Nutrition & Diet What supplements do you take?

It wasn't included in my regular lab work either RabbitLuvr. Most docs won't order it unless you specifically ask for it and some insurance companies won't cover the cost, which boggles my mind when you consider the potential for disease prevention. I didn't find out about my vitamin D deficiency until after my cancer, and then when I started reading about the connection I was like, holy ****! Why isn't everyone being tested for this?
 
I go in for labs again in three weeks; I'll ask then if they can do the vitamin D test for me. In the meantime I've doubled the amount of D I take daily. (Up to 4000 IU.)
 
I'm not really a fan of supplements. Here is what I take though:
B12 - I think every vegan should take this regardless
Vitamin D - I take this in the winter because I don't go outside and it's not the optimal time for sun absorption so I take it to be safe

I also take Spirulina daily but I don't really consider this a supplement because it's a whole food (albeit dried) but I've done research on it and all I've found was positive. Plus when I take it I notice I feel a little better...more energized etc.
 
I go in for labs again in three weeks; I'll ask then if they can do the vitamin D test for me. In the meantime I've doubled the amount of D I take daily. (Up to 4000 IU.)
They definitely should have tested you, as studies show a link between low vitamin D levels and breast CA.
 
I didn't realize so many people took supplements. I don't take any at all.
 
Should I not take my vitamin before a blood work up? Honestly, I hardly remember take it anyway.
 
Should I not take my vitamin before a blood work up? Honestly, I hardly remember take it anyway.
I'm never sure about that either. If you don't regularly take it, It seems taking it before testing wouldn't be accurate.
They tell me to fast 12 hours, so I don't take anything.
 
SB, my doctor has me withhold all pills the morning of a blood test... both supplemental and prescribed... though you should ask yours to make sure.
 
SB, my doctor has me withhold all pills the morning of a blood test... both supplemental and prescribed... though you should ask yours to make sure.

Damn, I wonder if I should take the thyroid med. I think I will call her in the am about that.

Sorry to derail thread.
 
I saw my oncologist last week, and requested my D level be checked since they were doing bloodwork anyway. The nurse called today and said my D was "a bit low" at 23, and that my doctor wanted me to start taking 800 units of D daily. I told the nurse that it should be in my chart that I've been taking 2,000 units of D daily for about 5 months. :rolleyes: The nurse hung up, then called me back a little later to say that I needed to take 3,000 units daily.

When I got home, I realized that I've actually been taking 4,000 units daily for a few weeks. So I guess I'll just add a third pill and knock it up to 6,000 units.
I go back in three months, I'll get rechecked then to see if anything has changed.
 
Yeah, I'd say you're "a bit low"! :p

Most doctors are clueless when it comes to Vitamin D so you'll probably end up having to address this yourself and use your doctor only for periodic testing. I started out at 18 ng/ml and it's taken me years of daily supplementation just to get up to 33 ng/ml so I've still got a lot of work to do. My goal is to reach at least 50 ng/ml. I've gotten a lot of useful information from the Vitamin D Council. They offer home test kits to help support their website but don't let that put you off because the articles are very well-referenced.

http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/about-vitamin-d/vitamin-d-deficiency/
 
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B12 - I think every vegan should take this regardless

I haven't supplemented with B-12 for years (I'm a bad vegan) and my last few lab results have shown that my levels are higher than normal! Weird, huh?
I finally broke down and ordered some Deva D-2 on Amazon as my Vitamin D level was 17 last month. :fp:
 
I haven't supplemented with B-12 for years (I'm a bad vegan) and my last few lab results have shown that my levels are higher than normal! Weird, huh?
I finally broke down and ordered some Deva D-2 on Amazon as my Vitamin D level was 17 last month. :fp:

my guess would be that some things you consume have b12 in, like non-dairy milks.