Funny Bones

Hi Perry,

I read that a lot of people are vitamin D deficient.  Ironically, I'm not in the sun all that much, and yet when I got it tested, after deliberately avoiding sun & vitamin D foods for a month, it was within normal range.  (I know it sounds strange to avoid it, but I was testing  out a theory I read on a certain non-traditional web site, that some people with autoimmune diseases actually have too much of vitamin D, a certain kind.... I didn't fit that profile at all, as it turns out.)   I think it may apply better to other diseases.

    However, I still have very low bone density, heading towards osteoporosis, so even having enough vitamin D isn't helping that, and blood tests say that I'm also anemic, even though iron tests shown my body's iron stores are fine.  I think the human body is a lot more complicated than the simplistic idea of "just add more, or take away some, and you'll be fine."  We don't seem to be just a container of elements of certain percentages, there are a million processes going on biologically, chemically, and we don't really understand how they all interact.  For instance, I had been taking calcium & magnesium for years, and suddenly thought well, if this isn't working, maybe I should add vitamin D, so my body will absorb the calcium better.  Wrong.  It not only didn't work, but my bone density got worse faster.  SO - I now use "reverse psychology" (or maybe I should say, "perverse"  (not perverted); I stopped taking the vitamin D.  I've always loved fish, and I continue to eat a lot of salmon especially, which had vitamin D.  I don't worry about taking it.  I just try to eat healthy, and take the supplements which do seem to help me. Every person is different, and sometimes all we have to go on is our own experience, judgment, instinct and gut feeling..

     RA plays havoc with many body processes, due to the inflammation.  For example, (even though my rheumatologist disagreed), I have read a medical journal article that states that, RA contributes to osteoporosis because the inflammation occurs even at the cellular level, in the bone cells, skewing the growth and maturation of certain kinds of bone cells (osteoclasts vs. osteoblasts).  I don't have the reference available (will try and find it).  So I have stopped feeling 'guilty' about that, and about not taking what I consider dangerous drugs to try and increase it, because I don't think they would work and they have undesireable side effects.

     Many people do feel better, and their bodies work better, with vitamin D supplements.  If you haven't tried this, perhaps you should talk with your doctor to see if he/she agrees this would be a good idea.  They are often combined with calcium supplements. 

     Good luck with all your decision-making!

large doses of vitamin D can definitely be helpful with RA - to read more about vitamin D, click here.