Vitamin D deficiency. DS and possibly me too.

[getyourfingeroutyournose]

Has anyone been diagnosed with a vitamin D deficiency?

I've posted about my son's fatigue and it went on for weeks that he was sleeping far too much and had headaches/really not himself. He ended up in hospital and they did so many tests which nearly everything came back fine. The final result came back yesterday and DS has a Vitamin D deficiency and the GP has written on the letter that family should be tested too.

Has anyone dealt with this? DS has a prescription for drops and I was told this is fairly normal at this time of year as we don't see a lot of sun until now.

Aside from getting him outside and using the drops, is there anything else I should be doing?

Yes - I think its very common for those in the UK and throughout winter. My GP didn't even comment on it, but I saw the print outs and started taking supplements. I then saw an endocrinologist later in the year who reviewed previous bloods and commented on it and said I should supplement. I don't think they take it very seriously but maybe it depends how deficient you are.

I was diagnosed Vit D and iron deficient back in March. Had three big doses of Vit D to take over 3 months and chugged a shedload of Floradix. Total new lease of life after about 6 weeks.

I don't understand how to read the results but the doctor said the over the counter supplements wouldn't be enough for him so has prescribed some drops to have every day. When that prescription is finished he can be given the over the counter stuff and it says on the letter that it will be "for the rest of his childhood"... which sounds a bit scary and final but I could be overreacting as usual.
I do have low iron myself. They realised when DS was born that I don't appear to replenish fast enough and all that horrible stuff that happens right when you just want to take your baby home. I'm just glad they have something that could help.
Very glad it helped you Shutup I really hope this helps his tiredness! And mine.

I have very low vitd
I asked to be tested 4 years ago and never was

Was tested in March by surgeon and it came back apparently very low

I have been prescribed very high dose tablets and have to take once per week for eight weeks

Then continue with another perscription for taem daily

It got rid of the tiredness. I felt like I was shutting down by abut 2pm most days, struggled to stay awake until I got the kids in bed and then I crashed too. I'd started needing a full weekend day in bed almost every other week. It was hideous.

I am now back to normal levels of tiredness.

GP wants to retest and says that I should probably take OTC supplements for the summer months and then extra Vit D on prescription for the winter months. We'll see if that is still the case afetr these final tests.

Hope it does the same for you - I'd forgotten what normal felt like.

Yup I've been told I'm very low (in the 20s....) and told to supplement but I had to figure out myself what to take. No super duper prescription for me (not in UK though)

I think huge numbers of people have this undiagnosed. I have it and now take vit d twice daily. I haven't had the pick me up others have had yet but am better. My vit d is only at 55 now and I think it's almost a year now since tests. It's just a supplement so no biggie. Sunshine when you can. Sunscreen on after time in the sun. I go for teeshirt and 20 mins after 11am as much as possible. Well. As much as possible in Scotland!

The vast majority of the U.K. Population is deficient.

Our latitude means that even when we get sunlight the wavelength is wrong and so convert to Vit d for most of the year

You can look at increasing foods rich in D3- eggs, salmon etc but sunshine is the most effective way of raising levels- if you can get it of course. You do store it but not enough to get through a British winter. I ended up having to write a project on vitamin d and waded through about 60 papers ~ it is staggering the amount of body systems that it affects and how broadly deficient most people are now , working long hours indoors and using sunscreen. I immediately put my husband on supplements as he has an autoimmune disease that came up in one of the papers, and when we are back in U.K. this year the rest of us will supplement over the winter. I'm glad it's been picked up for you and that it is such a treatable issue.

Most people in the Uk will be deficient to some degree (but impact on health will vary) because of the lack of sunshine, because they simply don't get outside enough and when the sun does emerge we often slap on high factor sunscreen (good, but not when it comes to absorbing Vit D!). DS2's endocrinologist confirmed that his blood tests showed low Vit D and prescribed a supplement but said that all the DC's - ours and everyone else's - should take them because of the above. DH and I take them too when we remember No big deal.

Yes . Vitamin D is very important for good health. It does affect many of our physiological processes. As shown by the latest research worldwide. Bones, immune system, muscle strength, cancer prevention, thyroid activity,serotonin production, etc the list is very long. Vit D is converted to a hormone in your body, that hormone affect at least 2,000 of your genes, up-regulating some, down-regulating others.

Current governmental recommendations for blood level etc are simply based upon bone health. We need more than that. Humans evolved in East Africa, at a latitude below 30 degrees, in intense sunlight. Our physiology is based upon a constant higher level of vitamin d . About 120 to 140. In the UK , at our latitude of 50+ degrees , much less UVB light is present in sunlight , and we are unable to make Vitamin D , in our skin , between mid -Oct and mid -April because UVB is absent. Mostly our levels are 30 to 60 . Depending upon our lifestyle of course. Most people are indoors, many people avoid sunlight, many people use a suncream which absorbs the light which makes your vitamin D

  By increasing your blood level , you will improve your health. As many people have shown here on Mumsnet.  There are lots of threads about it ... here are just a few.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/general_health/2095747-Vitamin-d-deficiency

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/general_health/2376645-Hospital-wouldnt-test-me-for-vitamin-D

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/general_health/2421492-Vitimin-D-can-it-have-this-effect

    OP  ,      the amount of vitamin D you require  depends upon your weight ,   and  also your sons weight.  A 75 kg adult will likely need 3000 to 5000 IU  per day to maintain a blood level above 100 .( Preferably in the 120 - 140 range.)   If you do that,  then great improvements in health may be expected. As shown by the latest medical research. If your son is quite young , he will require less Vit D, because his weight is less. !

I hope this may prove helpful to you.

Best of Luck

BTBH

I'm deficient, and after they picked up on that they picked up on the under active thyroid, and low B12 too. B12 is not routinely tested (and you can have a normal iron level but low B12) but it is the base for all the others.

I have 60,000 units of vit D per month in winter and 40,000 units a month in summer, thyroxine daily and B12 injections now. That's for life. But honestly - now I HAVE a life.

Hello ilove ,

it is great that you have found the reason behind your ill health, and that you can treat it with vitamin D and other therapies.

Vitamin D researchers very strongly suspect that B12 deficiency is a result of pernicious anaemia, also that pernicious anaemia, is thought to be an autoimmune problem. That autoimmune response is thought to be linked to Vit D deficiency.

In other words - Keep your vitamin D level up.

Some hypothyroidism is due to excessive autoimmune activity with regards to the thyroid gland. ( Hashimotos ). Vitamin D , can down-regulate immune response , ( if that response is overly-reactive ).

    Going forward ....   for optimum health ,    try to keep your blood levels of vitamin D  , in the range 120 -140 . Preferably with regular daily doses, including  sunlight ,especially in Summer,  when UVB  is present in sunlight, here in the UK. 

BTBH

Me! My level was 20 (should be minimum 50+) so I had the 10,000 unit doses.

Now on maintainance spray. Cheaper than prescription via Amazon or Holland and Barrett.

Honestly I had no idea how awful I was feeling until I came out the other side. I was aware I was tired and had 'brain fog' as that's why i went to the GP but the muscle and joint aches were awful too.

My skin is better now, I have energy, I sleep well but don't feel the need to sleep all the time. My joints don't ache.

That's good to hear MrsT as I have brain fog and really tired too. It was going back to work that made me realise there was something wrong as I just couldn't make it through the day without being so exhausted and so foggy I couldn't think straight. Still dealing with that now but some slight improvements already. How long was it until you felt better?

I did a small bit d study about 5 years ago. We predicted that those who didn't go out much, smokers and those with a poor diet, and people with darker skin would come out low vit d.
It turned out it wasn't just them but many others too!!
A bit of a diet change, eggs and fish in particular plus some sunshine can have a big impact. I think suncream and sitting inside a lot adds to the problem.
I was amazed at how prevelant it is though.

I'm in Belgium and my Vit D level was

I've just been diagnosed today. My level is 17, and I was only diagnosed after 5 weeks of nagging my doctor weekly, as they kept putting my total exhaustion, weakness and body aches and pains down to malaise after a chest infection. It was only because I suggested it, that he included it in my most recent blood test 🤔

Just waiting for my prescription to be done, but I'm really hoping I can get back to normality and work soon. I'm normally really active and being stuck on the sofa for so long with no improvement is driving me nuts!

I am so glad to find this thread.

I have had debilitating lower back pain for ages every day burning across my lower back, hips and down my leg. X-rays showed up only minor changes in the sacral joint and spine but blood tests showed a bit d deficiency.

The doctor didn't call me back in, the office woman called me and told me to come In for the prescription.

I am Hoping this will also solve my tiredness, like a few of you say I am wiped out most of the time and by late afternoon I feel like I could close my eyes and go to sleep. I haven't said anything to anyone about it becasue I thought I was being a wuss, I don't work at the minute and have a really lovely lifestyle living in the country enjoying school runs etc, i don't stay up late at night so it didn't figure really.

I have also been feeling quite low and given the above that was ridiculous.

So I am now waiting for this new lease of life that should occur when I get my levels back up.

I have a high dose for 6 weeks and then a lower dose for 3 months.

The only thing that is niggling is that I didn't get to speak to the gp about the joint pain and whether this will completely stop it or how I go forward really.

It also takes agessss to come back up with supplements to such an extent that they usually won't re-test you within the year. The difficulty is that there are different forms of the vitamin, D3 is the best when properly deficient.

The drops are good or a prescription of Fultium D3 in adults 1capsule x2/day. Best time of year to measure for true deficiency is Autumn most of us will be low in spring. I would take them both for life or at least winter if your darker skinned in particular.

I worked with a particular group of patients where vitamin D deficiency was very common and the most notable improvements we ever saw was when we measured it after people returned from holidays. Could a sunny trip be possible?

Lol...we are goi g to England in July for a few days to take the boys to legoland, so hopefully I will get more sun there than I do here. (Northern Ireland)

Having said that I lead a very outdoors life, I am always outside with the kids, I have a big veg patch and a puppy that I take out regularly through the day for short bursts. I guess though here we have to v
Cover up a lot more. But it does make me wonder if I am just not processing vit d properly. I guess I will find out when I have the kidney function test.

A walk on the beach cheered me up this morning though.

Yeah I'm in Scotland therealgracepool I feel your pain. If you get a sunny day in leg plans 20-30 without suncream really helps to top up!

We have no sun here at the moment and non really forecast for the next week 😕 I've downloaded the D Minder app which can track sunlight and vitamin d generation. Haven't managed to use it yet though - thank you Yorkshire weather!!

I've only been prescribed 40,000iu in 2 tablets to be taken once a week, which given what I've read so far doesn't seem to be very high, considering my starting point is only 17. I work full time, but have been off for a month before I even got my diagnosis. I really need to get back to some sort of normality so I think I might add in a daily supplement as well. Although that feels wrong given that I was prescribed only that dose by the doctors and surely they should know best. I know that's not always the case, but still doesn't feel right!

davina that is the same as I have been perscribed and I think that is perceived to be a high dose. I have extra as it is in my multi vit, but I think i will check that with her as I think too much vit d can be detrimental too.

Hi Grace. Do you know what your starting level was? My dose is just for 8 weeks, with nothing after that (although I'll definitely be testing and supplementing myself from now on after all the reading I've done!).

From some of the other threads (and I'm going back to re-read them all thanks to my lovely brain fog!), I think some people who aren't as low as me have been prescribed much higher doses and for longer. If I'm looking to get my levels over 100 as is mostly recommended, then I'd be looking at 3000-5000iu and given the dose my doctor has prescribed this works out at 5700 average per day. I guess I'm just impatient and want to feel better as soon as I can!

Although from what I've read, daily seems to be better, so I may space my 2 tablets out across the week rather than take them both the same day. I'm taking a multi vitamin at the moment, mainly to make sure I've enough vitamin K and to boost my magnesium in case I need to, but there is only the standard 100% UK RDA amount in them. Also, I've not seen anything about too much being detrimental so I'd be interested to hear more? I think I've read there's been no signs of toxicity below 30,000iu daily - not that I'm planning on taking that much! But I may be wrong 😊