4 ms·

50,000 IU dosages aren’t really available by prescription only when 5,000 IU pills are OTC.

vmception 6y ago
hahaha I see what you mean. so it really comes down to the concentration, specific instructions, and how a single pill is digested, as the pill is the same size as the others but the delivery method relies on the slow destruction of the outer layer, with explicit warnings not to chew them. lower dose pills don't have the same warning.
- travisjungroth 6y ago
  I wonder why you’d do this over 7,000 IU daily.
  - vmception 6y ago
    It is a weekly dose. A single weekly dose.
    - travisjungroth 6y ago
      Right. You’re taking a fancy, slow release, 50k IU once a week. Why not take a not fancy, regular release, 7k IU pill every day? I’m not saying once a week is bad, but there seems to be a cost to it. And assuming everyone involved is a rational actor, something justifies that cost. What is it? Is there some effect that heavy infrequent dosages has? More convenient? Higher patient compliance?
      - vmception 6y ago
        The pill's outer coating is different which contributes to the release schedule. This can be important based on how the body is expected to metabolize it. By default, the body will waste many extra servings of vitamins. There is also the chance of overdosing on it and not getting the desired effect or damaging other organs. Also, this whole conversation about cost is a red herring. I looked at the sister thread and I have no idea what they are talking about. This set of pills was cheaper for me to pay for, with the doctor's prescription, than the lower dosage pills on Amazon. Which I also had purchased upon seeing my blood results, before my doctor had chimed in on the results themselves.
zenexer 6y ago
It'd be ridiculously expensive compared to the prescription option, though. And potentially rather dangerous. If you're willing to invest that much in dubious self-medication, use that money to get better insurance (edit: if possible), which should in turn pay for a PCP visit and some basic blood tests. And a prescription--if you need it. Edit: If you don't have that option, you probably shouldn't be dropping money on supplements, and you're probably not going to appreciate someone on HN telling you to prioritize such matters in the first place. Edit: People who are in difficult situations financially shouldn't be focusing their energy on self-medication with random supplements. Those resources are better spent elsewhere. It may be the case that no, they cannot get insurance or blood work for the cost of self-medication--but that doesn't mean they should go ahead and do it anyway. Asking someone in a financially difficult situation to spend $15-30/mo on Vitamin D is silly. That's a lot of money. It would be better spent getting more or healthier food (the latter of which comes at a premium in the US), or perhaps setting it aside for the inevitable medical costs that life always brings. If you can afford to drop $15-30/mo on vitamins, you can afford to visit a PCP once every year or two--even out-of-pocket, the PCP visit is going to cost less. Could you get the vitamins online for a fraction of the cost? Sure, but there are people who often can't pay with anything but cash or food stamps. Suggesting that they're in a position to order products online is rather dismissive of the reality that many of these people live.
- taurath 6y ago
  Most with insurance have little to no choice. It’s 1 or two of the same PPO with different deductibles or an HMO, if you’re lucky.
  - zenexer 6y ago
    This is entirely anecdotal, but I was recently prescribed 50,000 IU/wk by my doctor after blood tests. Even if I had paid for the doctor, blood tests, and prescription entirely out-of-pocket, it would've been cheaper than self-medicating at a dose like that. Most of it was out-of-pocket for me anyway because I hadn't met my deductible, and the whole ordeal set me back less than $100. If I didn't have in-network pricing, it still would've been less than the cost of one month of health insurance. Obviously, there are plenty of regions and situations in which things don't work out that way. Asking someone to self-medicate with Vitamin D still has the potential to be expensive, and there may be better uses for that money, especially for someone in that sort of financial position.

hahaha I see what you mean. so it really comes down to the concentration, specific instructions, and how a single pill is digested, as the pill is the same size as the others but the delivery method relies on the slow destruction of the outer layer, with explicit warnings not to chew them. lower dose pills don't have the same warning.

travisjungroth 6y ago
I wonder why you’d do this over 7,000 IU daily.
- vmception 6y ago
  It is a weekly dose. A single weekly dose.
  - travisjungroth 6y ago
    Right. You’re taking a fancy, slow release, 50k IU once a week. Why not take a not fancy, regular release, 7k IU pill every day? I’m not saying once a week is bad, but there seems to be a cost to it. And assuming everyone involved is a rational actor, something justifies that cost. What is it? Is there some effect that heavy infrequent dosages has? More convenient? Higher patient compliance?
    - vmception 6y ago
      The pill's outer coating is different which contributes to the release schedule. This can be important based on how the body is expected to metabolize it. By default, the body will waste many extra servings of vitamins. There is also the chance of overdosing on it and not getting the desired effect or damaging other organs. Also, this whole conversation about cost is a red herring. I looked at the sister thread and I have no idea what they are talking about. This set of pills was cheaper for me to pay for, with the doctor's prescription, than the lower dosage pills on Amazon. Which I also had purchased upon seeing my blood results, before my doctor had chimed in on the results themselves.

zenexer 6y ago

It'd be ridiculously expensive compared to the prescription option, though. And potentially rather dangerous. If you're willing to invest that much in dubious self-medication, use that money to get better insurance (edit: if possible), which should in turn pay for a PCP visit and some basic blood tests. And a prescription--if you need it. Edit: If you don't have that option, you probably shouldn't be dropping money on supplements, and you're probably not going to appreciate someone on HN telling you to prioritize such matters in the first place. Edit: People who are in difficult situations financially shouldn't be focusing their energy on self-medication with random supplements. Those resources are better spent elsewhere. It may be the case that no, they cannot get insurance or blood work for the cost of self-medication--but that doesn't mean they should go ahead and do it anyway. Asking someone in a financially difficult situation to spend $15-30/mo on Vitamin D is silly. That's a lot of money. It would be better spent getting more or healthier food (the latter of which comes at a premium in the US), or perhaps setting it aside for the inevitable medical costs that life always brings. If you can afford to drop $15-30/mo on vitamins, you can afford to visit a PCP once every year or two--even out-of-pocket, the PCP visit is going to cost less. Could you get the vitamins online for a fraction of the cost? Sure, but there are people who often can't pay with anything but cash or food stamps. Suggesting that they're in a position to order products online is rather dismissive of the reality that many of these people live.

taurath 6y ago
Most with insurance have little to no choice. It’s 1 or two of the same PPO with different deductibles or an HMO, if you’re lucky.
- zenexer 6y ago
  This is entirely anecdotal, but I was recently prescribed 50,000 IU/wk by my doctor after blood tests. Even if I had paid for the doctor, blood tests, and prescription entirely out-of-pocket, it would've been cheaper than self-medicating at a dose like that. Most of it was out-of-pocket for me anyway because I hadn't met my deductible, and the whole ordeal set me back less than $100. If I didn't have in-network pricing, it still would've been less than the cost of one month of health insurance. Obviously, there are plenty of regions and situations in which things don't work out that way. Asking someone to self-medicate with Vitamin D still has the potential to be expensive, and there may be better uses for that money, especially for someone in that sort of financial position.