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Q. I spent three years crippled by a Vitamin D deficiency. I was in constant pain, and for five months I was homebound and in a wheelchair. I had loss of balance, resulting in falls in which a bone was dislocated. I had neurological and cognitive deficits.
Vitamin D2 did not work for me, but within six weeks of starting a vitamin D3 supplement my pain started to let up and my balance is improving. My mind is sharp again. Vitamin D3 treatment costs me less than $10 a month. It is amazing that more doctors do not know about this. I hope you will tell your readers to insist on vitamin D3 if they are diagnosed with a deficiency.
A. Your experience is extreme, but low vitamin D levels are linked to an increased risk of falling as well as to muscle pain and weakness. Researchers are debating whether vitamin D2 or D3 is better for treating deficiency.
Vitamin D has been getting increased attention because so many people are low in this crucial hormone. Inadequate levels contribute to arthritis, asthma, dementia, depression, diabetes and hypertension.
We are sending you our brand new Guide to Vitamin D Deficiency with discussions of interpreting lab tests, selecting supplement doses and avoiding toxicity.
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I was prescribed 12 weeks of 50000iu vitamin D and my life has been a nightmare. I took one pill and 6 hours later ended up in the ER and have been suffering for 6 weeks. My test results we're normal but I'm allergic to something in it and the doctor that prescribed it says there's nothing more she can do for me.
I was never asked any questions nor was I made aware of the side effects. I have suffered every side effect there is listed and it the time estimate of the drug leaving my system is at least 6 more weeks. I guess it depends on who's taking it whether it's good for a person or not but I now know better to ask questions till I make the doctor sick even if I'm taking up her time because it's me that will pay the price in the end not them, and this time it's has and is still very high.
Not only me but my whole family and there's and my own life has been disrupted, so consumer or patient beware!
I have had wonderful results from taking vitamin d3. My doctor did a lab test for my vitamin d level, and it was low. He prescribed 1000 iu of vit. d3. I immediately felt an increase in energy. After being on it for a little while, the fatigue came back. He tested me again and found it was low again, so it was increased. I now take 3 pillsa day of 1000 U of vit. D3.
You can get this at anyplace that sells vitamins. These pills are not expensive at all and are easy to swallow, tiny pills. Vitamin D levels are low in a lot of people because we don't get the sunshine our ancestors used to get!! They worked outdoors a lot. We sit in front of computers! So I try to sit about 20 minutes in the sunshine each day, to get vit. D that way. I haven't heard of people getting a bad reaction that the person who posted here, had.
Now that warm weather is back, try to get plenty of sunshine. If you're lightly clothed, you can get 10,000 IU in about 20 minutes. After gardening, I strip down and lie in the mid-day sun, "20 minutes on a side." I have post-polio syndrome and getting enough D3 allows me to live a nearly normal life. It's been a godsend for me, and has a huge effect on nearly everyone. As we get older, we don't make as much. The darker your skin, the harder it is to absorb the sunlight you need to make D on your skin. Spread the word to your friends of color. They need more than the rest of us.
I also had a Vit Deficiency. However I had primary hyperparathyroidism with a giant adenoma (benign tumor) which was subsequently removed.
Until this was diagnosed (by me as 3 endocrinologists missed it and laughed when I mentioned it as a possible diagnosis, having been ill for 3 years), I had been pumped full of Vit D by them and got worse. After it was removed I took Vit D but found the 50,000 iu tablet was not available where I live. SO I took 3 x 1000 iu a day for a few months.
I did find that I also had bone pain periodically but maybe I didn't take enough calcium as I dislike milk. Try sitting in the sun and also try taking a much lower dose daily for longer. There are people who have an increased sensitivity to vit D apparently but it may be dose related in your case. Also have a PTH (parathyroid hormone level) and Calcium test.
The cost of vitamin D is rising. They are being reformulated and the price has gone up many times over. I have used vitamin D3 pills for over five years and had no problems with the old formula.
After years of rather frightening, and rapidly increasing, bone pain and weakening muscles, I read about the effects of Vitamin D deficiency. I had the grown-up version of rickets. A daily 1,000 IU of D helped within a week, but to get rid of all of the pain and weakness, I ended up taking more than 10,000 IU with no toxicity for about two years. I gradually lowered the dose to 6,000 IU daily, sometimes having to bump it back up a little. It's wonderful to be able to move without pain, climb stairs without pulling on the handrail, and walk on uneven ground without fear of falling. My grandchildren think I'm getting younger.
I could no longer get up and down my stairs and was so lacking in energy, while experiencing so much muscle and bone pain that I was close to being immobile. My vitamin D levels were so low that my doctor prescribed 50000ui per week for 8 weeks, and lowering the dosage as I improve. I'm presently going into my third week vitamin D and I'm able to walk up and down my stairs again.
Four weeks ago I had purchased a cane to help me get around. I can't believe a vitamin deficiency could disable someone to this degree. It took three years to be properly diagnosed. My doctor kept digging until she found the problem.
My friend had found out he has some nodules in his thyroid. After that he was diagnosed with vitamin-d-deficiency. He had never heard of such thing. It's always about checking his other panels like cholesterol and all that, but never anyone told him to check his vitamin d level.
So always have your vitamin d levels checked by your doctor!
I had 2 vitamin D tests done about 18 months apart. The results were
41 and 29. I cannot understand why my level fell that much. I am taking
2000 IU's each day. Don't know if this is enough to make a difference.
Took another test yesterday and am waiting for results.
"I was prescribed 12 weeks of 50000iu vitamin D and my life has been a nightmare."
Most vitamin D3 preparations use cod liver or other fish oil. Although I can eat fish, I cannot take fish oil omega-3 or vitamin D capsules and had a severe allergic reaction when I first started on Vit.D. I found a dose that is fish-oil-free and seem to be doing fine with it. Wish I was getting the dramatic results others are getting on 10,000 IU/day, but my level was
I've been on approx 7000-10000 iu of d3 a day for the last 7 months and although my aching legs aren't as bad as before, they are still pretty bad. I'm only 27 and its painful to keep getting up and down (crouching) I walked for a quarter mile yesterday and my calfs were absolutely killing me, like I'd run a marathon, the muscles felt very hard. I don't feel like I can balance properly when standing up and generally walking around. What else could be wrong with me apart from vitamin d deficiency?
My level was 8 when the doc first told me, its since gone up to normal levels, but the leg aches and weakness are still there! I was on statins for approx 3 months in 2007, the doc tested my blood for muscle breakdown tissue but said it wasn't detected, but I'm thinking if I'd been off the statins for 18 months when he did the test, surely there'd be nothing to detect by that stage anyway?
POST POLIO SYNDROME: On May 9, 2009 I had a severe attack that affected my gait and the symptoms have been an issue ever since. At that time, my Vitamin D level was down to 18. I took 50,000IU once a week for 2 months, raising my level to 31. Two months ago my Vitamin D level was 41. I started taking 5,000IU Vitamin D3 Softgels that I had gotten from Wal-Mart.
Last week when I awoke, I was able to walk without any gait problems and felt like a totally new person. It seems too good to be true, but as I write this today I have no gait problems, plus feeling stronger in my legs.
I just called my doctor's office to tell them and when asked about the limit, the Vitamin D level is 100. I will continue to take the 5,000IU and have a blood evaluation every 6 months to check it. I have been watching Dr. Oz and have also searched a variety of internet stories. There are many articles of how Vitamin D is helping people with Multiple Sclerosis (MS).