Vitamin D

[cassie51]

Can anyone say why my Vitamin D would be so low with Hypothyroidism. On Meds now for this. Would just like to understand the connection. Thankyou

[Justiina]

One of two mechanisms may explain the low levels of vitamin D in patients with hypothyroidism. First, the low levels of vitamin D may be due to poor absorption of vitamin D from the intestine. Second, the body may not activate vitamin D properly.

[cassie51 in reply to Justiina]

Thankyou x

[Kitten1978 in reply to Justiina]

It's true for iron and B12 but not for vit D3. Our bodies produce vit D when our skin is exposed to sunshine. WE get only a tiny amount of it from our food.

[Justiina in reply to Kitten1978]

True, but some supplement and are still deficient as it's poorly absorbed. I skip it by using vitamin D spray.

[Kitten1978 in reply to Justiina]

Vit K2 and magnesium are crucial for D3 metabolism. People rarely take K2 even if they are supplementing with D3 and majority of us are deficient in magnesium.

Also: people often don't take nearly enough D3 to rebuild their storage. Our bodies need about 5,000 IU of D3 daily. If we are severely deficient and want to increase our level we should supplement with up to 10,000 IU daily for 3 months, with K2 and magnesium. Then retest and reduce the dose.

Yet another mistake people make is supplementing with vit D2, instead of D3.

[Justiina in reply to Kitten1978]

True. I take K2, magnesium , D3 and vitamin A as advised. But it was about why in hypothyroidism vitamin D is low. Poor absorption is one explanation as it adds up to all vitamins and nutrients.

Another explanation is poor conversion from D 25 (storage D) to active form. As vitamin D is made from cholesterol which is often high in hypo you would think it would mean more vitamin D is produced. But as everything slows down so does vitamin D conversion too.

[dang]

Do you have Hashimoto's? Here's an article that states that 92% of those wit Hashimoto's have vitamin D deficiency and the link between the two:

hypothyroidmom.com/92-of-ha...

[cassie51 in reply to dang]

Hi dang, how would I know if I have Hashimotos? I have very limited contact with any medical staff due to my Agoraphobia :

[dang in reply to cassie51]

It is diagnosed by blood test which would show if you have heightened antibodies: Thyroid peroxidase antibody (TPO) and/or Thyroglobulin antibody (TGAb).

It can also be found in an ultrasound of the thyroid if it has progressed far enough to cause visible damage.

Hashimoto's is the most common cause of hypothyroidism.

Do you have any recent thyroid test results? Or perhaps the results from when you first got diagnosed hypo? It's possible the doctors tested for it.

[dang in reply to dang]

If you don't mind me asking, with your agoraphobia are you able to get out and have sufficient sunlight? As this would be a definite cause of vit D deficiency. (Sorry if my question is ignorant I don't know much about agoraphobia).

[cassie51 in reply to dang]

Yes this is possibly the case as well as poor conversion. Thankyou

[Heloise]

cassie, I just posted something about Enzymes a few hours ago and to me it answers all the "why am I deficient" questions. Your body has to accomplish many biologic activities and with low metabolism and slow digestion you are missing the energy that enzymes bring to the table. Without all that in a way you are malnourished.

[cassie51 in reply to Heloise]

Thankyou Heloise, I will have a read x

[Hidden]

Most of our vit D comes from action of the sun on our skin, a little from foods such as eggs and oily fish and long gone is the habit of giving code liver oil as I was as a child. In the British Isles we sadly miss the ability to bare our skin to the healing power of the sun for much of the year. Vit D deficiency is linked to many autoimmune diseases as well as breast and prostate cancer, depression and osteoporosis. It is vital. The campaign to prevent skin cancer hasn't helped and the fact that with long working hours, based indoors we are missing this vital health benefit. I think it is common in not just thyroid problems and it isn't just a gut absorption issue.

[cassie51 in reply to Hidden]

Thankyou Steenygirl x

[humanbean]

A contributory factor (in my opinion - I have no proof) to deficiencies and other symptoms of hypothyroidism are the low body temperature we nearly all suffer from.

The body has lots of enzyme reactions that are going on every second of every day. They have an ideal temperature range at which they work. If our body temp is far too low how many of those enzyme reactions stop working efficiently? My guess would be lots and lots.

[cassie51]

Makes sense, Thankyou x

[judburke]

I had low Vit D despite taking high dose supplements and getting sufficient sun every day - it still stayed low. Eventually I was diagnosed with Coeliac which give me 2 problems - First my gut was not absorbing the nutrients from food and supplements and secondly my body/skin was so malnourished that it could not convert the sun into D3.

It is typical for some of us to have more than one auto-immune disease sadly

[Kitten1978]

Vit D3 isn't actually a vitamin but a proto - hormone. It modulates the immune system. Most people living in Northern Europe and UK are vit D3 deficient. The skin cancer scare, the use of sun creams and the changes in our lives styles (spending time indoors) are only increasing our deficiencies. There is a theory that without an adequate level of vit D our immune system makes mistakes: it attacks its own cells (autoimmune disorders such as Hashi) or it fails to destroy mutated cells (cancers). As we progressively get more and more ill we spend even less time outdoors and D3 deficiency worsens. Our body is also less and less able to utilize it.

Good read:

vitamindcouncil.org/

stopthethyroidmadness.com/v...

stopthethyroidmadness.com/a...

[Jen15]

Hi ,

take a look at the vitamin D council website where you will find advice on how much vitamin D to take each day to raise your level to optimum levels. (As thyroid patients we need our vitamin D levels to be in the upper range .)

vitamindcouncil.org/i-teste...

The vitamin D council recommend using oral spray vitamin D3 as it is easily absorbed via the soft tissue in your mouth. This can be easily bought on the high street in the UK.

Ask your GP/consultant to check your vitamin D levels again when you have been supplementing for 3 months.

By using this spray I was able to raise my Vitamin D levels from very low to optimum in 3 months.

Hope this helps.

Best wishes.

[cassie51 in reply to Jen15]

Thankyou Jen, much appreciated x