As of March 2012 doctors can prescribe Vitamin D3 instead of just vitamin D2 (50,000 IU).
- US yes, International?
- Unknown about doses smaller than 50,000 IU
- Vitamin D3 is much better than Vitamin D2
- Prior to this, Drs. could only prescribe vitamin D2 - at a much higher cost and with much lower benefit
This new ability is not a result of any change by the US FDA.
It is just a result of the stocking of the supplement in the pharmaceutical drug supply chains around the world by Biotech Pharmacal
The Vitamin D Council announced this new capability March 2012
Probably more insurance companies will pay for 50,000 IU of vitamin D3
Apparently some people previously were able to get the 50,000 IU vitamin D3 paid by insurance.
Vitamin D Life will make a guess, based on a few clues, that the number of US insurance companies paying for D3 will rise from perhaps 5% to 50%
Veggie form of vitamin D3 too
The company also makes a vegan form of their 50,000 IU of D3, but it has not been put that form into the supply chain.
Several other companies make a vegan D3, but not in such a large dose.
Recommendation: Test for vitamin D allergy first
It appears that 1 in 300 people have an allergic reaction to vitamin D. (Far more people are allergic to Aspirin or NSAID pain relievers)
Simple check for allergy – just take a small amount (for example: a tiny portion of a capsule)
and see if you have an allergic reaction (hives or itchy skin or diarrhea, etc) within 3 days.
Warning: Do not take 50,000 IU daily for more than a month.
The body stores up extra vitamin D, and toxic levels can be reached in 6 weeks – see graph below
It is perfectly OK to take 50,000 IU dose of vitamin D weekly provided co-factors are taken daily.
The admin of Vitamin D Life happens to take one of these capsules every 4 days during the winter (average =12,500 IU daily).
It is very easy to mark the calendar as to which day to take it, then cross it off when when done.
No problem about forgetting to look at the calendar even for several days - can be taken any time - the body averages it nicely
CLICK HERE for Toxicity of Vitamin D, which has the following chart
8 weeks for 50,000 IU DAILY dose of vitamin D to become toxic
Warning Cofactors needed
Whenever you have an average intake of more than 4,000 IU daily you will most likely need to deal with the vitamin D cofactors.
The most important being reducing to Calcium to 500 mg, and increasing Magnesium to 500 mg daily.
Unfortunately the body cannot deal with taking a weekly amount of Calcium or Magnesium just once a week.
There are enough problems with just a daily dose of Magnesium and Calcium. versus a 7X large dose
Strong bones also need additional cofactors such as vitamin K2, Boron, Silicon, Strontium, and Zinc.
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See also Vitamin D Life
- How often should I take 50,000 IU of vitamin D
- Same vitamin D benefit if total dose taken weekly
- Low Cost vitamin D - including liquid and bulk
- All Overviews 46 overviews as of March 2012
- Seniors Vitamin D Workshop Most of vitamin D concerns/issues on a single web page
- Overview Loading of vitamin D Example: 50,000 IU weekly for 8 weeks
- Overview Evidence for vitamin D
- Vitamin D PREVENTS many diseases and TREATS some
- Many kinds of pain relieved by vitamin D
- All items in Vitamin D Blog
- Many reasons why vitamin D deficiency has become epidemic 12 of the reasons are new in past 40 years
- Home Page
- Quick FREE self test of vitamin D deficiency 93% of the people who failed this test has very low vitamin D