Severe Vitamin D Deficiency...So Bummed!

[unadog]

P.S.......would I need to quit taking Vitamin D supplements for awhile, before having my blood drawn for the test?

no, you should be OK. Just a question of where you are at, and whether you need more.

Vitamin D is mostly mainstream. The doc I linked to is an MD who teaches at Michigan State.

Have you seen a Rheumatologist? Have you had extensive blood work done?

I just saw my primary care and physical medicine people for 12 years. In the past year I have seen 2 rheumatologists. They are really the folks to talk to if you have fibro! They see things a bit differently, maybe more of a systematic approach if that makes sense.

The "For Health Care Providers" section of this web site is good from a high level. Note the "Differential Diagnosis" section - what do you know, sleep apnea ....

I think sleep disturbances and sleep architecture plays a big role in fibro! Pain is also a secondary sleep disorder (apnea is a primary.)

http://www.med.umich.edu/painresearch/pro/over.htm

[SleepingUgly]

No, testing for Vitamin D is not alternative. Your doctor can order the test. My Vit D was tested originally because I was found to have osteopenia.

I don't know much about fibromyalgia. Have you read any of the articles Avram Gold, MD has written about the connection between sleep disordered breathing and "functional somatic syndromes" such as fibromyalgia? Not sure if there is anything helpful in there for you, but it is interesting. Here are some examples:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15164899
http://chestjournal.chestpubs.org/conte ... 7.full.pdf

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.

[Erasmus331]

thank you for sharing, It is a great post.

[Erasmus331]

thanks...


SwansonVitamins.com

[DavidCarolina]

My question is, is your doctor trying to find out WHY you are vitamin d deficient?

I found this link http://www.webmd.com/diet/vitamin-d-deficiency

For myself, i seem to have a combination of problems including apnea and a gastro problem.

The next tests are for milk/wheat/gluten allergies and "leaky gut" syndrome.

Dont let them just "treat" you, but find the underlying cause whenever you can !!!

[trytryagain]

I buy my Vitamin D3 at Costco, a huge bottle (600 tiny gelcaps) cheap. 2000 iu.

[Bons]

YIKES!
My doctor ordered a Vitamin D check along with my other annual blood work. It came back at 9, and low normal is 30. On the other hand, the nurse said my cholestrol levels are such that I can keep eating chicken wings to my heart's content...

[mdpooch1]

I recently have been to Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, They had done several blood tests....the one thing they found was that my vitamin D was low. I was told by that doctor to add a Vitamin D3 supplemtn to my meds that I take. My situation was that I have had a elevated Calcium level-not out of sight but something to keep a eye on -I had three and one half hyperparathyroids removed in 1995 and that made a huge difference but that didnt bring the calcium level completely within limits. I
had several tests run and found that I have FHH -familiel Hypercalcuric Hypercalcemia. There is nothing they do for it. But as I understood from the doctor the vitamin D3 helps with the absorption of calcium in the blood, so I will be anxious to see my blood test results in two months. But I to have also noticed the same with aches and pains.

[Physician]

I think I am falling apart I had bi-yearly labwork done last week, just talked to my GP, I have severe Vitamin D deficiency. He gave me prescription for a VITAMIN! Good grief! On top of that ,I have to go back to taking a Calcium supplement, which he took me off of 4 years ago because of kidney stones!

In my mind's eye, I keep seeing my mother's lazy susan in the kitchen cabinet, instead of spices, it held her daily prescriptions.

I have never heard of a vitamin D deficiency. Is this common? I searched a thread here, but it mostly just listed foods and their vitamin D content.

I have NOT read any other posts in this thread.

Highly unlikely you have VDD. It takes under 20 minutes of sunlight to get sufficient Vit D from a solar source. Add food intake to the total. What test was done ? What was the actual value ? Was it repeated at a different lab ?

[EricinNC]

Vitamin D deficiency is one of the latest things in medicine nowadays. I got dxed with it back a few years ago. It helped my depression a lot. I found the cheapo prescription strength stuff, the D2 stuff, called "drisdol" or its cheap generic equivalent was really effective. I found taking 50,000 to 100,000 IU generic drisdol a week helped me a lot and I tried the OTC D3 stuff. I tried OTC D3 a few months after I ran out of prescription D2 drisdol.

The OTC D3 stuff did not remotely compare in effectiveness to the prescription stuff. Get the prescription stuff and go with it.

The other option is to simply ditch the suntan and methodically build a nice sun tan. And screw the warnings of the companies that profit off of sunscreen manufacture and marketing. They are scaring Americans half to death with the "dont go in the sun without sunscreen on" spiel.

Healthiest Ive ever felt was when I had a good, dark suntan.

Eric

[Bons]

[quote="EricinN}
The other option is to simply ditch the suntan and methodically build a nice sun tan. And screw the warnings of the companies that profit off of sunscreen manufacture and marketing. They are scaring Americans half to death with the "dont go in the sun without sunscreen on" spiel.

Healthiest Ive ever felt was when I had a good, dark suntan.
Eric[/quote]

One of my 24 year old daughter's friends was just diagnosed with melanoma that has already spread to her brain, and one of my husband's friends just died from it. My brother-in-law had a bout with it two years ago but caught it early. I think I'll stick with sunscreen and D2 supplements.

[vette76]

Go out in the sun 30 min a day that will help and take D3 i think since i have been taking D3 it helps me from geting sick colds, flu, you name it. 5000 a day is what i take i also take B complex that helps mood swings. best of luck.

[EricinNC]

[quote="EricinN}
The other option is to simply ditch the suntan and methodically build a nice sun tan. And screw the warnings of the companies that profit off of sunscreen manufacture and marketing. They are scaring Americans half to death with the "dont go in the sun without sunscreen on" spiel.

Healthiest Ive ever felt was when I had a good, dark suntan.
Eric

One of my 24 year old daughter's friends was just diagnosed with melanoma that has already spread to her brain, and one of my husband's friends just died from it. My brother-in-law had a bout with it two years ago but caught it early. I think I'll stick with sunscreen and D2 supplements.[/quote]

OK stay indoors all the time, you were made to be outside exposed to the sunlight. Thats how people evolved, not like they are nowadays thats for sure.

Eric

[DreamDiver]

OK stay indoors all the time, you were made to be outside exposed to the sunlight. Thats how people evolved, not like they are nowadays thats for sure.

Eric

I saw a photo once of a 93-year-old Buddhist monk who looked 45, due primarily to his nearly-entire life being spent within the rooms of a temple. We're all built differently, and the ozone layer is not as thick as it was when we all got pyorrhea, dandruff and piles and liked it, so many ages ago. Aye, those were the good ol' days...

[roster]

I have NOT read any other posts in this thread.

Highly unlikely you have VDD. It takes under 20 minutes of sunlight to get sufficient Vit D from a solar source. Add food intake to the total. What test was done ? What was the actual value ? Was it repeated at a different lab ?

Then will you critique the study referenced below?

...Subjects older than 18 yr were recruited approximately equally from
the University of Hawaii at Manoa (UH) and from patrons of the A’ala
Park Board Shop, Honolulu, Hawaii (latitude 21° north), in late March
2005. The A’ala Park Board Shop is a skateboard shop frequented by
young adults. Recruitment was performed by posted notice at the Board
Shop and on the UH campus; volunteers were reimbursed for study
participation. Volunteers were required to have self-reported sun exposure
of 3 or more hours per day on 5 or more days per week for at
least the preceding 3 months, and not to be currently taking phenobarbital,
phenytoin, or prednisone. A total of 93 subjects (63 male and 30
female) participated.

... Using a cutpoint of 30 ng/ml, 51% of this population had low vitamin D status.

... In conclusion, high amounts of sun exposure do not ensure
what is currently accepted as vitamin D adequacy. Thus,
clinicians should not assume that individuals with abundant
sun exposure have adequate vitamin D status.

http://www.grc.com/health/pdf/Low_Vitam ... posure.pdf