Low Vit D & B12?

[Jojothorpe]

Hi, I'm new & looking for some advice please re Vitamin D & B12 levels - first some background;

teenage years - daily headaches, terrible monthly cycles - all tests clear

20's - still with the above, onset of unexplained extreme tiredness, dizziness & brain fog. (went gluten free, and all seemed better)

Now - (age 35) no headaches, but unexplained extreme tiredness, dizziness & brain fog are all back in force.

I have 2 kids, & run my own business, so this is having a huge effect on daily life.

Blood tests show all ok, apart from;

Vitamin D = 36nmol/L

B12 = 391ng/L Folate = 5.7ug/L

Can anyone advise if these could be causing me the issues?

Docs are going down the Labrynthitis route, but I'm not convinced.

Thanks in advance, Jo

[Hidden]

All OK. Hmm. What was your ferritin level, and your TSH? Do you have close relatives with autoimmune conditions like PA or hypothyroidism?

[Jojothorpe in reply to Hidden]

Hi, my ferritin is 72ug/L and THS is 1.02. No relatives with those conditions as far as I'm aware, although my mum has many thyroid issue symptoms

[Hidden in reply to Jojothorpe]

Your ferritin isn't bad, so it is right to focus on the D.

[Jojothorpe in reply to Hidden]

Thanks Aspmama

[clivealive Forum Support]

What sort of diet do you have as both B12 and D are sourced naturally from the same foods e.g. red meats, fish, eggs, dairy produce etc?

Folate (which is essential to process B12) comes from eating leafy green vegetables, sprouts, broccoli, beans etc. (plus some fortified cereals) hence underlining the value of traditional "meat and two veg" meals.

[Jojothorpe in reply to clivealive]

clivealive I don't eat any seafood (more of a phobia than a choice), so I can see where deficiency comes from. I will focus on the right foods more.

[Clutter]

Jojothorpe,

Vitamin D is replete 75 - 200. Most people are comfortable with it around 100. Low vitD can cause fatigue, musculoskeletal pain and low mood. I would supplement 5,000iu D3 for 3 months then reduce to 5,000iu alternate days and retest in May.

[Jojothorpe in reply to Clutter]

Clutter - with mine at 36 then that would be very deficient?

I have some Vitabiotics Ultra Vitamin D tablets, D3 1000 IU (Optimum level) - are you suggesting I take 5 a day?

[Clutter in reply to Jojothorpe]

Jojothorpe,

<25 is deficient but 36 is very low. Yes, I suggest 5,000iu daily. I was prescribed 40,000iu x 14 days as a loading dose plus 2,000iu daily x 8 weeks when my vitD was <10. When the tablets run out I suggest you buy vitD softgel capsules as the oil will aid absorption of vitD.

[Jojothorpe in reply to Clutter]

Thanks Clutter. The doc has brushed over it & said it shouldn't be a problem, however it clearly states on the blood test print out that "if patient is presenting symptoms, treatment is advised".

They would rather put everything down to an inner ear thing that hasn't been tested.

I hope your levels are good now.

[Clutter in reply to Jojothorpe]

Jojothorpe,

Some GPs have no clue how much low/deficient vit D etc. can impact on our wellbeing.

The hip and knee pain which disturbed my sleep resolved when my vit D deficiency was corrected.

[swimminthrutreacle]

I have 3 monthly ampoules of vitamin D prescribed by doc and I also supplement at times if I feel I need to, because if I don't hip, knee and ankle pain recur.

[hunny59]

Amongst all the other diagnoses that my doctors tried with me, labyrinthitis was one of them (along with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) which recurred numerous times from 2007-2014. Funnily enough, I haven't had one bout since I started B12 and Vitamin D supplementation ...

[Jojothorpe in reply to hunny59]

That's interesting hunny59 - the more I look online the more I find about vitamin deficiency & dizziness the more frustrating it is that I've not known about it before, and the docs are still adamant that it's not affecting me. It seems so daft that they wouldn't think of trying a supplement whilst waiting for the hospital referral in April...

[hunny59 in reply to Jojothorpe]

Welcome to the club Jojothorpe ! It's lamented many times in the forum how non-existent nutritional training is for doctors and yet sorting out vitamins and minerals has cleared so many of my long-standing medical issues that it's just not funny any more!

[Jojothorpe in reply to hunny59]

Does it take a long time for the vitamins to start working? I'm obviously hoping for an overnight miracle

[hunny59 in reply to Jojothorpe]

I had to learn patience. There were some things that I didn't even notice that were better as a lot of things improved gradually. I had lofty ideas that I'd "fix" everything within a couple of months at most. In reality, it's taken me about a year to get stable

[Jojothorpe in reply to hunny59]

Can I be nosey & ask what your levels were?

[hunny59 in reply to Jojothorpe]

I'll PM you and give you chapter and verse

[Jojothorpe]

Morning - Does anyone have any experience of taking Stemetil? I have been resisting taking it, but caved over the weekend and by Monday felt great. I then stopped taking them as advised - the doc said don't take for long - and now I'm back on the "boat"