I got a phone call at 5:30 on Christmas Eve from the surgery to tell me my VitD results had come back. Had to wait till 29th to get telephone consult! Anyway, spoke to a different GP then who said "Oh, your Vit D is a bit low." Me, "What exactly are the results?" "23". "And what is the range?" "Well the low range is (25 - 50), so it's just a wee bit low". !!! Flabbergasted.
She has also, apparently, looked at the rest of the results I previously received and says she would like to do more blood tests to check if anything else might be going on..........
So on 13th I will be getting tested for Kidney Function (repeat following CKD stage3), and now
Parathyroid and Calcium.
Until then she does not want me to start any new meds as she does not want to skew any results. So I cannot start taking Iron or B12.
I would have posted this earlier but I have been ill with a really bad dose of flu. Hardly surprising given my blood results. I am getting over it now, but I am completely wiped out.
Anyway, does anybody have any ideas why this GP wants Parathyroid and Calcium?
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Barb1949
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Due to your VERY low VitD. D is involved in the production of Calcium - good levels of D encourage calcium production along with a myriad of other functions in the body. The parathyroids are very small pea like glands situated behind the thyroid and are able to control levels of calcium in the blood.
VitD is more than a vitamin - it is a steroidal pre-hormone - and every one of the 10 trillion or so cells in the body have a receptor for VitD - so that's an awful lot of D.
Low D is found in people with chronic and serious illness.....you should be given huge loading doses until your levels are better...
Click onto Health Conditions related to D at the top of the page on the above link. The first link is Canadian/American - so you will need to divide your D blood result by 2.5 to compare with the table given. It tells you how much you need to take to be OPTIMAL.
Maybe ask your GP is she has seen the following...
It is a copy of a letter sent to ALL Health Care professionals in 2012 about D Testing...it does no include thyroid patients however. At least it should have rung alarm bells for all Docs.
I have had TB and Crohns for over 40 years and in both cases LOW D is implicated. I now take 10,000 IU's daily. Have lived in Crete for 10 years but still tested insufficient. Sadly Docs are not trained in this VITAL vitamin....
I have just printed out the link you gave above and truly thank you for it.
I am appalled......thinking back over my own history........and apologise for repetition from many other posts I have made but.........
Over ten years left on 50mcgs T4 being told there was nothing wrong with my thyroid,whilst I was continually reporting muscle and joint pain......
Last March had extensive blood tests( by Endo.) and was started on T3
Also tested for vits D, B12 and folate.
It took me 3 months to obtain a copy of my results and the discovery that my Vit D was low and no one commented on it.Eventually I actually supplied my surgery with a copy of that report myself after contacting my Endo's secretary who is always helpful....thank goodness!!
So ...three months wasted until I sent for some D3 and B12 on line.
My last trip to my Endo's clinic in July saying I felt better,but still had muscle problems and a pain in my knee, had me going to the X-Ray department ,which revealed a problem.
I am now seeing a Physio for Osteo. Arthritus (wear and tear in my kneecap)
After 23 years of exercising in water which supports you and allows completely free movement I'm puzzled and wondering how much those ten years of being under medicated for my thyroid has contributed to my problems?
If the receptor cells have not been properly fed for all that time and the essential vitamin of importance for bone health was low too,can our GPs honestly expect us to believe it has nothing to do with our thyroids?
It is so sad that we hear this story so often and I am saddened that you too have had the frustration of knowing that something was not right - and not getting any answers. So pleased you are self-medicating. From reading this forum it is plain to see that very few Health Professionals took notice of the letter from the CMO. I presume that is the link you copied. It's is also very clear that we have to take our health/life into our own hands in order to find wellness.
I don't think it is just people with thyroid issues that suffer with LOW VitD - I think it is a global problem - along with low B12. Statins and sun blocks - block the production of D in the skin.....
Thanks Marz..........and yes it is thanks to this forum that many of us have gained the confidence to help ourselves.Where we would be without all the advice we receive I dread to think.
I wish you well for 2015 and hope you are bathed in a Sunshine.X
Sadly not ! Although yesterday and today have been an interlude of sunny skies. Before that we had 4 days of non-stop torrential rain and the olive grove was like a lake. We have been promised more. Whilst it was raining the clouds covered the mountains - when the clouds lifted the mountains were covered in heavy snow ! Quite beautiful...managed a walk on the beach with my dog at midday and didn't need a gilet :-).....whilst on the beach the white mountains are the backdrop. Felt blessed.... x
Marz........your description is speaking to me........if you love painting as you do,then you can see beauty in your surroundings no matter what the weather.I expect your olive grove must be very interesting in a Winter light.
I love our local woodlands in Winter when they are stripped of their leaves and am amazed at the colours that you can see in them.
Enjoy your walks .......I am working at my exercises in order to hopefully get back to some inspirational walks.X
Marz........your description is speaking to me........if you love painting as you do,then you can see beauty in your surroundings no matter what the weather.I expect your olive grove must be very interesting in a Winter light.
I love our local woodlands in Winter when they are stripped of their leaves and am amazed at the colours that you can see in them.
Enjoy your walks .......I am working at my exercises in order to hopefully get back to some inspirational walks.X
Thank you so much for your passionate outburst. It seems to me there is little wonder I am now completely exhausted following my flu. My family came and took all my Christmas decorations down today and packed them away in the loft. They wouldn't let me do anything.
I now understand a bit more about my health problems and will go and read the links you have supplied. I will take a copy of the last one with me on my next appointment.
Now I have looked it up, it's because your Vit D is so low.
Does she know the vitamin D is an essential hormone, a deficiency which causes us problems. This is a link which is self-explanatory. An excerpt:
My level is between 10-20 ng/ml
With vitamin D levels in this range you’re more likely to develop osteoporosis and your bones may be affected because your body isn’t absorbing enough calcium. This means you’re more likely to fracture or break bones and more likely to have a fall. You may also have high levels of parathyroid hormone in your body. Parathyroid hormone controls the levels of calcium and phosphorus in your body and too much can affect your bones.
It makes me really angry that someone who has studied medicine will say that a vitamine D level of 23 is just a bit low. You have a vitamine D deficiency which will cause symptoms and serious problems on the long run.
I had a vitamin D level of 30 (also no one reacted the way they suppose to), I took 2000IU a day and after a couple of months my level was 75. Now taking 3000IU because I want it to be around 100. Your vitamin D level can not be lower than 80.
If I were you I would buy a good vitamin D supplement, get your blood tests first and start with supplementing after that.
It may be to check your bone profile - I don't know how old you are, but low vitamin D means that you won't be absorbing calcium which can be a risk for osteoporosis.
I broke my wrist a couple of years ago and was automatically contacted by my GP to have a dexa scan and blood tests to check my bone density profile, which included vitamin D, and calcium levels, which are a good indicator of parathyroid levels. Hyperparathyroidism, although relatively rare, can affect vitamin D/calcium absorption, causing bone density loss, along with other symptoms, such as fatigue and heart problems that are quite similar to hypothyroidism.
Presumably she is checking folate and B12 as well?
Sassicat, I already have early osteoporosis, had a dexa scan 2013. I am 65 so well in range for this, I had a hysterectomy in 1982 for endometrial cancer. I had HRT for 5 years then my doctor took me off saying he did not like to give it for longer as it causes more trouble than the problems it alleviates. Have already had folate and B12 done, both sitting on the floor!
I will ask for my next appointment to be with this doctor rather than the one I have been seeing. Maybe she is more on the ball.
There is some evidence that S.E.R.M.s (selective estrogen re uptake modulators) can be helpful. I take a non-prescription one recommended by my gynae, as an alternative to HRT.
She is quite right to be checking further. I had a reading of just 4 for my vit D level. And consequently developed weak bones causing one to snap. I was set to a metabolic bone specialist who found my parathyroid glands were suffering as a consequence. Luckily for me my low vit D was due to nothing more than an intolerance of direct sunshine due to a medically diagnosed skin condition made over 20 years ago. Despite my query whether their were implications I was repeatedly told by GPs none. Of course there was but luckily for me high dose of vit D treatment remedy the problem & normalised my bone density....I was lucky!!
Your GP must check your parathyroid glands as if there is a problem with them this has to be treated first. Given your B12 issues your GP is definately on the ball to check to see if there are any other underlying condition causing the deficiencies....sounds on the ball!!!
When my vit d was down so low I too found it hard to shake of bugs -had serious flu twice in 6 months! Unheard of for me....
Ooh forgot to say that with low vit D you can be at risk of developing Osteomalcia -soft bones- if not treated. Symptoms of this are aches, pains in your bones, low immune system, fatigue, non restorative sleep & unexplained sudden bone breakages.
Hi yes- parathyroid function can affect calcium levels which in turn can affect vitamin D, which is actually a hormone too, so these are all inter related. I had a parathyroid removed as had an adenoma and had hyperparathyroidism which meant my calcium levels were very high. This wore me out as had three small children. I now have to take vitamin D forever as my parathyroid glands cannot regulate enough. So your GP is keeping an eye on you. x
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...... Thanks 
Thyroid antibodies.
Spoke to GP
Low calcium level... not sure why
Advice following GP visit please
