Very low Vit D

Hello all: I am 5 years post RNY and also responsible for a 75# regain of which I am not particularly proud.  However I am working on trying to resolve that so I can get PS to get rid of an enormous panni I have developed.  Anyhow, I went back to my bariatric center and they did blood work.

Ny Vit D levels are at 11.  I have felt like crap, not been able to lose any weight even with cutting back and journaling, feel like I've been run over by a truck, my lower legs feel like I have polio and are made of cement (very hard to exercise or even to walk).

The center put me on 50,000 iu's of Vit D2.  Now I am pretty sure that won't work too well after our type of surgery so my question is why would they even prescribe it?  I am currently taking a multi vit and also Vit D3- 600 iu's 3 x a day.  Does anyone have any type of advice?  I go back in 8 weeks after this round of vitamin therapy to see if levels come up.

I asked for water therapy and the nurse did write a prescript for me.  I have lymphedema in my legs and I personally think it's in my abdomen too but haven't been diagnosed with it there.   I am just a bit discouraged but still trying to cope and lose the weight I need to lose 100# to get the ps.  I am also going to try a bit of cognitive therapy and the center has given me k=names of dr's who specialize in bariatrics.  This will be very new to me as one never likes to think of oneself as having "mental issues"!

Thanks for listening everyone.  I will keep up with all my vitamin therapy.  I also take joint pills (glucosamine)  and sublingual b-complex and biotin for my hair.  Thanks for listening.  Trying hard not to be so dense when it comes to keeping up with vitamins.  Iknow how important they are!! Thanks all!  Molly

I can tell you that the Vitamin D 50,000 IUs DO work, and that's why they prescribed them.  Take the vitamins as directed and keep up your other vitamins.  I have chronic low vitamin D and iron.  They occasionally give me the 50,000 IUs and it generally will get me back into a healthy range for quite a while.  Every year or two I might have to go back to supplementing at that level.  In the meanwhile, I take two 2000 IUs every day.

I'm just curious about what your D level is on just 4000 IU a day.  I've never known any RNY folks that could maintain a healthy level (at least 80) on less than 5000 IU a day and most seem to need at least 10,000 IU or more a day.

My latest value was 47, on my lab's normal range of 32-100.  I have never bought any of the high-powered vitamins you all sink your funds into and actually, I've done really well except for the iron and the vitamin D.  I might add that nearly everyone I know who is over 40 ends up finding out they are deficient in vitamin D, whether they have had WLS or not.

I buy the "high powered" vitamin D 3 because I want my vitamin D level to be above 80, since lots of research indicates that reduces the risk of osteoporosis, heart disease and some kinds of cancer.  I know, most people are vitamin D deficient these days.

Yeah, it might be in range, but not optimal for anyone who has had WLS.  80 is the level that research indicates is optimal.  And I'll add that EVERYONE should be getting their D levels checked and dealing with them if they are low.  Being older/having WLS/living is a dark climate....whatever....is not an excuse to live with low D levels.

I get the 50,000 IU D3 dry OTC. 100 caps cost me <  $20 (when I buy them from Amazon - and free shipping) The 100 caps last me almost a year.  And my D3 is 95 (checked last month). I take that 2 x a week in summer and 2-3 times a week in summer  

Dry Vitamin D3 in large doses is extremely cheap. So I don't really "sink my funds" into it. I just like taking 1 pill a week instead of 1 a day.

For example, I buy this bottle:

http://www.vitalady.com/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?preadd=action&k ey=1130X100

It's a 100 week supply. So that works out to 3 and half cents a day. I think I can afford it. 

Plus D2 needs to be converted into D3 into our bodies to be useful and the conversion process is wasteful. So using D2 is like paying to have expensive pee since a lot of it ends up there. I prefer to put my money into my body and not my pee. If I'm going to take a vitamin, I want to take the one that is going to be the best absorbed and be the most effective.

But then I'm thrifty like that.

(The reason that the doctor's office prescribes the D2 is because either they don't know about high dose D3 or because D2 is available by prescription and D3 is OTC and they feel more comfortable prescribing something then telling you to buy a vitamin a GNC or online.)

Thank you for your response Linda - Of course I will continue to take them -I had just heard that we don't necessarily absorb the D2 very well.  I am sure it is helping so far as I have a bit more energy and mylegs are a bit better too.  Thanks again!

D2 doesn't work well for anyone, RNY or not.  D2 must be converted to D3 in the body and it takes a lot of D2 to make a little D3.  In addition, the prescription D2, which is probably what you're on, is in oil, and since RNY patients malabsorb fats, we don't absorb vitamiins in oil real well.

My advice is to buy dry D3.  I order the 50,000 IU D3 from vitalady.com.  I have to take three a week to maintain a good vitamin D level - according to the Linus Pauling Institute, it needs to be at least 80.  I just had labs done two weeks ago and my D is at 96.

I don't know why they prescribed D2 for you.  You could ask them why.  Probably they don't realize that D3 is absorbed much better.

You can check out the Vitamin D Council and Linus Pauling Institute websites for more info.