Vitamin?

**Brooke** · 06-08-2010, 07:37 AM

I do not take a vitamin and I bet I should be? Any good ones out there for women that anyone recommends?
For medications right now I am currently on 15 mg of prednisone, bactrim once a day, 15 mg zoloft, and my symbicort inhaler.
I have a bump on the top of my right calf about mid way down just to the right of my shin bone. It is from falling down 3 steps over a month ago and it has not healed. It does not hurt at all though. I have not had my doctor look at it because it hasn't bothered me.
How long before prednisone starts weakening your bones? I have been on prednisone since October 2009.

Thanks my fellow Weggies

**elephant** · 06-08-2010, 11:54 AM

My bones went bad less than 6 months. Everyone is different too, so I was not one of the lucky ones. I take Vitamin D and calcium everyday. I eat a wide variety of food and my body does not like multivitamins actually makes me sick to my stomach.

**DEE** · 06-08-2010, 04:22 PM

hi brooke i also take Vitamin D and calcium daily
had a bone scan jan 10 and im due to have another about end of july time
ive been on chemo a year and various levels of preds for the same time due to go as see wg consult abot meds and were we are going with treatment on thursday
busy week ent onsult today

get someone to check leg !!
DEE x

**Barbara1966** · 06-08-2010, 09:22 PM

Hi Brooke,
For last couple months I take multivitamin WOMEN'S ULTRA MEGA from GNS store (just one worning you pee will turn green, the first time when I went to the bathroom and knottiest green I freak-out and call the doctor and the store I have a blood work done and they explained to me it is OK)

Good luck
Barb

**JanW** · 06-08-2010, 11:47 PM

I take a multi, calcium and Vit D every day in addition to my folic acid (I'm on mtx). I was on inhaled steroids for five years and my bones went REALLY bad so I think everyone is different and like elephant says, I'm just one of the unlucky ones.

**Sangye** · 06-09-2010, 02:13 AM

This is a huge topic and nutrition is never one-size-fits-all. But I'll make a couple general comments.

First, everyone--Wegs or not-- needs to be on a quality multivitamin. You cannot possibly get the nutrients you need from diet alone. You could before we changed our food and our soil but it isn't true any longer. Even organic food is not enough anymore. Our drugs and the disease make us far more nutritionally deficient than "healthy" people.

There isn't a single OTC multivitamin I would put in my body. Health food store brands are awful and famous brand ones (eg Centrum) are horrific. I only use brands that are available through health care professionals-- chiropractors, naturopaths, etc.... Each company has numerous multivitamins because of the high variability in need. A multivitamin is just the start. At a minimum we need solid antioxidants, essential fatty acids, calcium/magnesium, and vitamin D-- all derived from excellent sources. There's no multivitamin in the world that will supply all of those at adequate levels.

While you're not going to kill yourself trying to design your own supplement program, you actually can harm yourself. You can create deficiency syndromes that mimic Wegs or other conditions forcing your docs to order lots of tests and procedures. For example, messing up the B vitamin balance can cause arrythmias, tingling and numbness, etc.... At worst you'll hurt yourself, and at best you'll waste a lot of money and not get results. Many people buy supplements that are extremely high in nutrients-- 1,000% of this, 8500% of that. With nutrition, more is not necessarily better. Quality, not quantity is what matters.

I'm trained in advanced clinical nutrition and even I consult with my holistic docs about my supplements. Please don't go it alone.

**pberggren1** · 06-09-2010, 05:55 AM

So what you are saying, Sangye, is to go and see a chiropracter or naturopath to get our supplements?

**elephant** · 06-09-2010, 08:10 AM

Is there a brand called Sunrise? And is that a good product?

**Sangye** · 06-09-2010, 08:42 AM

Originally Posted by pberggren1

So what you are saying, Sangye, is to go and see a chiropracter or naturopath to get our supplements?

Yes. Just as you would see a medical doctor for advice about drugs, you should see a holistic doctor for advice about supplements. Many people think they can read about supplements in magazines or popular books and know how to use them. But to use supplements properly, one should have advanced training in the clinical sciences (eg. biochemistry, physiology, anatomy, neurology, lab diagnosis, pathology) as well as solid training in evaluation and use of supplements.

Holistic physicians are also trained in the evaluation of blood work to assess nutritional needs. (I don't mean testing for a particular vitamin level in the blood, though that may be necessary) For example, low serum CO2 indicates a problem with the body's generation of energy. That could be due to a deficiency of B vitamins, certain enzymes, magnesium, etc.... Unless it's way out of range, MDs won't do anything about it. But a "low-normal" CO2 can leave you so weak you can barely get out of bed.

When I consult my holistic docs about supplements, the first thing they ask is to see a copy of my most recent lab work, which gives them a great deal of background info. Then they ask about my diet, supplements, medical issues (including drug side effects)., exposure to toxins, and past history of all these things They also do a thorough physical exam that includes much more than a medical physical. Combining all this info, they then recommend supplements.