Vitamin D3 (within multvitamin formula) of 0.25 mcg, or 1000 IU....WHERE TO BUY at REASONABLE PRICE? (Centrum Silver might have much LOWER amounts in Thai formula!)

[JohnBarleycorn]

I am trying to buy a multivitamin containing vitamin D3 (1000 IU or 0.25 mcg per tablet)

 

In the USA, and elsewhere outside Thailand, Centrum Silver Men contains 1000 IU of vitamin D3.

But, according to the label for  "Centrum Silver 50+", I think that I read on the label that it contains MUCH less per tablet.

Is this true?

How much D3 in this Pfizer Produect?

The label is ONLY in Thai.  Maybe Pfizer thinks that everybody in Thailand is able to read Thai and that there are no English speakers in Thailand?

 

MAIN POINT:  Where can I get a multivitamin, such as Centrum Silver Men formula, containing 1000 IU of D3...at a REASONABLE price?

 

Pfizer seems to be charging about Bt.300 for a small bottle of 30 tablets.

This price seems about 10 times higher than prices in the USA, and maybe other countries, as well?

 

Need more info, please!

Thank you.

[Ventenio]

I don't buy multivitamins, but I do buy D3.

 

one of the zillions pharmacies....try Caltrate.  pink and white bottle.  only 400 IU plus some other stuff (not much) and maybe it's 200 for 30 tables. maybe it was 90 baht, i actually i have no idea.  

 

300 baht CAN'T be 10x higher.....you can find Centrum for 30 baht in America.  ah, no.

 

it's your health, just spend an extra 100 baht

[DaRoadrunner]

GPO (Govt Pharmaceutical Org) Rama 6 opposite Ramathibodi Hospital. (Assuming they are open through Covid?)

 

Lots of basic meds available at low Govt prices. Many are Thai copies (generic).

 

They have Vit D3 but I forget what strength it is. Bear in mind the Thai naughty habit of cutting the strength of the tablet to increase profits! Yep, they even monkeyed with the drugs.

[bkk6060]

The 10 x's cost comment is false.

But, I believe the OP is correct on the Thai brand of Centrum.

I use Centrum in my home country.  The pills are heavier and more dense and make your urine yellow.

The Thai brand does not.

I found some US Centrum in a few Pharmacies so look around.

[KhunBENQ]

1 hour ago, JohnBarleycorn said:

Vitamin D3 (1000 IU or 0.25 mcg per tablet)

Those numbers give me a headache.

0.25 mcg = 0.25 microgram?

 

Misc sources say that one IU is 0.025 microgram.

1000 IU (IE) = 25 microgram.

Compare e.g. here with this product shipped in Thailand:

https://th.pipingrock.com/vitamin-d/high-potency-vitamin-d3-1000-iu-250-softgels-1584

(1000 IU = 25 microgram)

 

And YES. The Centrum label says 1.2 microgram, 0.0970%(?)

1.2 microgram being a laughable 48 IU.

The percentage number would correspond to ~500 IU (recommended seem 800 IU).

 

Hopefully a medical expert can comment on the risk of overdosing of this fat soluble ("liposoluble") vitamin.

[Ventenio]

quick google..... 

 

seems like 4000 ICU and under won't kill you.  

 

but i have to assume normal blood levels, i think.  

 

i read it's almost impossible to die of too much Vitamin D from eating and sunlight. 

 

my personal worthless opinion.  try to get 1000 ICU and after a few months get some blood work.  

 

Toxic: Above 150 ng/mL, or 375 nmol/L.

 

 

[lopburi3]

My Centrum Silver has 25mcq (1,000 IU) and made in Canada but was bought here on Shopee.  Believe you will find imported versions on both Lazada and Shopee - just look at label or what they say.  The seller I used six months ago is sold out but that often happens with such imports.

[JohnBarleycorn]

1 hour ago, bkk6060 said:

The 10 x's cost comment is false.

But, I believe the OP is correct on the Thai brand of Centrum.

I use Centrum in my home country.  The pills are heavier and more dense and make your urine yellow.

The Thai brand does not.

I found some US Centrum in a few Pharmacies so look around.

I beg your pardon?

 

I just received an email from Pfizer with a list of the ingredients in CENTRUM SILVER 50+.

Among the ingredients, they state this:

 

Vitamin D3 100% (Vitamin D3 120 IU)

1.2 mg

 

But, obviously, whomever compiled this list does not know the difference between mg and mcg.  There IS a difference.  But, I guess we should not expect the chemists at Phizer to to know the difference between very basic units used in chemistry, biochemistry, and the pharmaceutical industry, Or, should we?

 

Also, it is an easy task to convert mcg of D3 into IU (international units).

 

Too make a long story short..... The product put out by Phizer called CENTRUM SILVER MEN has 1000 IU of vitamin D3.

 

Earlier, I stated, as I recall, approximately 10 times more, or ten times less. 

 

To be precise, if you insist, then 120 IU divided by 1000 IU = 0.12  (the units cancel out).

 

So, feel free to redo my math.

But, obviously this means that the formula Centrum Silver in Thailand has almost 10 TIMES less D3 than the Centrum Silver sold elsewhere.

 

Who do you think this company is fooling, anyway?

 

As someone pointed out, I got the decimal point in the wrong place in the title of this post....so sorry.

What I meant was: 25 mcg.

Centrum Silver Men contains 25 mcg (micrograms) of D3.  So sorry.

[KhunBENQ]

13 minutes ago, JohnBarleycorn said:

I just received an email from Pfizer with a list of the ingredients in CENTRUM SILVER 50+.

Was this from Pfizer Thailand?

It's exactly what a Google translate shows.

And obviously wrong. The units are shortcut in Thai (1.2  มก.).

1.2 mg = 1200 microgram = 48000 IU.

A killer.

[KhunBENQ]

31 minutes ago, lopburi3 said:

has 25mcq (1,000 IU)

Same as the product that I linked in post #5.

 

And remember there is no shortage of sunlight in Thailand

[JohnBarleycorn]

Someone pointed out that the title of this post is, in one place, "laughable".

I wholeheartedly agree.

 

Please just keep in mind, when comparing various vitamin labels that:

 

One (1) microgram = 0.001 milligrams.

 

In most cases, D3 is listed in micrograms.

Phizer, at least in the information sent to me in an email, uses milligrams.

 

Also, on the label of the packaging D3 is listed in milligrams (1.2  มก)

On the bottle, the print is so small that I can't read it without either a milliscope or a microscope.

[JohnBarleycorn]

1 hour ago, KhunBENQ said:

Was this from Pfizer Thailand?

It's exactly what a Google translate shows.

And obviously wrong. The units are shortcut in Thai (1.2  มก.).

1.2 mg = 1200 microgram = 48000 IU.

A killer.

You are exactly correct!

The data sheet sent to me by Pfizer also states 1.2 mg.

So, as you say, that would be 1200 micrograms.

Normally, a megadose of D3 which is designed to be taken about once per month contains 20,000 IU of D3.

 

If one were to take 48000 IU of D3 on a daily basis, and if one were not an elephant or a blue whale, then one's vitamin D3 blood serum levels would be astronomical.

 

Here is an image of the box label for Centrum Silver 50+

 

 

 

[JohnBarleycorn]

On the Centrum Silver 50+ box, the print definitely does say 1.2 mg.

On the email I received from Pfizer, it states 1.2 mg of D3 per tablet.

 

As has been pointed out above by another poster, that should be enough to dose a horse or something.  (Of course, unlike Groucho Marx, I ain't no horse doctor.)

 

It seems likely that Pfizer has made an error here, among many errors relating to Centrum Silver committed by this company in marketing the SILVER vitamin formula in Thailand.

 

This is ONLY my opinion.

Can anyone show me evidence that I am wrong?

 

Thank you.

[JohnBarleycorn]

In order to clarify this 1.2 mg daily dose of vitamin D3, shown on the label I have attached, and on the information sent to me from Pfizer, I have sent another email.

Hopefully, we will have some clarification soon.

4800 IU per day, seems a bit excessive, but I am willing and happy to be proved wrong.

[KhunBENQ]

1 hour ago, JohnBarleycorn said:

have sent another email.

Hopefully, we will have some clarification soon.

Looking forward.

The dosage is also well printed on the Watson website:

 

 

Vitamin D3 100% (Vitamin D3 120 IU)    1.2 "mg." (0.0970%)

 

This "mg." is my transcription from Thai and I must admit I can't find a reference how such units should be abbreviated in Thai.

Overall the whole thing is inconsistent.

120 IU with 1.2 microgram? One IU = 0.01 microgram?

That's not consistent/up-to-date? with many other sources (0.025).

 

[dddave]

Three weeks ago, I placed an order with "i-herb" in the US for some products I use fully expecting delivery (Bangkok) to take a month or more with current conditions.  I was shocked when the full order arrived  9 days later.   

Shipping charges are very low and as long as an order is under US$80, customs doesn't seem to care.

[JohnBarleycorn]

33 minutes ago, dddave said:

Three weeks ago, I placed an order with "i-herb" in the US for some products I use fully expecting delivery (Bangkok) to take a month or more with current conditions.  I was shocked when the full order arrived  9 days later.   

Shipping charges are very low and as long as an order is under US$80, customs doesn't seem to care.

I will consider this next time, for sure.

After my problems with the local Pfizer product, I decided to purchase online from an importer of vitamins located in BKK.

Hopefully, say hopefully, this will arrive in good condition and be genuine, as well as not out of date.

 

Ordering on line is a experience fraught with surprises in some cases.

 

The price charged by the on-line store is about six times what one would pay in the USA, judging by prices on Amazon, etc.

 

When it comes to imported items, one must be prepared to pay and pay.

 

As Lou Reed once sang:  "Everybody had to pay and pay.  A hustle here and a hustle there."

Maybe the Sugar Plum Fairy will gift me some vitamin D3 before I wake.

I will check under my pillow, first thing tomorrow AM.

 

Here's hoping....

[Sheryl]

yiou can get D3 supplement alone on Lazada (Puritan Prie bran) byt the lowest dosage available is 5,000 IU

 

Since the boy is able to store this vitamin you might consider just a once weekly weekly dose of 5000 IU

 

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/puritan-vitamin-d3-5000-iu-200-softgels-i567412591-s1040050433.html?spm=a2o4m.searchlist.list.13.60855b72eQWrUB&search=1

 

Alternately you can get Calcium supplements that contain 1000 IU D3, provide you need the Calcium/have no contraindications to it

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/200-puritans-pride-absorbable-calcium-1200-mg-plus-vitamin-d3-25-mcg-200-200-rapid-release-softgels-i571304798-s1048912783.html?spm=a2o4m.searchlist.list.19.60855b727P4EeQ&search=1

 

I am not sure that Thailand has an official abbreviation for microgram and of course both microgram and milligram are "m" and "k" in their alphabet.  I encounter many, many cases where the same abbreviation is used for both

 

[JohnBarleycorn]

1 hour ago, Sheryl said:

yiou can get D3 supplement alone on Lazada (Puritan Prie bran) byt the lowest dosage available is 5,000 IU

 

Since the boy is able to store this vitamin you might consider just a once weekly weekly dose of 5000 IU

 

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/puritan-vitamin-d3-5000-iu-200-softgels-i567412591-s1040050433.html?spm=a2o4m.searchlist.list.13.60855b72eQWrUB&search=1

 

Alternately you can get Calcium supplements that contain 1000 IU D3, provide you need the Calcium/have no contraindications to it

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/200-puritans-pride-absorbable-calcium-1200-mg-plus-vitamin-d3-25-mcg-200-200-rapid-release-softgels-i571304798-s1048912783.html?spm=a2o4m.searchlist.list.19.60855b727P4EeQ&search=1

 

I am not sure that Thailand has an official abbreviation for microgram and of course both microgram and milligram are "m" and "k" in their alphabet.  I encounter many, many cases where the same abbreviation is used for both

 

Of course you are correct that the body stores vitamin D3 in body tissue (fat cells).  However, in comparative studies of single doses of 20,000 IU given periodically, versus a daily regimen of smaller doses, the meta analysis I read in the BMJ argues that a daily dose is superior to protect against complications due to respiratory diseases.  I am sure you can find this meta analysis in the BMJ.

 

If there is no difference between the Thai abbreviation for microgram and the Thai abbreviation for milligram, then it is therefor ambiguous, and should not be used by pharmaceutical companies.  Such ambiguity could lead to a mortal and unnecessary outcome, depending on the drug.  Any drug should not be prescribed in amounts of give or take a factor of a thousand.   600 milligrams of Tylenol per day is OK.  But, 600,000 milligrams of Tylenol per day is probably too much.

[JohnBarleycorn]

1 hour ago, Sheryl said:

yiou can get D3 supplement alone on Lazada (Puritan Prie bran) byt the lowest dosage available is 5,000 IU

 

Since the boy is able to store this vitamin you might consider just a once weekly weekly dose of 5000 IU

 

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/puritan-vitamin-d3-5000-iu-200-softgels-i567412591-s1040050433.html?spm=a2o4m.searchlist.list.13.60855b72eQWrUB&search=1

 

Alternately you can get Calcium supplements that contain 1000 IU D3, provide you need the Calcium/have no contraindications to it

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/200-puritans-pride-absorbable-calcium-1200-mg-plus-vitamin-d3-25-mcg-200-200-rapid-release-softgels-i571304798-s1048912783.html?spm=a2o4m.searchlist.list.19.60855b727P4EeQ&search=1

 

I am not sure that Thailand has an official abbreviation for microgram and of course both microgram and milligram are "m" and "k" in their alphabet.  I encounter many, many cases where the same abbreviation is used for both

 

Anyway, as I ALREADY stated above, Pfizer today emailed me IN ENGLISH stating that CENTRUM SILVER 50+ contains, per tablet, 1.2 mg of D3.

 

ALSO, if you wish, you can refer to various studies conducted in Thailand demonstrating that a high percentage of Thai children suffer from vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency.  This, even though many of these children engaged in sports activities outdoors under Thailand's blazing sun.  Please just refer to the literature to find these studies.

[connda]

You live in a country with sunshine.  Go out and get 10 or 15 minutes of sun each day.
Your good.

[impulse]

25 minutes ago, JohnBarleycorn said:

Anyway, as I ALREADY stated above, Pfizer today emailed me IN ENGLISH stating that CENTRUM SILVER 50+ contains, per tablet, 1.2 mg of D3.

 

I'd be real suspicious of a claim that any standard multi-vitamin pill has 6,000% of the RDA.  Even if it came from Pfizer directly.

 

http://labeling.pfizer.com/ShowLabeling.aspx?id=11438

 

[JohnBarleycorn]

10 minutes ago, impulse said:

 

I'd be real suspicious of a claim that any standard multi-vitamin pill has 6,000% of the RDA.  Even if it came from Pfizer directly.

 

http://labeling.pfizer.com/ShowLabeling.aspx?id=11438

 

As I noted above:  Late this afternoon, I replied to the product manager's email stating 1.2 mg of vitamin D3 requesting clarification.  Please be patient, and we might receive a nice and informative reply.

[DogNo1]

iHerb has a handy dandy little bottle of NOW A(10,000 IU) & D(4,000 IU).  It contains 100 little softgels and costs $3.77.  You need both of those every day, especially the A for the eyes.  You can also buy Maquiberry on iHerb to help lubricate your eyes.  Many of us older folk suffer from dry eye.  Just think - you could buy a year's supply of A&D for $15.08.  I also like to use some Maquiberry from time to time to keep the eyes moist.  It's $9.02 for sixty capsules.  I prefer to buy my supplements separately so I know exactly how much I am taking.  It seems like a lot of trouble to calculate how much of a certain vitamin MAY be in a multivitamin.  The price is so cheap that it's easy to be sure of how much you're getting.

[JohnBarleycorn]

4 hours ago, DogNo1 said:

iHerb has a handy dandy little bottle of NOW A(10,000 IU) & D(4,000 IU).  It contains 100 little softgels and costs $3.77.  You need both of those every day, especially the A for the eyes.  You can also buy Maquiberry on iHerb to help lubricate your eyes.  Many of us older folk suffer from dry eye.  Just think - you could buy a year's supply of A&D for $15.08.  I also like to use some Maquiberry from time to time to keep the eyes moist.  It's $9.02 for sixty capsules.  I prefer to buy my supplements separately so I know exactly how much I am taking.  It seems like a lot of trouble to calculate how much of a certain vitamin MAY be in a multivitamin.  The price is so cheap that it's easy to be sure of how much you're getting.

Totally agree.

Oh, my poor old aging eyes.

How many more years before I go almost completely blind, I often wonder.

[JohnBarleycorn]

11 hours ago, connda said:

You live in a country with sunshine.  Go out and get 10 or 15 minutes of sun each day.
Your good.

As I mentioned above to Sheryl, there are various studies conducted in Thailand which show vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency in as much as 30% of today's Thai children, and other studies which show the same thing in adults.  Then, there are the people who are in care and cannot go outdoors very easily, or who do not choose to go out in the hot sun.

 

It is the conclusion of these studies that supplementation of vitamin D2 or D3 is warranted in order to correct vitamin D deficiency.  You should also refer to the BMJ article I suggested to Sheryl.

[JohnBarleycorn]

I just had further input via email concerning the D3 in Centrum Silver, but I am not sure I understand the clarification.

Anyone here care to clarify the clarification for me?

 

a. First, it was stated that:

 

Vitamin D3 100% (Vitamin D3 120 IU) 1.2 mg

 

Vitamin D3 100% (Vitamin D3 120 IU)

1.2 mg

 

b.  This morning, it was stated that:

 

"Vitamin D3 100% in Centrum Silver is a premix of Vitamin D3 and others ingredients. Vitamin D3 100% 1.2 mg is equal to Vitamin D3 0.003 mg which is 120 IU as shown in the carton.

Centrum Silver 50+ is registered as Dietary supplement , so all amount of vitamins and minerals that contain 1 tablet in Centrum silver 50+ is not over for daily use."

 

 

c.  I hope that someone here can explain this because I find it somewhat puzzling.

 

d.  Why don't they just state:  Each tablet contains 0.003 mg Vitamin D3.  And the Vitamin D3 has 100 percent purity.   (what's with the 1.2 mg?)

 

[JohnBarleycorn]

In my opinion, but I could be wrong:

 

This 100% percentage reference might refers to the RDI (Reference Daily Intake).  This might mean that the amount in each tablet is sufficient to meet the requirements of 97 - 98% of healthy individuals in all demographics in the Unites States.

 

But this 1.2 mg?

 

I am still super stumped about it!

 

Someone please explain...Thank you!

[Sheryl]

14 hours ago, JohnBarleycorn said:

As I noted above:  Late this afternoon, I replied to the product manager's email stating 1.2 mg of vitamin D3 requesting clarification.  Please be patient, and we might receive a nice and informative reply.

You are communicating with people who among other thing do not understand the difference between milligrams and micrograms. The petson replying to you is having to adk someone else and hence some gatbling.

 

 

It appears clear that each tab has 3 mcg (.003 mg) which is only about 120 IU.

 

If you want 1000 IU need to co sidet the oroducts I mentioned.

 

Have yoy had serim D3 measured? Should do that first. If your levels are mid range normal already there is no advantage to supplement.

 

[JohnBarleycorn]

4 hours ago, Sheryl said:

You are communicating with people who among other thing do not understand the difference between milligrams and micrograms. The petson replying to you is having to adk someone else and hence some gatbling.

 

 

It appears clear that each tab has 3 mcg (.003 mg) which is only about 120 IU.

 

If you want 1000 IU need to co sidet the oroducts I mentioned.

 

Have yoy had serim D3 measured? Should do that first. If your levels are mid range normal already there is no advantage to supplement.

 

I agree.

Thank you.