Vitamin d deficiency

[Didisquat]

Hi,
I had some blood tests last week as I am constantly exhausted, I just had a text from the doctor saying my vitamin d levels are low and to buy some 25mcg/1000iu vitamin d tablets over the counter and go back in 4 weeks for a repeat blood test…. I was just wondering if anyone else has had this and how long it took to get your levels back up?? The tiredness is ridiculous and I want to feel like a normal person again!!
unfortunately I work inside all day but I am literally outside all weekend hoping the sun will fix me also!

thank you ☺️

If you take a high dose on a daily basis it won't be long before you start to feel an improvement. The key is consistency. Try not to just rely on supplements, add things to your diet (eg. Fortified cereals etc).

I started taking it after covid and felt an improvement quite quickly

That isn’t a high enough dose to bring your levels up.
What is your level now, did your GP tell you? Because you can be given a high loading dose for a couple of months to bring it up.

the nurse at the blood donation centre told me that caffeine can inhibit the absorption of iron - could it be the same for vitamins? I switched to decaf and iron levels went up.

They didn’t tell me what it is now…. He just sent a text saying buy these and book a repeat blood test in 4 weeks, I will ask the blood nurse when she does the test what it was.
I didn’t think it was a very high dose from googling.

Can you see your test results online?
It's worth making a note so you have a benchmark yourself.

My vit d levels were 9.5. I can't remember the exact dosage but I was on more than that for a few months. It can take quite a long time to feel better even when your levels even out but it definitely does make a huge difference when your body catches up.

No I can’t see them, I have request access from the GP to get them…. I will do that though and find out!

Dd is 12, currently under paediatrics for vit d deficiency. Shes been prescribed 2 of these a day for 6 months with regular blood tests (every 8 weeks) to keep an eye on her levels. Her levels are gradually going up, shes now nearly at vit d insufficiency levels as opposed to deficiency. So the supplements do seem to be working.

Usually a GP will prescribe a really high dose, something like 10,000 iu daily for a few weeks then drop to 1 weekly.
You should also take vit K2 as it helps absorb the D3.
Mine was really low a couple years ago and it took me a few weeks to feel better.
I now buy a combined D3 3000 iu + K2 and take it daily.

My GP is completely dismissive and refused tests (it wasn't just the anaemia symptoms it's causing migraine every three days) so I ended up getting tests done over the internet to have something to work from.
Over the last 12 months I've had one NHS test and had prescribed iron twice and told to buy Tesco multivitamin twice. If you can be fobbed off you will be so best to try treating yourself where you can!

When my vitamin D levels were stupidly low a few years ago I was prescribed HuxD3 Colecalciferol 20,000iu. I think it was one a fortnight because they are mega-strong together with a daily maintenance dose that was way lower. I felt better almost immediately.

Yeah it did seem a bit like go buy these and sort yourself out 🤷🏼‍♀️

I had vitamin D deficiency, which was discovered after my GP did blood tests to find the cause of the alopecia I had developed. I took 4 Vit D tabs a day for 2 months and had more blood tests, by which point the level was back up to normal. So I switched to a normal daily dose, of 1 tablet a day. 3 months later my alopecia had got worse and further blood tests revealed I was deficient again. No idea why but I'm now back on tbe high dose.

Vitamin D deficiency is very common and can be easily fixed by taking the supplement. Keep on top of it so you don't start losing your hair like me!

Nope.

Though you do want to take vitamin D3 with a meal with fat in it earlier in the day a some people get disturbed sleep from taking it. However the disturbed sleep could be due to low levels of vitamin D.

Also good to have magnesium and vitamin K2-MK7 supplement as well.

yep you need vitamin k to absorb vitamin d, you can get combined tablets. Also it is better absorbed when taken with fat (fat soluble) so take your tablets at the same time as eating something with oil in it (e.g. something fried, or hummus with olive oil or anything really).

Why don’t the GPs tell me all this instead of just saying take these?? You shouldn’t have to ask people on a forum what to take them with and when to take them…. I literally thought I take them for 4 weeks and then I will be ok 😂

I buy my vitamin D tablets online as I could only find one local pharmacist who sells a higher enough dose when I was getting my levels up after I had my prescription. I use Chemist Direct even though other sellers are available as they are the only one I'm sure off that keeps my level up.

There are different doses regimes but the maximum you can take works out as 10,000IU of D3 per day but only if you are severely deficient.

It actually takes months to get levels up so in my area you have to wait 3-6 months before you can get retested on the NHS. There are private test companies including this one - www.vitamindtest.org.uk/ Just make sure you know what parameters your area uses.

I actually have to take 2,000IU per day and have had to take it for nearly a decade.

I read, and my DS who is doing a medical degree backed me up, that Vit D tablet absorption is not as effective as the spray which you spray under your tongue or against your cheek. I find that spray works very quickly in winter when my levels drop and I get exhausted. The D-Lux brand has two strengths. I use the higher one. It's usually available from Holland and Barrett. There are other brands if you don't like mint flavour. Our local chemist does an orange-flavoured spray. Worth trying instead of the tablets.

I was vit D deficient and had a level of 17. Felt awful. Doc advised 1000 IU per day but that did nothing really. I found a supplement with 5000 IU and take this daily with K2, always with food. Now I’m up to 42, not optimal but feeling a lot better. Doctors aren’t always very clued up on this.

Mine was low and I was put on 20,000 a week
I now take 4000 every day with my multivitamin which has k2 in it

Most people have a vitamin D deficit, so don't worry too much unless you have ostheoporosis or are past menopause. Have you had your ferritin levels checked? You should. Mine was at 7 and I was basically dragging myself.

If you are deficient you need a loading dose of 300,000iu over 6-10 weeks. This should be followed by a maintenance dose of between 800-2000iu daily (max 4000iu a day). So you are barely getting a maintenance dose there.

I'd go back to the GP and point them in the direction of the NICE guidelines. I'd check you are deficient first. Ask for a print out of your results (you'll need the ranges as well as the actual result). They are your data, you are entitled to them so don't be fobbed off.

cks.nice.org.uk/topics/vitamin-d-deficiency-in-adults/management/management/#content-start

yep you need vitamin k to absorb vitamin d, you can get combined tablets.

You don't need vitamin K to absorb vitamin D. One of the things vitamin D does is stimulate the production of a protein called osteocalcin in bone cells called osteoblasts. The osteoclastin then has to be modified by a vitamin K-dependent process to make it capable of binding calcium.

Because vitamin D should come predominantly from the action of sunlight on the skin, it is very possible to be deficient in vitamin D while having plenty of other vitamins that come mainly from the diet. Having said that, many of us aren't very good at eating green, leafy vegetables, so there is always a possibility of low vitamin K intake, in which case taking vitamin K with the oral vitamin D is a good idea (hence the co-formulations).

Osteocalcin, sorry. Not osteoclastin. (Osteoclasts are cells that remove calcium from bone.)