Gotta love the smart doctors!

[redheadaussie]

Well, I finally got my bottle of Vit D. The pharmacists asks me why I went to the doctor to get it. I explained. She said,  "Well, that was a waste of time" HUH???? "Yes, both your surgeon and your general practitioner ought to know it is an over the counter medication" (Me doing a whack on the forehead to myself!) I wasted 2 weeks waiting to hear from the surgeon then had to wait to get to see the G.P when I could have already had the Vit D.....
The pharmacist also said that after 6 months and low calcium and living in Australia with low Vit D, "Haven't they done a test for your parathyroid hormones?" Highly unlikely to have low Vit D in this sunburnt country. (I even sit by a window all day!) Big loud sigh....
  So, now I would like to know what dosages do any of you with similar problem take? I have started on 25mcg of cholecalciferol. 2400mg of calcium carbonate. Has anyone had their parathyroids tested after still taking all these things and still having low levels?

[Liz94]

I take the prescription Drisdol which I noticed yesterday is actually Vitamin D2 and I think most of the stuff you buy over the counter is D3.  Can you buy D2 over the counter?  I've never looked. I was just looking up whether or not I can take B12 with the Drisdol. Apparently not. Can't take anything with it.

[Thypatient]

Based only on trying to understand what I’ve been told…

I don’t believe what your pharmacist said is automatically true.  There are different forms of vit d.  I guess it depends on which one and for what purpose a your dr is prescribing it.

For what it’s worth:  I take calcitriol, which is used to support low blood calcium.  I had wanted to get off that so I could buy cheaper calcium/vit d supplements.  Once when I picked up my vit d prescription I told the pharmacist of my plan and asked which one I should buy, as an equivalent.  She said the one I’m on is a different chemistry, used for a different reason and can’t be witched out.

I think the over-the-counter vit d is for the bones only.

Also, I was told the vit d from the sun wouldn’t be enough to help the blood.  (Incidentally, reaping the benefits of vit d coming from the sun must be directly and not filtered through windows, clothes or sunscreens.)

Maybe this might help:

http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/vitaminDPhysiology.shtml

And maybe this one (check out the pic; never thought about that aspect):

http://www.vivo.colostate.edu/hbooks/pathphys/endocrine/otherendo/vitamind.html

I must say I can certainly relate to something coming through in you post – one person, seemingly in the know, says one thing, another person says something else.  It’s all so confusing and I’m probably only adding more to that (sorry).

[Liz94]

My Vitamin D was very low (13) but my parathyroids and calcium were fine. I'm on a whopper dose of prescription Vitamin D now for the next 6 months.  I can't understand why mine is messed up either. I live in Fort Worth where the sun shines everyday of the year pretty much and I run outside for at least an hour a day with no sunblock. It shall remain a mystery!

BTW...I was told not to take any other vitamin supplements while taking prescription vitamin D. He told me to take it with a meal high in fat and no other drugs or vitamins except my synthroid. Not sure why.  I asked about my calcium supplement and he said not to take  it for now.

[Christy1950]

I am not surprise from one Aussi to another I have to always remind them to send me a reminder then tell them what other tests I want to have run. Then I get a copy and ring them back and ask the questions. Then do the research and then prompt them for what they might want to tell me. My surgery(of 15 years of being a patient) has now a different doctor every time(last one I had the same one for 10 years) I go and none of them have time to read my records as the patients are churned through every 10 minutes. Must be speed readers to consult and read through my history????? What annoys me most is that I am constantly being tested between 6 months and 6 weeks depending on what my results say but each time they want me to come and see a doctor to tell me that I need to keep an eye on it and be tested every 6 months or 6 weeks depending if it is nearing the borderline again. No wonder we have to wait weeks to get to see a doctor they are all rorting the system. (ie requesting to see us when they don't need too). Like you I have found my chemist normally knows more than my doctor it was he who put me on a kelp mix.

[stella5349]

Were you low on your blood work while taking Vit D and calcium? I don't remember.

Go to the parathroid.com website and take a look at the information there. See if you have any similiarities.