Vitamin D deficiency

[queenmabroo]

Hi all! Full blood tests at end of post but starting with my questions! I am hypothyroid taking 100mcg of levothyroxine. As this thread has become really long I'm going to start a second about my other vitamins etc (will add link!)

So I had a recent blood test which shows that my vitamin D is still deficient (72, range 75 - 500). I can definitely feel the negative difference that not taking vitamin d is having, so I went back to the doctor today to discuss it. Whilst he has given me a further 3 months of 1600iu per day, he wasn't overly happy about doing so as I'm so close to being in range.

The first Vit D result I have is 26/03/15 when it was 86 (and I think I was taking the Betteryou DLUX 3000 spray) and it then dropped to 61 on 16/07/2015. I was put on Hux D3 40,000 units per week for 8 weeks, which then took my vit D to 65 on 15/10/2015, after which I was switched to 1600 units per day. I was on this until end of June which has only managed to raise my Vit D level from 65 to 72 (lower end of range 75). I just can't think that this rate of increase is what it's meant to be?!

The Doc has suggested I do a further 3 months of 1600iu and then retest mid January which will "give us a more accurate picture due to the time of year". I suggested that he combine the 8 weeks of 40,000 iu and the daily 1600iu treatment types, but that is not recommended practice and he doesn't want to put me into overdose/toxicity and that they can't monitor that because they don't test while you're taking the vitamins. I did suggest that they test it during the course but that comment seems to have been overlooked.

He also says that if it's still low on retest in January he'd then go on to investigate other factors to see if they're an issue such as parathyroid (which was 3.4 on 11/9/15 and 8.5 on 15/10/16 [range 1.5 - 7.6]), serum albumin (41gl on 10/9/15 & 15/10/15 [range 35- 50]) and serum alkaline phosphatase (serum inorganic phosphate was 1.18 mmol/l on 10/9/15 and 1.1 on 15/10/15 [0.8 - 1.5], alkaline phosphatase was 171 iu/l on 10/9/15 and 173 on 15/10/15). To me the albumin and phosphatase readings don't suggest that I have any liver or kidney problems, and I think the parathyroid issue was treated as my calcium levels are back in range.

My current dilemma is whether I follow only the Doc's treatment plan and then undergo the further tests to see why I'm not digesting the vitamins, or if I go ahead and treat myself with some extra vitamin D in order to bring my levels up to around 100/150 (which I think is what is recommended and if anyone can direct me to any papers saying so I'd be most appreciative!). I don't want to mask any other problems that might exist by taking my treatment into my own hands, but I also want to get better... What would you advise? I have IBS and other gastrointestinal issues anyway so I do think absorption is an issue for me!

I am currently taking

the following:

- Levothyroxine 100mcg (increased 4/7/16 from 75mcg)

- Vit D 1600iu colecalciferol

- H&B Calcium 333.3mg , Magnesium 133.3mg & Zinc 8.3mg

- Sainsbury's Evening Primrose Oil 1000mg

- Betteryou multivitamin spray (methyl b12 6mcg, d3 400iu, folic acid 400mcg, selenium 75mcg, b1 1.1mg b2 1.4mg k1 75mcg, b7 50mcg, iodine 150mcg, b5 6mg, a 600iu, b3 8mg, c 20mg)

- H&B Iron 14mg & Vit C 60mg

( I am looking to change my vitamin/mineral sources and amounts but will ask those questions on a separate thread due to length of this one!)

Recent results

26/3/15 16/7/15 11/9/15 15/10/15 2/8/15

TSH [0.2 - 4.0] 2.1 4.5 3.8 2.2 0.47

FT4 [10.0 - 20.0] 13.9 9.1 14.8 - -

Parathyroid [1.5 - 7.6] - - 3.4 8.5 -

Vit D [75 - 500] 86 61 - 65 72

Magnesium [0.7 - 1.0] 0.91 - - - 0.9

B12 [211 - 911] 390 423 419 - 440

Folate [5.4 - 24] 6.5 14.4 - - 13.9

Ferritin [10 - 322] 46 47 - - 81

Calcium [2.2 - 2.6] - - 2.29 2.17 2.39

Thank you all in advance for wading through this lot!

[queenmabroo]

My other post is here healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

[Clutter]

Queenmabroo,

If you are experiencing symptoms I think it is very unlikely they will be anything to do with vitD as deficiency is <20 and 72 is just shy of replete 75-200. I'm very surprised your GP has agreed to prescribe D3 at that level. There is scope to increase your dose to raise level to around 100 which is fine for most people. You can buy vitD without prescription. 1,000iu daily should be ample.

Your calcium results don't indicate calcium deficiency so there is no need to supplement calcium.

Ferritin is optimal halfway through range so I would increase your iron dose and vitamin C dose.

_________________________________________________________________________

I am not a medical professional and this information is not intended to be a substitute for medical guidance from your own doctor. Please check with your personal physician before applying any of these suggestions.

[queenmabroo in reply to Clutter]

Hi Clutter,

Thank you! I'll sit tight with the Doc's treatment plan then and hope that it increases.

Greygoose pointed me to your other post about calcium so I'll drop that one off and I'll look into increasing my iron.

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Like you I have vitamin D issues. I have just been diagnosed officially as gluten intolerant, possibly coeliac. (see profile for more) I agree the Vitamin D mouth spray by Better You seems to work well as avoids the poor absorption issue in the gut. I was recommended to try that by an endoscopy nurse.

As you have gut issues and IBS have you had coeliac blood test? Not reliable test.

Do you have Hashimoto's? Has anyone checked your thyroid antibodies? TPO AB and TG Ab. If either are high this means Hashimoto's and therefore cause is autoimmune. Often is gluten/gut related

Have you tried going gluten free? Asked for referral to gastroenterologist?

You should find these interesting

drgominak.com/vitamin-d-hor...

vitamindcouncil.org/tag/aut...

Also book by Susan Blum - The immune system recovery plan

also worth downloading (costs about £1.50)

vitamin-d-pro.com/

app for ipad/tablet - fill in your results of vitamin D, calcium and parathyroid - gives excellent graphs and diagnosis

[queenmabroo in reply to SlowDragon]

Hello! I have replied to your other post on my other thread as well.

I had the coeliac test several years ago and it came back negative - however I think I was already mostly gluten free at the time. I then had an endoscopy where I ate gluten for 10 days before hand, again they diagnosed me as wheat-induced IBS. So now I eat wheat and mostly-gluten free. The doc did suggest another coeliac test a couple of months ago but said it would be useless if I was already eating gluten free!

I didn't think I have hashimoto's but on checking my TPO Ab result from 2014 I spotted that the doctors thought the result was abnormal (48, range <100). So now I'm wondering if it is Hashimoto's, and in particular how I might tell now, with my current diet. I'm planning to get my own BlueHorizon's test done in the autumn to see what my supplementation regime is having and that will include all the antibodies etc.

Thank you for all the Vit D resources - I shall use that advice to continue on with I have downloaded the app but it keeps crashing as I try to put data in! Grr.

Thank you!