New symptoms! Urgent advice needed

[MichelleHoward]

Hi, I have been really poorly the few months. I’ve been in touch with my consultant and had tests. It came back I have a very low vitamin D I’ve been taken Vitamin D supplements for a few weeks now. Something doesn’t seem right still. I have pain in my lower stomach much like pressure feeling and it comes off and on. I also have back pain (lower) it’s not painful to touch it’s much internal if that makes sense. I’ve also had 4 verrucas appear in the last week and haven’t been anywhere to catch them and non of my family members have any. I’m currently trying to get hold of my consultant without much joy. Has anyone had any experiences of this?

[PMRpro]

Verrucas can develop when a dormant virus activates - and it may have been there for years, months at the very least. Not having done anything recently isn't necessarily linked.

How much vit D supplement are you taking? The recommended way of sorting very low vit D levels is to take 50,000 IU or more per week for 8-10 weeks before testing again. Unless you are taking that sort of amount then it will take more than a few weeks to get an improvement due to that. If you are taking the amount many doctors suggest, it may never happen!! There is a big black hole of "body" that must be filled up with vit D before the blood level is where it should be and sometimes the blood level may look OK but as the vit D is taken up into body tissues it may fall again.

Potential bowel problems are possibly better presented to a GP/PCP - are there any other accompanying symptoms?

[MichelleHoward in reply to PMRpro]

Thank you for your reply. I’m taking 1000iu daily my consultant recommended 800. Been taking them for a few weeks. Ive been sleeping so much this last week I’ve had lupus for nearly 8years now. I understand I become tired on occasions but nothing like the past week. I’ve experienced hospital a year of ago as I had an infection. The doctors didn’t know where the infection was but gave me antibiotics. The pain I’m experiencing is quite similar to this. I’ve suffered numerous water infections and had a camera up my bladder but nothing was found. I’m not sure if I have an infection somewhere and this may be causing me to have a flare up.

[PMRpro in reply to MichelleHoward]

That will take months to get your blood level up, if it ever does - as I explained. 800 IU is barely a daily requirement so at best it may stop you going lower over the winter (blood vit D is at its highest in October and then falls steadily over the winter months unless you take a supplement). Most authorities now recommend 2-4,000 IU per day through the winter. And that is after the blood level has been brought up to scratch with a high dose for a couple of months.I'd speak to my GP about the abdominal problems - it could well be an occult infection and I think it needs further investigation. There is obviously something up.

[MichelleHoward in reply to PMRpro]

Thank you for your advice. It’s means a lot. I will consider increasing my dose. Thank you 🙏

[Josiah150767]

Hi I had very low Vit D about 7 years ago and I can’t remember the exact dosage, but it was a lot higher than what you are taking, possibly closer to what PMRpro has mentioned and when my levels were up I have been on a lower dose everyday since.