How much Vit D from Fish and Fermented Cod Liver Oil

[Abby]

I recently had some blood work done in part of my search to discover the nutritional root to my depression. 

 

Evidently my Vit D was quite low.  My general practitioner said it was 19, but I have no idea what that unit is.  She perscribed me 1.25 mg of D2.  However, just before that blood test (4 days before) I started taking high doses of EPA (4 g/day), which I still take, and now I'm also taking 1.5 g of Fermented Cod Liver Oil each day.  I know both of these contain Vit D (along with A) but neither bottle tell me how much.y? 

 

I'm concerned that if I take the perscription that she gave me (or my supplement from Twin Labs which is 400 IU of D3 that I'll get myself to toxic levels pretty quickly.  Is this likely?  Any idea how much D I'm getting from my oils? 

 

Also, do you think there's a depression - Vit D link?  My TSH was 1.74, whatever that means.  I asked about getting the other thyroid tests, but she thought my TSH level indicated a great thyroid.

 

 

[Katherine L. Totzke]

I don't know specifically about this correlation, but about 40 years ago my husband started having severe suicidal depression.  After finding a very intelligent old-fashioned doctor and a lot of food elimination, he discovered he was reacting to the antibiotics and growth hormones being fed to commercial beef.  He eliminated everything that came out of a cow for many years until organic started to make its way to the shelves and if he got even a dab of butter that wasn't organic he would go into a bout of depression - he recognizes it now and knows it will pass if he gets some unexpectedly.  I don't know what you eat or if this could be related to yours (or some other thing like it) but it completely cured his depression within 2 days once he discovered it!  Good luck!

[Karen Davis]

I don't have specific advice for you but I can tell you one thing - it is hard slow work to raise Vit D levels. Both myself and my two dds were all very low. We have successfully raised the levels some - not up to where they need to be but much higher - through a combination of supplementation and getting sun on bare skin. The easiest supplementation I found were clear drops at Vitamin Shoppe. They will go in anything. We have both 2000IU and 5000IU drops. I supplement myself according to how much sun I can get on the day.

And yes, I do think Vit D is one factor in depression. I have dealt with depression all my life so speaking from experience here! Other nutritive factors that I consider important for myself are Omega 3's, Magnesium and green veggies. I have a green breakfast smoothie almost every day with fresh ground golden flax seed in it. I also take fish oil capsules  with meals that don't include a food high in Omega 3 (like avocado, almonds or fish). I have several different kinds of magnesium supplements including naturalcalm and drops that I use in my smoothie. The flax seed also delivers high quality protein, fiber and lignan so it is a nearly daily food for me. Some people are unable to convert the Omegas in flax so it is not best for everyone but it is good for me. Besides helping with depression, it keeps my skin soft.

[Margie Buchwalter]

We take ONLY 400 IU of Vitamin D a day.  I would definitely do some consulting and research before taking a prescription AND supplements.  Vitamin D helps relieve depression.  The SAD light is another way to help.  We take Dr. Christopher's Mind Trac and it has made a world of difference.  Was on a script for my depression and went off it and onto Mind Trac within the same 24 hour period so no withdrawals.  Good luck  Margie

[Margie Buchwalter]

Thanks for the info.  I've also heard that people have like an allergy to aged meats and cheese; especially anything with the nitrites and nitrates in them too.  Pepperoni, Salami, etc. 

 

Margie
 
Katherine L. Totzke said:

I don't know specifically about this correlation, but about 40 years ago my husband started having severe suicidal depression.  After finding a very intelligent old-fashioned doctor and a lot of food elimination, he discovered he was reacting to the antibiotics and growth hormones being fed to commercial beef.  He eliminated everything that came out of a cow for many years until organic started to make its way to the shelves and if he got even a dab of butter that wasn't organic he would go into a bout of depression - he recognizes it now and knows it will pass if he gets some unexpectedly.  I don't know what you eat or if this could be related to yours (or some other thing like it) but it completely cured his depression within 2 days once he discovered it!  Good luck!

[Mary Kay Simoni]

I'm surprised your doc gave you D2 and not D3.....Anyway, I've never been depressed, but my D level done by the OH25 method was only 18, and I'd heard of others who were taking 5,000 units per day, so this is what I took.  A couple mos later I got  what I self dx'ed as a kidney stone....looked up Vit D and kidney stones online and only found one tiny tidbit about kids taking Vit D who got kidney stones.....I took vinegar and lots of lemons and the minor dull pain I had in my back went away in about a month....Fast forward 6 mos....I went to the docs and got my D tested again....118!  She said, you'd better decrease your supplementation or you may get kidney stones....LOL, I had never even told her about what I suspected was a stone...

The moral of the story is that most people seem to have a difficult time raising it, but I didn't.  Make sure you test!

 

BTW, a TSH of 1.74 is absolutely perfect.  You want it to be betw 1 - 2.  However, some people do test normally, yet still have probs/symptoms that do not go away until they begin taking meds.    There's more to thyroid testing too, than just a TSH as well...HTH