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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 19 of 19. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Elainep on February 2, 2005, at 18:44:11
For all of you looking at buying light boxes, you might want to get your vitamin d levels checked first. There have been studies linking vit d to improvement in SAD, one which showed that it worked better than a light box. My daughter had her depression cured last year by a megadose of vitamin D (after a very simple blood test), she was 100% better in a week after months of mood changes, check out this page with info about vitamin D, including a link to the study about vitamin d being better than a light box.
Bye all
Elaine
Posted by teejay on February 3, 2005, at 22:00:17
In reply to Vitamin D is likely better than a lightbox for SAD, posted by Elainep on February 2, 2005, at 18:44:11
Posted by Shortelise on February 5, 2005, at 1:50:31
In reply to Vitamin D is likely better than a lightbox for SAD, posted by Elainep on February 2, 2005, at 18:44:11
Honestly, this link sounds like someone's personal crusade.BUT ... I will ask my doc if I need to consider this, and if I could get a test for vit D. I think it's worth considering.
There were people who thought the idea that ulcers being caused by bacteria was nonsense. WAy before that, there were people who thought the idea of *bacteria* was nonsense.
So, I'm paying attention.
Thanks
ShortE
Posted by Elainep on February 5, 2005, at 15:55:07
In reply to Re: Vitamin D is likely better than a lightbox for SAD, posted by Shortelise on February 5, 2005, at 1:50:31
Sorry if it sounds like a personal crusade, ShortE. You don't know me at all and I have just popped up randomly on this board from nowhere, so I certainly don't blame you and it's always good to be skeptical. It's not exactly a personal crusade, although it does have elements of that, if I'm perfectly honest, because I'm a mother and mothers tend to go overboard when their kids are in trouble.
My background is I'm a scientist with a PhD, I'm 47 years old, and my perfect life was blown apart last year when my daughter,I'll call her Jo, who was then 17, came down with depression,punctuated with periods of what looked like hypomania to me. I was terrified it was more serious than 'just depression', because I have an aunt who was diagnosed with bipolar some 40 years ago.
My GP was as helpful as he could be and gave Jo all kinds of blood tests, all the B vitamins and iron (she's a teenage vegetarian)to see if it was a nutritional deficiency. But she came up fine on everything he tested for. I took her for a second opinion and the guy didn't do any blood tests, just immediately said he'd prescribe her some kind of antidepressant. I said no, I'd wait for her to see a psychiatrist I had her booked into. I was almost depressed myself after that meeting, I'd already read up on antidepressants and knew the side effects. I was especially concerned that if it was bipolar rather than 'just depression', the antidepressant the last guy was prescribing could send her into a manic state. I was nearly in a manic state myself, I admit, all the fear of consequences, but also knowing something had to be done, I'm sure many people on this site can relate to that. I decided I really had to wait it out to speak to the psychiatrist -the waiting list was several months to get into see him. I live in New Zealand, which is small without that many psychiatrists on the register, especially ones who see children and adolescents.
In the meantime I was doing what I know best, which is research. I started digging on sites like this, reading about people's stories and looking for help from people who had the same problems as Jo, because I figured they possibly knew more than the doctors did. Eventually I read a few posts about omega3 and bipolar (I don't know if it was this site, I think it was one more devoted to bipolar)and I became very interested in the whole nutrition/depression thing myself. I ordered about 5 books from amazon.com about nutrition and depression, and one, an old one from the eighties, had one paragraph about vitamin D and depression. It was the first time I'd ever seen anyone suggest a link between the two. I remember it was a Sunday night and just as I was dropping off to sleep the paragraph hit me and I knew it was Jo's problem. Not because I'm a medical doctor, but because I'm a mother who knew her daughter's behavior better than most. In New Zealand they've been running a 'Sunsmart' campaign for kids for years, telling them to 'slip slop slap' the suncream because we have a thin ozone layer down here (like Australia) and you burn really easily. So there's a high prevalence of skin cancer. Jo took this message to heart, plus as a typically vain teenager she decided she never wanted to get old and wrinkled (people also weather more down here because of the high burn exposure)so she constantly wore a hat and suncream when she went outside, even just to pick up the mail. She'd been doing this for years, and I just knew she hadn't seen any sun for a long time. Sounds crazy, but the extreme behaviour on her part made my own mental diagnosis easy. So I went back to my GP. He thought I was nuts quite frankly, and I did feel like an overdramatic mother, but the thing is, a vitamin D test IS really easy, so just to put my mind at ease he tested her. She came back with a very low level, I mean REALLY low, and he gave her a megadose of calciferol (he had to do more blood tests first for calcium and phosphorus before she could take the dosage), and then I swear she was better in less than a week. Really. I can't quite credit it myself, but there it is. She's been more than fine ever since (9 months later) and we just had her vit D levels re-tested. They'd dropped because she still hasn't been seeing the sun, so I've had her dosing with a good vit D supplement from Solgar (the english brand, not the American because the American one includes vit A).
Now, I don't think that Vitamin D is necessarily the miracle cure for any of you out there, but it IS easy to test for and I don't see that your doctors should protest too much on that. Then you'll know one way or the other. I should also tell you that I tested low myself (I got tested just out of curiosity) even though I don't avoid the sun or any such thing like my daughter. I wasn't really low like her, but I was just under the recommended blood level. And Jo's sister was halfway between Jo and I. I certainly have had no symptoms of depression or anything else and neither had Jo's sister, so I was a little shocked to find out we were both deficient too. I've read several articles since where scientists are suggesting 30%-50% of people are deficient in Vit D because of our indoor lifestyles and 'sunsmart' policies. I wear mositurisers with SPF15 every day, as recommended...
So is this a personal crusade? Not exactly. I put the link on this site because I've just had a nephew visiting from Canada and he was admitting to feeling a bit blue so we got talking about Vitamin D and I just decided on impulse to send the knowledge out to people who may be interested, like you lot. What I discovered in my own research is that the doctors are miles behind the scientists on this one, and the scientists are just beginning to scrape the barrel of what they're finding. I could be cynical here and say because there's no money in it (no copyright) the drug companies aren't interested and that's why so little research is being done, but whatever the issue the weblink I gave on my earlier post sums up my own feeling pretty well: I don't want to give anyone false hope, but it IS something worth getting tested for, if only to tick it off your list as something that isn't an issue with you. Get tested, it won't cost you much, and then you'll know.
Good luck!
ElaineP
> Honestly, this link sounds like someone's personal crusade.
>
> BUT ... I will ask my doc if I need to consider this, and if I could get a test for vit D. I think it's worth considering.
>
> There were people who thought the idea that ulcers being caused by bacteria was nonsense. WAy before that, there were people who thought the idea of *bacteria* was nonsense.
>
> So, I'm paying attention.
>
> Thanks
> ShortE
Posted by Shortelise on February 6, 2005, at 17:29:38
In reply to Re: Vitamin D is likely better than a lightbox for SAD, posted by Elainep on February 5, 2005, at 15:55:07
Wow Elaine, thanks so very much for writing! I appreciate it, and I have made up my mind to go and see my doc for a checkup some blood tests, etc. This is not easy as I am uncomforable with docs... but I'lldo it because I am just so sick and tired of being tired.
Thanks again.
ShortE
Posted by Elainep on February 7, 2005, at 0:01:51
In reply to Re: Vitamin D is likely better than a lightbox for SAD » Elainep, posted by Shortelise on February 6, 2005, at 17:29:38
Dear ShortE,
I'm glad my previous post has convinced you to get tested for Vitamin D deficiency as well as other things. Although don't thank me until it works! I figured it would be helpful for people on this site, like you, to know that Vit D HAS worked, at least in my instance where there was a significant deficiency in my daughter. It's not just a theory.I do believe that, if the scientists are right, at least some of you on this post WILL be Vit D deficient, just by the law of averages -if up to 50% of people really are Vit D deficient because of our modern lifestyle (and I WAS!!! that's the biggest shock of all given I haven't been sun avoidant although I haven't been sun seeking either),and if, as some researchers have shown, depressed people have a lower Vit D level than non-depressed people, well then some of you out there MUST have a problem. And ShortE, if you're lying around inside alot because you're tired, well you're a prime candidate to get tested.
I'm also not entirely surprised in hindsight about the ability of Vit D to transform my daughter, now that I know what an astonishingly powerful substance it is, like a mega steroid. I looked through the posts on this site and discovered a number of other quite recent posts about Vit D: I think maybe its time is coming. I hope that you ShortE, and maybe some others will have success with this as I and my daughter did. It's NOT flaky pseudo-science, I've read a ton of that and as a trained scientist I remain skeptical about most of what I read, but Vitamin D deficiency is quite plausible as a major theory, and worked in my own instance. It really is a possibly simple explanation for many of the ailments that afflict us across the world today, and the simple explanations are often the best. Certainly it isn't proven by any means, but as the weblink I sent earlier suggests, many signs are positive and it's worth getting tested just because you can.
I'd like to give some practical advice now about my own experience of taking Vit D with my daughters, just in case some of you do get tested and discover you're deficient, then you can look back on this post for further information. Sorry to jump the gun, but once I found out Jo was deficient, a whole new set of problems arose re dosage etc.
Before you can safely take a megadose, you have to have your calcium and phosphorus levels tested to make sure you don't have a condition called hypercalcemia, so if you're going for a Vit D blood test anyway, see if you can convince your doctor to get your phosphorus levels and calcium levels done at the same time with the same blood, rather than have to come back and do it again. It's VERY uncommon to have hypercalcemia, but for safety's sake it's important to get tested. But I can't tell you the nervous desperation of having to wait another three days after discovering Jo was deficient before I could allow her to take the calciferol pills.
After the megadose, Jo became the strong minded girl she always was again, and refused to believe that Vit D deficiency was her problem! Aaaghh. It was teenage stubborness and pride and she didn't want to admit that I was right about anything because I'd become overbearing while she was sick. (I'm sure a lot of you had Moms out there who overracted upon your getting sick). Jo was nearly 18,you can imagine the mother-daughter dynamics; I may be smart but not so smart in dealing with my daughter! I had to sit back and realise that she really was going to make her own decisions in life and I couldn't make them for her. I will tell you that she just needed time, after nine months of normal serotonin levels she's far more rational about the whole thing now. But at the time she more or less refused all advice to get out in the sun. So as the potential overzealous personal crusading type you picked me out as, ShortE, I naturally began to research supplemental doses so Jo wouldn't go low again.
Now, dosage of Vit D remains a problem and a concern for alot of people. Vit D is a fat soluble subtance, and taking too much can be toxic, because you don't get rid of it in your urine like you do the water soluble vitamins. Scientists have already discovered that too much Vit A taken in supplements can be a real problem, and many supplements sold in the US include Vit A as well as Vit D. That's because most Vit D supplements are made of fish oil, and the good old cod liver oil given to kids 50 years ago had both Vit D and Vit A in it.
Okay, so the first thing I went looking for was a vit D only supplement, and one based on Vit D3 (the fish based vit) rather than Vit D2 (the plant based vit). Vit D2 isn't as powerful or as good for whatever reason. Vit D2 (ergocalciferol I think its called) is the one they use in fortified milk and bread and orange juice etc, but it's not as powerful. I read that several times in my research, I'll go back and try to find my references and in my next post I'll try to give all the Vit D 'good' references I have, because of course my interpretation is only secondhand.
Then there's argument about how much Vit D you need on a daily basis. No one seems to know. The average recommended adult dose is only 200iu (international units) a day, going up to 400iu when you're old.
The Vit D supplement that I found and liked best, made by Solgar in the UK, came as either 400iu daily doses or 1000iu daily doses. Initially I gave Jo 400iu a day because I was worried about her taking 5X the recommended daily dosage, but after just getting her blood retested at the middle end of our summer, her levels have gone down so I've now put her on to 1000iu a day. She'll get tested again in 6 months, I'll send through an update so people have further info. My Doc now tells me that elderly people in resthomes are given a 50,000iu pill once a month and doctors have been dosing them that way for years and they're all fine (actually a lot of them die, but there have never been any reported Vit D overdoses!). That is reassuring to me, I figure half the elderly dose (1000 a day is 30,0000 a month) shouldn't cause a problem of overdosing in the next 6 months.
My other daughter and I haven't been taking supplements. My levels have gone up this summer (I've done a lot more deliberate chasing of the sun than in the past) although not by much, and my other daughters levels have dropped, but by very little. But that is with both of us making an attempt to get plenty of sun! So my other daughter and I are going to start to take 400iu once the autumn comes.
A good site about Vitamin D is run by a nutritionist named Krispin Sullivan: if you do a search on google you'll find her easily. I bought a book by one of the Vit D docs mentioned on the site given in my earlier post, Michael Holick, but I admit I didn't like his book that much, I'd call it 'Vitamin D lite'. I much prefer what Krispin Sullivan has to say, I may buy her book Naked at Noon (it hadn't come out when Jo was having her problems last year.)
Okay enough ranting. Just let me say that it makes more sense to get your blood tested than just start taking Vitamin D supplements blind, as the megadose they give you is something like 100,000 iu. IF you do decide to supplement though, I think initially 1000 iu a day won't do too much harm, but I really would recommend just getting your blood tested, you'll get well an awful lot quicker that way if it is your problem, plus you'll have confirmation that it is your problem. Oh, and don't forget it's the 25(OH) levels, not the 1,25(OH) levels you want tested (read the website I gave in the earlier post).
So thanks for listening to my rant, ShortE, I cross my fingers for you and many others out there. Just be firm with your doc that you want to be tested, say you've been reading some new research about it and you want it done for your own peace of mind, that's all it is. I hope you come up deficient! (I know it's not really very nice to wish a deficiency on anyone, but I do wish it if it means an easy fix to your problems.)
Bye for now
Elainep
Posted by Shortelise on February 7, 2005, at 13:05:40
In reply to Re: Vitamin D is likely better than a lightbox for SAD, posted by Elainep on February 7, 2005, at 0:01:51
Thanks again, Elaine.
I've heard that if we go in the sun after bathing, we don't have the necessary stuff on our skin that converts to Vit D.
ShortE
Posted by Elainep on February 7, 2005, at 18:04:18
In reply to Re: Vitamin D is likely better than a lightbox for SAD, posted by Shortelise on February 7, 2005, at 13:05:40
Hi ShortE
I don't know about bathing and inability to convert sun to Vitamin D. I've heard and read so many mixed reviews, my overall impression is that we really don't know a lot about Vitamin D. What I'm including in this post is the links to the articles/information that I saved in my favorites list at the time I was looking at Vit D. Not all of these articles are related to depression, I think there's one linking vit d deficiency with mistaken fibromyaglia for instance, but overall the impression they give is that there's a growing recognition that widespread Vit D deficiency may be a major problem. The link I gave in my first post is still the best summary of the science view overall, but the plethora of links below might add to your knowledge, then you'll know as much as I do.
Good luck ShortE: GET YOURSELF TESTED!!!!
Elainephttp://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/
Posted by Larry Hoover on February 14, 2005, at 14:21:01
In reply to Vitamin D is likely better than a lightbox for SAD, posted by Elainep on February 2, 2005, at 18:44:11
> For all of you looking at buying light boxes, you might want to get your vitamin d levels checked first. There have been studies linking vit d to improvement in SAD, one which showed that it worked better than a light box. My daughter had her depression cured last year by a megadose of vitamin D (after a very simple blood test), she was 100% better in a week after months of mood changes, check out this page with info about vitamin D, including a link to the study about vitamin d being better than a light box.
>
> Bye all
>
> Elaine
>
> http://www.cholecalciferol-council.com/major_depression.htm
>Elaine, if you're still monitoring this thread, you may want to consider the old stand-by for omega-3's and vitamin D.....cod liver oil.
Our ancestors (well, mine anyway) used to swear by the "tonic" properties of cod liver oil. Modern purification processes have largely eliminated the "yuck factor", too. And, moreover, it has been shown that vitamin A and D toxicity from too much cod liver oil is virtually impossible to achieve. You'd have to chug the stuff to do that.
Anyway, cod liver oil is also an excellent source of those long-chain omega-3 fatty acids. It is, after all, a cold-water fish oil.
Thanks very much for your thoughtful posts in this thread.
Lar
Posted by Larry Hoover on February 14, 2005, at 14:28:18
In reply to Re: Vitamin D is likely better than a lightbox for SAD, posted by Elainep on February 7, 2005, at 0:01:51
> Okay, so the first thing I went looking for was a vit D only supplement, and one based on Vit D3 (the fish based vit) rather than Vit D2 (the plant based vit). Vit D2 isn't as powerful or as good for whatever reason. Vit D2 (ergocalciferol I think its called) is the one they use in fortified milk and bread and orange juice etc, but it's not as powerful. I read that several times in my research, I'll go back and try to find my references and in my next post I'll try to give all the Vit D 'good' references I have, because of course my interpretation is only secondhand.
As an aside, all of the toxicity issues of vitamin D toxicosis were from studies of supplemental D2 (ergocalciferol), and those studies are decades old. Those findings were generalized to vitamin D3 *without scientific evidence to support that extrapolation*.
Megadoses of vitamin D3 are not associated with toxic reactions, absent predisposing health factors (as Elaine mentioned, e.g. hypercalcemia).
Lar
Posted by Larry Hoover on February 14, 2005, at 14:48:55
In reply to Re: Vitamin D is likely better than a lightbox for SAD, posted by Shortelise on February 7, 2005, at 13:05:40
> Thanks again, Elaine.
>
> I've heard that if we go in the sun after bathing, we don't have the necessary stuff on our skin that converts to Vit D.
>
> ShortEUhhh, no, that would be a myth.
Cholesterol is the root of all steroid hormones. Pro-vitamin D is 7-dehydrocholesterol. Ultraviolet-B radiation from the sun (or a tanning bed) turns that into cholecalciferol (vitamin D3, but still not active). The liver converts that into a still-inactive substance called calcidiol (the 25(OH)D of the blood test). Only when the kidneys convert that to 1,25(OH)2D (calcitriol) is it in its active form.
Although "common wisdom" has it that vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol) from plant sources and vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) from animal sources are metabolically interchangeable or bio-equivalent, recent evidence is indicating that may not be the case.
Anyway, there is nothing that happens during bathing that will reduce your capacity to form D3 from sunlight.
Lar
Posted by tealady on February 18, 2005, at 23:59:24
In reply to Excellent link, well worth the read thanks! (nm), posted by teejay on February 3, 2005, at 22:00:17
Posted by fires on February 24, 2005, at 22:27:34
In reply to Vitamin D is likely better than a lightbox for SAD, posted by Elainep on February 2, 2005, at 18:44:11
> For all of you looking at buying light boxes, you might want to get your vitamin d levels checked first. There have been studies linking vit d to improvement in SAD, one which showed that it worked better than a light box. My daughter had her depression cured last year by a megadose of vitamin D (after a very simple blood test), she was 100% better in a week after months of mood changes, check out this page with info about vitamin D, including a link to the study about vitamin d being better than a light box.
>
> Bye all
>
> Elaine
>
> http://www.cholecalciferol-council.com/major_depression.htm
>
I just recently doubled my dose of vit.D (3) from 400IU to 800IU. A couple of days ago I noticed an improvement in my vision. My nearsightedness isn't as bad. Then today someone told me that nearsightedness is a symptom of vit. d deficiency!I have to check up on that. I think some of my nearsightedness is due to age, but something is making my vision better. Maybe the B 12 I started a month or two ago, or the vit. D.
Posted by CarlosV on February 27, 2005, at 3:32:12
In reply to Re: Vitamin D is likely better than a lightbox for » Elainep, posted by fires on February 24, 2005, at 22:27:34
Dear Elaine
Thank you so much for sharing your success story. I'm going for it.
Can you tell me if this first mega dose of your daughter was oral or IV and if she took it at once or in different times? How do you buy and take 100.000 UI at once, just in the normal SOLGAR bottle taking a lot of pills?
I would really appreciate if you contacted me at cbn97@hotmail.com, I am extremely interested
Best regards
Carlos
Posted by fires on February 27, 2005, at 12:47:32
In reply to Re: Vitamin D is likely better than a lightbox for » Elainep, posted by fires on February 24, 2005, at 22:27:34
> > For all of you looking at buying light boxes, you might want to get your vitamin d levels checked first. There have been studies linking vit d to improvement in SAD, one which showed that it worked better than a light box. My daughter had her depression cured last year by a megadose of vitamin D (after a very simple blood test), she was 100% better in a week after months of mood changes, check out this page with info about vitamin D, including a link to the study about vitamin d being better than a light box.
> >
> > Bye all
> >
> > Elaine
> >
> > http://www.cholecalciferol-council.com/major_depression.htm
> >
>
>
> I just recently doubled my dose of vit.D (3) from 400IU to 800IU. A couple of days ago I noticed an improvement in my vision. My nearsightedness isn't as bad. Then today someone told me that nearsightedness is a symptom of vit. d deficiency!
>
> I have to check up on that. I think some of my nearsightedness is due to age, but something is making my vision better. Maybe the B 12 I started a month or two ago, or the vit. D.
Oops! Saw my Neuro. on Friday. He said that the idea that vit. D deficiency causes nearsightedness is entirely speculative.
Posted by tealady on February 28, 2005, at 4:50:50
In reply to Re: Vitamin D is likely better than a lightbox for » fires, posted by fires on February 27, 2005, at 12:47:32
I think I'll stick to matches :-)
sorry dumb mood
Posted by gardenergirl on February 28, 2005, at 9:46:21
In reply to Re: VitaminD is likely better than a lightbox for » fires, posted by tealady on February 28, 2005, at 4:50:50
Posted by Elainep on March 1, 2005, at 14:28:59
In reply to ROFL! I didn't notice that. (nm) » tealady, posted by gardenergirl on February 28, 2005, at 9:46:21
Hi all, thanks for your interest in my posts. I just got back from a holiday so that's why I haven't replied before now. Actually it was to drop my daughter (the one who had the depression) off at University: she's busy clubbing every night now and generally being a young and foolish freshman and I can't tell you how delighted I am about that: compared to a year ago!
Okay, Carlos, you asked about initial doses etc etc so I'll be far more specific here. I'll send you my email address directly too if you want to correspond further, I just like the idea of this further info being available to everyone. Please remember I'm no medical doctor, but I'm very happy to share whatever I know.
When 'jo' got tested in June last year she came back at 16 nmol/l in her blood, that's the English measurement not the American. I don't know what the American equivalent is or how it's measured. Anyway the 'normal' range is 50-150. So she was serously low. We got the first pills from the doctor, there were 6 of them, and they were 50,000 iu each, or a total dose of 300,000 iu. They were tiny little reddy pills, very innocuous looking. Apparently in Europe they dose up the old people with about that dose regularly, I guess it's the same here. Jo is small framed, probably weighs about 52 kilos or so, and her level went up to 86 nmol/l from that dose. (her blood level was measured a month later). Jo's sister 'Pat' came out at 22 nmol/l, also well below the recommend level. She's a bigger girl, weighs about 70 -75 kg,and was also given 6 pills of 50,000 iu, and her level went up to 72 nmol/l a month later. So obviously the dose is different depending on how big your body is. It was July last year when the second tests were done.
I then supplemented Jo on the Solgar brand 400iu a day, and 6 months later (in January) got both girls tsted again, as well as myself. Pat took no supplements, just 'basked' in the sun everyday for 10 minutes. This time the tests showed that Jo was down to 68 nmol/day, and Pat was down to 67nmol/day. I came out at 48 nmol/day. Rememnber this is halfway through our summer here, and even though it was a cold December, there was still more sun around than the winter before.
So after these results, Jo, Pat and I are all dosing at 1000iu a day, but we won't have our blood tested again until July. That's with the solgar brand, the pills are tiny oil filled capsules, not nearly as big as omega three oil pills or anything like that. But to get the initial megadose you'd need to swallow 3 bottles of pills!
I really would recommend getting a blood test done, I hate the idea of anyone rolling the dice in the dark when the measurements are easily available. REALLY. I'd hate to be responsible for anyone doing anything without full knowledge of their own body. But if you want further info about people who have been supplementing, here is a post I came across that may interest you. There's all kinds of info in here, it's basically a set of people experimenting with vit d supplements for their SAD symptoms. I just wish they did it with the measurements, then the scientist in me would be satisfied.
What is worth noting, is the mention of all the things associated with vit d deficiency: there are a ton of them. I personally have noticed a lessening in carbohydrate craving since starting my own supplements some three weeks ago.
To 'fires', who noted a difference in eyesight, I'm not sure about clearer vision,but on this post I've attached below there seem to be several who say it has had an impact on their headaches, maybe the two are related. I don't entirely trust the medical profession's knowledge of vit d and what it does. I DO know that vit D is a powerful agent in the body and it affects all kinds of things.
Okay, here's the new link.
Cheers
Elainep
http://forum.lowcarber.org/archive/index.php/t-215413.html
Posted by Paulk on February 21, 2008, at 13:30:24
In reply to Carlos question, posted by Elainep on March 1, 2005, at 14:28:59
There are some places offering OTC D3 in a 5000Ui strength.
It is important to note that the study was a one time dose of 100,000ui - not 100,000 every day.
Taking 5,000/day would keep the level up. I took 15,000 the first day and started felling better within 12 hours.
The study name was Vitamin D vs broad spectrum phototherapy in the treatment of seasonal affective disorder
A link to an abstract of the study is here:
http://www.biopsychiatry.com/dvit.htm
This is the end of the thread.
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