<p>It is often presumed that symptoms of depression should trigger a visit to a psychiatrist which in turn will often lead to a prescription for antidepressants. If you have a child away at school who is bundled up from end of November until March you may want to ask them how they are feeling. A Vitamin D deficiency could be causing these symptoms and can be easily diagnosed with a blood test. This may be more evident in the northeast this winter since it has been so cold. It is amazing how quickly the symptoms subside once the deficiency has been corrected.</p>
<p>H is a huge believer of vitamin D. He used to feel a bit down in the winter, then he discovered vitamin D.</p>
<p>We use the SAD lights. They help alot. If you (or your student) are living in a dorm room where the one window faces north then getting a very strong lamp can make a big difference in your outlook. $200 sounds like a large chunk of change but when you consider it as an investment it is well worth it.</p>
<p>^^^ Hugcheck</p>
<p>The lights work if you have seasonal affect disorder but they do not work if you have a vitamin D deficiency because they do not emit UV rays. What actually works better if there is a deficiency is frequent visits to a tanning salon to get the UV rays.</p>
<p>A woman in a study I was doing had a serious vitamin D deficiency (which often happens in women anyway as they get older) because she was allergic to UV light. She wore sunblock all of the time because otherwise she would develop a rash, and she had quit drinking milk because of low-carb eating. It was recommended that she begin taking 1000 IUs of D3 twice per day. I don’t think it can hurt for anyone to be doing this. They often bundle it with calcium because the vitamin is more easily absorbed that way (which is why it’s added to milk).</p>
<p>I am allergic to the sun. It’s called solar urticaria. It doesn’t bother me at all in Winter, it’s too cloudy here and I am too well covered, but in the summer I can’t go outside without getting hives regardless of whether or not I wear sunscreen. I usually go out anyway for a few days, the rash getting worse and worse every day, until it becomes unbearable and then I have to hide inside for a week to let it go away before I start over. I tell my friends I am a real vampire. 
No sparklies, just rash. haha </p>
<p>I never thought about a Vitamin D deficiency being a risk for me, that makes perfect sense. I drink ridiculous amounts of milk in the winter (think two or three gallons a week), but in the summer I am usually so full of water that I don’t drink milk anymore. I will have to look into vitamin supplements.</p>
<p>Actually, people CAN overdose on Vitamen D (as well as many other fat soluable vitamens). Here’s is informaiton from the federal government about appropriate Vitamen D dosing & levels.</p>
<p>[Vitamin</a> D: MedlinePlus Supplements](<a href=“http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/patient-vitamind.html#Dosing]Vitamin”>http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/patient-vitamind.html#Dosing)</p>
<p>Even in sunny places, people can have vitamen D deficiencies, especially as we age we don’t absorb it as well. Tanning beds & UV also increase the risk of skin cancer, so they are NOT recommended as a way of getting vitamen D. The full spectrum lamps available at many places & on-line also are said to help with SAD. </p>
<p>We did purchase a bright light that helped a bit with S’s extreme difficulty waking in HS. It was on-line and there are many offerings there. Prices do range from under $100 to several hundred, but can really improve the sense of well-being, especially in interminable grey months.</p>
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<p>This is terrible advice. </p>
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<p>[The</a> Lancet Oncology : Volume 10, Number 9, 1 September 2009](<a href=“http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanonc/issue/vol10no9/PIIS1470-2045(09)X7103-2]The”>http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanonc/issue/vol10no9/PIIS1470-2045(09)X7103-2)</p>
<p>Wow, this is interesting. I’ll pass it on to my S who lives in a city where you never see the sun from November to March.</p>
<p>Tiwsted, just 10 or 15 minutes of full sun in the summer, preferably in the middle of the day, takes care of vitamin D levels. More people are vitamin D deficient these days because of all the hoopla about skin cancer, which means people wear sunscreen all the time. A friend of mine just died of melanoma, so of course the risk of skin cancer is serious (especially with changes in the ozone layer etc.) but at the same time, we should all get some sun without sunscreen at times.</p>
<p>I was interested to hear from others who can’t go in the sun. My daughter and I have systemic lupus and get really sick in the sun, after even seconds. It is starting up again now, in the northeast- the sickness always coincides with spring fever! We get problems with skin, lungs, GI, and neurological problems.</p>
<p>I wish I had thought about D when my lupus first started doing this 10 years ago. I have osteoporosis now! Vitamin D is necessary for bones, as well as joints, mood, lots of things.</p>
<p>We also have allergies to milk, which I should have thought more about too.</p>
<p>Hoping someone learns from my mistakes when they read this!</p>
<p>Vitamin D comes in a lot of forms. Take the D3. There are tablets, capsules, combos with calcium, liquids and even a dropper bottle which gives you 1,000mg/drop.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t go by the government standards for vitamin D levels. They are much too low. They came up with their recommended level decades ago as a minimum to prevent scurvy. The government standards don’t reflect what is now widely considered optimum for health. </p>
<p>The best thing to do is to make a visit to a doctor and ask that your levels be tested. However, in the meantime, it is perfectly safe to take 2000 units a day for a month or so to see if it makes you feel any better. There is a lot of new information you can find online about the levels that research is showing to be essential for our health. Researchers believe that higher levels of vitamin D3 than we perviously had considered are important in preventing a lot of modern diseases, from common viruses to cancer. Interestingly, vitamin D3 is also turning out to be more valuable for our bone health than even calcium!
My doctor has recommended 3000 units of D3, along with my 1500 mgs of calcium/magnesium daily, for life.</p>
<p>Just saw compmom’s post, and agree totally. And yes, the sun is the easiest way to get your D3, but you have to expose much of your body for the 15 minutes a day in order to get the results, and not everyone can do that.
The D3 capsules are inexpensive, and great insurance.<br>
Everyone should be asking their doc to test their levels at their annual check-ups.</p>
<p>How about just a good multi-vitamin for our college kids? Most are eating pretty irregular and one has to wonder about the nutritional value of many foods in dining halls not to mention the fast food that is consumed. Couple all of that with the irregular sleep and I would bet that many college kids are generally vitamin deficient in a lot of areas. A good multi-vitamin might help with the college lifestyle in my opinion!</p>
<p>I was just diagnosed with severe vitamin D deficiency after my most recent annual medical exam blood tests. I walk outside (w/o sun screen) for 50 minutes 2-3 times a week. I live in the northeast. It is just not enough sun.</p>
<p>Older women (OMG am I an older woman??) and people who live in the grey in the winter probably need D supplements. Make sure it is D3.</p>
<p>Nothing wrong with a good multi-vitamin in addition, but the level of D3 is not high enough in the multis for someone with a deficiency or for someone living without sun.
My husband who leaves for work in the morning in the dark, and then comes home in the dark throughout the winter months, even in California, needs extra D3, too.</p>
<p>Our ancestors lived and worked outdoors. We weren’t meant to sit in cubicles and behind computers all day long.</p>
<p>Agree with moonchild’s posts. Morrismm, in the northeast, the sun is only an effective source in summer months, and in the middle of the day, according to what I have heard from MD’s and read. Your levels may go up in the summer, but maybe not enough to compensate for your low levels the rest of the year.</p>
<p>I thought it was bad advice to go to a tanning salon as well but that was what two doctors recommended to my kid. The deficiency was severe so maybe that was the reason.</p>