Midwinter Sadness (Portland: insurance, camping, maintenance)

[Larry Caldwell]

Just a reminder that this is the darkest time of year in Oregon, with frequent storms and short days. Take care of yourself. Vitamin D supplements, light treatment and plenty of time outdoors with exercise are indicated. If you find your sleep patterns getting screwed up, it's a sign of Seasonal Affective Disorder, which is epidemic here in the winter. Other symptoms are lack of focus, getting behind on everything, and a feeling of failure.

St. John's Wort will increase your sensitivity to sunlight, but it is not good with other meds. It has been shown to purge antibiotics out of your system before they have a chance to work. Talk to your doc about taking it as a supplement in combination with prescription meds. Do not take it in combination with tanning beds or any UV light treatment.

Speaking of light treatments, your insurance may cover them if your doc prescribes them. If not, a tanning bed might be cheaper.

[xPlorer48]

Originally Posted by Larry Caldwell

Just a reminder that this is the darkest time of year in Oregon, with frequent storms and short days. Take care of yourself. Vitamin D supplements, light treatment and plenty of time outdoors with exercise are indicated. If you find your sleep patterns getting screwed up, it's a sign of Seasonal Affective Disorder, which is epidemic here in the winter. Other symptoms are lack of focus, getting behind on everything, and a feeling of failure.

St. John's Wort will increase your sensitivity to sunlight, but it is not good with other meds. It has been shown to purge antibiotics out of your system before they have a chance to work. Talk to your doc about taking it as a supplement in combination with prescription meds. Do not take it in combination with tanning beds or any UV light treatment.

Speaking of light treatments, your insurance may cover them if your doc prescribes them. If not, a tanning bed might be cheaper.

Where we live in the PNW, sunrise was 8 am and sunset was 4:16 pm on December 21. Thankfully, we had a full moon and clearer skies so the night was light enough for me to take my nightly stroll with our pups.

Taking 50,000 units of D3 per week, St. John’s Wort capsules, and we take daily walks in the woods near our home. I have learned, being a native, that this is the time for indoor pursuits and that the days are becoming longer. It is also a great time to plan camping trips and what to plant in the garden.

Great advice, thank-you.

[Larry Caldwell]

Three minutes more daylight a day. Share the wealth.

[Cloudy Dayz]

Originally Posted by xPlorer48

Where we live in the PNW, sunrise was 8 am and sunset was 4:16 pm on December 21. Thankfully, we had a full moon and clearer skies so the night was light enough for me to take my nightly stroll with our pups.

Taking 50,000 units of D3 per week, St. John’s Wort capsules, and we take daily walks in the woods near our home. I have learned, being a native, that this is the time for indoor pursuits and that the days are becoming longer. It is also a great time to plan camping trips and what to plant in the garden.

Great advice, thank-you.

Yikes I hope you are doing that with a doctor's prescription. I take 2,000 daily, and I have asked my doctor if I should take more. He said absolutely, not. I would be tempted to take 4,000 daily if my doctor approved.

[Omegaraptor]

SAD I’ve heard is genetic. People who live in warm sunny places don’t even know they have it, then move up north (PNW, midwest, northeast) and it hits them. I think it has most to do with the short days: currently days are 8h 40m long here, compared to 9h 50m in Los Angeles.

I walk for half an hour every day in the afternoon, rain or shine. On cloudy days I often catch sunbreaks during my afternoon walk. In addition, I take 2000 IU every day.

Spring will come soon, DST will come, and 7PM sunsets will be back in March. Besides, this year has been way sunnier than normal anyway, but Vitamin D is still necessary because high latitude = low winter sun angles.

[BendLocal]

Have you all seen this article?

Taking Vitamin D? Don't trust that bottle

Those pills don’t have in them the amount of D the bottle advertises, says Dr. Erin LeBlanc, a researcher at the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research in North Portland. LeBlanc published a paper this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association Internal Medicine which reveals that the potency of Vitamin D in supplements she had tested ranged from 9 percent to 146 percent of the advertised dose. Some pills had much less D than advertised, and some more. A total of 55 supplements from 12 different manufacturers were tested — all purchased at Portland-area stores.

Even within one bottle of Vitamin D pills LeBlanc found huge variations in the amount of D present. Within one bottle, one pill had about half the advertised potency and another pill had 124 percent of advertised potency.

The takeaway from LeBlanc’s study might be to look for supplements with a USP seal of approval.

[xPlorer48]

Originally Posted by Cloudy Dayz

Yikes I hope you are doing that with a doctor's prescription. I take 2,000 daily, and I have asked my doctor if I should take more. He said absolutely, not. I would be tempted to take 4,000 daily if my doctor approved.

Yes, it is a doctor’s prescription of 50,000 units D3. I questioned the amount, too, as I am outside daily unless it is really windy or a downpour. Even, in summer, she said we need more here due to sun’s angle.

[pdxMIKEpdx]

That is about what the initial prescription was that was ordered for my wife.

It was to build up the levels, and after monitoring tests, she was put on a lower "maintenance" dosage.
I remember her Dr warned her that if she experienced nausea, poor appetite, diarrhea (or the other way), to stop and let her know immediately.
Those were some symptoms of D3 overdose.

It made a huge difference for her.

We did a DNA test a while back, I am mostly northern Scandinavian with a lot of Saami in me...

My family showed up in Oregon from the top of Norway in the 1840's, it's amazing we have met and married enough Norwegians here to keep the bloodlines strong!

My wife is mainly southern European (southern France and northern Spain).

Maybe that explains why I don't seem to suffer at all from "MidWinter Sadness" and she does.

[Cloudy Dayz]

Originally Posted by xPlorer48

Yes, it is a doctor’s prescription of 50,000 units D3. I questioned the amount, too, as I am outside daily unless it is really windy or a downpour. Even, in summer, she said we need more here due to sun’s angle.

I had a prescription for 50,000 a week too when I first moved to Oregon, due to a severe D3 deficiency. I think it lasted for 4 or 6 weeks. Since then my D-3 2000 IU supplement has been more than adequate to keep my D3 level in range.

[happygrrrl]

I’m in Washington and it’s the worst year for me since moving here. I can barely make it out of bed. I fantasize about Yuma, AZ. My MD doesn’t even test for Vitamin D deficiency, which I feel is negligent on her part.

The only time I miss SoCal is now.