Vitamin D deficiency

[bevm72yellow]

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

There's 50 ug Vitamin K2 as well

I'm going in for my annual physical exam on Thursday. Last year I tested borderline deficient despite taking 2000iu per day. I've been taking 4000iu since and will be really interested to see if my levels have normalized.

One thing to keep in mind is that your vitamin D levels fall when you're fighting an infection as your immune system uses more of it then. That's one reason why it's important to keep your levels up and probably explains why low levels are a risk factor in coronavirus outcomes.

This thread is so interesting.... I now wonder if DS (13yo) may be deficient. He is tired all the time, doesn't seem to be growing, has pains in his lower leg bones and mouth ulcers. All points to Vit D deficiency. Plus we have been locked down for 6 weeks now in a flat and he barely goes out. I have a 3000IU spray (Dlux); do you think that would be too strong for him? I am tempted to give it to him daily for a week and see how things go...

(My comment about him not growing was related to the tiredness and sore legs.... I don't think either can be attributed to a growth spurt...)

4000iu per day is considered the maximum safe daily dose for adults so he should be fine on 3000.

Thanks MissConductUS, good to know. Advice online not consistent.

Will have to cut my capsules in half i think as 5000iu is over the safe dose. Kind of annoying that a UK based company is selling tablets with above the NHS recommended safe dose. Amazon sell them at that dose too. Only taken 2 or 3 of them with a day or 2 in between so far

Extreme tiredness, dry eyes, backach, shortness of breath, legs ached if I walked much and falling asleep if I sat down during the daytime. My bit D level was really really low. I don't know why because i eat a good diet. I'm now taking bit D and bit b12 tabs and less tired, eyes better, but back and legs still ache. I have to do another blood test after 3 months, should be mid May but I am reluctant to go due to Covid. I got supplements from Holland and Barrett and Magnesium too.

Brain fog and, a constant feeling of exhaustion and also pain in the sternum. I was put on a loading dose and I maintain with a 3000iu spray.

I was being tested for low thyroid.

My level was very low at 19. I had terrible knee and back pain, my anxiety was through the roof and i felt exhausted.

I went to GP with exhaustion, joint ache and generally feeling so dopey.
Three months later after a vit d deficit was diagnosed I felt like a new woman.
I needed the test to know that I needed a lot of vit D.

A scratching sensation on the skin, twitching and aching of the limbs, general fatigue and feeling depressed. At my worst, sudden intense pains in my bones that made me scream, they were so sudden and so bad. Vitamin D is a life changer.

www.vitamindtest.org.uk/

I use this NHS lab to test my vitamin D levels at home using a finger prick test. They’re still open during lockdown. Very quick and easy, and good value.

I have an Endocrine disease called primary hyperparathyroidism. One of the symptoms of this disease is low VitD. My levels were low even taking 2000ius a day with a separate magnesium supplement at the same time so I've upped it to 3,000ius a day on my Endos advice. I also bought magnesium and VitD 2,000ius for my two daughters to take. Last year I was on holiday in Spain and I stopped the supplements and within a few days I was covered in Psoriasis everywhere apart from my face! It cleared up totally after a few weeks of taking VitD and magnesium again! Also it is possible to have levels of VitD that are too high but this is much rarer than being low or deficient in it.

My main symptom was chest pains. Blood test confirmed deficiency and was put on a 7 week course. Blood test after confirmed all ok. I'm getting it back now so really need to do it out.

Tingling and numbness in fingers and toes. Hairloss. Bone pain and bone hunger. Parathyroid issues.

If you are taking D vitamins you need B12 to absorb the D vitamins.

I didn't have any symptoms as such, but had recurrent miscarriage, so was tested as part of the investigation into that.
Was found to have below normal range levels of Vit D - not quite into absolute deficiency but definitely below what it should be - and was prescribed 10,000 IU once a week for 4 weeks to bring it up. After it was brought up to within normal range (although still on the lower end), I got pg with DS2.

I take 5000 IU daily because of a familial risk of bowel cancer - the boys take 1-2000 IU daily because they were tested at some point and found to be low as well (we're in Australia, it's a more normal thing to be tested for here), and DH takes 3000 IU daily. Although we can get more from the sun here, it's mostly too dangerous because of the burning risk, so supplementation is a safer option. DH already sees the skin specialist 4-6 times a year for skin cancer removals, so it's definitely safer for him and the rest of us are very fair-skinned so safer for us too.

@Stinkycatbreath - what is your source information for that?

Magnesium is usually recommended to be taken with vitamin D for best vitamin D function; and vitamin D is recommended to be taken with calcium supplements for best use of the calcium.

I wonder if they will find a link to low vitamin D levels and those who have CV19 more seriously. Particularly for darker skinned people who may find it even harder to absorb Vitamin D from sunshine.

It is actually far better to get your levels up using a higher dose and then test yourself. Lots of pin prick tests on the market. If you are very deficient it will take a long time to get your levels up on a smaller dose/

Don’t guess; test

I do think the NHS should routinely recommend 4,000 IU for everyone from october to April. I also think they should do tests on various groups in April such as BAME individuals, children, people with low mood before prescribing ADs (and they should test iron l, thyroid and ferritin too) and people who get relentless coughs over winter

The NHS would save itself a fortune and might have improved its Covid rate too

@FredaFrogspawn - it's already been postulated as a reason.

how do people find out if they are Vit D sufficient.

GP sent me for a blood test but the lab rejected it. Test must be ordered by a consultant. As I am under a GP only, I cannot get tested.

@FredaFrogspawn

Lots of evidence. Blood samples have been taken from covid 19 patients in New Orleans, Indonesia and the Philippines (nearly all severe cases have had massive deficiency, but media don't want to talk about it because vitamin D3 is very, very inexpensive):

medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.04.24.20075838v1
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3585561
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3571484
dropbox.com/s/ka7h4fbi7xdz9s9/Covid-19%20and%20Vitamin%20D%20Information.pdf?dl=0
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/apt.15777