Has anyone had low vitamin D?

[Pieandpeas3]

After having blood tests for exhaustion, muscle aches and pains and brain fog my doctor has found out I have very low vitamin D levels. Has anyone else had this and what symptoms did you have? did the symptoms get better after supplementation?

My vitamin D levels were 16. I have been prescribed 20000 units twice a week for 8 weeks, but forgot to take the first tablet yesterday as I was exhausted from my night shift and parenting etc.
How long does it take to feel better? I could really do with feeling better, physically and emotionally when I go back to work in the middle of next week, but that might be a bit optimistic as I will have only had 2 of the tablets by then.

It was a week or two till I felt better but my dose was 20000iu 3x a week for 7 weeks.

Thanks for the replies, it's good to see that people have had positive responses to supplements. I have had my thyroid tested which is fine. I might try some magnesium tablets too. I am hoping it works as I was thinking it might be fibromyalgia.

My levels were 20 and my hopeless GP didn’t flag it up, so I assumed it was normal and the issues were down to being hypothyroid. I am now taking supplements and it is creeping up.

I'm surprised so many people suffer from lack of vitamin D. I always thought that housebound people or those who cover their bodies e.g. for religious reasons were the main people at risk.
Is exposing your skin to the sun and eating a healthy diet not enough?

My levels are 13, I've read mixed things regarding the success of taking vit d though. I suppose I didn't really consider that my symptoms could be as a result of that.

My level was 9 and I felt truly dreadful. I sidi prove dramatically after supplements but my level went down a second time to 14. I take prescription dose supplements daily now to try to prevent it happening again.

Watching with interest. Got a letter from the doctor today saying ds was low in vitamin D even though I give him abcde jelly supplements. We live in Scotland and don't get much sun in the winter.

Just shows you though. I walk everywhere, take the dog out twice a day and the weather hasn't been that awful this year. Wonder if the Doctor would prescribe a week or two in Majorca? 😎

esspee I am also surprised. I had never heard of being vitamin D deficient until I was told that I am. That was also when I discovered that the NHS recommends that everyone takes a vitamin D supplement during winter.
I can see why I am though. I don't see daylight most days. I get to work at 7am and leave at about 9pm. I also do night shifts which mean I am asleep during the day, so my skin is not exposed to much sunlight. To be honest, I also don't eat a very healthy diet. I often don't have time to eat during the working day, this week I existed for about 32hrs on only jaffa cakes. I have read that it is hard to get enough vitamin D from diet alone though even if you are eating healthily.

pieandpeas I also never considered that this could be the reason for my symptoms. I assumed I was tired because I miss out on a night's sleep most weeks working night shifts and rarely have an night without being woken by DC, and I assumed my stress and anxiety was a reasonable reaction to a terrible few weeks in what is generally a very stressful job. I only suggested blood tests to my GP because DH had said to. (I am ignoring the possibility that work might be the reason for these symptoms as well as low vitamin D, and convincing myself that I will be absolutely fine in a couple of weeks of taking the high dose)

Oh yes and I thought I was dying! Started off taking tablets but then saw a naturopath who recommended vitamin D3 with K2 drops. They really made a difference. I also altered my diet so became super healthy and within 3 months felt great again.

Yes, I did, but it was only found when I had blood tests after falling over and breaking my shoulder. I had had no symptoms.. I was prescribed a very high dosage Vitamin D tablet daily for 3 months, and a VitD/calcium tablet twice daily, which I still take. I also take Alendronic acid once a week to build my bones up as a preventative against osteoporosis.

I keep a Vit D spray on the table and we usually all remember to take a hit every day in winter. I was previously quite low.

I'm
Not obsessive about sunscreen and try and get some gentle exposure to sun when I can.

nutrigold.co.uk/vitamin-d3-spray-1000iu.html

It's difficult to get Vitamin D through diet really, and sunshine only really helps you make vitamin D from march- October because of the amount of daylight and uva/uvb rays and a summer like last year's has been rare enough. Not many people have very outdoorsy lifestyles. Added to that we have been told for years to never go outside without sunscreen which blocks uva/uvb rays, the very thing needed for vitamin D.

If you live in California (for example) with an outdoor lifestyle and are vitamin D deficient then I would be surprised. In a far northern hemisphere country with intermittent summer sunshine and always wearing sunscreen then I'm not surprised.

Sorry thecrown I've just seen this
I've looked st the bottle and it doesn't mention age at all
Have a look online? www.vitaminplanet.co.uk/d-max-vitamin-d3-20000iu-p-178053.aspx
I would ask your GP or GP nurse?

I meant thecrown3 🙄

Also worth making sure that you know what your thyroid levels are. Even if docs tell you they are “normal”, ask for the readings. Often you can be over the levels, but NHS won’t treat until they’re stupidly high

Also, ask for B12 and folate levels. Again, ask for your results and the lab range perimeters. Sometimes you might only be a few points “above” their normal range but this is why knowing your actual result is so important. If you have something to compare to a future result that helps. If you’re not vegan/vegetarian then low b12 could be a problem (could be your body can’t absorb it). Worth looking at pernicious anaemia society website to see if you have any symptoms.

Wishing you all the best

I had very low Vit D at one point. It turned out (a bit later) that I had a lot of simultaneous deficiencies (with one underlying cause). So I'd struggle to say anything too accurate about which symptoms belonged to which deficiency. But worth bearing in mind if supplementation doesn't seem to work.

Hope you crack it soon

Interesting that a couple of posters had low vitamin D and anxiety. Do any other posters? Wondering if low vitamin D causes anxiety?

I'm not sure which deficiency was responsible (see above) but one of them made my heart gallop a bit, which in turn made me feel quite edgy. Is it like that? It's a very strange sensation.

I had a blood test a couple of years back that showed very low levels, I went to the doctors with exhaustion, aching limbs, foggy head. I had 4 months of high vit d tablets and was told to expose my arms three times a week to sunshine for 20 mins. I take regular vit d now and make sure I have one sunshine winter break even if it is only a weekend.

My symptoms cleared up totally after a few months, I was so relieved.

ColeHawlins, I got my bloods done last week. I have been suffering with anxiety, racing heart, feeling tense. My doc rang to say my vitamin d levels were "in my boots" - a reading of 23. So I'm on high dose prescription for 2 months - I'm hoping it helps these awful anxiety symptoms!

I was very low vit d this time last year. Had the high dosage supplement and maintained with 2000iu/day. Felt better almost immediately but at end September started to feel exhausted again so went back to doctor. She said vit d probably ok and recommended a SAD lamp. I’m now evangelical about it as it’s made a massive difference.

I'd be interested in hearing if there's a good all rounder vitamin supplement, my cupboard is full of different ones, magnesium, iron, vit d , omega oil it goes on

@svenwhen agreed.

I worry about overdosing accidentally and it seems that you either have to take combinations which could lead to that, or miss out on vitamins entirely.