Vitamin D therapy reduces Covid fatalities. Time for a VitD trial.Results in 4 weeks.

[Bettertobehealthy]

Following my earlier posts here on Mumsnet regarding the use of Vitamin D3 and beneficial effects against Covid. A new Lancet paper (Pre-print of study) of 20th Oct papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3690902

It states: ' Treatment with vitamin D, regardless of baseline serum vitamin D levels, appears to be associated with a reduced risk of mortality in acute in-patients admitted with Covid-19 '

 This is a further indication that we are missing a great opportunity to cut our death rates and severity of illness when infected.   The retrospective study was carried out on the data of over 900 hospitalised patients from Leicester, Tameside and Preston hospital trusts.  Treatments with Vitamin D were either 800 IU -2000 IU   i.e maintenance doses, or  bolus doses of up to 300,000 IU  i.e. shots  

I have been proposing a trial be carried out, of Vitamin D3  loading doses for people that have just been diagnosed, i.e. hopefully at an early stage of illness prior to hospitalisation. The dose levels are perfectly safe for the overwhelming majority.  

The data from a pilot study in Spain (Cordoba Hospital)    <a class="break-all" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7456194/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7456194/</a> 
which used a Vitamin D derivative,  532 microgram doses of 25hydroxyD3 (i.e.  calciferol, or calcidiol) showed remarkable results.  A 25 fold reduction in patients requiring ICU after admission to hospital, when treated with 25hydroxyD3.   We can try to replicate that success using cholecalciferol ( Vit D3 supplement) ,  available  on the high street, online  etc etc.    By using daily doses of 10,000 IU   (250 microgram)  for 14 days upon diagnosis. Followed by  5000 IU daily for another 14 days .       At the end of this 28 day period , we should see a marked difference in outcomes between treated and untreated Covid positive people.  The two studies mentioned above should give us great hope, that this idea is correct.   Cholecalciferol is rapidly converted in the liver to  25hydroxyD3 (calciferol, ie. calcidiol) .  The half life of cholecalciferol is 24 hrs in the blood. 

  About a month ago I posted a more detailed explanation of this suggested trial here   in "general health".    <a class="break-all" href="https://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/general_health/4039300-A-Strategy-to-Limit-deaths-Caused-by-Covid19-Using-Vitamin-D-Therapy" target="_blank">www.mumsnet.com/Talk/general_health/4039300-A-Strategy-to-Limit-deaths-Caused-by-Covid19-Using-Vitamin-D-Therapy</a> 
            I have been trying to  interest  the health service/gov / parliament/  even media outlets to try and get this trial instigated.  The cost of the trial would be less that the cost of treating just one person that has complications from a stay in ICU. The contact data of Covid positive tested people would be required So the gov. needs to agree. Results should start to be known within 4 weeks.  The trial would involve sending  28 days worth of doses of VitD3  ( total cost £2 per person )  to  a selected sample of  Covid positive people, then, phoning the treated and untreated on a weekly basis, to establish whether they were still at home isolating or  hospitalised, or sent to ICU, or passed away.  The sample of people would be chosen to avoid those rare individuals with hypercalcaemic conditions  or possible contra-indications  such as  those on treatment with digoxin.  Selecting older individuals, such as over 50's, would give quicker results.     

 IF any readers here, can add their input to getting such a  trial done, maybe forward this idea to perhaps some official body, media outlet etc,  then please do. 
         Within a few weeks this could well give this country a way to cut many deaths, prevent ICU's being filled , reduce the need for lockdowns and reduce hospitalisations. At a cost that is insignificant when compared to the potential benefit.  We should start this trial immediately, there is nothing to lose and everything to gain. 
As a private individual, retired, I have no financial interest in VitD . I have  posted quite a bit about the physiology of VitD here on Mumsnet, over quite a number of years. 

Here is a thread where I posted quite a bit of detail about Vit D , and why we need it, why we are mostly too low, and what we can do about it. It is a long read , but might be helpful to some.
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/general_health/2841497-If-you-are-vitamin-D-deficient-what-have-you-been-prescribed

Best of luck to all
BTBH.
.

Thank you Dr. Grimes for your input. Whilst I agree that it takes some time to build up calcidiol (calcifidiol) levels in the blood, and that treatment with calcidiol is preferable, the chances of getting that drug ok'd for widespread use in pre-hospitalised individuals, without a double blinded placebo controlled trial, in any useful timeframe is just about zero. It would require blood levels measured and medical supervision. We are likely to have many tens of thousands of individuals tested positive daily.
Wheras a nutraceutical , a dietary supplement, i.e VitD3 ( cholecalciferol) already in common use and available everywhere, given at safe loading dose quantities may influence the course of their disease. That is why I want to get this trial I mentioned above, instigated. The disease does take a week or two or three to progress to its most severe form. My idea is to give 'just diagnosed' people immediate loading doses, of cholecalciferol that in reality have practically no chance of being harmful, for the overwhelming majority of people who are mostly already deficient/insufficient, here in the UK Thats why I think such an inexpensive, quick to organise trial would be so worthwhile. It might save our bacon. As you know the rate of conversion, cholecalciferol to calcidiol, depends upon the concentration of calcidiol in the blood. IF it is low, the rate of reaction is maximal. Only when concentrations of calcidiol approach 100 nmol/L does the reaction slow down. This is good news for those that have the worst deficiency levels. Their livers will be working overtime to create this lifesaving compound.

BTBH

hi @BiBabbles,
I assume you made a typo when you said you used Vit D3 at 200,000 IU daily in the past.?
The dose I am suggesting would be 10,000 IU daily for 14 days. This dose is the NOAEL , (No observed adverse event level ) as determined by the National Acadamy of Medicine ( USA) www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3046611/ Followed up by 5000 IU per day for the next 14 days.

 Where are the studies, pointing out that correcting a vitamin D deficiency/insufficiency can be harmful.  The only known effect of overdose of Vit D is hypercalcaemia,  which does not ocurr unless massive overdoses are taken, ie over 30,000 IU per day  or blood levels of calcidiol over 500 nmol/L.  

Have a look at Professor Reinhold Veiths lecture concerning Vitamin D toxicity. He is one of the worlds experts on the pharmaco-kinetics of Vitamin D.

BTBH

As a 50 something, menopausal, overweight woman living in Scotland I have been taking Vit D for a few years now. I have recently started on Vit K and have restarted taking Magnesium too. Apparently Zinc is also worth looking at.

Does anyone know how much Vit D you should take if you are overweight or even obese? Is there a formula to work this out?

The only way to know how much vitamin D you need to take @Belindabelle is to have your levels test. Otherwise, just stay within the guidelines of the maximum daily dose of 4000 IU.

@DianaT1969 thank you that's helpful to know. I have put on weight since lockdown so possibly this has had something to do with it.

If you can afford to test do so. Those who go outside in summer should have reasonable levels of vitamin D now, they will decline as we go through winter and be low by spring unless you take a supplement.

No-one should be taking 5000iu a day unless they have tested, that level over a long period of time could be dangerous. However the risks of supplementing are being overstated on this thread - and no-one has yet shown proof that hospitals supplementing with vitamin D would do anything other than save lives, reduce the pressure on beds and reduce the risk of lockdown.

The government is trashing the economy again, this time to protect the profits of drug companies.

I started taking D3 in February after following Dr John Campbell’s YouTube channel. I started at 25 ug per day. In May, I had my level tested and it came back as 63 nmol/l, which the lab said was adequate, so I was happy.

Later I discovered that adequate is not enough for Covid prevention (and other things), so upped my dose to 100ug in July. Just had my blood level checked again - 122 nmol/l. That seems to be optimal - and since I was getting plenty of time in the sun over the summer but now won’t be making much vitamin D from that, I assume I should continue with my current dose over the winter and maybe check again in the spring.

I’ve had my husband on the same dose. We are both obese, but me much more so, and I also have type 2 diabetes. It seems likely therefore that his blood level will be higher than mine on the same dose, so I should probably get him tested.

Some further data you may be interested in. A pre-print paper.

When considering the sudden boost of Covid cases in Europe over the last few weeks, an analysis has been done by a medical researcher, W Walrand. Looking at latitude and temperature. No correlation with change in temperatures , BUT , there was correlation with those countries at higher latitudes, i.e.such as the UK. Their conclusion was that changes in insolation (lower sunlight- i.e. lower vitamin D synthesis) is likely responsible, becuse of our latitude.
www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.10.28.20221176v2.full-text

That is a further indication that Vit D levels may be implicated in severity of Covid-19 illness.

In addition I perhaps should also mention :
The pre-print paper by Ling et al, that I mentioned in the first post on this thread indicates that " current definitions of replete Vitamin D status may be too low for immune benefit in acute Covid-19 infection"
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3690902

BTBH

@Bettertobehealthy - I bought some vitamin D and on looking the dose is only 400. Can i/should I just take more tablets per day to increase the dose?

Is it the vitamin D +K2 which is best? Or literally just D3? Looking at spray versions. I’ve been outside all summer but my test results has come back as very deficient

Where are you all getting these vitamin tests please? I'd like to get tested I think

@flowerycurtain - I used Thriva. They send a vial, you prick your finger and fill it, send it back in pre-addressed envelope. The result was by email in a couple of days. I found a discount code on here and it was cheap. I imagine they are busier now, so you might not find a code. A pp recommended Black Country Laboratories for £30. I just looked at their website and it isn't set up for private clients. Dense with information. The site isn't responsive (doesn't work well on phones) and despite clicking on 'Public' in navigation, I couldn't find a way to order and pay for a test.

One of the published studies suggested the benefits of vitamin D didnt increase after 75 nmol/l, so no need to risk an overdose. Another study suggested that the capsules containing oil might be better than tablets. However when my vitamin D level was inadequate taking tablets with a meal that contained a little fat worked just fine.

Sprays are good for anyway who has absorption problems as vitamin D is absorbed through the lining of the mouth into the bloodstream. I've used a spray as it came free with my test but found the nozzle blocked before it ran out, so had to take the top off and use an egg spoon for the last bits.

I use Medichecks, its £39, results next day normally.