vit d3 - 5000iu at once

 i have 1000iu gel pill vit d3. my doc wants me to take 5000iu per day... my question is this.

can i take all 5 pills at once or do i need to spread them out through the day

Softgel D3 is probably the cheapest form of D3. That said, you won't absorb it very well due to the fact it's supsended in oil in the gelcap.  You need a true dry D3.  And 5000 IU will likely not improve your vitamin D labs much at all.  I went through D issues since my RNY 5 years ago.  I ended up taking 50K IU 4 times a week for 2 1/2 years.  I had labs last Oct.  and my D showed a 65, far better than the initial 8 on my first D labs.  Target area of best long range health is 80-90 as this offers a 50% reduction in your chances of several cancers, MS, etc. and it assures that your calcium citrate is absorbed properly for bone health.  I now have increased my 50K IU dry D3 to one per day, or 7 per week.  If you want to use your D3 up, fine. BUT, do order some of the 50K IU in the meantime.  These 50K are not available at stores and very few places online.  5K tends to be advertised as high potency for dry D3. But this level is unlikely to do much to improve vitamin D deficiencies in RNY post ops.  I get my D3 from Vitalady and usually order 6 months supply at a time to save on shipping.  It's highly likely that even a couple of months on your current D3 will do anthing but improve your D labs by a couple of points.  Dave

Which of the 50,000 D3 do you order I see 2 different ones?  Thanks

Either one will work. They're basically the same item, just a labelling differnce.  I've used both, whichever is in stock or less expensive.  DAVE

You can take them all at once. You can take 50,000in in one dose so it's not really as big as it seems. If it makes you feel better, just get some of the 5000iu caps so it won't seem like so much! 5 of anything seems like a lot but, don't worry, it's a normal dose. :)

 do you know if you can get your doc to write a script for vit d3 this way i can get it covered by my insurance and save some money? 

I'm pretty certain that any script for D that the doctor writes is gonna get you the D in the oil/gelcaps. 

The only way to get the dry is OTC. 

The only way to get the dry is OTC. 

Oddly enough, that is correct.  I get mine from www.vitalady.com, but that's where I get ALL of my supplements and protein and have never tried anywhere else so I'm sure there are other sources but don't know what they are.

My dry D3 capsules come in bottles of 100 for around $30.  I take one 50,000iu capsule per day, so that one bottle last me 3 months.  MOST postops don't have to take that much on a sustained basis, so the bottle could conceivably last quite a bit longer.

I too didn't want to switch from prescription D because the prescription is so cheap.  The problem is we just don't absorb it as much.  And when I found out the price at vitalady, I realized that it wasn't much more than what I was paying for the prescription.

The only script D available is a D2 in oil, that comes in those blue green softels that are 50K . These will do virtuallly nothing. I took one of these per week for 6 months.  My D labs increased from 8 to 14 during this time, which is less than 50% of normal. So these are a waste of time. Spend the money and get your D up to levels of 80-90 where it does you some good. DAVE

I took the prescription ones for 9 months pre-op and only went from a level of 17 to 26. I started the DRY D3 50000iu from vitalady.com and in 9 months on that one (started 2-3 times a week and now once a week) and shot up to 97. Proof even "normal" people do not absorb the prescription one. I threw out $45 in those 9 months of using it. My bottle from vitalady.com has lasted me the same 9 months (well I have quite a bit left yet too!) and is actually DOING something for me!