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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

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.
  - taurath 6y ago
    You went to a doctor, got blood tests, and didn't hit your deductible..... and paid $100. Where exactly did you cross international borders? That or your doctor visit had no out of pocket costs for being preventative (most insurance plans don't)
travisjungroth 6y ago
A bottle of 360 5,000 IU Vitamin D pills is $16 on Amazon. Each pill is 4.5 cents, so you’re looking at 45 cents a week for 50k IU. I don’t think you can get better insurance for $2/month.
- zenexer 6y ago
  I suppose if you're buying it online instead of locally, that's an option. If I were to buy it from a local store, though, it's a lot more expensive than that--$16 will get you 14-30 doses, even with a cheap brand. And that's assuming you can find the cheap brands in stock, which is often difficult. I don't think it's reasonable to expect that people in financially difficult situations are able to order online. These are often people who can only pay with cash, food stamps, or other methods that Amazon won't accept. If you're shopping on Amazon, you're probably in a position whereby you have a bit more flexibility in your life. I know that in Massachusetts (United States), you can see a PCP, get blood work, and get a Vitamin D prescription for free if you don't have sufficient income or insurance. I have friends and neighbors who don't have jobs right now; that's how they get their healthcare. Of course, they're lucky: from what I hear, it's certainly not like that in most of the US, let alone the rest of the world. Regardless, I don't think it's constructive to insist that self-medicating with Vitamin D should be a priority for people in such a financial position. There are other priorities. If your life is comfortable enough that you can worry about supplements, you probably have enough money to get better insurance or get proper blood tests. Edit: I don't understand the downvotes. There are an awful lot of people for whom buying medications on Amazon just isn't an option. They don't have and can't get credit cards or bank accounts. They don't have a stable place to live or a way to receive packages. "I don't understand why these people can't afford X; I can order it online for just Y cents" is entitled and dismissive: that's not the reality for many people, especially in the US. Meanwhile, a not-insignificant percentage of these people live in places where they can, in fact, see a doctor, get blood tests, and get basic prescriptions for free (money). They often can't take advantage of these benefits--not because of the costs, but because of the time (taking a day off from work? Not an option.), bureaucratic red tape (paperwork, call random people and wait on hold for hours), and lack of awareness (how do you know these services exist, especially if you don't speak English or even know to look for them?).
mixmastamyk 6y ago
It's $5 a season at Trader Joe's.
- zenexer 6y ago
  As far as I can tell, that’s for 1,000 IU. You’d have to take 50 pills per week to achieve the dose described here. That would be more like $3/wk.
  - mixmastamyk 6y ago
    Nope, they have a 5k for the last two to three years and the higher dose has largely taken over the shelf. I know because I have bought about a dozen of them this season at $4.99 and given them out as holiday presents. https://www.traderjoesreviews.com/product/trader-joes-vitamin-d3-dietary-supplement-reviews/ https://www.traderjoesreviews.com/product/trader-joes-vitami... Forgot, Walmart is another place with good prices on vitamins.
    - deleted 6y ago
      [deleted]
  - cameldrv 6y ago
    As others have pointed out, Vitamin D is extremely cheap regardless of where you get it if you buy the higher strength pills. You also don't want to overdo it over the long term. If you're deficient, many doctors will prescribe some large loading doses, but from the studies I've seen, going above 10,000 IU/day over the long term has the potential for hypervitaminosis. Also from the studies I've seen, 2,000 IU/day long-term is enough to prevent deficiency. Lots of people don't like Amazon, but you can get a bottle of 250 or so 5000 IU tablets for about $20. This is enough to last a couple of years at 2000 IU/day. There are few people in the U.S. that cannot afford something that costs $1/month.
    - mixmastamyk 6y ago
      A lot of places gouge on the prices. Trader Joe’s and Walmart are two that don’t.

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.
- taurath 6y ago
  You went to a doctor, got blood tests, and didn't hit your deductible..... and paid $100. Where exactly did you cross international borders? That or your doctor visit had no out of pocket costs for being preventative (most insurance plans don't)

travisjungroth 6y ago

A bottle of 360 5,000 IU Vitamin D pills is $16 on Amazon. Each pill is 4.5 cents, so you’re looking at 45 cents a week for 50k IU. I don’t think you can get better insurance for $2/month.

zenexer 6y ago
I suppose if you're buying it online instead of locally, that's an option. If I were to buy it from a local store, though, it's a lot more expensive than that--$16 will get you 14-30 doses, even with a cheap brand. And that's assuming you can find the cheap brands in stock, which is often difficult. I don't think it's reasonable to expect that people in financially difficult situations are able to order online. These are often people who can only pay with cash, food stamps, or other methods that Amazon won't accept. If you're shopping on Amazon, you're probably in a position whereby you have a bit more flexibility in your life. I know that in Massachusetts (United States), you can see a PCP, get blood work, and get a Vitamin D prescription for free if you don't have sufficient income or insurance. I have friends and neighbors who don't have jobs right now; that's how they get their healthcare. Of course, they're lucky: from what I hear, it's certainly not like that in most of the US, let alone the rest of the world. Regardless, I don't think it's constructive to insist that self-medicating with Vitamin D should be a priority for people in such a financial position. There are other priorities. If your life is comfortable enough that you can worry about supplements, you probably have enough money to get better insurance or get proper blood tests. Edit: I don't understand the downvotes. There are an awful lot of people for whom buying medications on Amazon just isn't an option. They don't have and can't get credit cards or bank accounts. They don't have a stable place to live or a way to receive packages. "I don't understand why these people can't afford X; I can order it online for just Y cents" is entitled and dismissive: that's not the reality for many people, especially in the US. Meanwhile, a not-insignificant percentage of these people live in places where they can, in fact, see a doctor, get blood tests, and get basic prescriptions for free (money). They often can't take advantage of these benefits--not because of the costs, but because of the time (taking a day off from work? Not an option.), bureaucratic red tape (paperwork, call random people and wait on hold for hours), and lack of awareness (how do you know these services exist, especially if you don't speak English or even know to look for them?).

mixmastamyk 6y ago

It's $5 a season at Trader Joe's.

zenexer 6y ago
As far as I can tell, that’s for 1,000 IU. You’d have to take 50 pills per week to achieve the dose described here. That would be more like $3/wk.
- mixmastamyk 6y ago
  Nope, they have a 5k for the last two to three years and the higher dose has largely taken over the shelf. I know because I have bought about a dozen of them this season at $4.99 and given them out as holiday presents. https://www.traderjoesreviews.com/product/trader-joes-vitamin-d3-dietary-supplement-reviews/ https://www.traderjoesreviews.com/product/trader-joes-vitami... Forgot, Walmart is another place with good prices on vitamins.
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
- cameldrv 6y ago
  As others have pointed out, Vitamin D is extremely cheap regardless of where you get it if you buy the higher strength pills. You also don't want to overdo it over the long term. If you're deficient, many doctors will prescribe some large loading doses, but from the studies I've seen, going above 10,000 IU/day over the long term has the potential for hypervitaminosis. Also from the studies I've seen, 2,000 IU/day long-term is enough to prevent deficiency. Lots of people don't like Amazon, but you can get a bottle of 250 or so 5000 IU tablets for about $20. This is enough to last a couple of years at 2000 IU/day. There are few people in the U.S. that cannot afford something that costs $1/month.
  - mixmastamyk 6y ago
    A lot of places gouge on the prices. Trader Joe’s and Walmart are two that don’t.