Hi again mint
GREAT .... things are improving on 4000 IU per day .
I can see it is a bit of a quandry for you , you have doctors telling you one thing ... AND you have the results of the latest vitamin D research ( which is what I'm propounding here ) telling you a different thing.
The doctor is following the guidelines , of a slow moving system. The basis of our ( UK ) guidelines is from the National Osteoporosis Society, which considers Vitamin D , only a bone nutrient. AND having no other function. In fact many committees have looked at evidence around Vit D , and they say that there is not enough absolute proof , that vitamin D has anything to do with other functions in the body. This is patently absurd.
Here is a small example : it was proved with a randomised placebo controlled trial , that wheeze/athsma in babies is related to the blood level of vitamin D of the mothers. The proof was analysed statistically. It came out that the result was 94.9 % a true result , and only 5.1% chance that it was caused by a statistical/random error. In other words , if there had been more people in the trial, the result would have been lets say 96 % certain that it was not a statistical effect of random results. NOW , the first (94.9%) result does not meet the statistical test as proof. , It should be 95% confidence , so therefore , the result was discounted and not included in the body of evidence concerning vitamin D . However - to my mind , if something is 94.9% certain , it should be at least in the forefront of my calculations about whether mothers with low vitamin D should be treated. BUT NO . A few years ago , you might have seen in the press, that Vit D , has NO effect on athsma. There are many many examples of trials , epidemiological work , etc etc which shows that the old fashioned view of Vitamin D , is out of date. BUT , our system will not take them in to account. ONLY placebo controlled, double blinded trials , with great numbers of people are taken as sufficient proof. FOR instance MS , is a terrible affliction , if we wanted to do a trial , as described above , then, because it is an infrequent disease , and takes many years to develop , the cost of doing that trial would be about £ 1 Billion ., in order to hit at least 95% confidence that the result is not a random result. SO , that trial will never be done. And there is not much prospect that MS treatment by vitamin D will ever become mainstream. Nobody has a spare £Billion , however there is a lot of evidence pointing towards Vit D as a useful treatment to ameliorate the consequences of MS.
For yourself .... IF I tell you that the only toxic effects or harm , that can occur is hypercalcaemia. No other toxic effects are known. SO , if you get your calcium serum level checked , and it is normal, then you can be assured you are not doing yourself any harm. Please have a look at that video I posted near the top of this thread (Prof Veith. ) . Assuming you don't have hyperparathryoidism or any of the other rare conditions I mentioned above then you will be ok.
IF I was you , and I probably am a lot like you , I take 5000 IU per day , I do check my blood level of vit D , every year or so , and look for a level around 140 ...I don't mind if it goes up to 190 ... it is well within the human physiological normal range. I probably have stores of cholecalciferol, in my muscles and fat , ready to be used whenever I have a greater need for it , to activate genes, to fight infections , or if some trauma was to occur , such as a broken bone , or maybe surgery ( god forbid ) . You probably don't have much stored , yet , all the time your blood level is below 100 , your liver is scavenging every molecule it finds and converting it to calcidiol. When over 100 nmol/L blood level , the rate of reaction drops , your body "knows" that your Vit D is approaching a good level, and allows some to be stored. That is a response that has been evolved over millions of years, that is how you physiology works. Those kind of things are what is being discovered by the latest Vit D research. They are not considered relevant by old existing guidelines.
It is true that 79 nmol/L is quite good for the UK , but it is not that good from the point of view of your health. It is below optimum. You need to keep your level above 100 ,( pref 120 -140 , ) you will start to store Vit d , it will improve your health. It will help your body to respond to challenges, viral, bacterial, trauma , etc. Your cells can respond , however they need to , IF they have Vit D available , in the right concentration in the blood , both as cholecalciferol, calcidiol, and calcitriol. I'm afraid it is a bit complicated. Have a look at some of my other posts explaining things , in this thread, and others here on Mumsnet.
I'm glad things are beginning to look up for you ... !! Just check your calcium, check your blood level of vitamin D , which is your calcidiol level, and keep on top of it. It truly will be the best thing you can do.
And the worst thing you can do , is allow your blood level of vitamin D to plummet , by taking an insufficient maintenance dose. I hope I have given you the tools , at least as far as Vitamin D is concerned, to keep at a healthy level.
IF you need any more information, just get back to me.
good luck ,
BTBH.