Vitamins D deficiency experiences/symptoms

[Ro0x]

Hey, 4 weeks ago I was told I have a vitamin d deficiency after a few months of feeling absolutely awful. I could barely carry myself I was that tired, tingling and feel like my limbs were asleep/aching. I’ve also been very anxious and depressed. I have anxiety and depression anyway but it’s made it unmanageable and I’m currently off work.

Since taking the loading doses 4 weeks ago I have felt a bit better but no where near my usual self. I still feel terrible in the mornings and it’s starting to really get me down.

All my other bloods, iron, b12 thyroid etc were all fine.

Can anyone tell me some positive stories or what their symptoms were. I’m honestly so low with this.

Maybe they’re panic attacks...since lack of vit d can give you ten fold on the anxiety front. If you think they are seizures please see your dr! X

I've been to my GP and seen a neurologist. MRI has come back as clear. The GPs are clueless. Only a few days ago did they do another blood test which indicated the vit d deficiency. I've had no luck with my GPs and am on a mission to try and get better as I've been off work for months now!

Noor what's your B12 level?

I said to my gp I was worried I was having seizures, one said you’d not remember it and the other said very unlikely. What I feel is what I felt when I was on prozac and they were panic attacks. They feel awful. I haven’t been offered any scans because I don’t show any markers to even request one. X

I would still recommend supplementing with co-factors if you're taking high doses to correct a deficiency. If you're classed as deficient by NHS standards then you're REALLY deficient. I'd recommend, p/d

10,000iu vitD
Min 500mcg K2-MK7 (some do 100mcg per 1000iu of D)
At least 750mg mag (you can build up tolerance - citrate, malate & glycinate best. You have to figure out what is the elemental mag in the dose e.g 200mg magnesium glycinate might only contain 160mg of elemental magnesium).
3-6mg boron

Co-factors will reduce side effects and make high doses safe, and ensure your body is utilising the D. Some people do it without, of course, it's up to you, but I'd recommend getting your serum calcium tested while on high doses without co-factors. Also, always retest D after a two or three months - if your doc won't do it, you can get tests online. If your levels haven't risen significantly then continue but with co-factors. Btw, Vit D toxicity is rare and usually caused by hypercalcemia (thus why co-factors are recommended!). Goes without saying that shouldn't supplement indefinitely without checking your levels! If you have adequate calcium in your diet, you don't need to supplement calcium as well. Good D levels allow your body to use its calcium efficiently. I've read of maintenance doses up to 5000iu p/d. I think anything less than2000iu would be pointless.

Re B12, I think if you still have symptoms despite 'normal' levels then it's still a possibility (based on what I've read!); the standard test they do can't always identify if your body doesn't absorb B12 properly. It's way more complicated than that so don't take my word for it! (There's a UK GP called Dr Chandy who has specific protocols for B12 - he has a website). Same with magnesium - normal blood test that GPs do doesn't give full picture.

I couldn't comment on seizures etc but I'm pretty sure a vitamin D deficiency could cause neurological issues. B12 would be implicated too.

I’m sure I read on that vit d fb page that you need vit d to be able to absorb b12? I take Epsom salt baths and eat a fair bit of dark chocolate. I also eat diary every day. I’m also making sure I eat red meat (something I didn’t do before) two people I work with both had vit d deficiencies. Both had a score of 8nmol. One was able to still work and just sleep when she wasn’t at work and the other was sectioned under the mental health act because it tipped her depression over the edge. One took calcium to “give it a boost” and the other only took the prescription. If I don’t feel back to functioning after my loading doses then I will be asking the dr about magnesium etc. The only hope i have is I feel better than I did a month ago. Still struggling LOADS. But I’m feeling more in the real world, sleeping a bit better and able to do little things x

Th
They have no knowledge of vitamins. They haven't a clue about essential co factors K2 and magnesuim. Even the serum magnesium test is worthless.

I definitely felt dizzy and absent minded when my levels were low.

Magnesium will help to absorb the vitamin better. I would highly recommend trying the oral spray as it absorbs into your body much faster (essentially via your bloodstream vs via your digestive system). You’ll feel a difference faster.

The vitamin d oral spray that is

Level needs to be a minimum 125 nmol and maximum 250 nmol.

Fine is meaningless. We have millions vitamin Dre eptors that need filling up. You need to get your level to optimal, minimum 125 nmol and keep your level high and stable to make a difference.

OP, can I ask how old you are as I had exactly all the symptoms you've described and it turned out most of them were due to having started the perimenopause.

As it happened, I wa also found to be a bit low on Vit D, and getting treatment helped a bit but only marginally.

The other thing is that your vit b12 IS low. Anything under 500 is not good, so this could also be the issue.

I’m 28. Have been thinking about starting a b complex. I’m so achy this morning and I feel like I haven’t slept in a year. I also gave up meat for a while, I also had a restrictive diet for a long time due to an eating disorder. It’s been 3 months since I started eating like a normal person. X

My Vitamin D3 was 7 about 10 years ago and before I was treated I had hair loss, joints aches and I was exhausted. The Doctor didn't spot and offered me antidepressants which I refused. I have since discovered I have thyroid disease and low vitamin D is a sign of it.

There was quite an extensive thread on here a couple of years back, but can't seem to find it. If I recall correctly there were tens, maybe even a couple of hundred, of women on the thread who had spent years receiving treatment for things like anxiety, depression, CFS, fybromalgia (sp?) and it turned out that they "only" had a vitamin d deficiency. There was a fair bit of anger that instead of doing a simple blood test and being given some vitamins, they were sent on expensive tests, given antidepressants etc and basically left in misery for years, because the doctor was basically treating the wrong thing. (To be clear, I'm not saying that lack of vitamin d causes those things, I'm saying the symptoms of vitamin d deficiency can be mistaken for these things).

I think because it is "only" a vitamin, it's importance is often downplayed, but there is quite a bit of research now suggesting that good levels of vitamin d are essential for so many different aspects of health and most of your body's systems.

Off the back of the thread I mentioned I got tested a couple of years ago, out of curiosity more than anything else. My levels came back as relatively okay, but it was the dead of winter so I started supplementing anyway. At the time I was suffering from low mood and was catching a cold every 6 weeks. My low mood lifted in a week. Didn't catch another cold until the autumn. I still catch colds, but that low mood has never returned, and I'm now militant about taking it over the winter. Obviously the plural of anecdote is not data, but I thought I'd share anyway.

I honestly feel like I don’t know if I can take another day feeling like this.

Ro0x that sounds awful. I'd head to your GP and hopefully they'll check blood levels etc and give you the right direction. Take the vitamins in the meantime to see if it makes you feel at all better in the meantime.

I’ve been back to my dr so much and each time they say I’m fine and it’s all down to anxiety. The only hope I have is that I feel a bit better than I did 4 weeks ago. I am so worried :( thank you for support xx

Apparently it can take a while - I was told by my GP that it can take 6 months!!! I guess your body has to repair itself

Then it's probably your b12 that is to blame.

Ro0x sorry I'm guilty of not reading the thread properly and didn't realise that the post I replied to was you as the OP, hence the somewhat redundant suggestion of "go to GP".

Have you actually seen your blood result numbers? I think one common thing for doctors is to say that the number is within an "acceptable range" but actually, for optimal health it ought to be a lot higher?

And I think, if I remember rightly, vitamin d shouldn't be taken before bed as for some people it can hinder going to sleep?

Oh yes I know that, my first week I took both capsules at the same time before bed 😂 that was an experience. Now I’m having one on a Tuesday and one on a Friday. I’ve asked about my b12 numerous times-that fb group says you also need Vit D to be able to absorb b12 etc. I think my gp is sick of me coming in. I keep feeling like I’m getting glue but it never comes. So tired. Some points of the day I’m like WOW I feel really good then couple of hours later I’m on the floor again miserable x

notjustexploring This might be the thread your are referring to.

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

             I did post there quite a bit .   lots of info about  vit d. It may be useful for  <strong>RoOX</strong>  to have a look at.   
              
 In fact I have posted quite a bit about  Vit D ,     here on Mumsnet,   Search my nickname ,  for lots more info,  

Best of luck RoOX and to all those persons that have Vitamin D deficiency. That can usually be raised to the "human" normal level ( 120 - 140 ) quite easily. BUT maintaining that level can be difficult. For instance , the body tends to reduce the measured level of vitamin D , IF you have the condition 'hyperparathyroidism', which is quite rare, but is worth checking for. A measured prevalence of 1% in post menopausal western women was found in a study in Minnesota. Much of the NHS Vit D advice is out of date and often contradictory from area to area. This is a reflection of the current controversy that is ongoing about Vit D , its effects, our requirements etc.

     Vitamin D hormone (1,25,dihydroxyD3)   is the only hormone  (  vitamin D  is the pre-cursor )  whose level can be affected by our behaviour.  Whether out in the sun,or not,  how much skin we expose , what we eat etc.  All other hormones,  are synthesised from precursors that are already present  in relatively  large quantities in the body.  To be low in a hormone is not good,   and  a myriad of conditions may arise because of that lack.   Vitamin D  is an essential micronutrient.  

BTBH
.

Thank you BTBH! Is there any link between Vit D and the menstrual cycle? Since it’s a hormone? Out of curiosity x

BTBH Yes, I think that probably was the thread. And I remember there being a very helpful and knowledgeable poster whose name I couldn't remember but now recall as being you!!