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Vitamin D deficiency

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helenab
helenab

I've been unwell for on and off now for almost a year. I remember phoning off sick a couple of times before feeling tired and 'achy'. I thought I was just being lazy and this was psychosomatic. Then I started getting really ill when I developed a sudden onset of neck/shoulder pain which is still an on going problem now although the pain has turned into discomfort/ache which I have learned to manage doing exercise and stretches. I also feel sensitivity on other parts of my body (like invisible bruises.For 6 months I was coping with my neck/shoulder problem (symptoms are crawling/tingling sensation in the arm, sensitivity to touch like its bruised and cold feeling and dull ache on my shoulder blade).

Then gradually I started developing 'flu like symptoms' without cough or cold but with tiredness/fatigue and dizzy headache which are intermittent throughout the day, until 2 weeks later I started getting throbbing ache in my legs and eventually I couldn't sit all day without getting restless legs and crawling/tingling sensation in my legs which caused weakness in my legs and worse when I'm going upstairs - and my knees keeps clicking. I went to my doctors who prescribed me with naproxen. And told me that I had something called Reactive Arthritis, which i thought was a misdiagnosis. Overall I though that it could be viral related

This time I've been off work for a week when I started to feel better after a week on naproxen. I came back to work for a week feeling like i thought I recovered. Then boom 2 weeks later gradually the flu like symptom came back with extreme tiredness / fatigue and I've been in bed since. I'm still achy all the time regardless. I have no energy to do anything, even showering is a struggle. Ive been in bed most of the time, sometimes I try to go out with my husband for a few hours but I come back home absolutely exhausted and the soreness/headache i get is a different level. Most of the time I feel like my body is inflamed.

So i decided to get a second opinion and i went to see another GP who referred me for a blood test. A few days later, my results came through and I have Vitamin D deficiency. Everything else they tested seem fine.I have a better outlook now though after the diagnosis, apparently it will take months for the treatment to take effect. I guess now they found something they will stop investigating further (which worries me a little bit) but i guess its process of elimination so treat one thing at a time. Would be great to hear from others who also has this deficiency and whether the treatment was effective?

13 likes, 304 replies

304 Replies

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  • gtcttww
    gtcttww helenab

    Posted

    Just curious.  Do any of you take meds for acid reflux or GERD?  My husband was taking Omeprazole (proton pump inhibitor) and it was blocking his body from absorbing Vitamin D.  He was sick for a couple of years before his neurologist discovered the Vitamin D deficiency link with taking the proton pump inhibitor.  He quit taking the proton pump inhibitor and started taking 5,000 iu of vitamin D.  Feels great now!
    • john23524
      john23524 gtcttww

      Posted

      Hi, I have been on Nexium (esomeprazole) another proton pump inhibitor for a decade now and I have all the symptoms of helenab. I have had a vitamin D level check which turned out very low, I am on 3,200 iu of vitamin 3 a day now. I have also decided to come off the PPI's as after doing some research about long time use of those drugs it looks like the drug has caused all my health problems. I also read where the PPI's block your body from absorbing vitamin D, apparently vitamin B12 also amoungst other things. I am really struggling with acid at the moment but after reading about long term use I see it as the lesser demon.
    • john23524
      john23524

      Posted

      I meant to say 3,200 iu of vitamin D3 a day.
    • gtcttww
      gtcttww john23524

      Posted

      Proton pump inhibitors block the absorption of vitamin D and B12.  My husband was very deficient in both of them while taking the PPIs.  Besides all of the symptoms described in these posts, his eyes watered constantly, his vision was blurred, he could not sleep, depressed, and anxiety.  Stopped taking the PPIs and started taking B12 and D3.  He's a brand new man now.  Also John, I don't know your age, but the older you are....  the more you need acid because your body doesn't produce enough of it.  When I was about 20 years old I started getting heartburn/acid reflux.  I took baking soda and water on a daily basis until I was 37 years old and went on the Atkins diet.  I don't know what it did to my body, but I never had heartburn/acid reflux again.  I have since gained all of my weight back and still don't get heartburn/acid reflux.  All I can say is google, google, google!  Do lots of research.  Good luck!

       

    • steven00164
      steven00164 gtcttww

      Posted

      hi i have been on lanzsoprozole for about 10 12 years about 5 years ago i started getting flu symptoms aches pains headaches and more had all the blood tests but never vitamin def test is it true the ppi can cause vitamin defs my gp has never mentioned this to me is it a specific test you have or would it show up in normal blood tests .
    • Jaybelle
      Jaybelle gtcttww

      Posted

      Do you perhaps have undiagnosed coeliac disease? I have read that acid reflux and GERD can be a symptom of this - it's not always diarrhoea and cramps for every coeliac. If so, the Atkins diet would eliminate the gluten that triggers it. Worth a thought? 
  • salvi81
    salvi81 helenab

    Posted

    Hi helenab,

    Hope you are doing well? I just saw this discussion and thought should post for some suggestions as had been having horrible days!

    Actually my husband had started having some balance issues-slightly dizzy feeling but more like feeling loss of control when walking. It's not severe and well, he's able to walk on his own. This was around 5 months back. Gradually, after some time, he started feeling extremely fatigued. It's something he's never had before. He wakes up tired, is on low energy all day and is depressed mostly because of his conditions. For the first few months, we wasted time on ENT specialists who did rigourous testing of inner ear to see if it is a balance issue related to this. All was clear. Brain MRI was clear too. So the GP suggested tests for Vitamin D and Vitamin B12 along with other blood tests on blood chemistry. He was low on both B12 and D. Vitamin D was at 11 ng/ml. I can see now that balance issue was brought by B12 (had discussion with others on Pernicious Anaemia group). And he's been on aggressive B12 shots. I just wanted to know if this extreme fatigue is caused by D deficiency? Also he has some lower limbs muscle weakness-as in he feels his legs can't tolerate the weight of his body and he'll stumble. Can this be D related too? He's started taking loading doses of Vit D3-has been 3 weeks only. If it is the deficiency-caused symptoms, when do you think we can expect to see some improvement? especially in fatigue since it is delibitating and is causing problems at work. He's way too depressed about it as well!

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    • gtcttww
      gtcttww salvi81

      Posted

      Sorry, I meant to say B12 deficiency.  If the link doesn't show up on this thread, go to youtube and search for 

      Diagnosing and Treating Vitamin B12 Deficiency

       

    • salvi81
      salvi81 gtcttww

      Posted

      Hi

      Thanks for you reply. I guess u first reply was deleted by moderator coz it had link. Anyways, i have seen the video and that actually forced me to have hubby get aggressive b 12 shots. He got 10 of them and his level has risen to 2000 but we still have to see improvements in symptoms. I do know balance issue is caused by b12 and may take months to improve. However fatigue, I believe is because of both b12 and d deficiency (his D is at 11ng/dl)? Is that correct?

    • helenab
      helenab salvi81

      Posted

      Hi Salvi,

      When my deficiency peaked I also suffered from tiredness and fatigue which was worse in the morning when I woke up. My body was so tired and tingly I had to physically drag myself out of bed. When walking, my legs felt heavy like I had no strenght in them. I didn't stumble but at the time I suffered from dizziness/vertigo that I felt faint when walking. I understand how debilitating it is and I had to reduce my hours at work because of it. But your husband should start to feel better from the first month of his treatment although full recovery is experience about 6 months - a year. Maintenance is important though even after his levels are corrected.

      Are you from the UK or US? Im from the UK and I find that the dosage here is quite low compared to US. When I had my deficiency my level was 32 nmol ( i think equivalent to 13ml) which is extremely low but for some reason my doctor only gave me 800. I wasnt happy with this treatment so I decided to up my intake to 2000 a day which really sped up my progress but then again I don't recommend doing this lol I was just impatient. Im now actually pregnant and my vit d is quite low again as me and the baby are probably sharing the vit d so the doctor gave me calcium + vit d to take.

      but yeah dont give up your husband will get better. if he's healthy and everything else is fine then vit d is treatable and can easily be corrected. My best advice is to go somewhere hot on holiday. A week or two of sunshine will make a massive difference your husband will feel like his normal self again. Sunbathing and walkign under the sun helped me a lot during the summer!

    • salvi81
      salvi81 helenab

      Posted

      Hi helenab

      Thanks a lot for your reply. Well I actually wish we could go on holiday. we just returned from a family holiday and I don't think his company would allow for any more time off especially given the fact that he apparently looks fine as in physically.

      We basically residein Saudi Arabia in Middle East. He was diagnosed with vitamin D deficiency less than a month ago and started treatment soon after. As of now he has had perhaps 3 to 4 Weekly doses of the D3. The two major problems that he faces is fatigue which is extreme as well as in balance issues. He was also found deficient in B12 vitamin so the balance issue is mainly attributed to The B12 deficiency as the loss of balance is one of the red flags there. We actually got three months wasted with the doctors who were trying to figure out the problem with inner ear. He was put on the balance restoring medication which eventually further worsened his balance issues. This we came to know from The last ENT specialist who told us after rigorous testing that he doesn't have any issue with his inner ear immediately asked us to stop medicine. Well, hopefully we r in the right direction now!

    • vib19514
      vib19514 salvi81

      Posted

      Hello salvi81,

      I am a 24 year old female and have been experiencing the same symptoms as your husband. I had a low level of B12 which reached above 2000 after medication and shots. In addition I have a very low Vit D level. Since it's been a long time since you last replied, I was wondering if you finally reached the correct diagnosis and if all the symptoms have been healed. Hailing from India which has ample sunshine all year around, I hadn't expected a D deficiency. Just like you I've been visiting different doctored and ENTs. Still no relief. I would love to hear back from you and I'm interested in knowing how are things now with the dizziness and weakness symptoms. Thanks you!

  • scottsharie
    scottsharie helenab

    Posted

    I am 54 years old and the only medicine I take is 10,000 iu vitamin d3 and 5,000 sublingual B12 under my tongue.  
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