Vitamin D recommendations

I'm finally hearing about something that is obviously SO important...Vitamin D! I've been on a search for the past 4½ years for something to help my skin because of psoriasis, so the issue of vit D has been on my radar for awhile now and I knew that the recommendations were way too low. I've been taking up to 4000 UI per day and today I heard a doctor on Good Morning America say "I recommend 1000 to 2000 international units of vitamin D supplements every day. It's cheap, there are no side effects or down sides. Although D3 is considered more potent and longer lasting, both D2 and D3 are acceptable."

I just had a full blood workup and checking for Vitamin D (which is really not a vitamin) was not even mentioned. Next time I will ASK for that...which is another frustration of mine...if WE know this information and there's so many reports about how people are so deficient in vit D, then why do we have to mention it to our doctors? Boggles the mind considering it's such an important element in our makeup.

Here's a response to the piece on Good Morning America:

5 Ways Vitamin D Could Save Your Life - ABC News: "I am Vitimin D deficient and just taking D3 was not being absorbed. I am now on a very high dose of D3 and having my blood checked to see if I am absorbing it. I was told that most of the D in food products and solid pill form was ineffective. Have your doctor order a blood test to see how much D you need. If you are going to take it, it makes sense to be taking the right amount and the correct type."

Here's a great article that explains all of this, like:
"The skin produces approximately 10,000 IU vitamin D in response 20–30 minutes summer sun exposure—50 times more than the US government's recommendation of 200 IU per day!"

Vitamin D Council | Understanding Vitamin D Cholecalciferol

So, how much did YOU know about Vitamin D?