Vitamin D deficiency

[Sugarplum1811]

Hello there,

When I went to the GP in mid March, I had several blood tests including vitamin D which showed I had a deficiency. My level is around 20 and the GP said the normal range should be 100-150 although a level of 50 is considered okay. Before this I was not experiencing any effects of the deficiency but a few weeks after I started experiencing joint pain.

The joint pain primarily started in my fingers and then my wrists and now I get joint pain in my fingers, wrists, elbows, shoulders, knees, ankles, toes! Almost all the joints! I’m worried if this is linked to my vitamin D deficiency or if it is caused by something more sinister as I have quite bad health anxiety I am always presuming the worst!

Has anyone else suffered from any symptoms from a vitamin D deficiency as a few of my friends are also deficient yet don’t seem to have any symptoms except maybe tiredness.

Please share your vitamin D deficiency stories!

[borahae]

Hi! I had vitamin D deficiency too (my levels were around 30), fatigue, back pain, I used to get mild joint pain too. I started to take vitd supplements (2000 IU per day), its been two months and my levels are now 80.

[es27 in reply to borahae]

Hi

Sorry to jump on someone else's thread . I was diagnosed vit d deficiency a couple of years ago but never plucked up the courage to take the supplements. Now that you have good levels what feels better ? How did it help physically? And how long did it take to feel any improvement? And lastly were there side effects and when did you take the supplements morning night with without food

As I said sorry to butt in . Just trying to find the motivation to start taking the d3 after two years of looking at them

All the best

[borahae in reply to es27]

Hi, no need to be sorry!!

I've been vit d deficient for a couple years too, just never bothered to take supplements as I didn't think it was all too important.

However, due to my anxiety that's gotten a lot worse since the beginning of the year, gp suggested to take vit d since it can help.

Overall, my general health has somewhat gotten better? I feel less fatigue, and don't feel the need to be in bed all day. But that's probably attributed to several lifestyle changes in addition to taking vit d. It's honestly hard to say because of the anxiety sigh.

I take it after having breakfast each day!

There's no side effects, vit d is a supplement, not a medication. You can naturally get vit d from the sun! So if you are still wary about taking it, at least spend some more time in the sun. Especially in the morning!

My friend also takes vit d (for the past three years), she doesn't experience any side effects either.

[es27 in reply to borahae]

Thank you

Sorry to hear that your anxiety is high .

Things that helped my anxiety were Dr claire weakes books . The dare book by Barry McDonough and I like to watch the anxiety guy on you tube

The two books a lot of people on here have recommended over the years . The dare response is a modern take on doctor Claire's teaching

All the best take care be kind to yourself

[Sugarplum1811 in reply to borahae]

Hi there, thank you for your response, I’m sorry you’ve been experiencing quite a bit of pain from the deficiency, I’ve been put on 20000 IU twice a week and I’ve only started around 2 weeks ago and the doctor said it could take around 6 months to get levels to normal.

I hope you are feeling better and are managing well!

[Dperez1223]

I have low vitamin D it’s 16 I have body pains all the and a burning sensation in legs sometimes all over I have done so many tests my primary says I have a lot of anxiety sometimes I can’t get out of bed head feels heavy foggy pain all the time have you experienced

[Sugarplum1811 in reply to Dperez1223]

Hello,

Yes I feel almost exactly the same! I get random body aches and joint pain and also the burning sensation around my body, I think it may be triggered by my anxiety as sometimes it feels as if my skin is on fire! I’ve gone to the GP about it and I’m always worried it could be something more serious and make myself more anxious! It’s a vicious cycle!

I hope you are feeling better and are doing well. I never knew having a vitamin deficiency could cause all these symptoms!

[NatChap in reply to Sugarplum1811]

Have either of you had your thyroid tested?

[NatChap]

I had vitamin d deficiency and can confirm it definitely can cause joint/bone aches and pains as well as depression and fatigue. Supplements will make you feel better! Just make sure though that once you have got your levels up to where they should be, you don't just stop supplementing. Chances are that if you have become deficient once you will again. I tend to take 4000iu per week in summer and 4000iu per day in winter. Obviously testing a couple of times a year would be sensible just to monitor it. If your gp won't do that then you can buy home finger prick testing kits.

Also you must take vit k2(mk7) alongside vit d.

articles.mercola.com/sites/...

[Sugarplum1811 in reply to NatChap]

Hello,

Thank you for your response! I feel a bit more reassured about my joint pain now as when I search online, not many websites claim that vitamin D causes joint pain and I was just getting a little worried about my symptoms and thought they were unusual. I’ve only started taking supplements about 2 weeks ago although I was given my precription a month ago! I can say that I am definitely somewhat lazy to go and pick up my prescription.

Thank you for your advice and I will be buying supplements for after my prescription. My doctor has recommended 2000 IU in the summer and around 4000 IU in the winter.

Thank you for the link for the home tests as I wasn’t even aware those were available!

I hope you are doing well and feeling much better as summer is coming soon and the weather seems so lovely at the moment in the UK, hope it stays that way!

[NatChap in reply to Sugarplum1811]

You're welcome, hopefully the supplements will have you feeling better soon 😊

[SJC3]

I had the same symptoms (low D, joint pain, anxiety, and depression, along with other symptoms) and mine turned out to be due to severe gluten intolerance. You may want to do a bit of research and if it seems to fit, see if you can get a Celiac test. If that comes back negative, I would still try eliminating gluten and see how you feel. Just do not stop eating it until you've been tested for Celiac or the test will be inaccurate. Whatever the issue is, I hope you feel better soon!

[NatChap in reply to SJC3]

Thyroid issues can also cause low vit d/b12/iron along with anxiety and fatigue so that could be worth checking too.

[Sugarplum1811 in reply to NatChap]

I have had a thyroid function blood test about a month and half ago and the results came back normal so I don’t think I have any thyroid issues although my symptoms do have overlap with symptoms from hypothyroidism

[NatChap in reply to Sugarplum1811]

If you can get hold of your test results I would pop over to the thyroid uk forum and post them there for opinions. Doctors unfortunately aren't great when it comes to thyroid disorders and sometimes their idea of 'normal' isn't always correct. It may well be just vitamin d that is the issue but I would double check just to be sure (I speak from experience )

[Sugarplum1811 in reply to SJC3]

Hi there,

Thank you for your response. I have not considered coeliac disease as a reason for my symptoms but I will ask my GP during my next appointment. Thank you for your suggestion. I hope you are well.

[cortisolqueen in reply to Sugarplum1811]

I was diagnosed with celiacs almost 3 years ago. Lost 35lbs, joint pain, low iron, panic attacks, depression, anxiety. Ten ER visits where each time I was told everything is fine, it is just anxiety. I almost died before I finally saw a GI doctor who took one look at me and said I believe you may have celiacs. Colonoscopy and endoscopy confirmed the villi which lines the intestines was blunted and therefore I was not absorbing any nutrients. Blood tests then confirmed on of the worst cases he had seen. I went gluten free immediately and am much better, but I still suffer from anxiety and some depression. Hope this helps!

[NatChap in reply to cortisolqueen]

Did you suffer with obvious gut issues or was it mainly the other symptoms you listed? Just curious as my daughter is suffering with anxiety and I'm trying to get to the bottom of why.

[cortisolqueen in reply to NatChap]

I had diarrhea all the time. Every time I ate anything I would immediately have to go. The panic attacks and anxiety seem to go along with celiacs, but I am not sure it caused mine. How old is your daughter? Does she have any GI problems?

[NatChap in reply to cortisolqueen]

Not that I'm aware of but she's pretty slim... 5ft 7" and about 8st 4. To be honest I'm thinking it's more likely to be thyroid problems as they run in the family. Just need to persuade her gp to test for it 🙄

[cortisolqueen in reply to NatChap]

I have researched celiacs over and over and it can be linked to thyroid issues. Yes Please have her checked. It is an autoimmune disease where the body turns on itself and starts attacking it. This can be celiacs, lupus, thyroid, rheumatoid arthritis, and several other things. They are all basically the same thing, it just depends what part of the body it attacks. Prayers for you and your daughter.

[NatChap in reply to cortisolqueen]

Thank you x

[Sugarplum1811 in reply to NatChap]

Hi, just an update on my situation. I’ve just come back from my GP appointment as she wants to investigate my abnormal liver function test a bit further. She’s requested some more blood tests to do with the liver function as well as for celiacs and thyroid antibodies although my last thyroid hormones test came back normal just to make sure. I really hope I have some answers soon so I can relax and just enjoy the incoming summer, hope you are all well! X

[Hidden]

Hi Simrran - Did you have your thyroid diabetes and other vitamin and mineral tests done along with vitamin D? There is a strong link with vitamin D deficiency and hypothyroid. As your level of vitamin D is so low it would be as well to supplement to the right level. You can get a print out of your results by asking the practice manager. No need to go back to the doctor unless a full range of tests including iron, ferritin B12, calcium and thyroid tests have not been done.

If you have not joined thyroidunlocked uk it may prove beneficial. Administrators such as Seasidesusie can give advice on the levels of supplement you should be taking to increase your levels. Cod liver oil is a good supplement, but you need to take probably over 7000iu a day for a couple of months and then at least a 1000iu a day until your levels are up. There is vitamin D 2 and vitamin D3 the sunshine vitamin. These two vitamins come from different sources. D2 comes from milk and animal sources, and from fish oils. D3 can be derived from sheep wool and other sources. If you don't go out in the sunshine, it is difficult to find enough of D3 in the diet. You can buy supplements online, or through chemists. I use a valuepak vitamin d3 from chemist, and it seems to be helping my skin condition.

If you don't drink milk or have butter, or sunflower margarine such as flora in your diet then it may be difficult to find enough vitamin d in food. The deficiency should be seen in context with other tests as mentioned.

Hope you find more information about your health and will up your supplements to a higher level.

[Sugarplum1811 in reply to Hidden]

Hi, thank you for your reply.

Yes I have had almost everything tested (FBC, glucose, iron, kidney function, thyroid function, liver function, vitamin D, CRP) everything has come back normal except the vitamin D and liver function. I have recently come back from my GP and she wants to investigate my abnormal liver function test further and has had requested some more blood tests (liver antibodies, thyroid antibodies, celiacs, EBV and some other stuff) so we’ll see from there. Thank you for your response once again and yes both my parents are also vitamin d deficient and have bought many supplements as well so I already am well stocked up! Hope you are doing well xx

[Hidden in reply to Sugarplum1811]

Very pleased you have had all those tests and more down the pipe line. Sure you will feel much better when your vitamin d and iron are within optimal range levels.

Have put on weight over Easter - so am having to watch my eating too much choc!

[Usagold]

This is interesting to me, since I also had random joint pain most notably in my fingers and hands back when I was in the worst of my anxiety. It was pretty bad, worse in the mornings. I thought it might be rheumatoid arthritis or something, but all tests were normal, including thyroid, and my ferratin was on the low side of normal. I asked around to see if anxiety itself could cause joint pain and found people who said it could. When my anxiety improved after cognitive therapy and more than 2 years of being very symptomatic. My joint pain went away completely.