Thanks Denise for your advice! I am taking magnesium too as I have fibromyalgia and it is helpful for that. I have taken multi vitamins in the past but I know I need one now, I will definitely get some of the others you suggest too. I was thinking of vit D myself though I thought 10 minutes outdoors every day in sunlight was enough vit D. Having said that I am indoors 90% of the time as I am disabled with my condition. What is D3 is there a difference to just D?

Like the other lady mentioned (I forget your name sorry!) all these vitamins are burning a hole in my pocket but I don't mind if they are going to work and I also hope they will improve my general health.

As I'm not an expert I tend to worry that I maybe taking the wrong vitamins together. I have read in the past that certain vitamins can block iron absorbtion and that vit C help it. I need iron as when the hospital do tests for this my levels are always almost zero.

If you have the time could you maybe list which vitamins you take and maybe how you space them out i.e. which ones do you take together?

Many Thanks!

Vitamin D is necessary for utilization of calcium and phosphorus and in many ways acts as a hormone. The two most important forms of vitamin D are cholecalciferol (D3), which is derived from our own cholesterol and ergocalciferol (D2), a plant analogue derived from the diet.

A dietary deficiency of vitamin D inhibits the production of the protein that binds calcium in the intestines, so that calcium cannot be absorbed, even if there is adequate intake of calcium. Vitamin D is potent in minute quantities; one microgram of cholecalciferol has 40 IU of vitamin D activity. In the skin, cholesterol-like precursor is transformed by UV to a similar product called cholecalciferol, or vitamin D3. However, although they possess biological activity, neither vitamin D2 nor D3 is the most active form of vitamin D. The diet is very low in vitamin D, unless you're consuming fish liver. Fortified foods, primarily dairy, are our major sources and may be produced by irradiation or by addition of synthetic forms of the vitamin. I personally don't recommend that anyone over the age of 2 consume milk. That's why vitamin D3 is in vitamins, when you don't consume enough D3 in your diet or have it synthesized from sun exposure. Depending on the color of your skin, absorption becomes more difficult as melanin increases. Tanning actually prevents the absorption of UV rays to make D3 in your body. Most people are deficient in vitamin D. They now even recommend breastfeeding mothers to supplement their babies with Vit D3. Not enough is passed through to the milk.

The vitamins that I take have extra D3 and the calcium complex has D3. Also Pantothenic acid is necessary for the biological synthesis of vitamin D. Pantothenic acid is also in my vitamins. However there is no iron. But iron pills are inexpensive. It's all connected together in one way or another and nutritional balance is the key.

I take two vitamins with one calcium complex pill three times a day. Then I take two additional calcium pills in the evening...but my calcium needs are greater becuase I still have a little baby to feed. This gives me more than 3,000mg. I would advise anyone to take two vitamins w/one calcium pill 3x's/day and see the results after two weeks. If you see relief but it is still not cleared up, add another calcium pill to one of your vitamin doses, and then another every two weeks until you see what you balance is. Once you reach your balance and are eating healthy, you should maintain the dose for several months and then you can reduce your intake to maintain your levels. Make sure your water intake is adequate.

An organic form of iron (ferrous gluconate) should be taken with Orange Juice and you should not consume dairy within two hours to inhibit absorption. You don't have to take iron with your other vitamins. Just take it between meals when you have a glass of OJ.

Have you tried the Meyer's cocktail for fibromyalgia? Check out www.longevityhouston.com and www.endfatigue.com. It is extremely helpful even after one treatment, but several provide better results. The wellness clinic I work at treats chronic fatigue and fibromyalga with the Meyer's cocktail IV infusions and enzyme therapy. I can recommend an enzyme if you are interested. I think you said you detoxed - was it fiber, enzyme or chelating? Chelating removes all heavy metals from your body - even the necessary ones. We always give supplemental minerals to compensate for the loss after chelation. Have you had a heavy metal profile done? High mercury levels have been behind fibromyalga and chelation is necessary to deal with that. From what I understand about fibromyalgia, it is a deficiency of certain vitamins, minerals or enzymes or heavy metal poisoning. We treat through the IV because you get greater tissue saturation and cellular absorption with our higher does of vitamins and EDTA for chelation. You have to bypass the digestive tract to achieve these levels so they will not be toxic to the organs or cause kidney damage. I myself do IV infusions of 25g of Vit C with 50mg of Alpha Lipoic Acid (antioxidant) to keep me healthy and my skin in good condition now that I got rid of KP. Good Luck! denise@spa-medical.com

Thanks Denise, that was really helpful. I went to the health shop today and bought good multi vitamins and also calcium with D3 added. I could have bought tons of stuff but I'm having to take this a little at a time as it's all a bit much to take in.

I will definitely check out the ME info you gave me and get back to you once I've read up on it.

Thanks again for your help! You should write a book. You've got a ready made market here on the forum! I for one would buy a copy.

Denise how much mg's would you suggest i take of calcium daily, the RDA is 800-1400 mg...and i bought a calcium formula with calcium carbonate, magnesium oxide, borax, cholecalciferol (vit d3), folic acid and pyridoxine hydrochloride containing 1.5 mg of calcium carbonate. Would you suggest i just take 1 of these tablets daily with or without meals? Or do you think i should take 2 daily equalling 3000 mg daily or is this too much as it is over the reccomended daily allowance. Or perhaps it would be a good idea to take more than reccomended if i am deficient?

Now that you mention it, my keratosis pilaris had virtually disappeared during the time I cut all the sugar out of my diet and was taking my vitamins on a daily basis. (This was also during summer and I was tanning often and in Chicago it was very humid that summer and I spent alot of time outside which I'm sure didn't hurt) Not to mention I lost 40 lbs while doing so! Now my eating habits are **** again and its back and worse than ever.

I would assume its different for every person slightly, but thanks for pointing this out denise! I had not made the correlation myself. Maybe it's time to cut down on the twizzlers and noodles

I have heard (from the nurses I work with) that the body can only absorb so much calcium at a time, so it needs to be evenly disbursed throughout the day to ensure maximum absorbtion!

call me at the office 713-522-4037 and we can talk about vitamins and what it costs.

Hi, I would like to update you guys on my supplementation with calcium, evening primrose oil and omega 3.

I have been using omega 3 for over a month. Just this week I have added evening primrose oil 3x a day(1300mg) and Calcimate from GNC 4 tablets (it has vit D, magnesium and potassium) a day. I would say the spots and redness have improved a lot. It's still there but I hope it would subside even more after a month or two. I drink fresh carrot juice about 2-3 times a week.

I am planning to tan myself lightly to speed up the improvement of my condition.

So, those with KP, do try Denise's recommendation on supplementation of Calcium and also include essential fatty acids.

Thanks Denise and the rest for valuable suggestions and findings.

I grew up in Italy, and that was the time when my KP was worst...no wonder all that pasta and pizza I ate! I still do but since I have changed my diet and have added a lot more water, and taken care of my skin more with body scrubs and moisurizers, my KP is under control. It was refreshing to read you messages, also because I just found out that the redness and the bumps have a name.

do you guys still think that stress is anything anymore....????
well at least i dont have 2 spend 30.00 on a juicer lol!!

OKAY SO IM CONFUSED!!!!?????????????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!:conf used: Im just gonna point out what i think people need to do to help kp!!hehe

*Get more sun !!but use sunblock!!!!plz!!!hehe
*dont go on any fad diets or stuff like that !!!eat low sugar and make smart choices!!
*supplement w/calcium and essiential oils
*actually i think even if it does or doesnt play a part in kp, ppl should get more vit. a any way. i mean, i dont pay that much attention so maybe its just me!!
*try not to eat junk food
i actually am starting to think that kp is good cuz its making people eat healthier!!!jkjkjkC U !

Denise,

First of all, thank you for sharing your helpful information!

But I was also wondering (most importantly almost), does this get rid of scarring, and/or the hyper pigmentation of the bumps? Are you able to wear tanktops and sleeveless shirts again??

It's really for people who DON'T tan, like me. I don't tan at all. Sun exposure for the sake of vitamin D is obviously good, but 10 minutes every day isn't the best thing. Well at least for me. I take minocycline and I seem to burn really easily with it. It must be one of those medications you're talking about that makes you photosensitive. Tanning is basically just your skin producing melanin, which is a counter-act to the sun, it reduces free radicals. UV rays are carcinogenic and DO cause cancer (through free radicals??), so if you burn like me I wouldn't reccomend you go out and sunbathe every day UV exposure does age your skin..

Just sayin this for the people like me who burn easily. But yea like you said even if you do tan i would definately reccomend at least using a light sunscreen like spf 15. because that still does let SOME uv rays through but you're not getting bombarded