Hi Jane,
I apologize for not getting back with you sooner. We have had some technical issues with receiving responses on the forums, but we are up and running now. Thank you for your patience.
Thank you for your update on the renal vitamin you have chosen. It sounds like you have done a lot of research. It is great that you are not having a reaction to the niacin in the Dialyvite 3000. I am interested to know why you decided to go with a vitamin that contains zinc. The studies show that renal vitamins with zinc should be taken when the patient has signs of zinc deficiency. Otherwise, it is not clear whether zinc supplementation is necessary. Usually I speak with the nephrologist when I think zinc should be added to a patient’s regimen.
I agree with you about vitamin D3. Patients are very often deficient in vitamin D. Have you had your serum vitamin D level checked? The vitamin you mentioned, Vital-D Rx, is currently the only renal vitamin with both zinc and vitamin D. I am not aware of other renal vitamins with vitamin D3. You might also want to consider speaking with your physician about adding vitamin D3 in addition to your renal vitamin. This would allow you to continue taking Dialyvite 3000, which you seem to be tolerating well, in addition to a separate D3 supplement.
LeeAnn Smith, MPH, RD