Vitamin D

AlaskanKisses

Yesterday my MW started off the appointment with how my Vit D  count is down to 30.  She said that Everyone not just pregnant women need to up their daily Vit D, she said a normal healthy level is 80 to 100.  She recommended via a holistic doctor about 10,000 IU a day for adults and pregnant women.  She said (don't quote me on this bad memory) help the heart, brain, haha memory, helps your body ability to absorb more calcium, less likely to get alzheimer's when older, and just in general makes you feel better (as in general health and kind of a happy pill, lessens depression).  I know I am leaving a lot of things she said out but that is kind of a outline.  So as of yesterday I have my DD on the drops I give her 2 or 3 drops in some juice, I am taking 2 5000 IU tablets and so is SO. 

Is anyone else taking Vit D?  Has your OB/MW talked to you about it?  What have you learned about it? 

brittm87

I have been taking Vit D before i even got pregnant and also have my ds on the drops...

akozera

Early in my pregnancy, my labs revealed that I was "deficient" and needed to supplement my vitamin D intake. I did as I was instructed, and noticed marked results in my labs fairly soon after. I am not a big help, but can say that I did a ton of research on the internet and the alternative was a little scary.

 I purchased the vitamins, very inexpensively, at Walmart. They are a tiny, gel pill and not a burden to take.

Good luck and keep us posted!

jmg7781

I have been on Vit D for years. I found out i had a deficiency when i was diagnosed with lupus. Your body can produce it on its own. The best source of Vit D is the sun so if you are able to spend time in it do so. I am on a no sunlight restriction (plus its cold here now) so suppliments it is.

PharmacyQueen

You have to be careful with Vitamin D. It is a fat soluble vitamin that is stored in your fat, so you can get too much of it.  Make sure the doctor monitors your levels with bloodwork to make sure you are in the safe zone! Otherwise, yes Vitamin D is a great vitamin all the way around.

jmg7781

I have been on Vit D for years. I found out i had a deficiency when i was diagnosed with lupus. Your body can't produce it on its own. The best source of Vit D is the sun so if you are able to spend time in it do so. I am on a no sunlight restriction (plus its cold here now) so suppliments it is.

ckolak:-)

I generally take it (in addition to my multivitamin) when I'm not pg, during cold season/winter. It helps reduce inflammation when you have a cold/sinus infection. I haven't taken it as a supplement yet this fall but I may start taking it tomorrow since I'm sick at the moment.

drpayne

I took it even before I was pregnant.  There are a lot of benefits to getting extra vit D.  Wish I could remember the study(ies) but some say they are considering increasing the recommended dose for pregnant women.  I also read about a possible correlation between low Vit D and peanut allergies. 

Here is one:

https://articles.cnn.com/2010-04-30/health/vitamin.d.pregnancy_1_vitamin-d-intake-pregnant-women-pregnancy?_s=PM:HEALTH

I must have read a few things similar to this early on, because I do remember decreasing it a little in first try, then adding more when 2nd tri started.

sdsmalltowngrl

I was on 50,000iu 1/week for the first couple of months I was pregnant.  I'm now on 1000iu/day and am continually monitored.  I live in South Dakota, so we have winter issues with low vit. D levels anyway.  There can be issues with too much vit. D, but taking it outweighted the risks for me.

drpayne

PharmacyQueen:

You have to be careful with Vitamin D. It is a fat soluble vitamin that is stored in your fat, so you can get too much of it.  Make sure the doctor monitors your levels with bloodwork to make sure you are in the safe zone! Otherwise, yes Vitamin D is a great vitamin all the way around.

 

Pretty sure they are rethinking this... (how much is too much)

~adamwife~

I just make sure I get at least 15 minutes of direct sunlight each day.

PharmacyQueen

drpayne:

PharmacyQueen:

You have to be careful with Vitamin D. It is a fat soluble vitamin that is stored in your fat, so you can get too much of it.  Make sure the doctor monitors your levels with bloodwork to make sure you are in the safe zone! Otherwise, yes Vitamin D is a great vitamin all the way around.

 

Pretty sure they are rethinking this... (how much is too much)

They are considering increasing the RDA for vitamin D, currently it is women under 50yo should get  200 IU per day even in pregnancy (per the national instutite of health).  Too much depends on the person but levels greater than 200ng/ml are considered to be potentially toxic. The symptoms are very non-specific like nausea, vomitting, high calcium in the blood, abnormal heart rhythms etc.  It is a good vitamin, and toxicity is rare! The only reason I mention this is because most people think you can not get to many vitamins, but you can.

drpayne

PharmacyQueen:

drpayne:

PharmacyQueen:

You have to be careful with Vitamin D. It is a fat soluble vitamin that is stored in your fat, so you can get too much of it.  Make sure the doctor monitors your levels with bloodwork to make sure you are in the safe zone! Otherwise, yes Vitamin D is a great vitamin all the way around.

 

Pretty sure they are rethinking this... (how much is too much)

They are considering increasing the RDA for vitamin D, currently it is women under 50yo should get  200 IU per day even in pregnancy (per the national instutite of health).  Too much depends on the person but levels greater than 200ng/ml are considered to be potentially toxic. The symptoms are very non-specific like nausea, vomitting, high calcium in the blood, abnormal heart rhythms etc.  It is a good vitamin, and toxicity is rare! The only reason I mention this is because most people think you can not get to many vitamins, but you can.

 

Right.  But they are thinking about increasing the recommend dose and that 200 IU/day isn't enough for anyone, especially pregnant woman.  Some are even suggesting up to 4000 IU/day.  

virginiagirl11

I took Vit D pre-pg and have continued into pg (while pregnant I take a vit D/calcium combo supplement).  I kept reading over and over and over about the various benefits of this vitamin so I just started taking it.  I noticed that I seemed to get ill less frequently and, while I have always had pretty steady moods, they were a little better than usual in the winter.

jteneback

brittm87:

I have been taking Vit D before i even got pregnant...

This, my levels were borderline so I started taking them when TTC.  I upped my dose but am not taking anywhere neat 10,000 - probably 1,000.

VTbride05

brittm87:

I have been taking Vit D before i even got pregnant and also have my ds on the drops...

me too.

penguin-kisses

My doctor told me to give my son a couple droppers of vitamin D after he was born but I didn't really know what it specifically did until I saw the vitamin D episode of Glee. LOL

 

This is my son at probably three days old, a couple minutes after his drops. It's like... WOAH... happiest baby ever.

I've never taken it myself or been recommended to take it.

meghancmm84Wed21413

My doctor just called last night and said that I need to take 3,000 IU on top of my prenatal. So, I went and got the 2,000 drops last night (since I have a sensitive stomach) and took it a few minutes ago. So easy, I love it!

Hopefully my count will be up by the next blood tests.

I haven't learned much about it, other than I am more than likely low since I am rarely in the sun. (Too pale, I'll burn). I've read that it helps with bone development as well. And that you're supposed to take it with calcium.

Upon last night's search, I found this article.

https://articles.cnn.com/2010-04-30/health/vitamin.d.pregnancy_1_vitamin-d-intake-pregnant-women-pregnancy?_s=PM:HEALTH