Vitamin D - follow up question from pod

Medical Q&A [Moderated]
1

Hi Drs

I supplement with vitamin D3, as advised to by my Dr due to my kidney transplant (due to IgA Nephropathy, an auto-immune condition) and therefore also the general advice to be cautious with time in the sun due to increased skin cancer risk due to the anti-rejection medications. That’s all good.

I’d not heard before that there was potential interaction with/effects on absorption due to taking steroids. I’m on 5mg of pred per day (Austin kindly responded to a question of mine on this some time ago) - so if I have understood correctly, there’s potential interaction between that and the vitamin D3 supplement absorption, is that right? If so, would it possibly be beneficial to consider the timing of when I take each, trying to separate them at different ends of the day?

Thanks
Matt

2

Nope, this isn’t really worth worrying about in your situation - and given your medical issues, I suspect that your vitamin D levels and your kidney function are both being monitored with regular lab work, which will tell you (and your doctor) what you need to know!

3

Thanks, Austin. Interestingly it appears my vitamin D levels have never been tested, as there are no results on my log (renal patients can access all our blood test data in the UK). Of course all standard kidney function measures are regularly tested.

4

I see. For individuals in whom it is deemed necessary to supplement, I would recommend monitoring levels. Conversely, if levels don’t need to be monitored, chances are the individual doesn’t need to be supplementing.