Considering the major buzz around here about Vitamin D, I just started taking 2,000 IU's yesterday. I just got back from the doctor today, and had a Vitamin D blood test drawn on the spot! The doctor is going to contact me on Friday with the results, and let me know what the proper dosage is that I need to take! Also, just a week ago I decided to try out some Garlic supplements, after doing some research on the health benefits of garlic. Here is my current daily vitamin regimen, and good diet...of course! The doctor told me that 2,000 IU's of Vitamin D was a good and safe starting point.
2,000 IU Vitamin D
2,000 mg Garlic
500 mg Psyllium Husk
3 Billion cultures of Probiotics
Unfortunately, I don't have any news today. I contacted the doctor, and they didn't have any results. They claimed that they didn't draw enough blood, and had an insufficient sample. Anyway, after doing some research, they had administered the wrong test! I had a "redraw" today with the correct test. I should have some news on Monday. Be advised, get the the correct test for your Vitamin D level. It IS Vitamin D 25 Hydroxy Level Test, NOT, Vitamin D 1,25 Dihydroxy Level Test. At least, the clinic admitted their mistake, and did not charge me! If they try to give you the 2nd test I mentioned, simply refuse, and request the 1st one I mentioned! I will bump up my dosage to 4,000 IU's for now until I get my results.
I just got my results back and I scored a 41. They told me that this was on the low end of a scale based on 30 - 100. The doctor had told me to continue taking 2,000 IU's a day (LOL!). I just bumped my doasge up to 6,000 IU's. The recommended dosage to bump up your Vitamin D level is between 7,000 - 8,000 IU's a day for 3 months. Your level needs to be between 50 - 80 for a healthy level. After 3 months, the suggested maintenance dosage is between 4,000 - 5,000 IU's daily, so there you have it!
Vit D3 does not work. I've been "tricked" into thinking it did - took softgels for 2 weeks, and liquid d3 for 2 weeks. Don't bother.
I'm sorry that Vitamin D-3 didn't work for you. I don't have a verdict on D-3 yet, being this is only my 16th day on it. I feel the same exact way about Vitamin B5, made me break out worse, and just made me feel horrible overall! I don't see how these idiots megadose on this stuff! I've tried taking Caprylic Acid as well, according to an Anti-Candida website, again...did absolutely nothing! Presently, I'm taking D-3 only to try and isolate it. The OP mentions that they cleared up after 2 months from a low dosage, I wonder if it's still holding up for them?
Hey all,
Wow... I haven't been back in a long time. This thread is enormous!!!
Just wanted to come back and give an update, in case anyone was still curious.
I'm still, well, pretty much completely clear (kind of the reason I haven't been back). I continued to take approximately 2000 IU/day until about 3 months ago, when I moved to a sunnier climate and have been making an effort to spend some time out of doors. Before moving, I would back off the dosage a little during the summers, when I was getting outside, and increase it in the winters. I've stopped taking the D now that I've been getting a little sunshine every day in this new place (am actually a little tan for the first time ever), and the acne hasn't come back, so hopefully that's a good sign. Will keep an eye out for what happens this winter.
For all the people the D has worked for: yaaaaaaaaaaaay!! It makes me really happy to read other people's success stories 
Hopefully it's still working for you!
For the ones it hasn't, I'm really sorry to hear it -- all I can say is, not everyone's acne is caused by the same thing, so I really hope you find your cause soon. At least you eliminated one possible cause!
lllhhk, I know how disappointing that is, I'm sorry you think anyone was trying to "trick" you. Acne seems to be a manifestation of all kinds of different things, and just because it's D deficiency for some people doesn't mean it is for everyone. I guess you could try the supplements for a little longer... but if you live in a sunny climate already, it's probably unlikely that D deficiency is a problem for you. Best of luck in your search!
A
Oh, to CoolGuy: yep, still workin! Hmmm, I actually don't remember how long I was taking the supplements before I started seeing some results, though. Definitely after 2 months, but maybe I was already seeing the effects after 1 month?
I happened to luck out with some trial and error, but in general, I think it's a good idea to get a test and recommendations from a doc, to see if it's something that could help. I'd hate to be responsible for anyone taking megadoses that they don't need, and making themselves sick... Or, conversely, for anyone to end up not taking enough, and then missing out on what could be beneficial. So, yeah, if you don't happen to get lucky taking a low dose for a few weeks, but you still suspect you're deficient, it might be worth an actual doc visit, to find out.
Looking back at the thread, there seems to be a lot of debate as to what form to take. I don't really know any better than anyone else, but I can tell you what I used: mostly liquid softgels, and occasionally the liquid drops. Strangely, I *did* actually try the dry tablets for a while, and the acne started to come back a bit. I switched back to the softgels, and it cleared back up. I'm not sure what's going on there, but FWIW, I had better personal success with the softgels. (In the form of 2x1000 IU pills/day, of D3, cholecalciferol.)
3 weeks ago. I had recently stopped the Paleo Diet as after a month it hadn't effected my acne at all. Just as it ended I bought some cod liver oil and D3 (heard you needed the A for the D to work) that I was going to start taking. Even though I went off the diet I thought what the heck and started taking them anyways.
Well even as I was beginning to go back to sodas, pizza, junk food in large quantities, my acne finally started actually getting better every day. I had fallen hard from the restrictive diet and was drinking tons of caffeine (3+ cups a day), getting 6 hours of sleep a night several nights in a row, drinking, and eating absolute crap. All things I'd noticed precipitate bad episodes before, yet now my skin is doing great.
This has been going on around 3 weeks now. All I take is daily cod liver oil (4 or 5 caps) and Vitamin D3 (2000-3000 mgs). I take a zinc, b-complex, and a probiotic every 3 days or so, although I always took those last 3.
Found this thread after thinking maybe the D3 was causing it. NOTE: I have previously in my life gone on a tanning spree which completely cleared my acne while I did it. It came back with a vengeance when I stopped, and at the time I bought into the theory that the radiation killed bacteria on the skin or something rather than the vitamin D theory. Also I had long since noticed that just getting a bit more sun made my skin a bit better.
If you don't get a lot of sun everyday, or have ever noticed tanning/sunlight improves your acne a little, try taking the D3 (possibly with A) and see if a deficiency is the problem. I literally noticed within 3 days my skin was looking better.
This is why getting in the sun is so important, the sun provides vitamin D and helps heal the skin and create nutrition throughout the rest of your body on the skin to heal it!
Get in the sun, and don't wear sunscreen because it blocks the vitmain D and UV rays which are actually good! Just in balance of course!
Thanks for the post!
Alright, so this is my first post on here..
For starters I'm 20 years old and have had moderate to severe acne since I was about 13. I have tried so many different regimens, topical prescriptions, anti-biotics, and when my derm finally recommended Accutane I was extremely hesitant and after much research and forum lurking.. I opted to try out a high dose of Vitamin A. I just purchased 10,000IU at my local Vitamin World and have taken 2 a day for the past 3 days.
Now after reading this entire thread, all 11 pages of it, I am not sure which vitamin seems to be the miracle vitamin.
It seems as though everyone has had different experiences with both, and I am eager to try both. I am desperate for anything at this point.
I literally just ran out and bought a bottle of 1,000IU vitamin D3 and took 2 today in addition to my multi that has 1000IU of D3 in it. I also took just 1 of my 10,000IU vitamin A. I don't know if this is overdoing it with the D3 and the A? Just experimentation I suppose. I believe I saw that one or two people were successful with the combination, but I also think I read someone advising against it. If anyone has an experience with the combination of these 2 vitamins I would love to know how it worked out for you.
and also, thank you to everyone for posting your stories, whether it worked or didn't.. it gives hope to those of us who have yet to find a solution!
I have been taking Vitamin D for a few months now after seeing this thread (thanks a million OP!), and it has definitely helped. Within a day or 2 my skin started looking healthier overall. I take 3-4 pills a day of I believe1,000 IU, that seems safe and Vitamin D is pretty cheap anyway (CVS even had a 2-for-1 sale so I bought 2 big bottles for $20.) I also take a regular multivitamin (when I remember.)
There must be many different biological reasons for why different people get acne, so there's probably never going to be one cure for everyone. But the one recurring theme here seems to be that if you are one of those who notice your skin often gets better after getting sun, then there's a great chance that Vitamin D is going to help you in a very similar way. I have always noticed the same thing, and it was that aspect that convinced me to try this.
I'm pretty certain this hasn't been random luck, just as I was pretty certain in the past that sun improved my skin's appearance. The good thing is now I don't need to worry about skin cancer (though I still like getting sun!)
Just wanted to join in on the Vitamin D love bandwagon! I came on here a little over a month ago, looking for answers as to why my skin gets so bad in the winter and great in the summer, and came across Dan's articles about Vitamin D and saw this thread. I had visited this page frequently last year during the winter, and picked up on taking fish oil and zinc (which wasn't very effective for me, but I still take for general good health), but somehow overlooked Vitamin D. I never noticed the summer vs. winter trend before, because when my skin was bad as a teenager it was pretty much all year 'round. I posted on the adult acne board about this, and swore on Dec. 8th that I would start taking Vitamin D3 and moisturize my skin better (as I thought dry skin was contributing to the pore-clogging).
This is the response I wrote in the thread just now. It also refers to my use of grapeseed oil, but I think the Vitamin D3 was the real benefactor.
"Okay, so it has been a little over a month since my last post, and I have good news. My skin has drastically improved, and faster than I've ever seen before. I've done mainly two new things with my skin regimen. I've used grapeseed oil as a pre-cleanse and I've taken Vitamin D on a daily basis.
I have grapeseed oil for when I tried the oil-cleansing method last year (which was BAD BAD NEWS for my skin), and remembered reading on makeupalley.com reviews for grapeseed oil that a few people use it as a "pre-cleanse". Take a few drops, rub it around I suppose like you would with an OCM (I do this especially around the eye area to lift up stubborn makeup). I'll then use a small bit of cetaphil, and sort of dissolve the oil away. I'll sprinkle in some baking soda with the cetaphil if I'm feeling especially gross, like when I work a 16 hour shift. One weekend, which I spent away from the apartment, I forgot my cleanser, and had only the grapeseed oil and witch hazel toner. I don't like using other people's cleansers, so I used the oil and just swiped away all the grime with witch hazel and a cotton ball. It's sort of a gross sight, and it took a lot of swiping, but my skin felt baby smooth afterwards, I didn't even need to moisturize. I felt like my pores were clogged and on a verge of a breakout (which happens a lot on the weekend because I get more negligent, having less of a routine), but all the slight under the skin bumps I felt shrank away.
I've only consistently started using grapeseed oil recently, though, so I don't know if I can give complete credit to it for the skin improvement. Right after my post on December 8th, however, I started taking Vitamin D by Nature Made, 2000 IUs, the soft gels (which by the way are really pretty! lol). I take about 3-4 a day (6,000-8,000 IUs). I don't want to say it works immediately, because that usually isn't the case with supplements, but my skin seemed to improve right away when I thought it would take a month or two of regular consumption. Sometimes I'll forget, and I think I feel a breakout coming on, and I'll take 4-5, and I could almost swear it gets better the next day, as crazy as that sounds. Even if I have a break out, they don't seem to hit a peak and get all inflamed and gross, they see to pop up a bit and then dwindle away.
Right before I was doing this routine, my skin was nonstop breaking out. Once one pimple went away, another quickly took its place. The texture of my skin felt uneven (ever get that feeling that you're oily and dry at the same time somehow? and not just the T-zone verses the cheeks, but in the same place), old pimples were taking long to heal, it was a mess. Except for when the weather turns to summer, I have never seen my skin change so quick, which is why I'm more inclined to believe it's the Vitamin D that's been helping. I've patiently been taking fish oil and zinc along with my multivitamin, expecting to see a change, and aside from crazy strong nails, I wasn't seeing any change. I really really wish I took this as a teenager, might have saved me a lot of embarrassment! Oh well, it's a part of adolescence.
Another thing I learned from the experience though, is not to be afraid to moisturize your skin. I always associated moisturizing with pore-clogging, and I just don't think that's the case. I don't know how to explain my acne, because if you read enough of the boards or any source on acne, really, you'll see everyone has a different explanation for how it occurs and have different "philosophies" towards skin care. But I think layers of dry skin were clogging my pores, if that makes any sense. I think they need to be opened and cleaned, but replaced with moisture. I think. At least, that's what's working for me, personally. Everyone's skin is different. If you're ethnic (I'm a Filipina), have a history of cystic acne and hyperpigmentation, and your skin does well in the summer but not the winter, I'd say there's a good chance my regimen might work in your favor.
So my regimen is:
Night :
(I'll start with at night, because that's when my face is the dirtiest)
Slather and rub about 3-4 drops of grape seed oil all over my face.(I'll brush my teeth after this to let it sink in a bit)
Cleanse with a squirt of Cetaphil, with a sprinkle of baking soda. Really thoroughly but gently rub all around, dissolving the daily grime.
Tone with my ACV+Green tea toner.
Moisturize with a dot of aloe vera gel + jojoba oil or emu oil, depending. (I find emu oil more emollient, so I might use it when my skin feels more chapped. Sometimes I use avocado oil because it will give me amazingly smooth and evened out skin in the morning, but before with regular use, I started breaking out.)
Morning:
Slather and rub face with grapeseed oil. Much less than the night before, just enough to spread a thin film over my face.
Tone with witch hazel.
Moisturize with aloe vera + jojoba oil (jojoba oil feels more appropriate for the day, for me).
Throughout the day, I take
2 triple-strength fish oil supplements (from GNC), 900 mg each, 1800 mg the entire day
3-4 Vitamin D3 softgels (Nature Made)
With later meals, I take 50 mg zinc and my multivitamin, because they tend to make me nauseous in the morning even when taken with food. I need to take it on a much fuller stomach.
I hope this helps someone!"
I so, so, so wish that I thought to take Vitamin D sooner! I don't know what I'd do without forums like these, probably be wasting away money on the newest pretty-looking Neutrogena product over and over again. (Not to knock the whole Neutrogena line, but I've just found that gentle and natural works best for me. Most drugstore products I think have confused my skin, I just went straight for Neutrogena all the time because it was aimed at my demographic so much when I was a teen).
Hi- I am glad that some have had success with Vitamin D, but it has done the opposite for me. I have had acne for going on 15 years (age 27) and started having hormonal acne at age 18. I have tried everything under the sun! You name it, I tried it. I recently started taking Vitamin D after everyone has raved about it. I took it for the last two weeks, and my skin has broken out like never before. I did not get any new cystic acne, but I have woken up with 2-4 new small pustules everyday for a week! This has never happened before! Seriously, they were all over my chin. So, yesterday, I stopped taking it, and woke up this morning with now new zits. It has to be the Vitamin D for me. I know I am likely deficient too because I never go out in the sun and always wear sunscreen. I think that this is the reason that Vitamin D has not gotten more awareness- because it doesn't work for everyone.
I am curious. Has anyone else like me broke out over Vitamin D? I was taking 800 IUs per day. I know 2 weeks is not a very long time, but I had to stop because it was making everything worse.
I have decided to read and follow the Clear Skin Diet, and interestingly Vitamin D is not mentioned. Here is my new regimen to regulate my hormonal levels, other than oral contraceptives:
Chromium 500 mg, Vitamin A 2000 IU, Cinnamon, Calcium/ Magnesium/ Zinc (Zinc- 15), Lipoic Acid, and finally probiotics. I am also cutting out sugar and carbohydrates and keeping a clear skin dietary log.
**Correct, I meant to say "I woke up with NO new zits after stopping Vitamin D." It's definitely not the answer for me.
