Vitamin D deficiency

[bevm72yellow]

Has anyone here had deficiency symptoms? If so what were they? And how long did it take to get diagnosed?

Bone pain in my lower legs was the main thing I noticed. Also general tiredness and feeling down, but I have other conditions that can also cause these symptoms.

I had blood tests done by the GP but the levels were borderline, so they just told me to buy my own supplements over the counter rather than prescribe, so it has taken a while to get up to a decent level.

One good thing about lockdown is having the time to spend an hour outside most days.

Yes - I saw a doctor several times but in a short space of time and was diagnosed reasonably quickly.

I had chest pains
Weakness in arms
Extreme tiredness
Occasional shortness of breath

I had an ECG, heart CT (as ECG showed some abnormality) and heart ultrasound but all were normal.

Also bloods for anaemia and thyroid function.

I went back a while later and had some further bloods which showed Vit D deficiency- it didn’t seem to be a standard test but done as a last resort.

I now take 4000iu of Vit D3 a day and all symptoms have gone.

Following, interesting thread
I've suspected I'm deficient recently and have ordered some supplements

Yes. I am also anaemic so some overlap but fatigue, pain all over, cramps. It took as long as it did for me to see GP, ask for blood test to be done with my iron tests and the results to come back. It is really common so I think it would be strange for you to have much resistance.

I think the majority of people in the UK are vit D deficient to some extent due to the lack of sun. Mine was picked up during IVF, a routine check. I now take 2000iu a day, just order from Amazon.

I cannot understand why people ask for vitamin D testing which costs the NHS a considerable amount when we know most people are low in it, it is safe and it is cheap
I take 2000iu a day over the Winter and less in Summer

Tingling and twitching, mainly in the arms and feet - it drove me absolutely insane. To the point I was convinced I had some sort of very serious health problem.

I had bloods taken for a routine pill check in September. The GP rang me in December to ask if they'd told me to take a supplement as the results showed borderline vitamin D deficiency. They hadn't. I now take 25 micrograms daily as they recommended generic vitamin D tablets. Never noticed any symptoms, so I guess it really was just borderline. I'll see what happens next time they take bloods.

Fatigue and terrible back pain to the point if I bent over I couldn't stand up without crying out. On a GP visit for something else, GP took one look at me and said Vitamin D deficiency. Confirmed with blood tests. I had the super high dose pills to get me back up to normal levels and now I have to take 2 high strength vit d tablets a day in winter and 1 in summer alongside multivitamin. Back pain and fatigue went within about 3 days...life changing!

Same as @101problems I had tingling and also felt my all my teeth were going to fall out. Genuinely convinced myself I had some serious health issues but as soon as I started taking supplements all symptoms disappeared. I wasn't even classed as borderline by tests.

I was told I was deficient whilst having a totally unrelated blood test.

DS's chest was growing in a funny shape. I had no idea what was wrong but Dr diagnosed vit d deficiency, confirmed by blood tests. He also gets terrible mouth ulcers, mainly over winter.

I cannot understand why people ask for vitamin D testing which costs the NHS a considerable amount when we know most people are low in it, it is safe and it is cheap

Everyone should get tested and get accurate levels if they have issues and it can be something else too. I was given 50k iu a week after blood tests. And no. It is not always safe. There is such a thing as vitamin d (and other) toxicity.

Op, I had general blood works done because I have family history of some ilnesses and I had symptoms which fit more things. In the end it turned out to be vit d deficiency. Life-changing. I was myself again.
Symptoms were anything from anxiety which lead to chest pains so ecg, lower leg bones hurt, i fell asleep when standing basically. Pretty much were under a fog. Oh and quite a depression. I still say people with MH issues should be better watched physically too because I go down when the levels of vit d go down.

If you can go after all this, go get bloods done. Kidneys, liver too. When I had liver trouble it manifested by ultra tiredness too.

To me it makes sense that all of us living in the UK should be taking a Vit D supplement anyway, especially during the winter months.

I'm currently pregnant and have been taking a pregnancy multivitamin since before conception, still taking it, and will continue to take it after my baby is here. Particularly important as I will be extended breastfeeding.

Before ttc I just took a general multivitamin. Supermarket-own brands are really not expensive at all and often do 3 for 2 deals etc.

I cannot understand why people ask for vitamin D testing which costs the NHS a considerable amount when we know most people are low in it,

Because being low is not the same as being deficient. A deficiency that causes physical symptoms which mirror various other illnesses is absolutely worth testing for if it's suspected. I don't disagree with the 'most people are low, take it anyway' sentiment, but when sympathetic present that could be any number of things it really is important to test so it can be confirmed or ruled out.

I have anaemia too so symptoms overlap but I would fall asleep in the middle of the day and feel groggy. Also had aches and pains in arms and lower legs, my limbs felt heavy. I have to take supplements and have another blood test in a few weeks to see if things have improved or if I will need to be prescribed treatment rather than buy over the counter (not the same strength).

My diagnosis was a bit more dramatic. I slipped over and broke my arm in two places (humerous) had to have a plate fitted to keep it together. It was such a small fall they did a bone scan and found I had weakened bones similar to osteoporosis. They checked my blood and I was very low in vit D so I am now on 4000iu a day plus calcium tablets. I was told it won't make my bones stronger but will stop them getting any worse

I cannot understand why people ask for vitamin D testing which costs the NHS a considerable amount when we know most people are low in it

I didn't ask for it but my exhaustion was so bad I was tested for all sorts of things and my levels through the floor. I needed a massive loading dose, much bigger than anything you can get over the counter, to get mine back up to the normal range.

Yes before I had a operation I had low vitamin d

Tiredness
Pain in my knees
Stiff joints

Now I buy high dosage vitamin d recommended by the hospital and other vitamins and no more pain

Yep, in 2017. I had my first vitamin d test when I was 20, so no idea when I became deficient as no recent results to compare to.

Initially I had a low mood, not depression, just sheer tiredness and a complete lack of motivation to do anything? I could manage to go to uni and work, but would be completely exhausted/drained after, I turned down every social invitation from my friends as I was bed bound on my days off. Just completely out of character as I was active, fit, bit of a party girl etc. I just put it down to the stress of working full time whilst at uni full time.

Then later on, I had weird skin issues. My skin would bruise easily. My muscles/body would constantly ache, eg walking up a stairs would actually hurt my calves to the point that I’d need to stand aside and recover like I’d just been working out! Again, I’m slim and fit - it just didn’t make sense that I was constantly aching and tired.

Other little things like feeling light headed/confused, vertigo

Turned out my vitamin d level was really low, around TEN. My GP said it was one of the lowest they’ve seen. After about 8 weeks of supplements I felt better.

There seems to be variable dosages being taken by everyone here. How do you know what strength to buy please?

I felt very poorly. I could hardly walk and I first thought I needed to exercise more. But I couldn’t haul myself out of the swimming pool. First of all I was dx with underactive thyroid and anaemia but for some reason they didn’t test vitamin d. So I still didn’t feel very strong. Then I had to have blood work done for a job and they picked up I was severely deficient. At my worst, I know this sounds dramatic, but I thought I was dying. I was so weak. But it’s hard to pick out whether the thyroid, anaemia or d deficiency but they all go hand in hand.

DD had been suffering with almost constant headaches which wouldn't go away by taking paracetamol. Blood test showed she was deficient in Vit D

@Grandadwasthatyou that's why knowing what your level is is so important, Some people need massive doses to get even close to normal, others just need a top up.

@Celeriacacaca did your DS also have B12 level checked? My DD suffered with bad mouth ulcers for years. When we found out she was deficient in Vit D we also found she was on the very lowest level of normal for B12 (and it's a huge band) which explained her current dizziness but also that mouth ulcers were a very common symptom so she's probably always been low.

Timely thread - my DD is now 19 and has had lower leg pain all her life, she went off to uni and was dizzy and weak, heart palpitation chest pain,diagnosed with vit D deficiency and told to take the large dose tablets twice a week -made her much worse! I now suspect she might not be able to absorb vit D - I think you need vitamin K as well? She's just had to change GP and new surgery is insisting they start testing again from scratch.

I've ordered some but they are 5000 IU D3 per capsule. Is that too high?