Vitamin d deficiency

[mindutopia]

If you have been diagnosed with a vitamin d deficiency, can you tell me how you felt?

I’ve been having fatigue, joint pain (and some joint swelling) and just generally feeling unwell for about 6 ish months now. It has gotten considerably worse in the past 2 months and the exhaustion is just about bringing me to my knees. I’m considering asking to be signed off work if things don’t improve soon (I’ve otherwise always been healthy, have a happy life and good support network, a demanding career but one I really love...so really actually don’t want to not be working because it’s otherwise such a source of joy for me).

I’ve been tested for all sorts of autoimmune diseases, rheumatoid or some other inflammatory arthritis was thought to be most likely, but initial tests have only shown a vitamin d deficiency. I’m just wondering how others felt. Would I feel this awful if that’s all it is? I feel somewhat doubtful that how I feel could be fixed by just taking some vitamins. I’m worried there is something more that maybe is still being missed.

If you were vitamin d deficient, what were your symptoms? And what were your levels when tested out of curiosity?

I can't remember my levels off the top of my head but they were very low! I'm taking extra vit d at the moment ready for another blood test to see if my levels improved.

Symptoms I've had: severe fatigue, painful joints, dizziness, feeling like I would faint, blurry vision, breathlessness, struggled to walk the school run.

When I had my blood results the first time, I was very doubtful that it was just a vitamin d deficiency though and was honestly convinced I was slowly dying because I just generally felt so so poorly all the time. It was the struggling to do the school run that frightened me the most because it's not a long walk and I was relying on family to help because it was that bad.

Since I've been having extra vitamin d, I have been feeling much better and can manage the school run again but whether or not that's the vitamin d or a placebo effect, I won't know until my next blood test.

I would say though that I genuinely have never felt so physically ill as I did a few weeks back so I do think (if it is vitamin d causing it) that it really can affect a person.

Thanks for that. That actually makes me feel a lot better. I literally said to my dh totally that feel like this is going to kill me and it’s hard to imagine it’s not something awful like cancer (though my mum has just finished tx, successfully thankfully, for stage 3 cancer and she felt absolutely great when she was diagnosed, so obviously that doesn’t mean much!!). It’s really difficult to do basic things like function at work or do the food shopping or enjoy any time with my kids.

How long have you been on the supplements and when did you start to feel better? I only started yesterday.

That's exactly how I felt, like it was something serious lurking, because of how hard basic day to day stuff was becoming and how crap I felt I was being as a parent as a result. I've been on the supplements about four weeks now and looking back I probably started to feel a bit a week and a half or two weeks after I started them. I didn't actually realise how much better I've been feeling until I replied to your thread and listed the symptoms I did have. Fingers crossed you start feeling better very soon too!

I felt like I was dying! When I got up, I was so exhausted I did not know, where I was going to get the energy from to make breakfast! If we went out, I had to sit down after 10 minutes because I was so tired! I was yawning all the time, even more than DDIL with a 3 month old EBF baby, that hardly slept! I ached all over, and used to fall asleep every afternoon. Despite an annual flu jab, I still got flu every year, and in the summer.

Six weeks of vitamin D and it all went - not had flu since!

Bone tired, blurry vision, achey,

After treatment not only did those symptoms go away but my dentist commented that my teeth had improved. My nails are stronger (were weak and flaky and tore all the time) I had some weird patchy skin problem - kind of like flaky plaques on the inside of my thighs which had been there for 2 or 3 years, all cleared up. My knees no longer crack every time I stand up.

Vitamin D is needed for every part of the body and having a good level - above half the recommended has been life changing for me.

Wanted to add that if you've tested low for vitamin d it's recommended to take it in perpetuity as you're more prone to deficiency long term. I'm currently on a 50,000 dose for three months will then go down to the 10,000 and then 1,000 I believe.

Where do you get the high dose stuff? I went to Holland and Barrett and bought the most expensive D3 they had and it’s only 1000 iu. Have you had vitamin D injections? Wondering if they would be worth it?

Hi OP
I had similar symptoms to you three years ago and then last November. Joint swelling (knees, ankles, Achilles, left hand, left thigh) that triggered my referral to a rheumatologist both times. Feeling knackered and generally ill. Three years ago the consultant told me I had rheumatoid arthritis. I didn't believe him, spoke to a chap who ran the local health food shop in Thame and who is a trained naturopath. He told me it was more likely I had a virus that had got into my joints. Told me to triple my Vit D and take something called Grapefruit Seed Extract which is high immune boosting and anti viral. Within three days I felt better. I spoke to a dietician who told me to cut out all anti inflammatory foods - read sugar, wheat, milk and meat mainly - which I did. I got better. Same thing triggered in November last year. I concluded it's stress related as circumstances were almost identical - I'm a single parent and work full time and had childcare stresses for a prolonged period both times. Saw a different rheumatologist who - by the time I saw him - agreed totally that I did NOT have rheumatoid arthritis and that my diet and supplements I was taking were the right actions to take again. I recommend highly the Cytoplan range of supplements including the following

• Vit D/ K2
• Ashwagandha
• Boswellia Serrata
• Turmeric

I also take a strong Vit C and separate multi Vit from higher nature. Finally I would recommend a book written by a dietician based in Brighton that I happened to read about in the paper when I was ill called Alternative Ageing by Suzi Grant (2019). Hope this helps.

I was prescribed the high dose stuff by my doctor. She also advised what crunchy said above, that I'll need to take vitamin d long term at a lower dose when I've done with these higher dose ones.

Iv only just last week been diagnosed with an under active thyroid. I'm now on meds and have bought some floradix which are really meant to help with the fatigue. The reviews are very positive. They might help