Vitamin D deficiency success stories

General health and lifestyle
1

I am in the midst of this deficiency trying to recover from the horrible symptoms that it can cause. I want to hear from people who have overcome this deficiency and how they did it. If there was adverse affects of long term use of vitamin d supplements.

How long did it take to make a full recovery and any hurdles you ran into along the way.

I am just in need of encouragement right now from this deficiency. It has stopped me in my tracks and life just stopped for me. Being frozen in time while everyone continues on with their life while I suffer and wrestle with the symptoms.

Dealing with doctors who are not knowledgeable with this deficiency can be very frustrating.

Please share your story so I know after the storm comes a rainbow. Your stories will bring encouragement and hope not only to me but for everyone out there searching for answers on vitamin d deficiency.

Thank you and God bless!

2

I hope you get to feel better soon. It can take many months to recover from a Vitamin D Deficiency but if you are taking a supplement it will happen,

I'm now permanently on 1 – Colecalciferol 800 Unit 20mcg vitamin D capsule every day for the rest of my life because at my age I cannot "manufacture" it myself at the age of 75 by sitting out in the sunshine which of course nowadays is a no-no.

I wish you well.

3

hi

the research suggests that it can take 3 months for supplementation to sufficiently replenish vitamin D stores. it all depends on how low you got etc. not heard of any information on long term negative effects of taking vitamin D supplementation. just make sure that you are taking whatever you have been prescribed and don't be tempted to speed things up by taking a hgher dose.

i was in a LOT of pain - muscle/nerve/joint/bone - you name it it hurt. now I am pain free (touch wood). so you will get there. and as we are now entering summer then you can top up the supplementation with exposing your skin to the sun -but do it carefully. 20-30 mins a day is enough. the rest of the time use sunscreen / wear long clothing / sit in the shade etc.

you may also find that your mood and outlook improve since deficiency / insufficiency can affect those as well.

good luck and keep taking the tablets. they do work.

 

4

Thank you so much for sharing and the encouragement. It's good to know that vitamin d deficiency is not a life sentence.

Take care

5

Thank you so much for the information. It looks like it's going to be a long recovery for me but summer is around the corner, which I am very much looking forward to. Hopefully with the sun it will help me feel much better.

I hope vitamin d deficiency is the culprit for all my symptoms and not something else on top of this deficiency. My doctor's aren't certain that it's just the vitamin d. Which is scaring me. That's why I've been seeing specialist after specialist right now to rule out any medical condition or illness.

I am praying that it's just vitamin d deficiency.

Take care

6

Hi

​Mind my asking you a few questions?

what was your last Vitamin D level?

What were your signs and symptoms? that made u suspect a vitamin D deficiency and what if any medication(s) were/are youtaking? Many thanks in advance.

 

7

Hi Jane,

My last vitamin d level was 20 in February. I was at 13 in November.

In December I was on 50,000iu d2 for 4 weeks, the first three weeks I felt better then it went down hill from there. The fourth week taking d2 I felt extreme dizzy, fatigue, weakness, and thirst. I did a little research and realized I needed to take cofactors with vitamin d supplements because it uses up magnesium, potassium, vitamin A, and k.

I reduced my intake to otc d3 5,000iu, with 400mg magnesium, 80mg k2 (mk7), a good whole foods multivitamin. I did this for the next 4 weeks but symptoms didn't improve, felt even worse. I was getting more fatigue and weak. So I decided to stop supplementing d3.

Because of what I read on magnesuim advocacy group, your magnesium levels have to be optimal in order to safely supplement with d3 or it will cause havoc in your body. Lesson well learned for me. Now I supplement with only 400mg magnesium, multivitamin and v-8 for the potassium and go out in the sun for 45minutes when possible. Until everything balances out.

My symptoms are: head pressure, headaches, extreme fatigue, weakness, body aches, sores especially the neck and shoulders, brain fog, muscle weakness, numbness in fingers at night, heavy leg feeling, irregular heartbeat, palpitations and irregular highblood pressure.

I've never been this sick in my life. I'm only 36years old. Never experienced these symptoms before. The symptoms came on like flu symptoms than gradually got worser esp the fatigue, weakness and brain fog. It's been a roller coaster ride. When I think I'm getting better, I get hit with more fatigue. Alot of ups and downs.

I never heard of vitamin d deficiency so I never suspect it. I asked my doctor to give me a vitamin deficiency test to rule out anything. Vitamin d was on the test and the only thing that came back low.

I was never on any medication nor am I taking any medication right now.

I hope this helps.

8

When first tested in March 2016 my Vit D level was 59.6 nmol/L <80 - 150>

I was prescribed 1 – Colecalciferol 800 Unit 20mcg daily for 3 months

Re-tested in October 2016 the level still low at 74.9 nmol/L so my doctor decided to prescribe the same capsules permanently.

As to symptoms I wasn't really aware because they were probably "masked" by the symptoms I have from the Pernicious Anaemia (a form of Vitamin B12 deficiency) I've had for 45 years and the Type 2 Diabetes I've had since 2015.

Some of the symptoms of B12 and D deficiencies are similar e.g. difficulty thinking clearly,muscle weakness, unexplained fatigue.

9

For anyone who has vitamin d deficiency please have your vitamin b6 levels checked also. It could be the cause of your symptoms. After 8 months of suffering with endless test. I had vitamin b6 toxicity from only taking a multivitamin with 25mg.

After stopping my multivitamin my symptoms are improving. I am now healing and recovering.

10

Vit too much B6 can cause spasms .

These supplements have to be treated with care.

​Tarro have sent a PM with a link to hypertyhroidism and hypothyroidism and myopathy.

 

11

TYPOS> Too much Vit B6 can cause spasms.

 

12

Hi Jane,

Thank you for the link. I went to a follow up with my neurologist and I asked him about my raised level of vitamin b6, he said it couldn't have caused my symptoms plus it wasn't is criteria to deal with and He left it as that.

But my primary doctor said that the cause of my symptoms could be from vitamin d deficiency and vitamin b6 toxicity. That's why she is sending me to see a rhuematologist to rule out other things.

I won't be able to see a rhuematologist until two more months. My symptoms seem to improve then goes back to worse. So frustrating.

Can vitamin d deficiency or vitamin b6 toxicity cause random spikes of high blood pressure and random irregular heartbeat? I've been seen by the cardiologist and everything was normal.

13

Hi dambudzo,

Can I ask what level were you at when symptoms started to resolve?

14

we didn't bother monitoring too frequently  because at the end of the day it was the pain and not the number which was important.

i took the supplements as prescribed by the doctor and i made sure the sun reached my skin for at least half an hour a day during summer.

the pain went.

some months later i had my vitamin D level tested and it was up to a satisfactory level.

 

15

Hi again  I have just sent a PM with a link to Hypervitaminosis and B6 toxicity.  Take care  Jane xx

16

Hi Taro - were you ever able to resolve this. I have the exact same situation, everything you've written.

IT started Nov 2016, it started off like a flu, and I havent been the same since. Exact same symptoms as you, head pressure, leg heaviness, braing fog, weakness, depression, sometimes I get anxiety attacks, palpitations, soreness through neck and shoulders, vertigo, sometimes my muscles and bones ache, I also have constant tinnitus (24/7). I too am 36.

I havent been able to work, or do much of anything since this started. I saw docs, specialists, and they were really of no help. Like you I sometimes begin to feel bettter, and then I get hit by a wave of fatigue. I feel helpless and embarrassed, as no one around me gets it, and think I'm faking or crazy.

It was such a  relief to see that there are other people experiencing this. IF you have any insight, please, I'm all ears!

17

Hi pbhealth,

It's been a year trying to figure this all out as everything has still come back normal. Doctors has just put it down to chronic fatigue and some fibromyalgia.

I have been reading and researching alot because I know there is more to this vitamin deficiency. I came to learn that vitamin d depletes magnesium, potassium, retinol vitamin A, and raises calcium making us low on a cellular level. When we are low its so hard to replete these minerals. Hence all the symptoms are connected to the minerals that are being depleted.

I talked to a few people who are going through the same thing and it all started out with taking vitamin d supplements and it goes down hill from there. Doctors are ignorant about this and do not want to hear it. Some have gone and did the hair mineral analysis to prove to their doctors that vitamin d is the culprit for the cascade of symptoms.

Now its just putting back those vitamin and minerals to rebalance the body. I've been on a protocol for 3 months, it's still too early to see improvements because it takes at least 18 months or more depending on how depleted you are. I wish I started the protocol in the beginning and not wait on doctors. So much time wasted.

You should check out Morley Robbins on magnesium advocacy group or gotmag dot org. He explains it in laymans term backed up with research. It's a wealth of information.

I wish you well, I know it's hard I struggle everyday. Hang in there. The body can heal and repair itself in time. So there is hope.

18

Hii.. 

i was diagnosed in october 2017 with VDD ( level 16.8 ng/ml) .

Symptomes : Headache(  On top and posterior of the head) ,head pressure, Tinnitus (24/7), weakness in arms and legs, muscle twitching (legs), dizziness, nausea, brain fog, low concentration, poor memory, depression, anxiety, palpitation, high pulse rate ( 120+/bpm), sometimes High Systolic Pressure (170/80).

Tests (cardiology, ENT, neurology, blood tests, Thyroid, abdominal Ultrasounds, head CT, head MRI, chest X-ray ) all was normal, Except low vitamin D level.

started to take Vitamin D3 5000 IU for 1 week, then increased to d3 10.000 iu + Magnesium + Multivitamin.

now 3rd week, and feel much much better , No nausea, no Dizziness, only some posterior headaches specially in the morning and very little tinnitus which sometimes disappear, palpitations tend to come and go.

 

19

Were your Vitamin B12 and Folate levels tested as tinnitus can be a sign of a B12 deficiency?

20

Hi clivealive,

 Yes Vitamin B12 and Folate levels are Normal