Dr Hemant Thacker
Nov 2 is D-Day – Yes, Vitamin D day. Despite being a sun-rich country, more than 70% of the Indian population across all age groups is D-deficient. The normal value of Vitamin D3 is between 30 and 100 but you should not be satisfied with 35. Aspire for 60, which is closer to the mean and gives you a buffer, so aim for that rather than roost at low-normal.
As they say in common parlance, everyone deserves their time in the sun (to mean a phase of glory in life), but we in medicine preach: you must always have a regular place in the sun. Now here’s the punchline – patients repeatedly come to the clinic for every annual check-up with inadequate levels. It is absolutely mandatory to understand that the quick course is to catch up the levels BUT the monthly course is to MAINTAIN it. You don’t brush your teeth in a ‘course’ format but do it every day and like so, D intake must be regular and punctual if you want to retain your muscle and body strength. Again, our patients are a docile and easily satisfied lot when it comes to reports. over-correction is a problem While correction of low levels is easy (best done with oral capsules and shots and doesn’t require injections). When patients go symptom-shopping and doctor-hopping without disclosing the previous prescription, they run the risk of hypervitaminosis D, which is a known syndrome and needs to be avoided.
On enquiry, they confess that they took the advised ‘course’ in the last year’s prescription but not the maintenance.