LATEST VITAMIN D NEWS
Dr. John Cannell issued a press release from the Vitamin D Council on 4/2/2010, www.vitamindcouncil.org. The press release states that SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse New York has established a strong association between pelvic floor disorders in women with low vitamin D levels. According to a research paper by Dr. Samuel Badalian and Paula Rosenbaum (publicly-available abstract below), it has been found that 23% of American women over the age of 20 have a pelvic floor disorder, which is commonly known to lead to urinary incontinence. While risk factors such as weight and childbirth seem to increase the risk of pelvic floor disorders and urinary incontinence, it was found that resolving low levels of vitamin D could improve pelvic muscle strength, thereby reducing the number of pelvic floor and urinary incontinence cases.
ABSTRACT
Vitamin D and pelvic floor disorders in women: results from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
Badalian SS, Rosenbaum PF., Obstet Gynecol. 2010 Apr;115(4):795-803.
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, SUNY Upstate Medical University, and Gynecology and Urogynecology Center, St. Joseph's Hospital Health Center, Syracuse, New York 13203, USA. badalian@netzero.com
OBJECTIVE: To estimate the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in women with pelvic floor disorders and to evaluate possible associations between vitamin D levels and pelvic floor disorders. METHODS: Using 2005-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data, we performed a cross-sectional analysis of nonpregnant women older than 20 years of age with data on both pelvic floor disorders and vitamin D measurements (n=1,881). Vitamin D levels lower than 30 ng/mL were considered insufficient. The prevalence of demographic factors, pelvic floor disorders, and vitamin D levels were determined, accounting for the multi-stage sampling design; odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated to evaluate associations between vitamin D levels and pelvic floor disorders with control for known risk factors. RESULTS: One or more pelvic floor disorders were reported by 23% of women. Mean vitamin D levels were significantly lower for women reporting at least one pelvic floor disorder and for those with urinary incontinence, irrespective of age. In adjusted logistic regression models, we observed significantly decreased risks of one or more pelvic floor disorders with increasing vitamin D levels in all women aged 20 or older (OR, 0.94; 95% CI, 0.88-0.99) and in the subset of women 50 years and older (OR, 0.92; 95% CI, 0.85-0.99). Additionally, the likelihood of urinary incontinence was significantly reduced in women 50 and older with vitamin D levels 30 ng/mL or higher (OR, 0.55; 95% CI, 0.34-0.91). CONCLUSION: Higher vitamin D levels are associated with a decreased risk of pelvic floor disorders in women. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: III.
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I have just found out I have to have sugery cause of my pelvic floor has fallen ,Doctor test me low on D .
So can you tellme how long down time and how long can't take care of myself ,I'm 62 have diabetes and a heart thing going on too.
Have done heavy lifting all my working years getting ready to retire before my surgery
thanks for all your help Barb
Hi, Barbara, you'd have to ask the surgeon what he/she thinks would be the down time for this type of surgery. My mom had this type of surgery a few years ago, and in my own experience, it really helped to stay with her for two weeks. My mom's bladder stopped working a few days after surgery, and she had to go to the ER and get on to a catheter for about a week until her bladder kicked back in again. We were told that this is common after surgery like this, and you really need some kind of support system set up to be prepared. Also, stock up on really simple foods that you can eat, especially some easily digestible foods. I always have have a big bag of ice chips in the freezer for anyone coming out of surgery -- that has always been a handy thing to have to put in your mouth and help keep you hydrated as well as calm the stomach.
Did your doctor actually give you a vitamin D level? If not, can you find out? I would definitely get your D levels up before the surgery, and it can take about 6 months to do this depending how deficient you are. I would try to get to the high end of normal. I am doing research on the antimicrobial peptides that vitamin D helps produce, and they are really strong natural antibiotics, anti-virals, and anti-fungals, all things that your body could use during your recovery and thereafter. If your D levels are low, you aren't going to get much antimicrobial action. I would also make sure you get at least the USRDA of magnesium and calcium. There are other minerals, too, like zinc and boron. You can read about these at www.vitamindcouncil.org.
Take care.
I found out 3 years ago I had low vitamin d and I was fortunate I didn't cause any problems, now my vitamin d is at a normal level. I take 2 2000mg daily and 50,000 once a week and it brought my level to normal and it has stayed.
Just wondering, what about the women that have had a hysterectomy with uterus removed? Any tests that
you know of that have helped with "pelvic floor disorders" ?
Dear Binky, you are one of the lucky ones!! Congratulations!
Dear Sludge, maybe this will help: a 72-year-old friend of mine (who gave me permission to tell her story) had pelvic floor pain, including bladder pain and urinary incontinence/urgency for 30 years. About 20 years ago, she had a hysterectomy with uterus removed but I believe ovaries retained that was supposed to correct the problem, but it didn't. Several years ago, she had a cystoscopy and was diagnosed with IC and told that she should have a bladder distention procedure, which she decided againt. Over the last 20 yrs, she was treated as a patient with depression, but antidepressants and therapy helped very little if at all. A year ago, she attended a chronic pain class and learned about vit D for chronic pain. Her vit D level was found to be 5 ng/ml, a severe deficiency. 5 months after taking 50,000 IU's of D a week and another 2,000-4,000 IU's of D per day, along with 400 mg magnesium/day and USRDA of iodine (150 mcg), the bladder pain subsided. However, for the first 4 months, she experienced increased bladder pain and an achiness in her kidney area, so if you do get a vit D deficiency treated, expect that it may be rough going for the first several months. During this period, she was checked for kidney and bladder abnormalities. Periodically, she had a slight increase in bacterial count that never grew anything out and a slight amount of protein in the urine, but her doctors never considered this serious. She was given short runs of antibiotics for potential bacterial infections. One day, about 4 mo's after starting the D therapy, the kidney pain subsided. 5 mo's later, the bladder pain and urinary urgency subsided. She still has some ups and downs, but there are more ups now than downs. Her D level is now 40 ng/ml, and she is now trying to increase it. I have a similar story but without the hysterectomy. I am keeping my D level at 100 ng/ml. I hope this helps you!
OK, so perhaps I'm not losing my mind! I've been on 50,000iu / week for three weeks now, and my bladder is driving me crazy. I've had UTI's all my life - and they feel exactly like what I'm experiencing right now only my dr. keeps coming up negative on urine cultures. I've noticed that it is worse the day or two after I take the capsule - so perhaps this is the problem. I'm on the huge dose for 9 more weeks before retesting, hopefully this will get better. Am taking cranberry capsules daily and drinking huge amounts of water. I'm hopeful that, as Larissalle noted about their friend, this will be temporary.
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