It’s (way past) time to stop prescribing with Vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol)

IT'S TIME TO STOP PRESCRIBING ERGOCALCIFEROL.

Endocr Pract. 2018 Oct 5. doi: 10.4158/EP-2018-0415. [Epub ahead of print]

Binkley NC1,2, Wiebe DA1,3.

Abstract is behind a paywall

Summary of points from the study

• Unsure how much vitamin D is needed > 15ng, >20ng, >30ng (does not mention >40 ng)

• Large variability between vitamin D test results (Probably true for both D3 and D2))

• Most people have small amounts of D2 vs D3 (except indoor vegans?)

• D2 provides less response than D3

Additional studies on reasons to not use D2 - from VitaminDWiki

• Overview Vitamin D3 not D2

• Loading dose of Vitamin D2 REDUCED vitamin D blood in a third of the patients – Jan 2015 many studies have sound similar results

• Nurses still wondering when to use Vitamin D2 (vets decided a decade ago to not use D2 on any mammals) – April 2017

• Following large doses of vitamin D2, Vitamin D3 doses were unable to achieve sufficiency – Jan 2014

• Vitamin D reduces risk of cause specific death, unless it is D2 – meta-analysis BMJ April 2014

• D2 may reduce academic performance – Dec 2012

  D2 was found first, is far more expensive, is only available via prescription, is only available in a few forms and sizes

D2 still being prescribed in many places

• 372 types of vitamin D prescriptions in France, 200,000 IU was the most popular – Oct 2013

• PDR still lists ergocalciferol in 2018 "dietary source of Vitamin D"

  • It contains all of the information normally associated with just Vitamin D3, but "D3" does not occur once in the long article
  • along with many errors - such as "...vitamin D can increase serum magnesium concentrations"
  • "Ergocalciferol (Vitamin D2) is classified as FDA pregnancy risk category C"
  • "Maximal clinical effects of a given dosage are usually observed in 4 weeks. " Nope - 12 to 25 weeks