Vit D Deficiency and epilepsy

by Donna Webster
(East Anglia)

I am 36 Years old and have had Epilepsy for 10 yrs + and have try various medication over the years I had brain surgery (right temprolobectomy)last year.

I am now on Lamotrigine 200mg daily, Pregablin 400mg daily and Epinutin 200mg daily. This is a recent dosage change but been on these drugs for at least 8 yrs. the lamotrigine since day 1.

I have just been told that I have Vit D Deficiency with a level of 21 nmol/l and I've been put on Calcichew 2 daily. I also have a family history of Osteoporosis.

Any advice please if I'm still on Epileptic drugs with the possibility of the drugs weakening the bones and a family history of osteoporosis. Will the Calcichew work to fix my vit d deficiency?

Thanks
Donna Webster

Comments for Vit D Deficiency and epilepsy

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Vitamin D Deficiency and Calcichew
by: Kerri Knox, RN-The Immune Queen!

Hi Donna,

No, none of your medications should have any interactions with Vitamin D. As far as I am aware Carbemazepine is the only Anticonvulsant that may make you need more Vitamin D.

As far as Calcichew is concerned, if it is the Calcichew with D, then you are taking a total of 2000 mg of Calcium and only 1600 IU's of Vitamin D.

This is not nearly enough Vitamin D to correct your fairly severe deficiency. You should ask your doctor to put you on a more aggressive Vitamin D Supplementation protocol such as 50,000 IU's per week for 8 to 12 weeks.

After that, you should Check Your Vitamin D Level again to make sure that your vitamin D serum levels are in the 'optimum range' of between 40-60 ng/ml.

Also, the Calcium in Calcichew is Calcium Carbonate- not the best choice. It is inexpensive and readily available in stores, but it is not so readily available for our bodies and the calcium absorption is much less than other forms.

A better choice of Calcium is between 1000 to 1500 mg of Calcium Citrate or Calcium Maleate. You may also want to consider taking a combination Calcium and Magnesium Supplement.

In fact, magnesium supplementation has been found to be helpful in some cases of Epilepsy and is being found more and more to be such an important nutrient- one that we are missing out on terribly when we eat processed foods and sugar.

I hope that this helped.

Kerri Knox, RN- The Immune Queen
Functional Medicine Practitioner
Easy Immune Health.com

Update
by: Donna

I have started my Calichew tablets (calcium carbonate)and been put on 1 x 500mg tablet in morning and 1 x 500mg at night.

The one that take at night I must take this 1-2 hours after my Epilepsy medication as it could prevent the absorption of my Phenytoin.

Thanks,
Donna

Consider Supplementation with Higher Quality Products
by: Kerri Knox, RN-The Immune Queen!

Donna, you may want to consider higher quality supplementation of your calcium and magnesium with a Stand Alone Vitamin D Supplement so that you can take more Vitamin D in order to correct your deficiency.

There are two problems with your Calchichew:

1) You are unlikely to absorb very much of your Calcium due to its poor quality. Calcium Carbonate is difficult to absorb, so is not a good choice of calcium.

2) You will not get enough Vitamin D with the Calchichew and you are going to still be deficient. You will need much higher dosages in order to correct your deficiency.

So, again. It would be wise to consider a Stand Alone Vitamin D Supplement and preferably consider a High Quality Multivitamin and Mineral Daily Pack

This high quality Multivitamin has it all. Not only is it a Multivitamin, but a mineral supplement too. But the reason that I'm recommending it is because it has a much higher quality Calcium supplementation than Calcichew AND it has 500 mg of a very absorbable magnesium and 5000 IU's of Vitamin D- along with trace minerals and antioxidants, among other things.

While the actual amount of calcium is less than what you are taking now, you are going to be ABSORBING much more and you will actually be getting more calcium than you are now!!

So, ditch the Calchichew, Donna, and get some good quality vitamins and minerals that your body needs and wants. You might be surprised at how it makes you feel!

Kerri Knox, RN- The Immune Queen
Functional Medicine Practitioner
Easy Immune Health.com

Vit D Deficiency and epilepsy
by: Will

Hi Kerry & Donna, I realise that we're all unique individuals and many doctors fail to recognise that one size does not fit all.
I'm in the UK and was relying on the NHS for treatment. I've been taking Phenytoin (Epanutin) and Primidone (Mysoline)since 1969 and in 1987, when my seizures became intractable, Lamotrigine (Lamictal) was added.
In November 2011 I had to order a private Vitamin D test after being repeatedly denied one by my GP. I took the results of 34 nmols/L to my GP and he had to ask me to leave it with him to telephone the hospital’s biochemist for an interpretation and treatment protocol?
From my research I had already prepared myself with 360 x 5000 iu’s of vitamin D3 and so I was somewhat dismayed when 400 IU’s twice daily was prescribed. My opinion, and I’m only a chippie and sparky by trade, was woefully inadequate. I continued my regimen and retested in Feb 12 and my D3 came in at 98.6 nmols/L. Virtually bang in the middle of the supposed UK optimum of 75 – 125 nmols/L.
I continued throughout the summer months on 5000 IU's, retested in September '12 and my level had only increased to 111.9 nmols/L.
With Vitamin D being fat soluble it probably took quite a few years to deplete and I'm now wondering if orthodox medicine was to recognise vitamin deficiencies the Lamotrigine was probably unnecessary?
Like Donna my GP was advised to prescribe a similar D3 supplement called Calceos containing 400 IU's of Cholecalciferol and 1200 mgs of Calcium Carbonate. As Kerry mentions not the best Calcium.
I read Dr Carolyn Deans recommendation of Calcium Citrate and Magnesium Citrate.
I'm absolutely disgusted at witnessing the disparity between private and NHS medication. Thank God for the internet and our ability to share experiences on social networks.
As we can not include hyperlinks please Google Pubmed's "Effect of long-term treatment with antiepileptic drugs on the vitamin status."
Many a time a CBC was performed and I had a Folate deficiency, obviously treated with Folate 5 mg. But Sally Pachalok's book, "Could it be B12?" warns that this can mask a B12 deficiency.
There is so much more information available.

Kind regards, Will

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