Please help with my ridiculous tiredness (vitamin D, thyroid)

[chinesechicken]

I've been experiencing extreme tiredness for about 6 months now, i'm exhausted after a 10 hour sleep. I do work 3 x 12 hour shifts a week but even when i just had 2 weeks off on annual leave i felt the same.

I have terrible muscle and joint pains and have been under physio for my ankles for a couple of months, i find it hard to walk in the morning and i feel like i'm about 90 years old. I can't play the piano anymore properly.

I have a hot water bottle all the time, even now in the hot weather, i'm just so miserable.

I pestered the GP for blood tests, eventually she let me have them but she thinks I am tired as I have had 2 babies in the last 2 years. it's not that, i feel like i'm dying of tiredness sometimes it's ridiculous.

I thought it would be my thyroid, it turns out the only thing i have is a vitamin d deficiency.

She told me to take an over the counter dose of 400iu. it's been a month and i still feel horrendous. So I looked online and i've seen people in other countries on MUCH higher doses with a similar blood test result to me.

I've just gone and bought some 1000iu tablets... does this all sound like vitamin d deficiency? I've seen 3 GPs now and all of them are not taking me seriously. I'm considering going private but I don't have the money spare if I can help it really. My life is really miserable at the moment and I am exhausted and aching in my joints 24/7 and it's really getting me down, i'm 26.

My blood test results are as follows:

TSH: 1.16 mU/L

Serum free t4 level: 16 pmol/L

Total Vitamin D - 37.4nmol/L

Thank you if you got this far

I have researched Vit D levels loads as I have chronic vitamin D deficiency, much lower than you (being investigated). The NHS says there's not enough good quality research into optimum vit D levels or consensus, but when you get below 25 mnol/L it is not good for health, and above 100 mnol/L increases risk of pancreatic cancer.

I am not sure your Vitamin D level is low enough to be making you feel so rubbish. But a supplement wouldn't hurt either.

You have to be careful of what you read online as lots of
information on Vitamin D is not very medically accurate or based on robust research - it' often American pharmaceutical companies that make or sell Vit d supplements that make the levels unreasonably high.

This link is useful on vit D

www.nhs.uk/livewell/summerhealth/documents/concensus_statement%20_vitd_dec_2010.pdf

And this is useful on all the Vit D debate (but the article uses 'ng/ml' not 'mnol/L' so you'll have to covert)

www.health.harvard.edu/blog/vitamin-d-whats-right-level-2016121910893

And good luck with your health, hope you feel better soon. Sorry I can't help with other tests.

Has GP ordered anymore blood tests, b12 etc? To check for tiredness.

I'm no expert but I had a similar thing 10 years ago where the only thing to show up was vit d deficiency, and I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia.

To be honest that sounds more like hypothyroid to me, but as your Free T3 level hasn't been taken, (standard practice in NHS) it's not showing. T3 is the active hormone, the body should convert T4 into T3, but that doesn't always happen.

It could be all sorts of things, anaemia being one.

You could try asking for your ferritin (iron stores) folate, and vitamin b.12 to be tested as well.
You could go on thyroid UK website and their forum on health unlocked and get their list of private doctors (not endocrinologists) who will treat underactive thyroid and help you feel more like your old self again. It's hard to stand up for yourself when you feel awful and in my case, when I was undiagnosed hypo, I lost my articulacy. All I could say to the doctor was I feel absolutely shit. But I was too slow to respond in the appointment when I was being fobbed off. I had my response off pat a couple of hours later unfortunately. That money we spent on the private doctor was worth its weight in gold.

I take 10,000 IU of vitamin D in winter, 5,000 IU in summer. I work outdoors several hours a day but when I went wrong, it was discovered that my Vit D level was only 60 after several weeks of heatwave when I was outside in shorts and skimpy top. When it's too low, I am in a lot of pain and can't straighten up. I can't straighten my fingers for example. This is what works for me, I'm not suggesting you take a dose like that.

when I was at 35 vitamin D I was prescribed a loading dose by the endocrinologist of 20,000 a week for a few weeks. That is at least 2,000 iu a day. 400 iu is far too little to get your levels up. You can buy 25mcg (1000iu) at most pharmacists, I use Vitabiotics but Lloyds do a cheaper own brand. Heatlthaid do a 10,000 capsule which you take one a week if you are forgetful about daily dosing. Multivitamins don't tend to have enough vitamin d in them and fish oil has too much vitamin a if you take enough vit d through that source...

The symptoms you describe are likely to be Vit D deficiency. I take 2,000 iu a day recommended by doctor (although it has to be said I am 50 not 26 years)

Try also to sit out side or expose your face and arms to sun for short bursts without suncream (10mins?) 11-3 in the summer months. UV makes vitamin d then.

Your thyroid sounds fine to me. I have hypo thyroidism for seven years or more, my endo has got my TSH down to that level, admittedly my T4 is slightly different, cannot comment on that in fine detail, but your Vit D will be making you feel ill, raise that and you will feel much much better. Babies also need supplements btw, especially if breastfed, mother's deficiency passes to babies. You can buy vitamin pills suitable for babies especially vitamin d, ask pharmacist ( I think they are drops)