Hey,
After feeling depressed for 2 years with sleep problems, fatigue, loss of interest in activities, memory issues. I finally decided to do some blood tests. Which showed i have Vitamin D3 deficiency.
My house doctor advised me to take daily Vitamin D3 1200 IU supplement in liquid form. 3 drops each day.
I have been taking them for 1 month now. No big difference yet. But my house doctor told me it can take up to 3 months before restoring my Vitamin D3 levels. My blood tests showed 7. And Vitamin D levels should be 50?
I felt relieved to know the cause for my depression, but now i just have to live with my depressive symtoms for 2 more months before i get better? anything else i can do to speed up the recovery time?
You might not want to hear this, but if you have been deficient for two years or more, then a recovery time of three months is optimistic. It can take up to a year to correct the deeper consequences of deficiency, such as bone softening. I and some others who contribute here also found that the bone pains actually felt worse before they got better on high dose vitamin D. In my case, it took seven months until I felt I turned a corner and started to lose the brain fog and depression. One of the best things you can do is put as many healthy and nurturing habits in place for yourself as possible while you await recovery - good diet, sleep hygiene, some exercise, etc. - all the things that help promote good mental and physical health anyway. Look after yourself well! All best wishes. :-)
I hope you soon start to feel better now you that have found how low your vit D level is. As jaybelle says you should have been told that it takes at least three months to get any results and with such a low reading as yours it could take a while longer.
Hi,my level was at 15.After 10wks of 20,000iu twice a week the level was 61.
I still tire more easily than i would like.I still have pins and needles and head sweats.
I was also low in folates and was prescribed 5mg folic acid daily for 10wks also.
During the early days,i would have days where i could not weight bare,Due to this i was given an MRI which thankfully clear.
In fairness i was told it could take several months to feel like myself again.I am feeling so much better than i did,just not quite there yet.
Take care of yourself and rest whenever you can/need.
Hi I have also just had blood tests and found out my vit d levels are 19. My gp however has put this as normal when it clearly is not. I also have low folic acid. It makes me feel really ill. Did you have any other symptoms?
Three months to get from 7 to an acceptable level with a daily supplement of only 1200 IU is sheer optimism (to put it politely)! That is approximately the amount we need daily - nothing left to build up the low body stock.
In the UK the amount of vit D3 prescribed for deficiency at that level is 60,000 IU per week for 10 weeks before checking the new vit D level - you are on 8,400 IU per week! I'm no longer deficient, I live in northern Italy where technically you are able to make vit D in skin all year round - and I take more than your doctor has told you to take. We are recommended by our local vit D expert doctor to take 2,000 IU per day.
If you want a speedier improvement you need to take more vit D3 - which is available to buy in the pharmacy in most countries.
did he check your b12 folate and ferritin alot of people with low vid d also have b12 def x
Hey thanx for the replies!
My house doctor wanted to describe antidepressants when she heard about my depression related symptoms. So I asked her to take all tests related to fatigue, sleep problems and basically all the standard depression symptoms.
According to the blood tests, my calcium levels were fine. And the only deficiency was D3.
However, looking back now at my life, I've had several depressive periods. And I must admit that I'm not a natural sunseeker and prefer to sit inside a lot.
So could over 10+ years of depressive moods finally be tied to my Vitamin D deficiency? I hope so. I guess I just have to wait and see and take the supplements.
I remember also having shin pain in my early 20s. I'm 32 now.
Hi, I suffered with depression for a very long time and my reason for going to gp this time was all over body pain and shins felt bruised like I had been kicked. So yes I do believe it is connected.
The lower your vitamin D levels, the lower your mood. So definitely yes, there is a connection. Same with vitamin B12 deficiency.
So i have been taking supplements since my blood tests were made, mid april. Doctor told me to make another visit mid July to see how the levels look like.
So if it will take more than 3 months to restore my low levels of 7. Maybe up to 1 year? should i really go trough all this time feeling this low in mood etc. Or should i take antidepressants on top of this?
Sorry you're still feeling bad. Whether or not to take antidepressants can only be your personal choice. I'd recommend you ask your doctor what he or she is considering prescribing and research it. You may or may not be prepared to put up with any side effects. You might also want to consider counselling or mentoring to help you through a tough time. Really, the choice has to be yours, based on your unique needs, your expectations and what you consider acceptable. Wishing you all the best. :-)
Have you thought about CBT? I think you can even do it on your computer at home.
I'm saddened to learn of your continual feelings of low mood but pleased you have a good doctor who is monitoring your levels. Getting vitamin D naturally from sunshine improves low mood... if we get any more sunshine that is, but also boosting your intake of supplements to 5 drops a day = 6,000 IU might be what's required to raise your levels and mood etc. Remember to either take vitamin K2 (supplements) or eat lots of green vegetables (natural vit K) which acts like Fairy washing up liquid and stops Calcium build up of the arteries and other organs when taking higher doses of vitamin D3. Also fats... as vitamin D is fat soluble - Linoleic acid = vitamin F (nuts, seeds) is good too as is Magnesium. Supplement if needs must.
Be well soon. x
I suspect my daily intake of 3 drops of my Vitamin D3 1200 UI is to little to restore my Vitamin D3 levels. Even though my house doctor adviced me to take this.
Should i go for a higher daily intake? In which case how much? 5000 per day?
To restore vit D levels that are very low the recommended amount is 60,000 IU/week for about 8-10 weeks and check your levels.. How you distribute it is fairly immaterial: 1x60,000 or 3x 20,000 is the usual suggestion but 6 x 10,000 is fine too, with one day a week off.
Can anyone recommend me some quality vitamin D3 supplements in drop or tablet format to buy online - which will restore my low levels in an efficient way?
It all depends where you are Probably the best quality high dose are Dekristol but in the UK I think they must be obtained with a prescription. They are German-manufactured and contain peanut oil - so if nut allergies are an issue are not for you. They come as 20,000 IU doses - possibly the only one available.
I have always used the supplements from Holland and Barrett in the UK - and they have been fine. Their high dose tablets are 1,000 IU but are tiny tablets and very easy to take up to 10 of them at once. The general advice is not to buy from companies you have never heard of and to avoid Chinese manufactured supplements.
PS, I forgot to say, because vit D is not classified as a drug it is not subject to the same licensing regulations as pharmaceuticals. There are warnings on the internet about this but it will apply to any such supplement so is not particularly meaningful. That is the reason for my warning about sourcing them - a reliable supplier is essential.
I was put on 20000iu d3 twice weekly with 5mg folic acid daily for 10wks. My d was 15 but after this 101. Within a couple of weeks after the 10wks i felt considerably better and now off all supplements feel better than i have in several years. I hope this offers you hope.