Hi All,
  just thought I would ask about the calcium in the D3 regime, as my Dr is sending me for bloods to check my calcium levels as I told her I was doing the D3 regime...is this something to worry about if it comes back high?? :-/

Steady,

Are you taking the Vitamin K2, MK7 as part of your cofactors ?

K2 takes any excess calcium from your blood, where it could cause calcium deposits in your vascular system, and directs it to your bones, where it helps prevent osteoporosis.

This is why your Doctor wants to check your serum calcium levels. I have mine checked every 6 months and I'm always fine.

So, if you have not been taking K2, you may show a but high, but it would be nothing to worry about, as long as you start taking it straight away.

If you have been taking it, then I suspect your result will be fine.

Let us know how you get on.

Peter.

Ahh I see, yes I'm taking the k2-mk7 so it should be ok, thanks for the info :)

Batch has taken the calcium supplement out of the vitamin D regimen! because you get all the calcium required for the regimen from the Kirkland Mature Multi.

Cheers Hoppy

Just had a call of the Doc with my D3 level results and she said the overall level is 311, but the full results are not back yet any idea what the 25 oh level will be from that reading?

Steady,

No...The different aspects of blood tests cannot be summed up into a single number.

You need the individual readings.

Peter.

Oh ok, I will give her a call back next week as she hadn't had the full reading, but they rang the drs from the blood place to tell her my reading was high at 311...I will let you know what it says.  She said that my calcium levels were spot on...thanks Peter.

Steady,

You need her to tell you the measurement. So it will be ng/l or nmol/l.

Here is a conversion site.

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Clusterheads try to keep their 25(OH)D at 80ng/l, which is equivelant to 200 nmol/l.

This is why the number 311 needs clarification.

Let us know what she says.

Peter.

Strick's me steady that 311 is nmol/L if you don't live in the US which is 124.4ng/ml, best to cut back on the vitamin D a bit to get it to 200nmol/L = 80ng/ml.

Hoppy

Thanks Hoppy, I think I will do 5000 d3 a day instead of 10,000, for a couple of weeks see how I go.

I'm only taking 5000iu/day together with the other cofactors which keeps me around the 70ng/ml mark and the beast at bay.

Hoppy

Hey Steady,

Make sure your doctor has a copy of the anti-inflammatory regimen CH preventative treatment protocol.

There's nothing wrong with a 25(OH)D serum concentration of 311 nmol/L as long as you remain CH pain free, your serum calcium remains within its normal reference range and your PTH is in the lower third of its normal reference range.

I'm chronic so take an average maintenance dose of vitamin D3 between 15,000 IU/day and 25,000 IU/day...  I also maintain an average 25(OH)D serum concentration of 140 ng/mL (350 nmol/L).  My PCP is comfortable with that as long as my serum calcium remains within its normal reference range...  and it has for the last three years, and my PTH stays within the lower third of its normal reference range. 

To put this topic in perspective, MS sufferers  in Brazil on Dr. Coimbra's treatment protocol take ten times the amount of vitamin D3 that we do for CH...  They also have a responding 25(OH)D serum concentration ten times higher...  In many cases over 500 ng/mL (over 1250 nmol/mL) and their serum calcium remains within its normal reference range with no evidence of vitamin D3 intoxication/toxicity. 

In many cases, the diagnostic lab assay method used to determine 25(OH)D can't measure concentrations that high so as far as Dr. Coimbra is concerned, 25(OH)D is no longer a valid bio-marker...  Instead, he uses PTH as the primary bio-marker in his treatment protocol. 

Even though the Coimbra protocol and the anti-inflammatory treatment protocol are similar with respect to the vitamin D3 cofactors, there are also two main differences...  At vitamin D3 doses of 1000 IU per Kg of body weight a day, (50,000 IU/day up to 100,000 IU/day vitamin D3 and higher), MS patients on this protocol must avoid calcium supplements, calcium rich food types (read dairy products) and drink 2.5 liters of water a day to flush any excess calcium from the kidneys.

If you're taking the Kirkland brand Mature Multi, you're getting 200 mg/day of calcium.  This is a good idea and an ideal dose of calcium to help ensure you maintain a healthy bone mineral density.  It's also important to take the 400 mg/day magnesium.  That give us a 2 to 1 magnesium to calcium supplement intake ratio.

Hope this helps...

Take care,

V/R, Batch

Thanks Batch, I'm just trying to get it right at the min, I'm not taking enough omega 3 so I need to up that and ive not been taking the vit A in the regime either so that's now on order, I also need to up my magnesium too.  I'm just waiting for my delivery...I'm still getting the clusters and I'm using the sumatriptan injections...still waiting for my oxygen too...im going to ring the drs in the morning to see if they have received a letter from my neuro to give me the oxygen...they never rush do they.  I now use the aqueous  nasal spray for my Rhinitis and its getting better(I'm sure that doesn't help with my clusters)... hopefully I will get there soon :) 

Steady,

What I would try at this point is a week to 10-day course of Benadryl (Diphenhydramine HCL) at 25 mg before bed.  It that doesn't reduce the frequency of your CH, I would bump the dose to 50 mg before bed.  This has worked very effectively for me and many other CHers during high pollen count seasons.

It turns out that most of us are battling allergic reactions most of the time.  These can be sub-clinical, i.e., no outward or obvious symptoms...  but the allergic reactions are still there causing mast cells to release a flood of histamine...  The histamine in turn, triggers neurons within the trigeminal ganglia to release calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), a nasty protein that triggers neurogenic inflammation and the pain we know as CH...

It gets worse...  The CGRP triggers mast cells to release more histamine so we end up with a circular chemical chain reaction that continues for up to two hours until one or more of the reactants run out and the CH ends... for now...  After working with a number of CHers taking Benadryl (Diphenhydramine HCL) to stop their CH over the last two years, I'm convinced the histamine-CGRP circular chain reaction is the primary reason why CHers are refractory to CH preventatives.

Diphenhydramine is a first-generation antihistamine that crosses the blood brain barrier to block H1 histamine receptors on neurons throughout the brain and in our case as CHers, neurons within the trigeminal ganglia...  Blocking the H1 histamine receptors with a first-gen antihistamine stops/prevents the circular chain reaction and that enables vitamin D3 to do its thing with genetic expression to prevent our CH.

Hope this helps...

Take care and please keep us posted.

V/R, Batch