Vitamin D and Covid19

I hope you recover quickly Dameris. I sent my Doctor daughter Cat’s link above and her reaction was “Looks good. Very good value!”. So I’ll be stocking up :slightly_smiling_face:

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Thanks John. I’ll have a look at that. No harm in carrying on with a regular dose once the prescriptions finished.

I have had vitamins Dissues,and take a supplement when I remember over the winter months. A colleagues doctor told her that once you’ve had a deficiency you should always take a supplement

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Me too - that’s good to know.

There is a school of thought that says that everyone in the UK should be encouraged to use a Vitamin D supplement over winter, we noticed in Iceland a lot of the basic food products are enriched with it .

Several of my friends in UK have just received free 3 month supply of Vit D from the government…

I can never retain it no matter how long I spend outside or what I eat, so take prescribed supplements all the time.

I take vitamin C but my daughter says I should take zinc too. Normally I’d get enough from bar countertops but with this curfew :roll_eyes:

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When most people mention a vitamin D supplement, they are usually thinking of a dose of around four hundred iu. Proponents of the potential benefits of vitamin D for protection against respiratory viruses are suggesting doses up to ten times this level.
We take zinc too. We’ve never previously taken vitamin pills.
Hopefully we won’t have to wait too much longer to see the results of large scale clinical trials underway to look at vitamin D’s role in respiratory disease - protecting against/moderating symptoms. Meanwhile I see it as a no lose strategy.

Yes, the 5K Cat’s suggesting is ideal I think.

I just checked ours (from Bulk Powders, excellent for vitamins - except magnesium which I couldn’t swallow :rofl:) and they are 5000. Hubby has taken them a long time as good for his FM apparently and he tested low (in Oz!) but I’ve jsut had one and will keep taking them as it is looking like a good thing.

I wouldn’t go over 4000iu per day long term unless I could get my blood levels checked.
I think one 5000iu every other day or one day off in three would be better personally. Just my view from what I’ve read and heard. Doctor Campell I know takes 2500iu. I realise someone just starting might want to quickly build up their levels.
https://vitamindforall.org/letter.html

Surely the dose should be based on your level to start with, some may need more, others less?

Yes I believe so John, but I don’t think taking more than 4000iu for an extended period is wise unless you can get your blood tested. Some doctors have administered very large doses to covid infected patients admitted having vitamin D deficiency. Maybe in France it’s easy to get blood tests. I know that in Poland, it’s possible to pay a small charge to obtain a blood test and tick everything you want checked. It doesn’t seem to be possible in the UK much to my pharmacist wife’s disappointment.
Something else to remember - when we see the sun again, we need to remember that if we get much exposure we may need to adjust levels of supplements.

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Hmm, I will look into getting blood test done under the NHS for the levels. Problem with my GP is he just wants me to have statins based on poor doctor ideology and lack of up to date knowledge.
“Everything you learn in medical school will be out of date in 5 years”

Yes. Go to a lab. Pay.

So much easier/more sensible than the UK Nanny state, Nanny as in not in a good way but suppose with 52% dumb people it perhaps has to be that way

I’ve been having real problems for the past couple of weeks with joint pain - mainly left knee which is incredibly painful. With our pharmacist we have worked out that it could be the statin tab each evening. Fine during the day but at night in bed… Stopped the statin for a couple of days now and things have improved. Going to discuss with MT next RDV. Not allowed to take Ibuprofen so only paracetamol and they make it worse!

Depends on your personal situation Graham but from what I have seen from various sources apart from the intensive care units and in some really really high cholesterol cases they do very little and have numerous side effects from joint pain to dementia.
In my case the HDL triglyceride ratio is absolutely fine even though LDL is just a bit higher than the statin companies ideal but thats only for sales of their drug as they lowered that level when sales plateau’d. From all cause mortality figures they may increase life span by 3 days! No where near enough to risk all the other issues they can bring up.

Curiously over the same period, my wife and I have both been really suffering with joint pain - my knees, her shoulder.
I blame the weather: its either been damp or freezing cold.
I take co-codamol and if its really bad, the naproxen as well.

People respond very differently to the different ones. One can be awful for you and another absolutely fine.