how to increase vitamin D.
I have currently been taking 50000 IU ergocalciferol twice a week, for about 1 year and a half and i recently got my vitamin D levels checked and they still came back low, 1.25 ng/mL. Somehow my level is lower than when I wasn't taking it. I don't know what to do, I do my best to always drink milk fortified with vitamin D and orange juice as well. I don't have any other medical conditions except for maybe anemia. My endocrinologist wants to increase my dose to 50000 IU 3 times a week, but I don't know how that will affect my liver and kidneys In the long run, I don't want to trade in my low vitamin d for a set of new ones. I don't have celiac or any other issues that would affect my absorption, parathyroid and thyroid are working well per my recent labs and prior labs as well. i just want to know how to increase my level. any help is appreciated thank you
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Are you also taking K and magnesium? They're important to take when supplementing with D.
I don't understand why doctors seem to often prescribe intermittent mega-doses of vit. D instead of smaller, daily doses.
you are either magnesium deficient (needed for activation & transport), missing b vitamins (enzymatic conversion pathway: 25-hydroxylase), or have a hyperactive 24-hydroxylase (boron can counter that)
You want D3 which is what we make naturally from UVB exposure. D2 is what you find in mushrooms. It's outdated but still prescribed since that protocol hasn't been updated. Go get a supplement at the store or online.
Take it every day. More frequent dosing is better at raising serum levels. Daily dosing is necessary to get the full benefits of vitamin D. Try 10K IU D3 daily to start. You will probably need more with your malabsorption issues. If you retest then there's no reason not to take as much as you need to reach your target level. Toxicity is determined by blood level not the dose.
Take it with fat and magnesium.
Try sublingual dosing. Buy softgels and poke a hole then squirt it under the tongue. There are also vitamin D sprays but probably not high enough doses for you. This method bypasses the GI tract.
To summarize: Try 10K IU D3 daily. Retest. If it doesn't work, try sublingual. Use testing to determine if you need to increase your dose. It's safe to take 20, 30, or even 50K IU daily as long as you monitor your blood level.