Vitamin D deficiency

[bevm72yellow]

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

Why aren’t we all being put out then?

Put on it

I had been feeling unwell since returning from mat leave 10 months ago - recurrent infections (respiratory, throat, sinus, weird overgrowth on my tongue) always needing antibiotics, exhaustion and falling asleep as soon as I sat down, brain fog, headaches, twitching, feeling muscle weakness but still able to function, low mood and anxiety. My GP thought a blood test was sensible but only when I asked for one, and they wouldnt do it when I had an active infection. I did a thriva blood test last month for £49 and am vit D deficient(level of 25 - should be 75-175). I have been prescribed a 6 week booster course by the GP and then at least 800iug for life as an over the counter supplement.

I live in sunny Thailand. 54 deaths since Jan 13th

Same as most of equatorial and southern hemisphere countries .

The sunny weather over the last 5 months has had a firewall effect which is much more potent than any lockdown

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

Lucky you! Perhaps if you try really hard you can imagine feeling completely bone shatteringly exhausted every day with no reason for it., your joints hurting, having zero energy, generally just feeling like crap every single day. Then maybe you can understand a Dr running a series of test to try to find out why that might be

It's not like people waltz into the Drs & say 'please test my VIT D level, I'd like to know what it is'

FFS I'd gladly not have it tested again if you have the answers genius
Oh & how much exactly does a VitD test cost the NHS? (Which many of us pay into, it's not free)

Thailand has a population of 70 million .
Infection is rife. All my family has had it

I take 5,000IU of D3 with Vitamin K2 daily.
I take this as I have osteoporosis. I was prescribed medication for this but the side effects of that were such I looked for an alternative.

I read up about the condition and this seemed to be the way to go. I have been taking D3 for about five years now and am happy to read it is a good thing to take anyway, aside from preserving what is left of my bones!

There are lots of sources of information on dosage and ideal levels, and like all these things, some GPs will not be on board with alternative medication and sometimes you have to weigh things up for yourself and make a decision.

I am very happy with my decision.

I don’t think adequate vit d levels stop you from getting it but maybe help prevent the complications which lead to more serious infection/ death? Lots about respiratory disease and vit d deficiency in research before covid.

I was referred to a dermatologist for brittle, thinning, shedding hair. He took blood tests which showed both very low ferritin and Vit D. I was prescribed ferrous fumerate and a high loading dose of Vit D. Took a lot of both to get levels normal. I am still on both but to maintain normal levels now. My only sign was hair loss but not sure which deficiency was contributing most to this, the ferritin or the Vit D.

My only sign was hair loss but not sure which deficiency was contributing most to this, the ferritin or the Vit D.

I had hair loss with low ferritin levels.

HoyaFlower 5000? What brand? Where did you get them? And no. Not too strong. It's near impossible to OD on Vit D

I ended up being tested after struggling for about 18 months with diagnosed M.E. I experienced fatigue like I’d never had before, like to my bones. My whole body ached, I would get period of muscle weakness particularly in my hands and legs. Some days I could barely shuffle around, and someone had to cut up my food for me...I was 28 at the time. It was awful.
After seeing a new doctor I finally had a vit D test and it was through the floor low. I was put on intensive vit D replacement therapy. After 12 months my symptoms had all but disappeared!

Also please take the dismissive attitude of 'well everyone is low in vit D so why ask the NHS to test' elsewhere. No doubt my continuous antibiotic prescriptions and GP trips were rather costly. I was already being dismissed for being a mother of a young child so of course I'm tired with a young child and daring to try and work and start a business to. I dont need more dismissive attitudes to what became a serious deficiency for me. Its like people telling me to 'just get out in the sun' when we are very outdoor family. This was causing me serious medical issues.

@FredaFrogspawn put yourself on it. It's freely available. I took it through winter as recommended. As I barely see light working 12.5 hour shifts and our country is full on winter/ Definitely made a difference for me.
I eat an all round healthy diet and try and get outside on my days off from April.

Also to add, I had to take large doses of calcium as well, as without adequate vit D levels you can’t absorb calcium properly. So a deficiency of one often leads to the other.

Can anyone recommend a good high dose brand, suitable for vegetarians?

Thanks

5000 was recommended as a daily dose by my partner's consultant.

For those whose doctor won’t test, you can pay around £30 to have it done
www.vitamindtest.org.uk/

Also there’s an app called Dminder which helps you track sun exposure and works out how much you’re getting

I'm currently on a really high dose of vitamin D.

About a month after having a baby I experienced agonising pain in my legs and back. Was tested for arthritis and the blood results came back showing a severe deficiency in vitamin D! No idea if it is pregnancy related?!

Cannot tell you how painful it was though!

A few years back orthopaedic wards were full of elderly women who had fractured their hips so lots of older people were started on calcium with vitamin d tablets.
Then a year or so back it was decided not to be necessary so was stopped for almost everybody. Many elderly people in the UK especially in care homes do not go outside at all so no sunlight.
Not proof of a covid link but perhaps has an effect.

The thing I learned from the app is that if you’re overweight you don’t absorb VitaminD so well from sunlight.
My bmi is 27, so not massively over, and the app calculated I was absorbing 30% less than a skinny person.

Bone pain in back and neck and shoulders to the point where I couldn’t turn head or lift arms up some days. Extreme tiredness during the day but unable to sleep mode than a couple of hours at night. Very low mood.

I thought I’d trapped a nerve in my back and was depressed.

Took high rise prescribed by doctor for 8 weeks. Mood and sleep improved almost right away but bone pain took about 6 weeks to start easing. As soon as 8 weeks we’re up symptoms started returning so now no long term meds at lower dose.

Over the counter is different type of vit d - you need the one prescribed by a doctor

My Vit d level was very low, quite common with my disability, I was advised to take 10,000 international units a day, this is a very high dose & is not usually recommended, but my levels were very low, the levels have come up, I have just managed to get in the normal range, I know that’s probably the best I can hope for.

I was diagnosed as deficient after a couple of miscarriages. No symptoms otherwise....

I'm not overweight and am out for at least one hour every day even in the winter more in the summer, also go on sunny holidays I the winters so never expected to be low, yet one locum gp decided to test and I came back low the previous January.

I started taking vit D from October this year and continued all through the winter. I developed the symptoms if covid early March after being exposed to someone who had been in contact with a confirmed case. Got the standard lungs on fire and shortness of breath, but was ok overall and able to continue to work. I'm convinced the high vit D levels help.

I told my 70yo mum to go and get tested asap especially as she was showing some symptoms. Sure enough, very low levels. She was put on a strong dose. I got the while family on it now!