vit.d 3

[dianne-sunshinecoast]

hi everyone, my new doc had me have a blood test for vit d3 levels, and i am at the very low end of the scale and she said my pulse is too low, so has prescribed 50,000 i.u. of d3 once a week from a compounding chemist. i have never had d3 before , do you take it with meals? and also do you take it away from the minomycin and other medication? would apreciate any input if anyone has taken it …kind regards ..di. 🙂

[Joe RA]

Hi: Dianne, Go to the link below,
http://www.vitamindcouncil.org
You can learn a lot about the benefits of vit.D3,
more then most doctors can tell you or anyone,
on this forum. If I were you I would keep your
new doc. She seems to have what good
healthcare provider needs.
I take 2000iu of vitamin D3 every day with my
cod liver oil for additional vit. d and vitamin A
to keep my over-all body health and immune
system in check and all the other+++++++++ ++++++++++++’s
The best to you and all
….Joe RA….

[dianne-sunshinecoast]

hi joe, thank you very much for the reply and the link on d3 ,very interesting, how much cod liver oil do you take? oh just remembered, i dont think i can take it with the chia seeds the doc. told me to take , i know i dont take fish oil with them? yes she is a very good doc. just new to me , though she isnt very knowledgable on the a.p., but is willing to find out more., and treat me which is good as i dont live in a big city , so not a lot of choice of docs. i appreciate your input joe, all the best to you and yours. 🙂 kind regards ..di.

[Rosemary Perth Aust.]

Dianne.
As a general rule we are told to keep supps, & abx, two hours apart at least, more if you can. If you are up to it visit the site of Prof. G. N. at immune.org for his info considerations when undergoing treatment for Chronic illness and Autoimmune Disease. He recommends 3-4 hours difference.
I found his info. also very helpful. Extremely important at the opening of this site up the top there is an abundance of info for you to read to help you, and probably will answer many of your questions. New embers often miss these but they are there to help you. Also getting hold of The New Arthritis Breakthrough by Dr. Brown, even from the library.
It does take a while to get through it all however, but worth it, even if it is not relevant to your case you often pick up helpful info. That does not mean you do not ask if you need help if you need it. I remember well not being well enough to look up all this info people suggest in sites. When you are not well it can all be a bit much. Hope you are feeling better soon. p.s. Flax seed is another Vit D many use, was recommended by a rheumatologist in the States when I first had problems. He put all his patients on 10 flax seed caps a day. I have to admit it is a wonderful anti-inflammatory.

[dianne-sunshinecoast]

hi rosemary, happy mothers day to you, and all the mums on the forum, thank you for the info. i will look at the site, interesting about the flaxseed for inflammation, i was wondering what natural treatment i could use as my wrists are getting quite sore and swollen where the nodules, i was going to try panadol , but i dont think its an anti-inflamm.? since stopping the mtx i am feeling like im coming down with a cold , sore throat etc. . i will do some more reading in the book. , like us all i get very tired, had a long stressful trip yesterday , so am getting over that! i find stress the wost thing for my pain! not new to anyone im sure . 🙂 all th best to you rosemary..kind regards..di.

[Rosemary Perth Aust.]

Dianne you may need to work gradually into the flax seed. Some use the liquid but I gagged on it.
The other thing was the GSE to help with the colds etc. I honestly have never used anything like it. It is amazing for killing bacteria and protection because it kills the mycoplasma that cause a lot of flue symptoms. You need to work gradually into that also because it is killing bugs but worth the effort. Gets the fungus as well. There is a wonderful book ISBN 0-914955-27-6
called the healing power of grape fruit seed extract. GSE was prescribed for me years ago by a holistic Dr..Was not strong enough to take the dose he gave me then. He also never told me what it was for, however it works miracles once you get the dose up. It does say just to put in water but its very bitter so usually put it in capsules which i buy separate. Both these you can get at the health food shop. The book has been difficult to get new. I had to get the last 2 second hand but they looked new. Was dubious but desperately need them for family. You sound like you are herxing to me if you are aching which means your treatment is working. Probably everything I mentioned will also make you herx so just go steady. It is worth it though. Happy day to you also. Have had so much help from others here I am only too glad to offer suggestions with what has worked for me. However does not mean it works for everyone. Please forgive my using the first tense so much but its the only way I can tell you things, as you are not allowed to prescribe I am certainly not a know it all. There are many more here far more knowledgable than I. Its a journey honey. Sometimes a bit painful whilst turning the ship around.

[dianne-sunshinecoast]

hi rose mary, thanks for your support, i think i am herxing, however long trips and stress have always done me in, so to speak 🙂 even before a.p. i was looking at a product i take called : intestaclear: it has alot of ingred, one being 250mg of grapefruitseed, would thar be the GSE? ..kind regards ..di.

[Rosemary Perth Aust.]

Dianne do not know. Sounds a bit much maybe it is grapeseed which is often confused with grapefruit seed. Think of the fruit.and ask in the Health food shop the bottle is not very big. it is magic but strong. I did push it along a bit because I needed it badly.

[aynurrzepa]

Hi Di, again – just wanted to tell you to make sure the vit D the doc prescribed you isn’t D2, as it is not as effecive as traditional doctors believe. Best is vit D3 supplement, in the purest form. My D3 was very long too (6 – you can search under Vitamin D3 and see my posts) and I started taking 50,000 IU daily. It made little differrence the first months but then after another 1.5 months, my D3 went up to good lever of 66 and since I maintain it with 6,000 IU daily (dr. Mercola’s Vit D spray), and an occasional additional 4,000 softgel from Carlson’s.
I have to experience with Grape seed extract so cannot provide any comments there!

[Maz]

@dianne-sunshinecoast wrote:

hi rose mary, thanks for your support, i think i am herxing, however long trips and stress have always done me in, so to speak 🙂 even before a.p. i was looking at a product i take called : intestaclear: it has alot of ingred, one being 250mg of grapefruitseed, would thar be the GSE? ..kind regards ..di.

Hi Di,

Just thought to add a little info on grapefruitseed extract for you. Although considered to be quite safe, it’s generally recommended not to use it with anything that should not be taken with grapefruit juice or grapefruit, as this can potentiate the action of some meds and cause toxicity.

I don’t know if the following list is complete, but this is a fairly informative website on the uses of Grapefruitseed extract:

http://www.ambertech.com/grapefruit_seed_extract-ingredient

SIDE EFFECTS/CONTRAINDICATIONS:

Grapefruit seed extract is not associated with any side effects, drug interactions, or contraindications. However, a number of medications should not be taken with grapefruit juice itself. These include certain immunosuppressants, cholesterol-lowering drugs, and antihistamines – if in doubt consult a physician.”

As you are just washing out your methotrexate, you might want to wait until it’s right out of your system before incorporating this particular supplement. Although it is listed as not having any side-effects, it does have some hefty anti-microbial and anti-fungal props which can elicit some herxing.

Here is a more complete list of drug interactions with grapefruit which may well have some important bearing on who can/can’t use grapefruitseed extract and it’s just smart to always check with the doc before adding a new supp:

http://www.drugs.com/npc/grapefruit.html

Is Grapefruit safe?
Contraindications

Contraindicated in patients taking medication which is metabolized by liver/cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) enzyme system.

Interactions
Grapefruit juice increases intestinal cell wall metabolism (CYP3A4) of albendazole, amiodarone, benzodiazepines (ie, midazolam and triazolam), buspirone, calcium channel blockers (including amlodipine, diltiazem, felodipine, nicardipine, nifedipine, nimodipine, nisoldipine, and verapamil), carbamazepine, cisapride, clomipramine, cyclosporine, dextromethorphan, estrogens (eg, estrone and ethinyl estradiol), fluvoxamine, HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors (eg, atorvastatin, lovastatin, simvastatin but not pravastatin), losartan, macrolide antibiotics (eg, clarithromycin, erythromycin), pimozide, praziquantel, quinidine, saquinavir, and scopolamine. Plasma concentrations of digoxin and sildenafil may be increased; while plasma concentrations of amprenavir, etoposide, fexofenadine, and itraconazole may be decreased. Grapefruit juice appears to delay both the absorption of indinavir and the time to reach peak plasma concentrations of indinavir and quinidine. It would be prudent to advise patients to take these medications with a liquid other than grapefruit juice and to avoid grapefruit juice.

This is quite important info for anyone on a macrolide antibiotic or an anti-fungal, like Diflucan, which blocks the P450 cytochrome in the liver, a major detoxification pathway.

Hope this info helps in your researches.

[nspiker]

Hi Dianne,

I thought I would add my recent experience with Vitamin D3. I’ve always noticed a big energy boost when taking Vitamin D3.

I started taking a homeopathic anti-inflammatory to down-regulate my immune system. The first day I noticed feeling sluggish, and the next day, Mother’s Day, I was dragging and felt extremely lethargic. I could tell this homeopathic remedy was not helping me , but causing fatigue. So, I took 50,000 IU Vitamin D3, and in fifteen minutes, I was back to my old self. I always feel better on the days I take Vitamin D….
nancy

[dianne-sunshinecoast]

hi girls , many thanks to all of you for your replys and info, i am a bit slow at the moment, not too much pain , but more stiff and sore and tired a lot and slow brain wise, apologise for not answering sooner , not being rude , just a bit hard for me to digest all this info . its like a wonderful shower of rain , after many years of drought 🙂 love to you all and many many thanks..kind regards ..di. 🙂

[dianne-sunshinecoast]

hi everyone, thanks again, the d3 is from a compounding chemist, and the script was from my gp, so souns like it would be a good supp. , aso the (intesta clear i take for parasites?havent been tested fot them just based on the (eosinophelia count), so the doc put me on it,what i thought was GSE is GRAPESEED), however i dont take it all the time as it makes me quite nausious, also thanks for all the info an the drug interactions. maybe best to wait till im down the track a bit from the mtx, maybe why the patasite tabs make me ill?.. grateful to you all..kind regards di….PS. has anyone found a comfortable bed in AUS. that supports all the joints and pressure points and pelvis etc etc…k 🙂 ..kind regards ..di.

[Krys]

@Maz wrote:

…. grapefruitseed extract for you. Although considered to be quite safe, it’s generally recommended not to use it with anything that should not be taken with grapefruit juice or grapefruit, as this can potentiate the action of some meds and cause toxicity.

SIDE EFFECTS/CONTRAINDICATIONS:

Grapefruit seed extract is not associated with any side effects, drug interactions, or contraindications. However, a number of medications should not be taken with grapefruit juice itself.

http://www.drugs.com/npc/grapefruit.html
Is Grapefruit safe?
Contraindications

Contraindicated in patients taking medication which is metabolized by liver/cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) enzyme system.

This is quite important info for anyone on a macrolide antibiotic or an anti-fungal, like Diflucan, which blocks the P450 cytochrome in the liver, a major detoxification pathway.

Maz, I’m very, very sorry. Can you please help make it even plainer than the above? It sounds clear but somehow I feel all confused.
I am to start Diflucan as soon as I buy it. I’ve intended to keep taking GSE. Dropping / keeping it was not addressed during my visit with LLMD. I already have impaired detoxification. Does your post mean that Diflucan itself (by blocking the P450 cytochrome) will cause bigger detoxification issues? And taking GSE while on Diflucan will impair my detox capacity even more?
If grapefruit juice (and GSE) increases the action of macrolide abx and Diflucan, isn’t it the reason to rejoice? Does it mean that blockage of the P450 is also increased due to that?
Thank you. Krys

[Maz]

@Krys wrote:

I am to start Diflucan as soon as I buy it. I’ve intended to keep taking GSE. Dropping / keeping it was not addressed during my visit with LLMD. I already have impaired detoxification. Does your post mean that Diflucan itself (by blocking the P450 cytochrome) will cause bigger detoxification issues?

And taking GSE while on Diflucan will impair my detox capacity even more?
If grapefruit juice (and GSE) increases the action of macrolide abx and Diflucan, isn’t it the reason to rejoice? Does it mean that blockage of the P450 is also increased due to that?
Thank you. Krys

Hi Krys,

Yes, to both first and second question, according to what I’ve read, but would also encourage anyone questioning these same things to check out the research for one’s self and to approach the doc about this question to be doubly sure.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15337633

Yea, you would think it would be reason to rejoice to get the double-action, but if both GSE and Diflucan or a macrolide abx are causing the P450 cytochrome to be impaired, then this will also impair the body’s ability to detox even further, not to mention the additional die-off as GSE also has some potent anti-microbial, anti-viral and anti-fungal props. Most of us with chronic illness have some degree of impaired function to detox already (some definitely worse off than others) as there are usually some gut issues (imbalances in gut microbiota, food intolerances, leaky gut, candida overgrowth, etc), with the addition of medications keeping the liver and kidneys busy. So, adding an extra burden by using GSE with any med that has some blocking effect on the P450 cytochrome can only increase the body’s toxicity and could make one feel really rough and possibly cause harm to the liver. Diflucan is already pretty hard on the liver, which is why regular blood monitoring of LFTs is required in the doses mentioned in the Shardt Lyme protocol above. 😉

Here’s another site with even more potential drug and supp interactions with GSE, many drugs listed of which folk here could be using, such as estrogen and thyroid hormone replacement therapy, prednisone and naproxen, for instance. Many of these haven’t been studied in any great depth, but the general take-away message of the GSE story is that anything which might add extra burden to the liver and detoxification pathways should be carefully checked with one’s doc.

http://www.wellness.com/reference/food/grapefruit/dosing-and-safety

I was using GSE for a while and learned of the Diflucan drug interaction just prior to starting it, so made sure to stop the GSE in good time, with a washout period, just to play it safe. 😉

Krys, sorry not to be more specific than this – I wish I had a science degree, so can only go on what I’ve researched and read about this possible interaction. I just always think it’s best to err on the side of caution and to protect the liver and kidneys is such a priority when dealing with chronic illness.

Hope something here helps?

[Author]

Posts