Vitamin D Deficiency

I have mentioned this before but I think I'll bring this up again.  I was diagnosed with low vitamin D last year even though I was taking 1,000 IU a day.  My doctor upped my dose to 1,400 IU daily and I was still deficient.  Then he upped it to 2,300 IU a day and I STILL am deficient...I just found out today.  So now he wants me to take 3,500 IU a day.

 

Many with fibro and chronic fatigue are deficient in vitamin D.  Since I started taking the higher doses of D, my pain and fatigue seems to have decreased.  The jury is still out on whether or not this is just a good period for me with the fibro OR if it's from the added vitamin D.  I will know for sure in a few months when the rainy season hits here in Florida.  But, today it is a drizzly day and I don't have the extra pain I usually do!

 

Anyway, it might be good to ask  your doctors about having the blood test to check your vitamin D levels.  Vitamin D (make sure you use D3) is very inexpensive.  I get mine at Walmart.  It would be wonderful if this could help many members on this forum so I wanted to share what was happening with me. 

 

I tried posting the link to this site that tells you a little about vitamin D deficiency and fibro but it wouldn't go through.  So I pasted it here.  Hope this helps you.

 

Vitamin D & Muscle Pain:

Low vitamin D levels can cause muscle pain and weakness. Studies show that as many as 25% of people with fibromyalgia (FMS) and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS or ME/CFS) have low vitamin D levels, and that supplementation may help lower pain levels in some cases. One study shows that vitamin D-deficient people need twice as much narcotic pain reliever as non-deficient people.

Your body needs vitamin D to help with calcium absorption and for bone growth and strength. Along with calcium, vitamin D protects you from osteoporosis.

Vitamin D Dosage:

Some FMS and ME/CFS experts recommend between 1,000 to 2,000 IU of vitamin D daily, which far exceeds the FDA's recommended daily allowance. In fact, the National Institutes of Health considers 2,000 IU the highest tolerable daily amount. However, recent discoveries about the importance of vitamin D for overall health are changing opinions about how much is enough. Make sure to talk to your doctor about how much vitamin D you should be taking. If you take a high dosage, your doctor may want to test your levels periodically.

Vitamin D in Your Diet:

Vitamin D is naturally available in eggs, Swiss cheese, and several fish, including salmon, mackerel, tuna and sardines. You also get it from sunshine. Food makers add it cereal and milk to help prevent rickets in children.

Side Effects of Vitamin D:

Too much vitamin D is potentially toxic. Side effects:

• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Poor appetite
• Constipation
• Weakness
• Weight loss

Your doctor can help guide your vitamin D regimen.

 

Sherrine 

Sherrine, this is so important for us to know, thank you. My vitamin D levels have always been good, I drink alot of milk, but this last Fall I switched to fresh milk & so I have began taking Vitamin D3 1000 IU's this winter. I was so worried I would become more depressed then normal for this time of year, but I actually faired alittle better. Keeping everything in balance is so necessary for having a good life & not living in pain, fatigue & depression 24/7. Hugs, Denise

Very interesting Sherrine....Thanks for that information. I had my Vit D level checked in Dec and he said he was very pleasantly surprised that is was high, since I have osteoporosis. I guess eating fortified cereal twice a day and drinking tons of milk has helped. He didnt even recommend a supplement. Geeez, I actually got good news for a change LOL Thanks for sharing

Hugs

Sue

I am also Vit D deficient. I had it checked 3 months ago and was low.  He ut me on 50000 IU once a week for 4 weeks.  Had it rechecked in 2 months and was lower than what I was initially  (from 25 to 22)  He again has put me on the 50000 IU  once a week but this time for 6 weeks and I will have it checked again then.  I do notice a difference about the 3rd week of taking it but then about  2 weeks after quitting the pain and fatigue was back.  Hopefully this will bring it up for good.

Missy

Last Apr. mine was checked and it was 9.  It was a record low for my clinic.  I'm been taking 2000 or 3000 IU daily.  I think last time it was checked it was around 55.

I feel like not only was it part of the excessive fatigue - it was a big contributor to some mood swings I was having.  Symptoms were similar to hypomania.  The mood swings pretty well cleared up after taking D3 for a while.

B. hates the Seattle area cause it's so overcast.  I'll never hear the end of this low vit. D thing. 

I just had mine checked recently, and it was fine.  Donnaneil, I do fit into the "extremely pale" category (you kind of have to wear sunglasses to look at my legs in the summer with all of the glare, lol).  I have to stay out of the sun because I burn so easily, but I guess there is an upside in that I absorb Vitamin D better.

 

Austen

Good topic Sherrine- I have never had a Vit. D level done and my Dr. ordered one a couple weeks ago. Mine was 25. She put me on 50,000IU once a week for 12 weeks. It will be interesting to see if it helps the pain and fatigue. I have taken two doses now.

Statgeek- I had low Vit. D and sky high cholesterol, they had me repeat the fasting cholesterol and went in for that yesterday AM because they want to make sure it is reading right. Vit. D deficiency and high cholesterol seem to go hand in hand with some of us with fibro it seems?

GamJill

 

I am bringing this back up cause I know since I have been taking the 1600 IU of vit D a day I have more energy and more motivation than I had before. I can't stress enough how important it is to have your vit D checked. I wish I had insisted on having mine checked long ago. I still don't have enough energy and I have my down times but I surprised myself yesterday with all I did and I wanted to do it. I can't wait til my doc app on the 20th to talk to him about it.

 

luv and hugs

Marlee

Sherrine/Marlee- I started my high dosage of Vit. D a little over a month ago and I am starting to notice some increased energy and pain is easing up. Now I'm not sure if it is the nicer weather getting here too, but whatever it is, I'll take it!!!

GamJill

Well sorry to say, this isn't a success story. I have been taking...are you ready for this?? 150,000 units once a week and my D level is still at 20, which is just too low. On Monday, I will be having a colonscopy and endoscopy, with tissue samplings, to see if they can find out why I am not absorbing the D. Wish me luck! :)

Thanks Pattil, you are so sweet! And no need to be chicken about these tests. They knock you out. I was there for my husband and he did not remember a thing and he had both at the same time too. Only unpleasant thing is the day before, the prep for the tests, tol "clean you out" and I have to be on clear liquids for 24 hours. I've already warned my husband, be prepared for cranky me because I won't be able to eat a thing. I will be 58 soon and haven't had a colonoscopy yet, so I am really overdue. I too have put it off for a long time. For the past year or so, I've been having some bowel "issues" along with with low D, so I really need to find out what's going on. It may be a gluten intolerance and I've tried to be gluten free, but I don't stick with it, I love bread and things so much! I need to hear from a doctor that I have to stay away from gluten in order to really give it up, so that's another reason for the tests. Anyway, I'll let you know how it goes and what I hear. Also, I do a lot of research on many things, including FM, and it seems that a deficiency in vitamin D is very common in people with FM, so...one more thing we lucky fibromites have in common! The symptoms of low D are muscle pain and fatigue, so we wouldn't really know, but, once you normalize it, hopefully, it will help alleviate some pain and fatigue. All we can do is try!
be well
Miriam

I've been taking 4000 IU per day for several months now and my Vit. D count is still low. I see my doctor in July and will have blood tests repeated so she can compare to 3 months ago, and then we'll see what the next step is. I had a bone density test done recently and all looked fine, so we'll see what happens.

We get tons of sunshine in Calgary, even when it's really cold out (or especially when it's really cold out!) so I'm getting lots from being outside. Not sure why it stays low.

Pam

I read a study published in Medscape that said for every 1ng you are low you need 100 units of D. For my level of 18 I needed 4000 units a day (in winter, and on top of what I already was taking in calcium, etc) to get to 58, or normal.