Posted by Elainep on March 10, 2005, at 15:07:58
In reply to Re: Vitamin D and depression, posted by TamaraJ on March 10, 2005, at 13:03:45
To Tamara and MR
Here are the links I suggest you read (at the bottom of this post).
I've included (the last link) a messageboard of people who self-supplement with vit D.
My advice is to get your blood tested. It's an easy test, well known as it's done frequently for the elderly.
My problem with self dosing is, although I don't think you need to worry short term about the effects, if you do something like take 4000iu/day for 5 years you might end up with a problem, if it continually increases your blood level over time. Vit d is an important thing to have daily in your body and the only way to tell how you're doing is to get tested. So I would really encourage you to get tested: it's not an expensive or difficult test, just may require some pushing on your part on your doctor (who may be resistant through ignorance).
A megadose is the only way to get immediate results and you need a doctor's prescription for that, unless you want to down bottles of pills at once. Plus you need to check out your calcium and phosphorus levels. I know it would be easier to 'fix' yourself, but by taking a supplement yourself you know nothing about where you're starting from, how long before your levels are normal, and it may get mixed up among everything else you're doing as to whether it has an effect or not.
What level is safe? There is so much argument/discussion about that. Maybe it depends on your body size/metabolism rate. That looks to be the case in my family. I don't like flying blind when there's no need to. I suspect my daughters and I may end up on an amount greater than 1000iu a day, but I'm looking for a maintenance dose and that's different to upping your levels in the first place. (Actually I'd like my levels to go up: if they don't go up on 1000iu I'll be asking my doctor for a megadose myself of some form after six months trial.)
Okay, enough of that. You're all adults out there and need to make up your own minds, but just let me say that this is KNOWN Western medicine, not some kind of pseudoscience, but the problem is western medicine only looks for it in the cases of the elderly and maybe those with unipolar depression some time in the winter (obvious SAD cases). Widen the breadth of the SAD definition and get yourself tested. It's easy and well worth it.
Elaine
http://www.cholecalciferol-council.com/major_depression.htm
http://www.holistic.com/holistic/learning.nsf/0/c9ef2bd696792d7087256e2b00706973?OpenDocument
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A43711-2004May20.html
http://www.nichd.nih.gov/prip/
http://www.superbherbs.com/advitamins.html
http://www.detnews.com/2003/health/0309/03/health-258921.htm
http://www.direct-ms.org/vitamind.html
http://www.vitaminlife.com/product-exec/product_id/11802
http://www.mercola.com/2003/jun/18/vitamin_d_cancer.htm
http://my.webmd.com/content/Article/91/101374.htm?pagenumber=1
http://sunlightandvitamind.com/
http://www.mercola.com/2002/feb/23/vitamin_d_deficiency.htm
http://www.immunesupport.com/library/showarticle.cfm/ID/5324/e/1/T/CFIDS_FM/
http://forum.lowcarber.org/archive/index.php/t-215413.html
poster:Elainep
thread:410247
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20050225/msgs/469320.html