Severe Vitamin D Deficiency...So Bummed!

[sagesteve]

Also, don't forget the Magnesium and Potassium balance. Both of these minerals are overlooked by most.

[Catnapper]

tattooyu, to answer your question, you will do the lab work yourself. I guess that is why you don't need a doctor to be involved. My daughter ordered the kit. They sent her 2 lancets to use to stick her finger to draw the blood. Then you put the drops of blood on a special wicking paper they send. When it is dry, you mail it back to them and you should get results in 2 weeks. Maybe the paper is treated with chemicals to preserve the blood in some way. She hasn't gotten the results yet. The results come to you, not your doctor.

It is a lot like sticking your finger to check blood sugar. Doesn't hurt.

Catnapper - Joanie

[rested gal]

Well, I wanted to give it a full week before writing this post.

I Googled for "symptoms of Vit D deficiency" and found that aching lower spine and pelvis were mentioned.

About five years ago, I got a Tempur-Pedic bed. After a couple of years sleeping on it, pain in my lower back and hips during the night and in the morning were getting worse and worse. I blamed it on the mattress. Figured Tempur-Pedic just wasn't right for me. Switched to a bed with a very firm mattress, and that seemed to help a lot. But over the past year or so, the nighttime pain returned, just as bad as before. It was an effort to turn over, and a real effort to sit up / get up in the morning. After moving around awhile after getting up, it was ok.

So... last week I thought, what the heck, I'll give Vit D3 a try. The night after I took the very first tiny tablet I had NO pain whatsoever in my back and hips at any time during the night, nor in the morning. Continued taking one tablet a day. Continued having no pain.

Decided to go back to my Tempur-Pedic bed and see if the good results continued. It's been two nights now, and still no back/hip pain. I can start using that wonderfully comfortable (and expensive!) bed again. Wow!

I thought back five years and realized that THAT coincided approximately with when I retired from dog showing. I was no longer standing out in the sun just about every weekend in outdoor show rings, or walking back and forth to my van loading/unloading in the daylight. Since my boarding kennel (what I do now) is attached to the house, and the outdoor part of the runs is covered, I rarely get out in the sun on any kind of daily basis anymore.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, YawnGirl, and everyone else who posted in this thread. Had it not been for you starting this topic, YawnGirl, I'd never have known!! Wooooooooooo!

[Hawthorne]

Rested Gal - How much Vitamin D3 are you taking daily? What time of day are you taking it?

Thanks.

[rested gal]

Rested Gal - How much Vitamin D3 are you taking daily? What time of day are you taking it?

Thanks.

1000 I.U "Nature Made" D3 from K-Mart. One time a day in the morning, varies any time between 8 - 11 a.m.

[Gerryk]

My wife got me started taking vitamins about a year ago. I have injuries in both my knees and both shoulders that are always giving me pain. I started on these vitamins because someone I knew started taking them and they improved his ability to walk after having a stroke.
I also take the vitamins with the joint stuff glucosamine conjointen for my knees which has really helped the joints. I can now walk up and down the stairs without listening to my knees make noise.

The vitamins I take are about 140 bucks a month but they have made a difference in my life. I would suggest looking into some good quality vitamins for eveyone.
I don't really fell comfortable saying what brand they are because my wife now sells them. I would suggest that anyone wanting good vitamins do your research and don't just take what everyone else takes, their are som excellent vitamins out there but most are junk.

Gerry

[YawnGirl]

Thank you, thank you, thank you, YawnGirl, and everyone else who posted in this thread. Had it not been for you starting this topic, YawnGirl, I'd never have known!! Wooooooooooo!

You are welcome! My chiropractor sees me less since I started taking the vitamin D.

[Muse-Inc]

...

I'm glad you got some relief...and so easy too!

[tattooyu]

So, I'm having my doctor run some labs to check different things: CBC (calcium, magnesium, potassium, etc.), full thyroid panel (TSH, T3, T4 and Thryoid Antibodies), parathyroid hormone (PTH) and Vitamin D.

Guess which Vitamin D test he wrote down? 1,25-dihydroxy-vitamin D!!!

I didn't see on the lab card until I got home. I was so pissed. I called the office, and he claims that is the "better" test. I said "f*** it" and ordered a home test kit from the Vitamin D Council website (ZRT Labs). The $60 that cost me is probably less than me taking time off work for another doctor's appointment (to fix the lab card), pay my copay and then take off MORE work to go to the lab.

I'll let you know what turns up!

EDIT:

I just called my doctor's office to see if they could change the T3/T4 to free-T3/free-T4. The nurse said no problem! So, I asked her if we could add the 25(OH)D as well, and it's no problem! So, I'm going to cancel my home test kit order--hopefully that won't be a hassle--so I'm good to go!

[YawnGirl]

So, I'm having my doctor run some labs to check different things: CBC (calcium, magnesium, potassium, etc.), full thyroid panel (TSH, T3, T4 and Thryoid Antibodies), parathyroid hormone (PTH) and Vitamin D.

Guess which Vitamin D test he wrote down? 1,25-dihydroxy-vitamin D!!!

I didn't see on the lab card until I got home. I was so pissed. I called the office, and he claims that is the "better" test. I said "f*** it" and ordered a home test kit from the Vitamin D Council website (ZRT Labs). The $60 that cost me is probably less than me taking time off work for another doctor's appointment (to fix the lab card), pay my copay and then take off MORE work to go to the lab.

I'll let you know what turns up!

EDIT:

I just called my doctor's office to see if they could change the T3/T4 to free-T3/free-T4. The nurse said no problem! So, I asked her if we could add the 25(OH)D as well, and it's no problem! So, I'm going to cancel my home test kit order--hopefully that won't be a hassle--so I'm good to go!

Be sure to let us know your test results.

Mine is now normal. I am only taking 20k IU of D3 per week but I increased my milk intake by about 20oz a week also.
Feeling much better! I didn't even realize my joints felt better when taking the vitamin D until Rested Gal mentioned it!

[ozij]

Funny this should come up today...
I got my 25(OH)D results a couple of days ago -- told my doc my leg muscles were constatntly painful - even when I stopped execising - and she ordered it.
12.2.
I'm taking about 1400 IU supplements daily now (and for the rest of your life, said the doc),

O.

[unadog]

One of the rheumatologists that I see, Dr Dowd, has written a fairly well known book on Vitamin D:

http://www.thevitamindcure.com/

I first saw him about a year ago. I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia at the time (along with 3 specific areas of "mechanical" pain).

He talked through 4 potential causes/remedies for chronic pain. Vitamin D was one, I was low on that. Sleep was another. He gave me my first referral for a sleep study - after 12 years of insomnia, pain, etc. - which finally led to me getting diagnosed with sleep apnea!

I'll try to find my notes on dosing, related quantities of magnesium, diet, protein, etc. and other solutions that he recommends. He just upped my dosage of D3 after my last visit in January, a week or two after I **finally** got a CPAP machine. (Long story.) I think I went to 6,000 IU of D3, 7 days a week, maybe from 5 days a week? Memory is bad ....

Good guy, well regarded. He will basically say, as others have above, that **most** of us in northern climates need additional vitamin D, at least during the winter.

Good luck!

Michael

[SleepingUgly]

I was also low in Vitamin D, and I have osteopenia. I take Citracal with D twice a day (each dose contains 500 IU of Vitamin D and 630mg of Calcium). In addition, once a month I take a generic Drisdol 1.25mg bolus capsule. I also take Magnesium Oxide 400mg. Once a month, Sally Field and I make time in our busy schedules for Boniva.

But my feet and knees still hurt. I'm afraid to start messing with Gluocosamine, as I'm on too many drugs already -- each a suspect in my deteriorating state. Even my 3/4mg of Melatonin is now going to have to take the stand in it's own defense. My PCP thinks it can cause headaches, which I'd never heard of.

[unadog]

But my feet and knees still hurt. I'm afraid to start messing with Gluocosamine, as I'm on too many drugs already -- each a suspect in my deteriorating state.

Are you sure your sleep is adequately managed?

I was diagnosed with "fibromyalgia" 12 years ago. Which is really just a collection of symptoms.

I was on 5-6 prescription medications. I am down to 1 since starting to get my sleep under control in the past few weeks. I still have untreated central sleep apnea (complex sleep apnea.) I am **hoping** that once I get adequate treatment the pain is much diminished!

I have tried many, many alternative solutions. You have to **find the cause**. Just treating the symptoms never really gets you anywhere! Sorry, I don't know your history ...

Good luck!
Best,
Michael

[Country4ever]

Is testing for Vitamin D levels considered more an "alternative medicine" thing? I've seen lots of docs and no one has ever mentioned it. And I'm sure my Internal medicine doc would say its just not important or significant, even though he's a pretty bright guy.
I've been taking D3, 2-3,000 iu/day, but maybe I'll go up on it. It used to be common knowledge that you could easily overdose on the fat-soluble vitamins (ADEK), but it sounds like that's not the case with D.
Do the pills really need to be gel tabs in order to be taken up by fat?? Why wouldn't the D3 be absorbed even in tablet form?
I have fibromyalgia and would love to get on top of some of this pain.