Prescription for Vitamin D3?

Hi all,

Happy new year to all.

I was just wondering if anyone had received a prescription for vitamin D3 in the last three months?

I have still not seen the new MS nurse and haven’t seen our GP in months so I still not been able to speak to anyone about being “taken off” Vit D.

My GP took me off vitamin D after 3 months because he said I had been on them too long and they could cause you harm. That was about 3 years ago. Bought a big container off Amazon and when they run out will not buy anymore, do thing I need them and a waste of my money Winter will soon be over Bertie

D3 is still on my repeat prescriptions.

Your GP is correct Bertie.

I’ve been on D3 (5000iu daily) for over 6 years.

About 18 months ago I was taken into hospital with kidney stones, the urologist said that high doses of D3 can cause calcium build up within the kidneys and ALSO in other soft organs.

To help combat this, D3 should be taken with Vit K2 (MK7), and also take D3 with food as its fat soluble.

When I mentioned all this to my MS nurse he said I should cut back to 2000iu daily as a maintenance dose, my neuro, who recommended the D3 all them years ago said, “its not really my field” !!!

I’ve also spoken to a dietician and a Haematologist consultant both said high doses of D3 can cause issues .

Thing is, you’ll find that many many people who are on high doses of D3 have had no issues at all to date, which is great news, but my answer to that is, I and many others also had no issues until we had issues.

Just because someone is are not getting problems now does not mean they wont develop problems in the future.

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I’m on vit d3, have been for years, I buy them myself, my GP and MS nurse recommend them, now I’m not sure what to think.

It was over 5 years before I had the kidney stones.

I still take D3 but have taken the advice of the urologist and the other medical experts, by also taking Vit K2 (MK7) and taking the D3 with food.

Apparently Vit K2 (MK7) helps the body to absorb & use the D3 in the correct way.

I can clearly recall the urologist saying he wasn’t surprised at all that I had developed kidney stones considering the dosage and length of time I had been taking the D3.

For many years I was taking 5000iu of D3 by itself and without food, my D3 levels were hardly moving up as it wasnt being absorbed correctly, but when I started taking it with food my levels started to rise almost immediately, thats when I also started on the Vit K2, after advice from the urologist and haematologist.

What annoyed me was that my neuro advised me to start on D3 @ 5000iu the same day he diagnosed the MS, yet years later when I developed the kidney stones and I mentioned to him what the Urologist and others had said he immediately said that "supplements were not really his field and he only recommends D3 as there might be a link between low levels of D3 levels and MS, but theres no real proof ".

Thats fine, but surely if your advising someone to take a supplement in high doses you should also advise them to seek further advise from someone who has knowledge in the field of diet & supplements !

My GP has questioned the dosage many times over the years, asking if the MS clinic are still wanting me to take this dose as he has felt for ages that its a high dose to keep taking year in year out.

As with most things medical, if a consultant advises you to take a certain medication or supplement, you don’t really question it at the time.

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Hi, so this morning when in town I decided to speak to the pharmacist in Boots about this, I told her my history, also that my GP and MS nurse knew I was taking the vit d3 and what did she think, now she agreed that taking too much and for too long can have an effect on the body, ie kidney stones, said the best thing to do was get a blood test done, she said that as long as your body was in the right ratio you would be ok to take them, but only a blood test would tell you this, she also said that taking any supllement, too much of them can have an effect. So I had bloods done just before Christmas, I think if my levels were to high my GP would have said, but for peace of mind I’ll ring the surgery next week. Hope this helps a little, good luck.

When first diagnosed I took the D3 supplement as advised by so called professionals.

3 years down the line Ive stopped taking it as I dont see or feel any benefit plus I get recommended levels from my diet.

I now do what I feel is right for me. Not an unknown source.

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Good point Scrudger

If your looking to see the levels of Vit D then its a particular blood test, 25(OH)D.

Also the whole idea of taking D3 at high doses is to increase your D levels above the normal range, so expect a high level.

To check for kidney stones you would be looking at kidney function tests.

Tests include:

Blood tests for calcium, phosphorus, uric acid, and electrolytes. blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and creatinine to assess kidney functioning. Urinalysis to check for crystals, bacteria, blood, andwhitecells, ultrasound scanning.

The Barts Blog is a reliable source of information.

Two other sites with info about the importance of taking Vit K2 alongside Vit D supplements .​

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/vitamin-d-and-vitamin-k

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/vitamin-d-side-effects#1

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Hi Jactac, Just wanted to thank you for bringing to my attention the only supplement that I have been taking consistently for at least a decade, (probably more) 5000iu D3. I very much appreciate your attention to detail, and am currently having a rethink on what has been to date the only supplement I have been happy to take without question. I am usually much more thorough when it comes to supplements…I’m getting old must try harder!

Many thanks Elaine

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No worries Elaine,

We all need to look out for each other

The problem with vitamin supplements is that many people dont regard them as being able to cause issues, “after all they are only a vitamin” !!!

I think its because some people think its only prescribed drugs that can cause issues/side effects ect ect…

I do still take my D3 @ 5000iu but since taking advice I always take the D3 with food and definitely with Vit K2 (MK7).

Just in case your not sure about Vit K, the type advised to take is K2 (MK7)

If you Google D3, Vit K2 and MS you’ll find that theres a lot of info suggesting a possible link between the 3 things.

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/vitamin-d-and-vitamin-k

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/vitamin-k2

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29500722

Thanks again. I have always taken the D3 with the daily meal which contains the most fat as it’s a fat soluble vitamin, but I had not thought about supplementing with K2 until now. I’d like to hope that my diet is varied enough, but while I’m mulling it over, I might just add some sauerkraut to the shopping list!

All the best Elaine.

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Like others have said I always took my vitamin D with my evening meal, but at no point has anybody either my neurologist my GP or my MS nurse ever recommended that this be taken alongside vitamin K, they didn’t even instruct me to take it with food I did this naturally as I built it into my routine.

however my GP did not renew my repeat prescription for my monthly supply of vitamin D some months ago as she said “vitamin D is no longer recommended as a treatment for MS”

she has been my GP for 30 years and she told me she has never routinely done vitamin D tests however in November 2018 I was invited to have a routine vitamin D test, and was found to have levels “in their boots” in spite of daily doses for about 4 years, from January 2019 I was receiving a maintenance dose until my prescription was refused last autumn.

I had to ask the question of other MSers if they were also being refused repeat prescriptions for vitamin D.

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This is all very interesting - I was just always told to take vitamin d daily, my husband who also has MS has never been told to take it. Vitamin K (or taking vit d with food) has never been mentioned.

I have always got my vitamin d from amazon, and looking now for vitamin k i see that there is an all in one tablet which is 3000IU of D3 and 100ug of K2 MK 7.

Can I ask those who take vitamin K - what strength it is please?

Hi all, I’m new here and it was very interesting to read all your comments. I was diagnosed with PPMS in January 2017 after 10 years of symptoms. (I’ve asked my GP to refer me to a neurologist after basically diagnosing myself). The neurologist advised me to take vitamin D. I do not like to take any type of medication but as jactac mentioned, I too thought ‘there are just vitamins’. Since I don’t see any benefits at all I’ll probably come off them now.

@ Dolly,

Just a thought, maybe your D levels could be “in your boots” because it was not being absorbed correctly ?

Apparently vitamin K2 (MK7) helps with the correct absorption of Vit D.

My D levels were always low, even though I was taking 5000iu daily for over 4 years, they only started to rise when I started combining D3 with Vit K2 and also taking the vit D3 with food.

@ Hayley,

I take 5000iu daily of D3 (with food), & 2 x 100mcg of Vit K2(MK7) again with food and at the same time as the D3.

I dont use a combined D3 & Vit K.

Heres a little bit about Vit K2 (MK7) from the site I buy it from :

  • Uses the MK-7 form for improved blood levels
  • Improves strength of teeth and bones
  • Reduces calcification of soft tissues - cardiovascular health
  • Works synergistically with vitamin D

Vitamin D3 ensures that calcium is absorbed easily and K2 (MK-7) activates the protein, osteocalcin, which integrates calcium into bone. Without D3 and K2, calcium cannot do its job effectively. Vitamin K2 (MK-7) activates matrix GLA protein (MGP) to bind excess calcium and promote arterial flow and flexibility.

The link below is a bit long winded but its very good at explaining the partnership between Vit D & Vit K.

Section 5 explains about long term use of high dose Vit D and the possible effects it can have on your Vit K levels.

Constant high dose of Vit D can actually diminish your Vit K levels, hence the need to supplement with Vit K if taking high dosages of Vit D.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5613455/