Low B12 and now low vitamin D

[mesadies]

I had blood test the other day as keep getting bruises appearing and keep getting bone pain and results came back very low vitamin D 18.9. Got to take prescription 20,000 IU twice a day for two weeks and then told to buy over counter 1,000 IU and take twice a day. No wonder I feel so exhausted and all this on top of the low B12. Does anyone know if this is a normal pattern with B12 that you get other deficiencies too?

[mesadies]

And to add to the above I have an under active thyroid and I have been on levothyroxine for nearly 7 years

[Marz in reply to mesadies]

Do you have Hashimotos ? - auto-immune thyroiditis ? If so this can cause absorption issues and be the cause of low levels of Vit D and B12.

Did you also have low Folate and Ferritin ? All those nutrients need to be good for your thyroid hormones to work and for you to feel well.

I have been on the Thyroid UK Forum here on HU for over 6 years. Almost 75,000 members so lots of knowledge and shared information. You will read that most of us have low levels of VitD and B12.

So TSH is good at around 1 or below and FT4 & FT3 need to be in the upper part of the range. Happy to help 😊

[jillc39]

very interesting - as well as b12 deficiency I also have low vit D so have to top up on that as well.. I think it does add to my well-being.

[mightydrunken]

There definitely appears to be a pattern of B12 deficient people, also being deficient in iron and especially vitamin D. Folate often appears low but in range too.

The likely explanation is that vitamin B12 deficiency is usually caused by some kind of malabsorption like Crohn's, IBS, pernicious anaemia etc and these will also effect other nutrients. B12 just happens to rely on a more complex and very efficient system that is more easily disrupted.

However in the UK we only get about 10% of our Vitamin D from food, as the UK does not supplement many foods with it. So either something else is going on or almost everyone is very low in vitamin D in the UK. Which considering the UK does not receive strong enough sunshine to make much Vitamin D for about 5 months of the year, is possible.

Another possibility is that iron, folate, B12 and vitamin D are the most tested vitamins and these are the deficiencies most likely to be picked up.

These correlations are something I have been pondering about

[MarsBarKid in reply to mightydrunken]

agreed -found same here as well as USA Canada etc and all due to slip slap slop campaign to cover up and avoid skin cancer likely cause. I started off on 10,000 iu's a day for around a year and then dropped back to 2000 daily. I also take CO Q 10 which is another vitamin our bodies drop off generating as we get older and it helps with energy - works too. Also don't forget magnesium very important for all parts of the bod. Potassium we get from potatoes, banana's and strawberries I had to give up spuds as arthritis hit and hands lost ability just abut to do things all curling up etc and read that the deadly nightshade family which includes spuds and tomato as well as chilies all make arthritis worse and within 3 weeks of stopping my beloved chips, crisps and hash browns - fingers started to work fine . Good tip. GP's tend to just say arthritis and to be expected as we age. No one told me that it can eat your bones as I found with my left hip started to get pain in muscles and knee left leg and went to GP - age he said. Changed after I had a fall and taken to Hospital. XRay needed he said and then- need a hip replacement. Bone eaten away by arthritis. Not so just aches and pains for the elderly eh!

[MariLiz]

My Vit D was considered low enough to need supplementing, and was only picked up on a privately paid for blood test. Not sure it’s regularly checked on a routine blood test.

[topazrat in reply to MariLiz]

My health authority doesn't test for Vit D at all. When I asked for a test, I was told it was not possible. so I guess other places are much the same. Apparently, most people in the UK are low, so it isn't worth testing to find the odd one that is clinically deficient (Docs words, not mine!)

I found a home test on Amazon for £7.99, which only gives rough ranges, but its enough to keep an eye on levels.

I got treatment in the end by getting a private test and plonking it in front of the Doc.

[mesadies]

Thank you all. It does sound like a lot of people are vitamin D sufficient then and B12. I guess I was lucky the doctor did check and I am now getting supplements to correct it.

[MarsBarKid]

Whole western world is deficient on D3. Best to take a daily capsule - they say in Australia 1000 IU's a day - but I read on American health sites they advise around 10,000 IU's to start with if low and then gradually less as level is reached etc. Our food isnt good enough as they say all our soils are worked out depleted of necessary vitamins we once got etc. So best to take a top up and stay healthy. D3 and CO Q10 for energy if over 50, along with Magnesium a must for our bodies. I also have always taken daily garlic pill to save getting colds and flu and never had flu ever even when 1950's pandemic in operation. My sister still lives in UK and has the flu injection every year and gets flu mildly she says. I haven't bothered rely on the old garlic as its nature's own antibiotic or so they tell us. Read French monks nursed black death patients in Middle ages and never got that, so must be some truth in it eh!