluble[:)]

Any more questions???[:P]

[minnie]

About 2 years ago oh and I were both diagnosed Vit D deficient in January despite taking walks of several kilometers daily and gardening...We had these little phials for 3 months until I read there was a risk of overdosing on Vitamin D. Since then we have kept it in balance by getting a small Vitamin D daily supplement. We get it via Holland & Barratt. It works well for us.

[minnie]

About 2 years ago oh and I were both diagnosed Vit D deficient in January despite taking walks of several kilometers daily and gardening...We had these little phials for 3 months until I read there was a risk of overdosing on Vitamin D. Since then we have kept it in balance by getting a small Vitamin D daily supplement. We get it via Holland & Barratt. It works well for us.