Results of bloodwork

[HappyHiker]

Does anyone else other than me get fascinated by the results of their lab blood work? I don't know why, but I find this snapshot of my health just intriguing. This years' found everything in pretty much apple pie order--except, sub-par Vitamin D.

Anyone else low on Vitamin D? Anyhow, my Dr. recommended taking 2000 mg. as a daily supplement...

[Mrs-M]

I've never had a rundown consisting of vitamin and mineral deficiencies after blood-work. Just the basics such as diabetes, cholesterol, etc. Will be inquiring about this next time.

[CathyA]

I find it interesting too. I find it curious that it can all be normal, even when I feel so bad!
I think alot of us are low on D., since we tend to live indoors alot of our lives.
Try to get outside, even on a cloudy day for at least a half hour.
I take 4,400 u of D3 a day. (Solgar brand).
Take a good brand.

[Rosemary]

Yes, I too am fascinated by bloodwork. My vitamin D was quite low when I had it tested for the first time back in April. My Dr asked me to take 2000 IU/day and it was re-tested about 8 weeks later. It was still below the suggested level but had come up quite a bit. I have been maintaining at 1000 IU/day since then, because I spent a lot of time outside over the summer, but will probably go back to 2000 IU/day for the darkest part of winter.

This far north it doesn't matter if you get outside this time of year... the angle of the sun is too low for the body to make vitamin D. I read that a good guideline is that when your shadow is longer than you are tall, the sun is too low for vitamin D production.

[fidgiegirl]

Wow, I've never had mine done for vitamins and stuff. Last doc did tell me to take Vitamin D, which I never have done but plan to start soon.

Part of my reluctance around vitamins is because I heard they are not regulated. How does one know which is a "good brand," especially when none of them have any accountability? Who knows what crap could be in there?

I was going to take folic acid as part of this as well. So I was at Whole Foods and decided to look at some. Well, there was none that was JUST folic acid so I was looking at some prenatals. It had the % daily value, etc. listed of all the ingredients. Well, then I thought "I'll check out this general vitamin for women and see what the difference is." They had the SAME amount of folic acid in mg, but the prenatals said that it was 200% of DV and the women's vitamin said it was 100%. Same with some of the other vitamins. So, confirmed in my belief that it's a racket, I put them back on the shelf and walked away.

That negativity spewed, I WANT to take vitamins! I too feel icky, especially lately - tired, cranky, sluggish, etc. - and I know Vitamin D would help. I just don't know how to choose a quality vitamin.

[CathyA]

Sometimes I wonder if we're over-reacting to a low D. I hope they test "normal" people who feel good all the time, to see what their D level is.
I thought it might help me, since I have fibromyalgia......and don't know for sure what causes that. I have my son take it, since he has psoriasis, and has a low D also. I hope its not the vitamin-du-jour, so to speak.

[CathyA]

fidgiegirl..........I go to a reputable health store and buy the brands that seem to do the right things........use good ingredients, package it in a container that will keep it fresh longer, site good research done with their product, etc. (I have found that Whole Foods doesn't have the greatest selection of supplements). You could even do a search of the various companies and see which one feels right to you.

Still though...... they just aren't regulated. Sometimes the proof is in the pudding. You have to sort of do a trial-and-error and see which brand actually makes a difference in your health. Plus, the type of mineral can vary and which one you need depends on why you need it. For example, I take calcium to control my IBS-diarrhea. So I want the form of calcium that won't be as well absorbed and will stay in the GI tract. On the other hand, I want the magnesium I take to be of a form that is most highly absorbed, so it will help with heart palpitations and muscle twitches. You just have to try to educate yourself as much as possible, so you don't waste alot of money.
I buy at local places called "Nature's Pharm" and "Nature's Market". Like I said, when I've checked out Whole Foods, they just didn't have as much to choose from.

[HappyHiker]

Yes, Vitamin D deficiency is interesting. My new doctor told me that she expected her patients here in sunny North Carolina not to be as deficient as patients in her former practice in Ohio. But she found the results pretty much the same, which surprised her. She mentioned that as we age, we lose much of our capability to absorb and utilize D from the sun, which may explain this mystery. I do spend a goodly amount of time outdoors, but still came up short.

I'm eager to see if bringing up my D level will impact my health in any discernible way--such as improving my sleep or lowering blood pressure. Probably my imagination, but after several weeks of Vitamin D therapy I'm seeming to have more energy and am feeling a tad more cheerful--not too much S.A.D. so far...

[Rosemary]

Hmm.. when I lived in Raleigh, it rained a good part of the fall, winter, and spring. I don't remember it being particularly sunny.

I buy supplements from Vitacost.com. Good brands and good prices. The actual label information is viewable on the website.

[frugal-one]

CathyA... what brand of magnesium do you buy? I just bought some and wonder if they are good? hmmm

[CathyA]

I think our primitive bodies are built to get our D from the sun. I don't think we're outside enough to get what we need. Then again....maybe its other things in our lifestyles that lower the D.
Frugal-one.......I use Solgar's Magnesium Citrate. They are 200mg/pill. I've always read that the citrate form is very absorb-able. I gauge how much I take on how many irregular beats I'm getting (and muscle twitches) and how much diarrhea the dosage gives me. As long as you're not getting diarrhea, you can go up on the dose. I've always read that you need to take Calcium with magnesium too.........which definitely can control any diarrhea.

[Anne Lee]

Not bloodwork but other health measures. I weigh daily and per doctor's orders take my blood pressure daily as well. I love making graphs.

[frugal-one]

CathyA... interesting. Thank you. BTW.. I also soak my feet in epsom salt. It does wonders for eliminating the palpitations too.

[lmerullo]

My doc told me last year to get 20 mins of sun exposure on most days. She says that there are so many processes in the body that are enhanced by sunlight. Just geting the natural light in the eyes is supposed to help with sleep cycles. In the winter, when it's not too hot, I try to take my lunch break outdoors daily. I just went for my yearly checkup, and the levels of D were still low for me. I was already taking a calcium with added D daily, but now the doc recommends adding a seperate stand-alone D3 supplement of 1000mg. I just started, but feel like I am in a better mood, sleep is more restorative, etc. Could be the placebo effect, I suppose, but if it works, I will continue taking a small pill.

[HappyHiker]

Cool! Thanks for checking in--please report back after you've been taking the Vitamin D for a while....I'm feeling better too, after only a week of supplementation...sleeping better...more optimistic...

[NetTurtle]

Yeah, $110 later, I'm low on vitamin D too :sick:. And doctors complain that patients should not be able to go and order their own tests a la carte and cut out the middlemen. They sure do have a sweet racket going.

[Tiam]

I've never had a rundown consisting of vitamin and mineral deficiencies after blood-work. Just the basics such as diabetes, cholesterol, etc. Will be inquiring about this next time.



I asked my doctor about the Vitamin D since they gave me a result for it. He told me it was a common test for women after 50.