Despite the fact that I've been taking 11,000 IU/day for over a year. Where could it be going?

Are you taking it with some fat?

Yes, the D3 I take is in the form of softgels. The carrier is soybean oil.

a Bad brand of the supplement?

That's what I was wondering. Maybe I'll find a different brand, and see if things improve. About 3 or 4 years ago, my doctor was giving me prescription vitamin D. The capsules were 50,000 IU, and I was supposed to take 1 a month, but I took one a week and added OTC D3 the other 6 days. Then I learned it was D2, so quit refilling the prescription and switched to 11,000 IU of OTC D3.

When I was taking the D2, my blood level did actually get up to slightly over 60, but I read somewhere that the D2 didn't do any good. Is that true? Anyone know?

According to the Jaminets of paleo diet fame, this would be perfectly adequate.

If I recall correctly, though, you have thyroid issues??? Maybe that is connected somehow?

Take care,
amanda

if you have a fair amount of body fat, vitamin D gets shunted into the fat cells and then the body has an extremely hard time releasing it from the fat cells. When you get into ketosis from the LC diet, I think some of the Vitamin d may be released as well but you should ask Hutchinson who's really really knowledgable about all things Vitamin D. PM him and see if he can give you more information.

When I started taking D3 I also took raw cow liver with it. I feel like the stuff in the liver helped with absorption of the D3. You might want to try it?

I am using VitD3 5000 IU by Healthy Origins. This brand VitD3 has very good reviews that's why I bought it.

I agree with Deb34, Hutchinson seems to be quite knowledgeable about this issue.

Hutch is the D3 man, that's for sure!!!

amanda

It's the RX ERGOCALCIFEROL
stop that and use BIOTECH 50,000iu instead.
Look at the graph here.


What we are looking at is the result of comparing the absorption and utilization of ergocalciferol (RX) and cholecalciferol.
At 4 days the absorption is similar BUT by day 6 we see the RX Vit d is declining while the Cholecalciferol D3 OTC is still rising.
The decline in D2 continues and by day 15 there is virtually none left while D3 is peaking.
By day 30 the difference in 25(OH)D is significant.

This happens time and time again. I've had people tell me their doctor simply increases the D2 unaware that it is speeding up vitamin D consumption. The more they take the faster their bodies dispose of it. I've had one person say they were taking 150,000iu DAILY and still has declining 25(OH)D.

I don't understand why they won't tell people to use the OTC version, It's far more effective. Far Safer and Far Longer Lasting and FAR FAR CHEAPER. (perhaps that the problem)

This is the brand I use because the carrier oil is MCT and that has some benefits. I don't like soy so wouldn't take that BUT the amount in a capsule is so small it's not a big deal. So don't waste the one's you've bought just use them up and don't buy more.
Liver is a good source of natural vitamin A some vitamin A is necessary to ensure Vit D works well, Dr Cannel has shown that some Vitamin A's in supplements may block the action of vitamin D so it's not a clear cut yes/no situation.
But I will agree that LIVER is good for you and I like it at least once a week and it is far less likely to be harmful than synthetic stuff from a supplement.

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But I DID stop the prescription stuff, at least 2 years ago ... probably longer.

What I've been taking since then, and still take now, is labeled " D3 Cholecalciferol". Every day, I take 2 softgels that are labeled as 5,000 IU and 1 softgel that is labeled as 1,000 IU. I don't take them all at once, but space them throughout the day.

I'll find the Country Life brand and give it a try.

Thank you to everyone who posted! I sincerely appreciate your input.

Sorry I read your post quickly and missed the fact you'd stopped D2.

A rule of thumb guide to work out the amount of vitamin D required is 1000iu daily for each 25lbs weight. So typically someone weighing 275lbs would require 11000iu/daily just to meet daily needs. If you were at your target weight then your current intake should raise status and be sufficient to allow storage of D3 and increasing 25(0H)D levels. So perhaps trying 15,000 on days when you are unable to get sun exposure would be a good idea at least for a few months to see if it makes a difference.


Changing brand of vitamin D may be a good idea
Dr Davis has patients who have not responded to Nature Made that use a soybean oil carrier

It would be worth trying to get as much sun on as much skin as possible. Preferably skin that is usually covered. UVA degrades D3 so having a short nonburning exposure to usually covered skin enables that skin to be protected from degradation from further sun (UVA) exposure when you put your clothes back on. If you only get UVB on your face and hands but continue to get UVA (sunlight through glass only provides UVA) that will continue to degrade the D3 in skin.

If you went out in the sun during your lunchbreak and only exposed face/hands and then spent the afternoon behind a sunny office window you would end the day with no extra vitamin D, Your 20mins lunch time vitamin D creation would have been degraded by 3hrs of UVA exposure. But exposing the skin you usually keep covered will create vitamin D and recovering during the afternoon will allow that D3 to be safely absorbed.

I haven't been getting out much since I rolled my scooter on March 23rd. I have a broken right hand, sprained left wrist, and some kind of injury to my left knee and lower leg that is very painful, so walking is neither easy nor pleasant. I'm having an MRI in about an hour, to see what kind of damage there might be in the knee and lower leg.

I will increase my dosage to 15,000 IU, and order some of the Country Life D3. Most of the other oil-based supplements I take are in MCT oil, so I'm happy to switch to a different brand of D3. Maybe I can get someone to get one of my patio chairs out of the garage for me, so I can sit outside for awhile each day ... presuming the only sunshine coming down isn't of the liquid variety usual to Oregon.

Thanks again for all your help.

Seems like I read somewhere that autoimmune disorders seem to make D3 levels low. Can't remember where.