As you probably have read Vitamin d is really trendy at the moment in the medical community.
Bute there is still a controversy among researchers: Some says its very helpful for many chronic diseases and some say its useless or can even be dangerous.
My impression is that it is not fully understood yet in which ways Vitamin d effects the immune system.
I also generelly prefer patient experience to opinions of researchers.
So did Vitamin D help you or did you feel worse on it?
Posted by Hopeny (Member # 35984) on :
I started giving Vitamin D to my daughter who was very low because I read that low levels could cause depression. Previously an adult recovering from Lyme told me to completely avoid it. I saw a fairly immediate uptick in mood after she started, she got much happier and calmer. However her leg pain symptoms have returned/worsened after six weeks oN Vitamin D, I don't know if it was the D. We are starting Rifampin for suspected Bart so that may be the reason it returned, not the Vitamin D. We saw what i will call a Lyme familiar integrative doc for immune and MTHFR issues who told me vitamin d is essential for immune healing. I am curious to see other experiences.
Posted by sickmate (Member # 31502) on :
I am asking because I started a try again right after I wrote this.
Although the dose was tiny immediately i felt something was different.
Couldnt sleep all night, felt very nervous, my cns feels more out of control.
Posted by Robin123 (Member # 9197) on :
I love it - I do drops from the NOW brand and I feel more energized.
We're all different in how we respond to anything. If it makes you feel bad, then I'd say it's not for you at this point in time.
Posted by Kudzuslipper (Member # 31915) on :
I think for most it is probably very good. I just started it 6 weeks ago. And I had mood and energy bounce right away. After a month I started getting achier again was not sure why... Then I started to trace what I did when and did some research and whoa! Vitamin d comes from lanolin! Wool! I am so allrgic to wool and most any cute furry animal. I stopped and joint pain is almost back to normal.
So it may not be the d- but something in it. I am trying fish based d3 now and taking less. If that doesn't work I will try a vegan d2. I have also read that all those liquid d capsules can easily become rancid...and you may be better with a dry d. Who to believe? It all comes down to what works for you. But I do believe if you can take it d is good for us especially if we are low.
Posted by ctone (Member # 38779) on :
Which "experts" argue against the current vitamin D craze, and what do they say? I always feel worse when I take D even though I test low. The past medical community crazes for Iron and Calcium both turned out to be ill advised, so I'm more than a little sceptical about the vitamin D info currently being peddled.
I did read about a study in which young healthy surfers from Hawaii were tested and according to current standards were considered to be extremely low in D - researchers couldn't figure out why. There's something fishy about the heavy promotion of D as a cure all.
Posted by n.northernlights (Member # 17934) on :
the marshallprotocol people (they almost act like a sect) are against vitamin D, at least as long as one is on their antibiotic regime. Note that they do it to avoid the active vitamin D to get too high. Afterwards they D level will normalize I think. There is much about that on the internet
Posted by n.northernlights (Member # 17934) on :
If you feel worse from calcium and vitamin D, maybe get your calcium and PTH levels checked. see www.parathyroid.com Posted by FamilyFive (Member # 37206) on :
I know a woman with sarcoidosis on the Marshall Protocol who's had incredible improvement.
In my experience, I felt much better over the summer. July & August were the best months I've had... and I've been thinking it had to do with sun exposure, which I had a lot of. By mid-Sept I felt the start of old symptoms returning (with no change in meds).
Who knows?
Posted by Pinelady (Member # 18524) on :
Vitamin D made me much worse. Got to remember these infections do not require iron to survive. They seem to thrive on D.
Posted by PatriotM (Member # 38493) on :
How would anyone honestly know if Vitamin D, or any other supplement, was making them better or not. Most people on this forum have lyme and many other co-infections, which are notorious for having symptoms that come and go. Also, most people on this forum are on multiple meds and are frequently adding/deleting/changing meds and supplements. So, how can anyone know if Vitamin D is making a difference? I think that would be extremely difficult to determine.
I have been on Vitamin D (8,000 units per day) for about 85 days and am feeling significantly better. Did the Vitamin D do that? I have also been on the full Cowden Protocol for that same 85 days, along with about 8 other supplements.
Posted by sickmate (Member # 31502) on :
Good point, patriotm, but you could also say this for every single pill we swallow - abx, herbs or pain med. You can never now for sure what helps if you have a disease with flares.
But 8000 IU/day is really a lot. So if you are better i guess it seems that vitamin d did no harm to you.
Posted by PatriotM (Member # 38493) on :
I agree. The meds I'm taking are helping me and certainly don't seem to be causing any harm, including the Vitamin D.
Posted by RC1 (Member # 31923) on :
Just a theory about the surfers. I have read that D will wash off your skin, maybe they are in the water so much that it never soaks in. I play quite a lot of golf and in the summer my D is high, late fall it drops and I start to supplement. I do 5000 a day.
Posted by sickmate (Member # 31502) on :
YOu guys really take much Vitamin D. I cannot even tolerate one drop (700 IU) anymore without getting new neuro stuff.
Posted by Brussels (Member # 13480) on :
I have no longer lyme, nor my daughter. We were off vit D since lyme treatment finished. Fed up of supplements.
I decided to add it again because my daughter was catching too many bugs in winter. More than once a month, she caught something...
The next winter, after we added Vit D3, she caught maybe twice some cold. It was too different from the previous year. It could be a coincidence, but that was basically the only new thing we added.
since then, I'm also on Vit d3. My husband not, and now he, who was the strongest of us 3, is the one who may catch a cold first.
I do think that it works for prevention of colds. During lyme, I caught no cold, anyway, but when lyme got dormant, I started catching them. And same for my daughter, in school.
I did feel better with vit D, during lyme, and never stopped it, during whole lyme treatment.
Another option for immune 'boosting' was eleutherococcus. I couldn't take it for too long, but when I took it, I also felt good. I read that many people think eleuthero is good during lyme.
Posted by fatherguido (Member # 25266) on :
I feel so much better in the Summer when I can soak up vitamin D the natural way.
Posted by sickmate (Member # 31502) on :
Sunlight also makes me feel soooo much better. But Vitamin D pill or liquid makes me sooooo much worse. Dunno why.
Posted by annxyzz (Member # 20404) on :
Anyone with a low D level is at risk for multiple serious diseases and this is indisputable . D affects many different hormones and is ESSENTIAL to good health and immune function. Deficiency can cause pain disorders , poor immune function and depression .
Marshall Protocol is not backed by any clear scientific evidence that has been published that I know of . Marshall is an engineer not a doctor of medicine . His theory has helped some people, others fared TERRIBLY on it . I would not risk the diseases WE KNOW that are caused by low D levels .
Posted by annxyzz (Member # 20404) on :
VIT D , like NAC, ramps up immune function, which can cause a dieoff of pathogens . This could explain why starting D and NAC feels worse for a while , just like starting ABX or herbs that kill pathogens.
Posted by sickmate (Member # 31502) on :
annxyzz, i dont know why i always get worse on Vitamin D, but i dont think its die-off. A die-off-reaction doesnt last for a year. When i took Vitamin D for some days last winter i got severe new neuro stuff that stayed until this winter. It was disabling.
I dont believe in the MP either and know the theory about low D levels contribute to a lot of diseases. But my own experience unfortunately is that Vitamin D makes me much worse.