Vitamin D options

[school17777]

Since there apparently is a connection between vitamin D levels and the severity of Covid, if you get it, I decided I should start taking Vitamin D supplements.  I always test deficient and my dr will only prescribe me one month’s worth of pills which are small and just weekly, after that, she wants me to use an over the counter.

My problem is the over the counter ones that I find are big and I cannot get them down because I gag, and then I don’t bother taking them.  I don’t like the chewable gummy kind either.

So what are some other options to get vitamin D in me?

[wintermom]

You can get vit D drops that are meant for children. I don't know if the dose will be high enough, and they aren't cheap. Check other pill brands, though. My vit D pills are very tiny and 1000ui. I'm in Canada, so I don't know if you'll have access to the same brands. 

[Joker]

I have lots of trouble with pills as well. I take the Nordic Naturals Vitamin D3 soft gels (mine are 1000iu). They are really small and I haven’t had any trouble taking them. 

[Pen]

You can get liquid drops.  

Or, both of these are small:

I used to take:

Doctor's Best Vitamin D3 5000IU, Non-GMO, Gluten Free, Soy Free, Regulates Immune Function, Supports Healthy Bones, 180 Count (Pack of 1) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002SE3E8G/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_5EwSEbABKPQEF

 

Now I take:

~Once per week (or see VitaminDWiki for dosing for at risk people)  50K IU dose, in a very small capsule — this is the choice of the head of VitaminDWiki which I just started recently and like. They are also available in a daily dose, but I am liking weekly dose system. It isn’t physically any bigger than small daily gel caps, or is roughly same size as doctor prescribed ones when I tested super low, but better, I think because they are D3! And I feel like it absorbs well.  I also take K2 as MK-4 in a liquid from Thorne )

Bio-Tech Pharmacal - D3-50 - 100 Count https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000A0F2B2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_FGwSEb5ZX0T7S

 

(This is the K2 I use to go with either D3 above.

Thorne Research - Vitamin K2 Liquid (1 mg/Drop) - Concentrated Vitamin K2 Supplement for Heart and Bone Support - 30 ml https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FGWDTK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_ORwSEbQ3XN658

)

Edited May 5, 2020 by Pen

[itsheresomewhere]

I use Now brand liquid vitamin D.  This is the only brand that has raised my levels.  I don’t absorb d from pills so liquid.  No taste at all. Even my picky DS doesn’t taste it in his drink. 

[Scarlett]

I have a very small grape chewable.  

[Storygirl]

I've been taking Nature's Bounty brand D3 (5000IU), and the gel capsule is tiny. Much smaller than an ibuprofen, for example.

I have not had my D levels checked recently, but historically, they are very low. My previous doctor had me take mega doses once a week for about six months, and my numbers barely budged. So I don't know if this kind will help me, but I'm trying it.

Edited May 5, 2020 by Storygirl

[gardenmom5]

4 hours ago, school17777 said:

Since there apparently is a connection between vitamin D levels and the severity of Covid, if you get it, I decided I should start taking Vitamin D supplements.  I always test deficient and my dr will only prescribe me one month’s worth of pills which are small and just weekly, after that, she wants me to use an over the counter.

My problem is the over the counter ones that I find are big and I cannot get them down because I gag, and then I don’t bother taking them.  I don’t like the chewable gummy kind either.

So what are some other options to get vitamin D in me?

Vitamin d3 (be sure it's D3) is cheap - why do you need a Rx?   (I buy mine on amazon - 360 gel tabs for $15.   that's $0.04 each.)

define deficient?    (ND's consider a blood D3 level of 50 as minimum.  they prefer 70 - 80 for healthy.)

how much does your dr give you?    I take about 5,000IUs daily just to get me in decent (50s) territory.   I'm currently using naturewise as the base is olive oil.

The D3 gel tabs (never bother with solid tablets, they're the least absorbable.) are smaller than a pea.  (and very smooth.)   Drops with vitamin K are most absorbable, and you can just add them to a drink.  (but they're not very concentrated.)

 

[gardenmom5]

54 minutes ago, Storygirl said:

I've been taking Nature's Bounty brand D3 (5000IU), and the gel capsule is tiny. Much smaller than an ibuprofen, for example.

I have not had my D levels checked recently, but historically, it is very low. My previous doctor had me take mega doses once a week for about six months, and my numbers barely budges. So I don't know if this kind will help me, but I'm trying it.

one thought I had - My OD and I were chatting (I've known her since before I got married) about MTHF.  She had very low D3 levels, and could not get them to budge no matter what she did.  Then she started being treated for MTHF, and her D3 levels came up without doing anything.

[Matryoshka]

4 hours ago, school17777 said:

Since there apparently is a connection between vitamin D levels and the severity of Covid, if you get it, I decided I should start taking Vitamin D supplements.  I always test deficient and my dr will only prescribe me one month’s worth of pills which are small and just weekly, after that, she wants me to use an over the counter.

My problem is the over the counter ones that I find are big and I cannot get them down because I gag, and then I don’t bother taking them.  I don’t like the chewable gummy kind either.

So what are some other options to get vitamin D in me?

Also, I've heard most prescribed D is D2, which doesn't even work well.  As someone else said, D3 is relatively cheap OTC.  I have both 2000 and 5000 IU pills, and they are teeny-tiny.  Like maybe 1/4 the size of an M&M.  You can also get drops that have 2000IU in one drop, put in drink or directly in mouth.  Where are you looking for OTC pills?  Drug stores have very limited selection, and much higher prices than online.

[ElizabethB]

My family likes D3 gummies. I take these, you could dump out and mix with something, but they are small.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NGMJRTE/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Pen]

 

2 minutes ago, ElizabethB said:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NGMJRTE/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

 

Same brand I am now using (though in the weekly dose version).  They seem excellent.   

I don’t think dumping out is probably needed as they are very small. 

[PeterPan]

5 hours ago, school17777 said:

My problem is the over the counter ones that I find are big

Why are they big??? You can get an oil based vitamin D with 10k IU and it will be so, so tiny. Take that every day along with some K2. So small. I take a vitamin E that is larger. I can post you pics for comparison. 

Honestly, if you can't get it down, puncture and squeeze onto a spoon. That way you get the good stuff, oil based, something that will be absorbed. 

https://www.amazon.com/NOW-Vitamin-D-3-000-Softgels/dp/B00F45EQ4W/ref=sr_1_8?dchild=1&keywords=10k+iu+vitamin+d+now&qid=1588702707&sr=8-8  Here, this is what I use, and they're teeny tiny. If they're still too big, maybe get your thyroid tested? But yeah, you can squeeze them onto a spoon, no problem.

https://www.amazon.com/NOW-Vitamin-K-2-100-Capsules/dp/B0013EJ5QM/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=now+k2&qid=1588702754&sr=8-2  And here is the K2 I use. You take it along with the D so the D gets used better. Your gut is supposed to make it. Might be why your labs aren't going up even with your doc's horse pill.

[marbel]

I take NOW brand 400 IU D-3 soft gels. They are very small.  You could just take more?  (I take 1 every other day as instructed by my kidney doctor.)  I get them from Vitacost.

Edited May 5, 2020 by marbel

[school17777]

2 hours ago, gardenmom5 said:

Vitamin d3 (be sure it's D3) is cheap - why do you need a Rx?   (I buy mine on amazon - 360 gel tabs for $15.   that's $0.04 each.)

 

the prescription is to help bring up my level quickly 

[gardenmom5]

1 hour ago, school17777 said:

the prescription is to help bring up my level quickly 

so how many IU's are in it?  Does it have Vitamin K? (which helps with absorption of D3)  is it bringing your levels up?  Just because it's a Rx doesn't mean it's better than an OTC.

I once had a dr give me a rx for B6 - pyridoxine.  excuse me?  I can get a HIGHER QUALITY B6 OTC!  (re: P5P - Pyridoxal 5 Phosphate)

I've been on a Rx version of MTHF and an OTC (pricy) version of MTHF.  Thorne (the OTC) was higher quality, and I could tell the difference in how I felt within three days of starting the Rx (I felt like I was going backwards), and then dropping the deplin (rx) and going back on Thorne (three days - yep, that's what it's supposed to feel like.)

[Laurie]

I give my adult daughter Carlson Super Daily D3 drops.  It's not the baby version.   The one she takes has 1,000 IU of D3 but they also sell drops with different amounts of D3.   The bottle has a year's worth of drops and I'm pretty sure it's under $25 at Whole Foods and probably can be found for less online somewhere.   

There's no taste.  You take one drop per day by itself or mixed with something.  

 

[jemsmom]

Is getting some mid-day sunshine an option for you? If you know approximately how long it takes for your skin to burn, a rule of thumb I've seen before is to spend half of that amount of time in mid-day (11:00-3:00) sunshine with as much skin exposed as possible. So for example, if you know you burn in 30 minutes, you would spend 15 minutes outside in the sun, several times per week.

[PeterPan]

2 hours ago, school17777 said:

the prescription is to help bring up my level quickly 

I'm not a doctor, but it seems more like the weekly dose is about compliance than actual effect. I take more than you, because I take 10k IU a day during the summer (=70k IU a week) and 15K IU a day during the winter (=105k IU). So you're certainly not taking as much as you might need and not taking it with K2 to help it absorb. Which means the 50k weekly dose is about compliance.

[PeterPan]

Just for your trivia, the little gel caps for 5K IU and 10K IU are almost indistinguishable. They're really, really tiny. So going lower isn't necessarily going smaller, if that makes sense. I just know because I use both in the winter and I can't tell them apart once they're in my daily pill dividers.

[school17777]

1 hour ago, gardenmom5 said:

so how many IU's are in it?  Does it have Vitamin K? (which helps with absorption of D3)  is it bringing your levels up?  Just because it's a Rx doesn't mean it's better than an OTC.I an OTC (pricy) version of MTHF. 

It’s been a year since I had the prescription.  I don’t remember the details.

[school17777]

53 minutes ago, jemsmom said:

Is getting some mid-day sunshine an option for you? If you know approximately how long it takes for your skin to burn, a rule of thumb I've seen before is to spend half of that amount of time in mid-day (11:00-3:00) sunshine with as much skin exposed as possible. So for example, if you know you burn in 30 minutes, you would spend 15 minutes outside in the sun, several times per week.

When I was tested in the past, I was getting plenty of sun being outside with the kids.  Now I work and am not outside much.

[PeterPan]

4 minutes ago, school17777 said:

It’s been a year since I had the prescription.  I don’t remember the details.

Yeah, those once a week scrips are usually pretty high. I always wonder about that. Like some of the others here, I have an MTHFR defect. So if I take a sane amount daily, it's great, I feel great. But if I were to take a massive amount like that, I've feel very unwell. (D pulls methyls off methycobalamin as part of the methylation cycle, meaning my methyl levels would drop and I'd feel lethargic, groggy.) So yeah, sometimes I wonder what docs are thinking doing that to people with no clue of their methylation status or how it will affect them. It would seem so much more logical just to put someone on a sane, comfortable dose and have them take it daily. But then docs couldn't ensure compliance. That's why so many meds are once a week, once a month. Less doses, higher compliance. 

[PeterPan]

Just now, school17777 said:

When I was tested in the past, I was getting plenty of sun being outside with the kids.  Now I work and am not outside much.

Yeah, if you have a VDR defect (vitamin D receptor gene), your levels will be low even with sun. That's why I take 10k IU all through the summer. I lay out as much as I can, but it's not enough.

[school17777]

Thanks for all the recommendations!  I ordered Mary Ruth liquid D3\K.  I'll try that out first and then maybe some of the suggestions here.

[PeterPan]

3 minutes ago, school17777 said:

Thanks for all the recommendations!  I ordered Mary Ruth liquid D3\K.  I'll try that out first and then maybe some of the suggestions here.

You can see if your doc will run the labs for you to see how well the supplement is working. If he won't or it's a hassle, you can run them yourself through a site like healthcheckusa.com I do this quite often, any time it's more convenient than dealing with a doctor. They'll be a bit more expensive, but I think for the D labs you're talking maybe $35. My dd's D labs are not as good as mine, even though she also uses D. She uses a different brand, and I'm suspecting it's not as good a product. So because it's important, I would run labs and confirm those levels are going up. That site is legit and you'll do the bloodwork at a normal testing site like LabCorp. I use the LabCorp appointment maker, so I never even wait. I just schedule ahead and walk in. It's actually faster than my doctor's office and probably safer.

[school17777]

I'm sure my Dr will run tests, if I ask, at my next physical.  Thanks for the testing option.

[cjzimmer1]

4 hours ago, Danae said:

 

I don't know about the OP, but when I had a prescription it was for 50,000 IU capsules.

Edit: and it was the same for me as she described. Rx for 3 months, then take OTC after. 

You can also get that dose over the counter.  I've been taking it for 18 years (I have malabsorption) and I've never once used a prescription.

OP, my kids are taking this chewable one. https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B017BY7BGS/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A2OKL1APMG8NNW&psc=1

KAL is another brand that makes chewable in various strengths/flavors.

Edited May 5, 2020 by cjzimmer1

[school17777]

18 hours ago, marbel said:

I take NOW brand 400 IU D-3 soft gels. They are very small.  You could just take more?  (I take 1 every other day as instructed by my kidney doctor.)  I get them from Vitacost.

Sometimes I gag on even the smallest pill and when that happens, I just can’t take them for awhile without gagging.

[PeterPan]

2 minutes ago, school17777 said:

Sometimes I gag on even the smallest pill and when that happens, I just can’t take them for awhile without gagging.

Have you had your thyroid checked?

[school17777]

59 minutes ago, Arctic Mama said:

That’s why I like the cod liver/butter oil I linked above.  It’s a refrigerated gel with a cinnamon or chocolate flavor, very mild and pleasant, and goes down nicely.  No pill.  Super kid friendly too, and it not only gives you vitamin D, but A, K, and E as well.

Food based nutrition is always beat assimilated anyway, so yeah.  Give it a shot if you can’t do pills and don’t want drops.

I’m trying a spray, but maybe I’ll try this the next time. 

[Pen]

@Arctic Mama and @school17777

Cod liver oil (and the Green Pasture Blue Ice fermented is excellent!):  afaik,  It is unbalanced toward very high A proportional to D— I think it makes most sense if also getting some natural sunlight to bring D up to a good balance level—which even if there was only good summer sun was probably something that used to be case for most people using cod liver oil.

I don’t recall exact proportions, but it is something like 700IU D3 to 3,000+ IU preformed A.   (It May not even be exact as it will perhaps differ depending on the fish. ETA and also the brand—Green Pastures is a good brand, but some brands tested apparently had almost no Vitamin D at all because it was removed by processing methods.) To get a level of D3 that I need, the preformed A probably might end up being at a dangerously high level.  

We use it sometimes to help balance out our ADEK group and get some other benefits too probably, but not as our main source of D3. 

In  a sense Cod Liver Oil could be looked at as a preformed Vitamin A source which provides some D, E, K vitamins and probably essential fatty acids etc too, rather than a D source that also gives some preformed A. 

 

Edited May 6, 2020 by Pen