Could vitamin D have cured my depression?

chic said:
It doesn't take that much sun exposure to maintain healthy levels of vitamin D so it is possible even in cold climates as long as the day is sunny. Just expose your skin for 15 min. and you should be OK.
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I don't think I would get too much Vitamin D exposing my cheeks to weak sunlight that is angling in from the south just above the treeline in the dead of winter around here. But in the summer, yes, 15 minutes could be enough if enough of me is exposed and the sun is strong. Being in the country, I might do some gardening with shirt off and in shorts and get enough sun in 15-30 minutes. I will get Vitamin D levels checked as well with my blood tests.
 
I've read more, there are books about vitamin D. I think I am not mistaken, this vitamin really is crucial. I definitely feel better and better in myself since beginning supplementation. My energy is increasing, depression greatly relieved, sleep is better. I feel a wellbeing that was missing for a long time. I feel better able to cope.

Apparently a lot of people are deficient in vitamin D. Resulting in much I'll health. I can certainly believe it.

I take just one 400 i.u tablet and a cod liver oil capsule containing the same. Also a multivitamin containing 5 units of D3. That is working for me as I must also be getting some in my diet.
I don't believe in megadoses of anything, so I won't take any more. It was my GP who suggested vitamin D almost as an aside.
 

Rose65 said:
I've read more, there are books about vitamin D. I think I am not mistaken, this vitamin really is crucial. I definitely feel better and better in myself since beginning supplementation. My energy is increasing, depression greatly relieved, sleep is better. I feel a wellbeing that was missing for a long time. I feel better able to cope.

Apparently a lot of people are deficient in vitamin D. Resulting in much I'll health. I can certainly believe it.

I take just one 400 i.u tablet and a cod liver oil capsule containing the same. Also a multivitamin containing 5 units of D3. That is working for me as I must also be getting some in my diet.
I don't believe in megadoses of anything, so I won't take any more. It was my GP who suggested vitamin D almost as an aside.
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Good, healthy oils play a crucial role in brain health so donā€™t rule out cod liver oil helping your depression. The two together taken daily can be very helpful in alleviating depression for some. I definitely rely on holistic methods of healing as well as conventional.
 
PeppermintPatty said:
Good, healthy oils play a crucial role in brain health so donā€™t rule out cod liver oil helping your depression. The two together taken daily can be very helpful in alleviating depression for some. I definitely rely on holistic methods of healing as well as conventional.
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I took cod liver oil capsules anyway. But since Vit D, I do feel decidedly better.
 
The side effect to one of my medications is that it prevents the absorption of Vitamin D. I don't know if that means through the skin or from pills or both. What do you think I should do? Maybe I should talk to the my doctor about having that medication changed.
 
dilettante said:
It seems to be a good thing, at least at recommended doses. Some advocate massive doses, saying the standard dose is absurdly conservative, but even they say sunshine is preferred where possible.

The standard D3 dose seems safe and better than nothing. Your doctor is probably the place to go for answers no matter what, since there are many pieces to each health puzzle. I'm not sure why D2 is normally prescribed by doctors though. There seems to be more mystery around all of this than necessary.
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My doctor prescribed mega doses of D2. When I broke my arm in February the orthopedist prescribed big doses of D3. When I called my doc to ask which to take I was told either one but not both. I don't need a prescription for D3 but did for D2. I still have questions and hope to have them answered at my next appointment. And yes, I think D has helped a lot.
 
smilingmore said:
The side effect to one of my medications is that it prevents the absorption of Vitamin D. I don't know if that means through the skin or from pills or both. What do you think I should do? Maybe I should talk to the my doctor about having that medication changed.
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Yes, get your doctor's advice.
 
smilingmore said:
The side effect to one of my medications is that it prevents the absorption of Vitamin D. I don't know if that means through the skin or from pills or both. What do you think I should do? Maybe I should talk to the my doctor about having that medication changed.
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Asking a pharmacist about this issue, would likely give you some very valuable information; they know so many details about medications.
Of course, you are correct that you'll probably need to talk with your doctor to figure out a good solution.
 
chic said:
It doesn't take that much sun exposure to maintain healthy levels of vitamin D so it is possible even in cold climates as long as the day is sunny. Just expose your skin for 15 min. and you should be OK.
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When the temperatures are extremely low, baring your skin even for 15 minutes isn't an option. And just having your face exposed isn't enough. Supplements are a requirement. Our temps have been hovering around -6 degrees and next week will be dropping down to about -25. That calls for multiple layers and even wearing my covid mask to keep my face warm if I have to go out.
 
smilingmore said:
The side effect to one of my medications is that it prevents the absorption of Vitamin D. I don't know if that means through the skin or from pills or both. What do you think I should do? Maybe I should talk to the my doctor about having that medication changed.
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Read the fine print on your med carefully - sometimes it prevents absorption and you could probably just increase your dosage of Vit. D-3
to cover it and/or take it at opposite ends of the day. I would think that rarely would it "completely" prevent the "total" absorption of the D-3.
You could contact the manufacturer to get the details if necessary - your pharmacy would have manufacture info if its not found on the pill literature.
 
Rose65 said:
I suffered such deep bad depression I thought it would never stop. It's been at least two years, times I plunged into despair and lost interest in living. I've resisted the antidepressants route as side effects were immediate.

But lately I feel much much better. Mental and physical, my energy is returning and I feel stronger mentally and lighter, more interested in doing things. The only difference I can think of is about a month back I started taking vitamin D daily. I realised I don't get out in sunshine much and for other reasons the GP suggested vitamin D.

So I wondered if anyone else find D has helped improve health?
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Very glad to hear that your depression has been helped since taking vitamin D3, I've been taking many vitamins for decades now and it's always on my list, take it almost every day.

I'm not on any prescription drugs, never have been. I'm far from a health freak, but I know certain vitamins are key to good health and a strong immune system and bones. I know it would help with something like depression.

Hard not to feel down when hearing of horrors on world/local news, but you have to take care of yourself and not let things you cannot control affect your mental and emotional health too much. I take 1000 IUs.

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So if vitamin D is so good in treating depression.. How do you explain depression in people who live in places with year round sunshine, like in the Caribbean? Or India ? Or Africa ? Surely those people get all the sun exposure they could possible need, but some are still deeply depressed? Some body explain that to me ? JimB.
 
Kir7 said:
I have taken vit D many times. I ve never noticed that my emotional state changed or improved after taking it.
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The question is, if you were deficient in 'the sunshine drug', how would you be impacted. My own daughter used to have one of those special lights across from her breakfast table because she lived near Whistler and felt horrible every winter when the clouds would hang low for weeks and months at a time. Getting the light helped her mood tremendously. At the time, I don't think she supplemented with much of anything.
 
Debrah N. said:
The question is, if you were deficient in 'the sunshine drug', how would you be impacted. My own daughter used to have one of those special lights across from her breakfast table because she lived near Whistler and felt horrible every winter when the clouds would hang low for weeks and months at a time. Getting the light helped her mood tremendously. At the time, I don't think she supplemented with much of anything.
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Iā€™ve got one of those lamps. Did your daughter stare right at the light while using it?
 
Debrah N. said:
The question is, if you were deficient in 'the sunshine drug', how would you be impacted. My own daughter used to have one of those special lights across from her breakfast table because she lived near Whistler and felt horrible every winter when the clouds would hang low for weeks and months at a time. Getting the light helped her mood tremendously. At the time, I don't think she supplemented with much of anything.
Click to expand...
I once read an article long ago that emphasized that after the cold and dark winters, the first sunny weeks of spring have a strongly positive effect on humans, due to a sharp increase in joy hormones, it seems endorphins. Apparently this is why everyone wants to have fun and reproduce in spring. But I don't remember vitamin D being mentioned in this article.
Apparently light gives joy and happiness after winter melancholy. Although, if I, after a long winter night, suddenly turned on the light at 4 am, my wife would die of a heart attack.šŸ„“
 
Kir7 said:
I once read an article long ago that emphasized that after the cold and dark winters, the first sunny weeks of spring have a strongly positive effect on humans, due to a sharp increase in joy hormones, it seems endorphins. Apparently this is why everyone wants to have fun and reproduce in spring. But I don't remember vitamin D being mentioned in this article.
Apparently light gives joy and happiness after winter melancholy. Although, if I, after a long winter night, suddenly turned on the light at 4 am, my wife would die of a heart attack.šŸ„“
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Well, vitamin D is what we get from the sunshine so it stands to reason that as the weather improves and we all want to be back outside, we're automatically getting a boost to our D's. And I think the light in your bedroom at 4 am is just a wee bit different than sunshine on a spring dayā˜ŗļø
 

Could vitamin D have cured my depression? Past tense vitamin D does help with depression, so does eating healthy and getting proper rest/sleep.​

 

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