After my last entry, on the possible but entirely scientifically unproven effects of vitamin D on my IBS, I've had several people write to me to say that they're gonna try taking vitamin D. Now this is worrying me.
This happened before when I went to see my latest doctor in the Spring, and people wrote and asked about him, and then some people actually went to see him because they had read about him on this blog.
I could, at this point, get like totally drunk on power and tell you all that I am now curing my IBS through the ancient art of sheep-stroking, and then see how many people email me for further details ("What kind of sheep should I use? Do I stroke the sheep or does the sheep stroke me?"), but luckily I'm not that sadistic.
I am, however, slightly worried. It's one thing having people go and see a doctor because I said he was good, but it's another if people are actually taking pills because I kind of maybe thought they might be helping me.
I do worry about this aspect of running health websites, the responsibility aspect, which is why IBS Tales and IBS Treatment have warning notices about how they're not run by doctors and are not offering medical advice. But I completely understand that sufferers often use the internet to get ideas about treatments they could try - I do exactly the same myself.
It's just that my nightmare scenario is someone writing to me and saying "Dear Sophie, you told me to drink arsenic to cure my IBS and now I've dropped down dead. I am rather disconcerted by this turn of events and I shall no longer be reading your blog".
I did actually experience something close to this. Someone had read a story on IBS Tales which included a rather gruesome account of a colonoscopy, and I got an email saying "When I read that story it very nearly stopped me going through with my own colonoscopy". And of course I panicked (IBS people should ALWAYS have all the tests their doctor recommends, it could be life-saving) and removed the story from the site.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that whenever you read about a treatment online, it's always important to do your own research. Check who makes it, check whether it's contraindicated if you're pregnant or have another health condition, check whether there are any clinical trials on it at pubmed.com, and definitely ask your doctor if you're unsure about anything.
And please don't blame me if you snuff it.
I don't think anyone needs to be worried about taking Vitamin D.
More information than most will probably want about vitamin d is available at The Vitamin d council website.
The section for Toxicity has the latest research showing the current Toxic Upper Limit is far from sensible and should be raised to 10,000iu/d similarly the RDA needs lifting to about 4,000iu for most people, certainly anyone pregnant or depressed in winter would benefit from this level.
If using supplemental vitamin d you need to make sure you only use Cholecalciferol, Vitamin d3 many suppliers are still using ergocalciferol vit d2 and this isn't nearly as effective and for older people around 70% isn't absorbed so it's a waste of time and money. If you search pubmed for The case against ergocalciferol (vitamin D2) as a vitamin supplement you will be able a fuller account of the reasons why anyone using/prescribing d2 is displaying their ignorance.
Funny that you should mention arsenic, with your tongue in your cheek - 'cause when I decided to give homeopathy a try, that is what the lovely lady prescribed for me !!!! in minute doses,of course - 'won't do you any harm' she said ' might help' I passed on that one, thank you very much - if it wasn't go to do any harm, in that dose, I couldn't see that it would help!!I just can't get my head round the minute doses of the prescribed remedy - in some cases no atoms of the medication left- so how can it help ? perhaps, it works by mind over matter - I am afraid I didn't give a chance !
Your concern is definitely understandable, and while I would hope that people wouldn't blame you for a treatment or medication gone awry, the unfortunate reality is that we live in a culture of blame. Just know that the blamers will blame no matter what.
For the rest of us, your ideas give us something to ponder for our own course of action. I read your post and also thought I would give the vitamin D a try - because I look at my lifestyle and see that I don't get enough of things like sunlight or milk, and it would make sense because I have a deficiency anyway.
Keep it up - and I would hope that others can share things that they are trying, because if nothing else, it gives us a new area of focus for our own research.
And whenever you hear about a treatment that's working for Sophie, please go see your doctor and see if it would work for you. People don't do that, and end up getting sicker.
Take care Sophie :)
Hi Ted - you certainly sound knowledgable about vitamin D, but the point is that for all I know you could be a secret mole of the Underground Vitamin D Selling Council of Corrupt People, and for all you know I could be a member of the Let's Try to Kill Everyone by Making Them Vitamin D Deficient Defence League.
Now, it just so happens that I'm not, and I'm sure you're not either. All I'm saying is that we wouldn't start taking pills just because some random man in Woolworths told us to - so we shouldn't start doing it because some random person on the net told us to, whether it's Ted or me or anyone else.
I think what Lisa says is the best way forward. Definitely use websites to get ideas for further treatments, and to think about ways to improve your own health. But use them as a starting point, not a finishing point - a focus for your research.
So if you're thinking about the vit D stuff, you could check out the vitamin D council as Ted suggests (hadn't heard of them before) but make sure you know who funds them (I presume it's the government, but if it's the manufacturers of vitamin D then that's a bit different...). And check out pubmed.com as well, and ask your doctor if you're concerned about anything.
I do think that sometimes we turn off our critical faculties when it comes to info on the net, and I'm not entirely sure why that is. I remember a post on a messageboard from someone who was convinved that colonics were the solution to all kinds of problems and were fantastic for IBS.
It turned out that every bit of information she was quoting came from the British Colonics Association (or something like that), who, for obvious reasons, are rather in favour of colonics. And then she couldn't understand it when people suggested that her information might be a teeny bit biased...
The problem with asking your Doctor is that on the whole they are not trained in nutrition.
Their training is mainly related to the products Pharmaceutical industry. They give you one drug to hide the symptoms you are exeriencing and this produces side effects which need more drugs ad infitum. Go ask your doctor about vitamin d and more than likely he will prescribe vitamin d2 because the chances are he won't have read the latest research that I've pointed you to.
Similarly if he doesn't want to have trouble with the regulatory authorities your Dr will stick strictly to the official RDA for vitamin d. That is a measly 400iu/d about a tenth of what you normally use day to day. Given 15mins sunshine your skin will generate 12000iu. Your body is perfectly capable of handling this kind of amount but the RDA was set when all that was known was that this was the amount that prevents rickets. We now know that over 20 different cancers are prevented by higher levels of vitamin d. We know also it's involved in hypertension, diabetes, obesity, Autoimmune Illness, Chronic Pain, Hyperparathyroidism, multiple sclerosis, muscle weakness and falls, yet it is very rarely I hear of anyone having their vitamin d status checked.
The problem is precisely that no one can ever make a fortune from vitamin d because we all know that if we go out on a sunny day our skin will make it for free. Because below latitude 40 it's available 365 days of the year, providing there's no cloud/pollution, it's assumed that everyone has a sufficient amount. Unfortunately that was before sunscreens and air conditioning. Now half our young people are deficient and among institutionalised elderly people it rises to 97% insufficient.
Only above latitude 50 is there a good excuse for vitamin d insufficiency as between October and March the sun will be at too low an angle for the UVBrays to penetrate. So it's only here that one would need to rely on sunlamps/supplements during the Winter.
Vitamin d3 cholecalciferol isn't patentable so it's very cheap. It's also very, very safe. Where a product is as cheap as vitamin d3 and as safe as vitamin d3 then what has anyone got to lose?
No one should worry about taking vitamin d3. I personally think people should take responsibility for their own health and not consider that every Dr is 100% familiar with every condition or up to date with the latest understanding of every vitamin, mineral, supplement or alternative treatment. If you are capable of searching the net you should also be capable of considering the quality of the sources of information you are looking at. If every claim can be backed by up to date peer reviewed research then you know those claims have some substance to them.
I am trying calcium with vitamin D pills to see if they help my IBS.
I dont think you need to worry about people blaming you if they snuff it - I think any arsenic drinkers out there wont get round to emailing you!