Vitamin D deficiency

[messica]

My doc just called and told me all my bloodwork looked great, except my vitamin D levels. She said low level of what's considered normal is a result of 30. Any less than that is considered deficient.

I am apparently super deficient at just 14.

Although I'm glad it explains why I have been EXHAUSTED and dealing with chronic pain for months, I'm afraid of not only what this could mean for my developing babies but also the supplemental dose she wants me to start taking. I don't remember the unit she used but the dose was 50,000 once per week for the forseeable future. I'm supposed to go pick up the prescription asap, she had already called it in.

Of course I googled and it popped up what low D can mean for developing babies and my body.....was very scary stuff. So was the toxicity level of supplementation being borderline at 50,000 units.


I trust my doctor, but am just feeling a bit nervous and overwhelmed. Has anyone else dealt with this? I'm really hoping to hear it's not a big deal at all, babies will be fine and the dose that she's starting me at is totally fine too.....

 

[misspriss]

I was not pregnant at the time, but I was given the same dose when found deficient. I believe it is safe for short term use and not every day, like 1x per week. I was instructed to take it 2x per week, but I wasn't pregnant.

I found that higher doses have been taken during pregnancy:

Background and objectives: Vitamin D deficiency is very common in pregnant women. Deficiencies have been prevalent even in studies where over 90% of the women took prenatal vitamins. The current guidelines for vitamin D intake during pregnancy of 200–400 IU has little scientific support and has been recently challenged. We conducted this study to determine the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency among pregnant women and to evaluate the effectiveness and level of weekly oral 50,000 IU of vitamin D supplementation for the mother and the newborn. Setting and design: Prospective study at Hamad Medical Corporation outpatient unit and delivery room. Patients and Methods: Ninety seven pregnant women were recruited in their first trimester between December 2007 and March 2010. Weekly oral vitamin D (50,000 IU) were prescribed after an initial testing for serum level of 25-hydroxyvitamin D, parathyroid hormone, calcium, phosphorus, total protein and albumin. Other multivitamins supplementations were allowed during pregnancy. The same tests were repeated at each trimester. Umbilical cords vitamin D levels were determined at birth. Results: Out of 97 patients, 8 patients dropped out from the study for several reasons, and 19 patients had pregnancy loss. Data were available for 97 women in the first trimester, 78 women in the second trimester and 61 women in the third trimester. The mean level of vitamin D level in the first trimester and prior to starting vitamin D supplementation was 17.15 ng/ml, 29.08 ng/ml in the second trimester, 27.3 ng/ml in third trimester and 22.36 ng/ml in newborns. There were no toxic levels of vitamin D in any of the women at the second or third trimesters or in the newborns. The mean levels of vitamin D in the second and third trimester were not significantly different in those women who were taking multivitamin supplementation and those who were not. Conclusion: Weekly doses of 50,000 vitamin D during pregnancy maintains acceptable vitamin D level during pregnancy and the newborn's vitamin D level correlates with the mother's levels.


Read More: https://www.qscience.com/doi/full/10.5339/qmj.2013.7

 

[messica]

FANTASTIC information misspriss, thank you so so so much. I couldn't find anything like that and it's exactly what I was looking for

 

[Gingerspice]

They've been running tests for years with regards to extra vitamin d to pregnant women at my local hospital. They obviously monitor the ladies closely and you get extra scans and bone scans if you sign up. They wouldn't be putting women at risk but so far there is clear indications that the extra doses of vitamin d is advantageous when pregnant to the babies bone and muscle strength.

I haven't signed up but I know several people who have. You get all sorts of bone scans while the child is growing to see what relation those who got the extra d have (some women just get placebo tablets)

I'm sure the dr wouldn't prescribe anything that would be harmful