So far I've found the Grassroots one, Dr Soram's one and the ZRT one from the Vit D Council.

Are there any others available to UK residents?

Recomendations?

I can't answer your question but perhaps someone who knows can answer my question also... how much blood do these tests require? Is it just a finger prick drop of blood or does one have to go into a vein?

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It's just a drop or perhaps two drops.

Fraid not.
Directlabs have a $39 special offer on 25(OH)D testing throughout October. but you have to go to one of their collection centres and the flight to USA will wipe out the saving. But a reminder here may help some US readers save money especially as you can pre order at the special offer price and use those tests over the next 6 months so buying three. One for now 2nd for January and the 3rd for April will give you a very good idea of how much vitamin D it takes to keep your body over 50ng/ml through the winter.
Exactly the same 25(OH)D test done in the UK costs �149 = $238
$39 = �24.40 doesn't it just make you spit the way the UK public are ripped off.

For us unfortunates in the UK if you didn't sign up for their 5yr testing program at $30 each it's now $60 at Grassroots but you are adding to their scientific data collection so eventually there will be some gain to the public generally.

Life extension also do a test but you have to be a member to get the discounted price and that will wipe out the savings.

The vitamin D council bulk purchase is probably fine and you probably, although you will have to confirm this, not have to send them all back the same time so at $220.0 for 4 it is cheaper AND some of that money will go to supporting the Vitamin D Council website. Dr Soram's seems to be charging standard ZRT price and not passing on any discount.
As they are all based on the ZRT test you may as well go for the cheapest.
ZRT have some video's to show you what to do . For the vitamin D it's just 2 spots of blood required. The only snag is making sure it's a big drop so make sure you get your hands warm first.

As you live in Scotland you can just assume that you are currently vitamin D deficient and work on that basis, 5000iu/daily at least maybe more if you are overweight, diabetic, celiac or have MS or other chronic inflammatory condition, 1000iu for each 25lbs you weigh is probably fine.
Then have your first test after 3 months use of effective strength supplements to see how it works out.
You can then adjust intake according to how you've done.
If your still below 50ng/ml add an extra 1000iu/daily for each 10ng/ml under 50ng/ml
If you are above 80ng/ml reduce intake by 1000iu/daily for each 10ng/ml more than 80.

Thanks very much Ted, I was hoping you'd spot this as you seem to be very knowledgeable on the subject.

�149 is as ever outrageous! At least we can, for the moment anyway use the USA ones.

Grassroots add on a $5 postage charge and for a one-off test it's $65 making that option $70. While I'd like to do the 5 year test I don't have that kind of money every 6 months.

I started on Vit D a few months ago, probably about June/July, same time as we actually had some sun. Initially took 2 x 5,000iu daily, then down to 5,000iu daily after a few weeks and have stayed at that level till yesterday when I decided that I probably could use more over the winter so am planning (until I get a test done) to take 2 capsules 3 days a week over the winter as although I'm out walking the dog, there's no sun to speak of up here for the next several months.

I weigh 115lbs and have Fibromyalgia. Do you think I'd be better with 10,000iu daily?

Thanks a lot for your help Ted, you're clarifying my feelings about it, glad I'm not way off base

The difference I've felt since starting this is amazing, I noticed a difference in less than a week too, just wish I'd tried it years ago Currently on a mission to get everyone on it .

It's possible to get your GP to authorise a 25(OH)D test. I would have thought your Fibro diagnosis would justify it however if you get no joy perhaps you could try putting on a very innocent expression and claiming "I may have taken an excessive amount of Vitamin D and I'd like to check my levels are not toxic." Most UK doctors are so ignorant about vitamin D they will happily swallow the idea that 10,000iu is a potentially toxic amount.
Although we all know it takes over 40,000iu/daily for many months to raise 25(OH)D levels above the 200ng/ml level at which adverse events may occur you can pretty much rely on the fact that most UK GP's will tremble at the thought of more than 2000iu/d even though natural sunlight in summer would generate 10,000~20,000iu of same biologically identical stuff.

2 x 5000 x 3 =30000/7= 4285iu/d while this MAY be acceptable in summer for a "normal" person I doubt it is sufficient for someone with Fibro living in Scotland. I'd be happier if you alternated 1 x 5000iu with 2 x 5000iu so every 2 days you got 3 x 5000iu= 15000iu/2 = 7500iu/daily. As you say in practice 25(OH)D levels decline month by month from September through to March in the north UK and ideally you want to keep those levels high and stable through the year.

I don't have a Fibro diagnosis from a GP. I finally worked it out for myself and had it confirmed by a very aware craniosacral therapist. A GP takes one look at me and my records and wants to put me on Antidepressants so I don't go there. Even the NHS Homeopath failed to acknowledge the Fibro or adrenal fatigue, so I've given up on NHS. Useless docs here.

Sorry, I wasn't clear ( I knew what I meant, but didn't explain properly) What I was thinking is what you suggest - 1 x5,000iu every day and 2 x 5,000iu three days a week over the winter. Or do you think 10,000iu every day would be better up here? I'm on a level with Edinburgh.

Still I work on the principle if you don't ask you don't get and nothing ventured nothing gained. You could still ring up and explain that as you've been using megadose D3 you are concerned you may have overdone it and would like the situation confirmed with a 25(OH)D test.
You can always blame internet nutcases for leading you astray.

Until you get a 25(OH)D test it's guesswork so I'd stick with that regime until you get a firm number from a test with the idea of dropping down to 5000iu/d in April or sooner if the 25(OH)D result shows you are a high responder.

Thanks Ted

Got my results 51ng/ml

Considering I'd been supplementing with 5,000iu daily for months plus in the sun at every opportunity, explains why last winter I struggled to walk as my levels must have been barely anything.

After I sent off the blood I tried doing 2 x 5,000iu Mon, Wed, Fri but was forgetting so for the moment have settled on 2 caps Mon - Fri and 1 cap Sat and Sun in the hope I remember that better

oh, what does the D2 result mean Ted? Mine is <4

Exactly Which is why I get so cross when articles in the media or on the BBC say or imply that just taking the RDA and getting a moderate amount of sun will be fine.

Well it's fine for the medical profession who earn their livings dealing with ill health but your response is TYPICAL. 5000iu + sunshine is just about adequate.
A little more and you'd be able to provide vitamin D replete breast milk for your offspring (that is providing you are female and of childbearing age) I can't see why it isn't obvious to health professionals that human breast milk should be a complete food for human babies.

If human breast milk doesn't provide sufficient vitamin D to boost the babies immune function and build strong bones and enable optimum brain development then surely raising the 25(OH)D status of the mother should be a priority.

Providing over the week you take 10 x 5000iu it doesn't really matter how they are spread out. If you think you've a busy week ahead or are going to be away then just take all 10 in one session and leave taking more till next week.
Obviously the larger the amount the greater the change in status and I'd prefer a steady state rather than ups/downs but providing you don't exceed a month between dosing there shouldn't be a problem.

< means BELOW or less than.
so you have less than 4ng/ml of ERGOCALCIFEROL vitamin D2 in your system.

That means you haven't been taking PRESCRIPTION vitamin D2 or eating sun/uvb exposed mushrooms.

Any amount below 4ng they ignore because it's below the test accuracy threshold any way.

If you were a vegetarian you may have found some ergocalciferol vitamin D2 tablets but I wouldn't recommend them. Remember vitamin D is a FAT SOLUBLE vitamin so when you take it already dissolved in fat you eliminated one chance if not absorbing it. It's easy for people on fat free diets to suffer malabsorption of the fat soluble vitamins A, D, E and K.

The case against ergocalciferol (vitamin D2) as a vitamin supplement


It quite often happens that D2 (the vitamin D rats use) speeds up the rate humans use up vitamin D, you can see on the graph how the D2 people were lower at the end of the month than at the start.
I don't know why but particularly women seem to get into an escalating spiral of taking ever more vitamin D2 to stay vitamin D replete. On another forum a woman with osteoporosis had been prescribed 3 x 50,000iu/DAILY and still wasn't able to maintain adequate vitamin D levels. Swapping to the human form meant she only needed ONE X 50,000iu EACH WEEK, a bit different to taking 21 x 50,000iu weekly.
Sometimes health professionals are extremely slow learners.

Now you've got your 25(OH)D status about right you will be absorbing more calcium from your diet. You may want to consider reducing calcium supplement intake to below 600mg/d and use one of the online calcium calculators to check you are getting a total of around 1200mg/daily in your food/water.
Ideally calcium is best counterbalanced with magnesium so checking on sources of that is also worth doing. Krispin has it about right, 5 to 10 milligrams per day per kilo of ideal body weight or 2.5 to 4.5 milligrams per day per pound of ideal body weight. Example: 70 kilos or 150 pounds= 350 mg. to 700 mg. daily.
and it's also worth checking that you have good food sources of vitamin K or take a mixed form of vitamin K2.

Dr Cannell vitamin d council has more on vitamin D co factors.

you can get the home test from vitaminD3UK.com for 44 pounds including postage, just about the best price you will find

�44.00 British pounds = US $68.65

Testing of vitamin D levels
GrassrootsHealth is sponsoring the use of blood spot test kits (laboratory analysis done by ZRT Labs) for a $60.00 fee to each individual.

Not only do you save $8.65 you are also helping with Vitamin D research and you are helping promote the Grassrootshealth Vitamin D awareness campaign.

While I support the work Toby is doing in promoting Vitamin D awareness, I also would like people to support the work of Grassrootshealth.

I also would support Grassroots but to get the discount on the vitamin D test from Grassroots you also have to commit to fair amount of paper work which may be too much for the average consumer

It's only a few basic questions about health status so they can monitor the effects to health of attaining and maintaining particular 25(OH)D levels.

It's no big deal, takes no more than a few minutes and eventually those people who do continue through the 5yrs of monitoring 25(OH)D twice yearly will have helped build up a useful body of information.

I don't think it's �1 a minute is a poor rate of pay and spending 5mins to save �5.50 is IMO a good investment particularly as eventually it will add to the vitamin D information pool.

By the way you can just get a single 25(OH)D test you don't have to commit to twice yearly for the full 5 yrs but if you do you also lock in at the current price and so avoid future price increases. (unless of course you donate a little extra as prices inevitably rise)