D-2...D-3

Got my labs back last week.  Can anyone explain the difference between D-2 and D-3.  Where do they come from (sunlight or things like milk).  What does it mean if you are low in one or the other.  Thanks,  Brian

Brian
I was low on vitamin D and I foudn out that if you take d2 your liver has to convert it before the body uses it and d3 is ready to use.
The normal range for d3 is 30 to 70 and mine was 19 so they put me on 8 weeks of one 50,000 capsule of d3 per wee****il it came up and now I take 1000 iu of d3 every day and I am pre op.
Indianasteve

if you take d2 your liver has to convert it before the body uses it and d3 is ready to use.

No, both D2 and D3 are converted to 25-OH-D2 and 25-OH-D3, respectively.  These are the metabolites used to measure vitamin D levels in the blood, but even these aren't "ready to use".  The biologically active forms of the vitamin are 1,25-OH-D2 and 1,25-OH-D3.  There's no difference between the two forms of vitamin D in this regard.

/Steve

I hate to disagree with you but D3 is the most bioavailable for post ops with malabsorbtion. I'm not sure if it's hte forumulation or how it's packaged, but you can take D2 all you want, it's not going to get your levels up, esp not if you're a distal bypass patient...such as a distal RNY or DSer.

Scott

D2 is almost always sold as a Rx-only gelcap containing large amounts of the vitamin dissolved in oil (50,000 IU and higher), whereas D3 is hardly ever available in that form; it's almost always a so-called "dry" powder compounded as tablets or capsules.

Once swallowed, D2 seems to hang around in the body for a slightly shorter period of time than D3, and be somewhat less potent in terms of vitamin D activity (I'm not sure why this isn't accounted for by the use of "IU", International Units), but I doubt this difference is enough to explain what Scott is saying.  I suspect that fat malabsorption must be at the bottom of it.

/Steve

That's it, the oil based gel caps dont' absorb into our rearranged intestines as well as a dry based D. NOW there are some freaks of nature, that do well with the oil based, and of course a proximal RNYer will do much better then a DSer with an oil based D, but for the most part dry (D3) is better then D2.

I happen to take both.....I take 100K IU of dry D a day and 3 times a week I take a 50K of D2....i figure what the hey....it can't hurt. With the new "good range" of 60-80 for D, I'm trying to get out of the 30s...which is the bottom of normal.

Scott

When it comes to increasing your D-25 on your labs, you want to get a dry formulation of D 3. It's the active form of D. Now there is a prescription form of it, BUT (here's the big but) it's in an oil base. WHICH MEANS that even as a RNYer you'd malabsorb some of it. You can buy the Dry D forumulation in 50 K IUs from Vitalady.com (or biotech...but biotech is a pain in the ass to order from) If your labs are really low you should take 1 50K IU dry D every day for 30 days then get retested. I take 100K IUs of dry D everyday to stay in range.

In order to get enough D from the sun, you'd have to sit in the sun all day long with no cloths eating egg yolks (or something like that).

Scott

In order to get enough D from the sun, you'd have to sit in the sun all day long with no cloths eating egg yolks (or something like that).

I could totally ******' do that.