Low vitamin D

Hi I have just found out my vitamin d level is 46 but the doctor says that's only a little low and about same with my iron levels so the doctor has given me iron tablets but not the vitamin d I did buy my own vitamin d a few weeks back which are 5000iu she said just take them for 3 weeks then lower the dose for the next 3 weeks and if I still feel same I have to go back and see her.would levels of 46 cause my symptoms they Carnot seem to find anything wrong with blood tests Ive had another doctor mentioned fibromyalgia I just know something is not right it's affecting my life.

A level of 46 shouldn't give rise to that sort of symptoms (probably 50 is the bottom end of the normal range) - my daughter had far less problems than that with about 11 and mine was 21 with nothing like that. Slightly low iron shouldn't cause that sort of awfullness either - do you know how low? You can take those vit D tablets without worrying about getting too high though.

As I said - all of what you describe is typical of an autoimmune disorder and you should be referred to a rheumatologist for investigations - and the sooner the better because there'll be a wait for an appointment I have no doubt! I don't care what the blood tests say - they don't tell the whole story and it is the patient who needs to be treated, not the figures. Do you know what blood tests they have done that are "OK"? I spent 5 years like you because my blood tests were "OK" and I didn't know enough to dispute it. There are a lot of tests that can apparently be "OK", and a lot of things where the uninitiated might suggest fibromyalgia - but a rheumatologist can identify something.

If this GP won't move a bit quicker, try another one. And if you have one, take a partner with you to the appointment to tell them how much it is affecting your daily life - I assume you can't work? Taking someone with you seems to concentrate their mind...

80 is a good value to reach, has your cortisol been checked, b12 folate

I think they have checked all my vitamins levels it was just the vitamin d and iron what is a little low everything else was ok I think she said my iron was 38 or something I'm not sure.lucky I'm not working at moment because I have a 3 year old this has been going on for about a year now my whole body feels sore plus the other symptoms I have it's not nice I thick I will try to see another doctor as u have advised see if they can speed thing up for me.

get your cortisol checked thats a hormone blood

Ok I'll ask for that checking what is this for?

cortisol plays a bit part in our body mine was high which causes tiredness muscle weekness look it up on the net x

It isn't vitamin levels that they need to look at - it's things like rheumatoid factor, ESR (sedimentation rate) and CRP (a protein your body makes when there is inflammation going on), and some other tests for sorts of arthritis but I don't know if a GP can do them, even if they can they probably don't know how to interpret them. 

Tell a GP it has been suggested this sounds as if it might be an autoimmune disorder and you would like to be referred to a rheumatologist to have it investigated. 

Hope you get some answers pretty soon. I've no doubt the fact they aren't having to write sick lines doesn't help - you're a young mum with a child, we were all tired all the time! But this is more than "I've got a toddler and i'm knackered..."

I phoned my doctor she told me to take the 5000iu of vitamin for 8 weeks and also the iron supplement for 6 weeks and if I don't feel any different by then to go back and she would refer me to a specialist she said she has to do this first to see if it is the low vitamin d that is causing my symptoms then if it is I go to see a specialist which is stupid but she says that's how it works.

Ok will have a look thanks

Since your vit D is NOT particularly low I think she is trying to wriggle out of a referral. Typical - a couple of years ago they wouldn't take a vit D level of under 20 seriously - now they're going to the other extreme.

Thanks for all your advise and I will update in 2 months to let you know how I'm getting on I hope it is just the vitamin d causing this and nothing else.

It would be the nice simple answer, yes! Fingers crossed!

Hi Eileen do you mind me asking you what they thought was "normal range" but wasn't for you? Iv had similar experience with bloods and would be very interested in hearing your story especially as you felt like that for 5 years that's a long time and what symptoms did you have.

Thanks

Mel

I have a form of vasculitis, polymyalgia rheumatica, which causes rheumatic/arthritic symptoms. It typically causes stiffness and aching muscles, stiff shoulder/hips, fatigue, night sweats, depressed mood and various other things. There is no blood test that says it is definitely PMR - it is diagnosed by symptoms and, sometimes, blood markers.

In 80% of people who develop it the ESR (sed rate) and CRP (a protein made in inflammation) are raised - but for the rest of us it never changes. I had pretty much textbook symptoms but the blood markers were not raised - so the GP kept saying there was nothing wrong. The "normal range" the lab quotes is the range of results they have found by taking samples from thousands of healthy people and then they take the figures that apply to 95% of the people - some have lower, some have higher. For the ESR that ranges from 1 to about 20 - mine has never been above 7, well within "normal range" so "there was nothing wrong"! The symptoms were ignored - or written off as something else.

It all depends - there are blood tests that have normal ranges and if you are outside them then you would be pretty ill - and vice versa. There are others that come back from the lab as positive or negative - but negative doesn't always mean you don't have something, it just means you don't have that particular marker. Rheumatoid factor for example is "there" or "not there" - being negative doesn't mean you don't have RA, just as being positive doesn't mean you DO have RA. There are people with RA who are negative, people who are perfectly healthy who are positive. It is all part of a much bigger picture.