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Vitamin d

Posted , 9 users are following.

rhiannon231
rhiannon231

Hi

I've just had a call from my GP Surgery to tell me to make an appointment to see a doctor after having blood tests. I was then told my vitamin D level is 28 and calcium is 1.97!

Are they normal??

0 likes, 31 replies

31 Replies

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  • kadge
    kadge rhiannon231

    Posted

    Normal calcium is 2.2 so that's a bit low and think vit d is low as well.

  • lucas18
    lucas18 rhiannon231

    Posted

    Hi, your vit D level is low as it should be around 50-60. I'm, not sure about calcium.
  • Gem1384
    Gem1384 rhiannon231

    Posted

    Yes your vitamin d is low mine was 25. I'm not sure about the calcuim thou. Mine was low thou. You need vitamin d to absorb calcium into ur body. Once I started my high therapy of vitamin d my calcium went back to normal.
  • EileenH
    EileenH rhiannon231

    Posted

    On this site they quote the normal range for calcium as  2.25-2.5 mmol/L but this is a guide and may vary depending on the lab and the way they estimate it - every lab quotes its own normal range. So your calclium is probably rather on the low side.

    The normal ranges for vit D have changed over the last few years but these days almost everyone takes below 30 as low and prefer to see levels nearer 50 or even 75 (to 150 as the top end, too high is also not good). So your 28 is low by most people's standards but not unusual. I know several young women with levels in the teens - definitely deficient!

    As Gem has said - once you improve your vit D your calcium will also improve providing you have a decent diet with plenty of calcium - but there are supplements to sort that out too. Good calcium and vit D levels are important to build healthy bones and muscles don't do well with low calcium - especially your heart. It isn't anything to worry about - but it does need sorting out and making sure there isn't any other reason for the low calcium level.

  • rhiannon231
    rhiannon231

    Posted

    Thank you all!

    My calcium had been low for a while and have been on supplements for 2 weeks, so still not absorbing the calcium :-(

    I also have low b12 which I had my course of injections just over 3 weeks ago x

    • EileenH
      EileenH rhiannon231

      Posted

      There are other causes of low calcium - I assume they have checked for those? One is the low vit D - so you need very high dose vit d supplements to deal with that, about 60,000 IU per week, not just calceos or Adcal!

      Parthyroid problems can also be a cause as can malabsorption - and of course a low calcium diet. 

      Having so many deficiencies can all work together - but you do need it to be investigated. Good luck.

    • rhiannon231
      rhiannon231 EileenH

      Posted

      Thank you!

      I've had parathyroid checked and that was fine, also had a coeliac test which was 0 so that's fine!

      I have had other symptoms such as extreme fatigue, weight loss and have got pins and needles in my arm for which I've been referred to a neurologist x

    • EileenH
      EileenH rhiannon231

      Posted

      I wouldn't be surprised if they find you have an autoimmune disorder - low vit D is often found there. But coeliac and parathyroid problems are the firs port of call so that's good.

      Good luck - hope it turns out to be dodgy diet and sorted by starting eating better wink  

      All the best

       

    • rhiannon231
      rhiannon231 EileenH

      Posted

      Thank you!

      I wish it was dietary but I always eat really well and exercise x

    • ptolemy
      ptolemy rhiannon231

      Posted

      My vit D was 26 and my GP suggested I bought an OTC supplement. My calcium was 2.38 which was OK. The local pharmacy offered vit D tests recently and the pharmacist said half the people were defficient including his assistant who was also 26.
  • Jaybelle
    Jaybelle rhiannon231

    Posted

    28 nmol/L vitamin D is regarded as deficiency. Likewise, your seum calcium which should be in the range 2.2-2.6 mmol/L.

    Some typical symptoms are bone/joint pain and fatigue from osteomalacia (adult rickets) due to D deficiency and muscle weakness, tics, pins and needles, numbness or cramp from low calcium. 

    Your doctor will probably prescribe a high dose D supplement and a permanent maintenance dose to normalise your levels and cause the process of skeletal de/re-calcification to get into balance. 

    Wishing you all the best.

    :-)

    • EileenH
      EileenH Jaybelle

      Posted

      You'd hope Jaybelle - but my daughter had a vit D of 12 and her doctor just gave her adcal or something - a whole 800 IU/day which isn't really even enough to maintain the levels if you aren't making any from sun on skin! I had a fit and eventually got her to go to H&B and buy some more vit D but she still isn't on the sort of amount she should be for a vit D level of 12!
    • lucas18
      lucas18 EileenH

      Posted

      My level was 17 and I was put on 20000 IU twice a week for 9 weeks. I then had a blood test and it was 75.I now take 2000IU a week maintenance level. I'd suggest your daughter goes back to the doctor and says something, can you go with her?
    • EileenH
      EileenH lucas18

      Posted

      Not really - she's paramedic in the north of England and I live in Italy! Her GPs haven't been on top form this winter, telling her her poor asthma control was "the time of year" rather than sending her to an expert. It culminated in a blue light transfer to hospital after she collapsed in their practice and they didn't know how to work their nebuliser - nor the dose of the drug they should have used but didn't (it was in their fridge) when she was deteriorating! Luckily her colleagues arrived and DID know. The GPs are being a bit more proactive now she's in the hands of the experts...
    • lini38837
      lini38837 lucas18

      Posted

      hi there, I was also level 17 after years of fatigue and bone pain and for last 5 weeks taken 2000 IU a day- my GP said 17 wasn't too low and I could take 800IU for two months and be fine?! I still have terrible bone pain in my shins and back and ribs, weeping alot, but sleeping a bit bettersmile and now think I should increase my dosage again. Did your GP recommend this and do u live in the Uk? Any thoughts are welcome, thank you 
    • rhiannon231
      rhiannon231 lini38837

      Posted

      I'm waiting to see my GP tomorrow so will know more then. I'm in the UK so I will let you know more on the dosage tomorrow 😀
    • Jaybelle
      Jaybelle lini38837

      Posted

      Most health authorities recommend a minimum dose of 50,000IU vit D/wk for between 8 and 12 weeks, followed by 400IU daily life as a maintenance dose when D deficiency is diagnosed. You can check these guidelines yourself online and ask your GP why s/he has prescribed such a low dose in your case. You might also like to ask 'do I have osteomalacia?' This is the painful bone softening condition caused by D deficiency, but for some reason doctors seem to be loath to use the term. I think it's only fair to be given a proper diagnosis. We wouldn't expect to have our teeth falling out and skin peeling off and be told 'you just need a bit more vitamin C', would we? Just as scurvy is a severe outcome of vitamin C deficiency, osteomalacia is a severe outcome of D deficiency. We who have it know it is no joke - it is agonising, exhausting, ruins careers and lives. We deserve a diagnosis at least. 
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