Vitamin D deficiency

Posted , 7 users are following.

Hi my 14 year old daughter has been diagnosed with vitamin d deficiencey of a  level 17. and this has been diagnosed  over the last 4 weeks.

She is feeling sick constantly and does not get out of bed during the week she has been off school for over 3 weeks now and I am very concerned. On an evening she seems to feel better and we do notice a change at the weekend HELP !!!

There are no issues at school the doctor has given her anti sickness medicationbut we have seen no improvement.

The doctor has given her 3 months shock dose of 10000 u each month

1 like, 8 replies

8 Replies

  • Posted

    "There are no issues at school" - are you sure? You have asked her I assume - and she isn't admitting to any but that improvement at the point it is too late to go and relapse next morning sounds very typical. My granddaughter was exceedingly unhappy at school because of issues with teaching attitudes and simply refused to go. Her friends were all at college, she wasn't. Transfer to a local college to do a baseline college course towards her hope of doing theatrical makeup has achieved a dramatic change even though the friends are at other colleges. Could there be social media issues?

    If that is not a typo and you really mean 100,000 IU/month, I would go back and discuss the dose the GP is using - 10,000 IU is actually very low for managing vit D deficiency at that level. A more usual recommendation from the experts is 50 to 60,000 IU PER WEEK, taken in one dose or divided in 3 doses. I take a maintenance calcium/vit D supplement that gives me 5,600 IU and my husband is deficient (level of 7) and our GP has given him 25,000 IU per week.

    I'm sorry to have to disagree with health's post but less than 10% of vit D requirement can be found in the diet - even for avid pescatarians! Vit D occurs in oily fish and eggs yes, but you would have to eat large amounts every day, milk in Europe is not fortified so getting vit D from milk if you live in the UK doesn't happen. Given her age I imagine your daughter doesn't go out in the sun much between 11am and 3pm between May and September (the only times it is possible to make vit D in skin even in the south of England) - and if she does has make-up or sunscreen on? That pretty much reduces the amount of vit D made in the skin to approaching zero. 

    I hope this helps a bit.

    • Posted

      Thanks for the reply Sorry Its 100,000 u every month for 3 months no problems at school she says and we have been in to school for a meeting as well and they have been great. My main concern is the constant feeling sick and the fact she feels so ill she can't get out of bed in a morning but starts to pick up later on during the day she looks very pale too.

      We are back at the doctors today and going to see if there are any other tests they can do to check her stomach

    • Posted

      Have they considered ME/CFS (chronic fatigue syndrome)? A friend on another forum's granddaughter was ill for months before the GPs had a lightbulb moment and decided it might be that. It fulfilled allt he criteria and now she has been referred to a specialist. Don't let them put you off with the "low vit D" or "viral" stuff - it wastes too much time.

      Good luck. 

    • Posted

      Just back from the doctors trying a stronger anti sickness tablet available to pick up tomorrow but now she is her usual happy self which we are finding every evening doctor still saying it's the vitamin d will see how we go till middle of next week and go back again if no improvement I asked if it could be ibs constipation etc but doctor didn't think so thanks again xx

    • Posted

      If your daughter is having "tummy troubles" it may be she needs to have her iron, Vitamin B12 and Folate levels tested

  • Posted

    I had d deficiency and felt my muscles weak. But i also had anemia and b12 def. which is very bad. I had fatigue and neurological problems it takes time for the body to bounce back. Dr gave me 2000 u daily but yet i sm 56. So we cant compare. The sun is a good source for the body to make the vd. i have read it takes time to go up and symptoms to resolve. However, because she is so young dont hesitate to call the dr again and do more tests. Or look for second opinions. My best wishes.
  • Posted

    My vitamin D level was 17 too. I was put on 20000 iu 3times a week for 3 months and my level rose to 75. It's not a shock dose it's what she needs. I now take 10000iu 3 times a week and my most recent vitamin d test was 44. I suggest you take you take the dose although I don't think its enough. The average should level should be around 50. I hope this helps.

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.