Vitamin D Deficiency - Any Support Group?

SGBV · Oct 2, 2023

Just a small update from myside.

I gained all the weight back within months of not so strict diet and exercise, and it is a pity although I have always been mindful of what I ate and consumed limited amount of sugar and carbs during my vacation.
Right after the vacation, I was bombarded with a lot of stress at work, and it took me another month to come back to normalcy.
Insomnia is a continuous problem that also fuel inflammation and stress in the body, causing weight gain. I know it is due to surgical menopause and something I have to live with.

I checked my thyroid and vit D levels again, and thankfully both reports came back to normal. So my vit D level is now 42. I am not sure whether to continue the pills (5000 iui daily) or skip them for a while. Should check with my doctor during the next visit.

For the weight, I am back with a very strict diet and workout regime. I want to be prepare myself for the seasonal holidays; hence started the journey with hope.

Divyasaravanan · Oct 2, 2023

Hi SGBV, its a great topic that you brought up. I've a long history with VitD as well, first time I was tested for border line Thyroid, Doctor asked me to repeat test in 2 months. For some reason, I thought it might be related to Vitamin D (might have heard other ppl talking), so I decided to regularly take vitamin D and when I went for retest my Thyroid was back to normal. This happened almost 7 years back. I used to have giddiness and fatigue due to this and after I started taking Vitamin D tablets thyriod level came back to normal. This was during my postpatrum and again I started slacking on taking Vitamin D pills, next time in my annual physical exam, same story again, thyroid back to borderline, ordered a retest in 2 months. When I go back in 2 months after regularly taking 1000 mg VitD every day, thyroid was back to normal. This has happened 3 times so far. So now a days, I started to take 1000 mg VitaminD everyday without fail. One easy thing that worked for me is, I keep chewable vitamin D tablets in the kitchen counter itself and just chew 1 or 2 tablets. I take it alteast 5 days in a week. So that way, I dont really miss on it. My PCP always says, everyone should take 1000mg VitD no matter what. Its a known rootcause for various auto immune diseases like arthritis, thyriod and others.

SGBV · Oct 3, 2023

Dear @Divyasaravanan
You ae right. I can perfectly relate to what you have experienced.
I am thankful that my doctor did not treat me with thyroid pills when I first presented an elevated thyroid results last year. He asked me to wait and retest, in the meantime test my vit D levels among others.
Not just my thyroid, my HbA1C levels were also borderline, despite of having no history of diabetes.

At that time my Vit D level was extremely low. After taking high dose injections for 3 months, it started improving and now I am taking 5000 iui as mentioned above and saw drastic improvement in the levels.

One thing I noticed so far is, the pills alone can not improve the vit d level in your body. As advised by my doctor, I had to work so hard at the gym, at least 5 days a week and maintain a healthy lifestyle, including sleep, good diet and walking almost daily to ensure the medicine works.

The moment I take a break from this lifestyle, I see a drastic change in the results. This pushes me back to the good life style, which will be my future from now on.

I really miss those days when I could just munch on any junk food, watch movies till late night, and party yet maintain the best body and health.

DDream · Oct 3, 2023

@SGBV, In my experience, maintaning VitD above 60 helps to fight autoimmune issues/ inflamation. When my vitamine D levels were 9, it triggered many issues. So, after much effort by taking supplements, it was around 65. My issues were in remission and I stopped it. Later, when I noticed flareup, vit D was only 22.
As our body is not absorbing it well, its good to maintain it by supplimenting Vit D3 atleast 1000 IU per day. You can also try cod liver oil( worked better for me than vit d3 alone. Omega 3 in it helps to fight inflamation) . For proper absorbtion of D, multivitamines with magnesium, zinc and k2 or related foods are suggested. Its good to take it with food during morning hours.
I was also anemic, I took slow release iron, but good results were obtained when I started eating dates. So, may be natural forms works better than artificial tablets. We need to figure out what work for us. You can also explore 'intermittent fasting' as well. It has many benifits if done properly.

SGBV · Oct 4, 2023

DDream said: ↑

You can also explore 'intermittent fasting' as well. It has many benifits if done properly.
Click to expand...

I just thought about IF today. Thanks for reassuring. Ill try this from tomorrow for a month and see how it goes

gknew · Oct 10, 2023

DDream said: ↑

@SGBV, In my experience, maintaning VitD above 60 helps to fight autoimmune issues/ inflamation. When my vitamine D levels were 9, it triggered many issues. So, after much effort by taking supplements, it was around 65. My issues were in remission and I stopped it. Later, when I noticed flareup, vit D was only 22.
As our body is not absorbing it well, its good to maintain it by supplimenting Vit D3 atleast 1000 IU per day. You can also try cod liver oil( worked better for me than vit d3 alone. Omega 3 in it helps to fight inflamation) . For proper absorbtion of D, multivitamines with magnesium, zinc and k2 or related foods are suggested. Its good to take it with food during morning hours.
I was also anemic, I took slow release iron, but good results were obtained when I started eating dates. So, may be natural forms works better than artificial tablets. We need to figure out what work for us. You can also explore 'intermittent fasting' as well. It has many benifits if done properly.
Click to expand...

Thanks for this information.
I recently did a blood panel and my vitamin D came down very lower than previous blood work. It's below 20 now. I also did an iron panel and that was low too. My ferritin was normal but the iron& iron saturation is very low. Dr prescribed me ferrous sulphate medicines for 3 months.
I am also taking vitamin d3 with k2. I am not taking any zinc or magnesium. Is it good to take zinc with iron pills?

DDream · Oct 14, 2023

gknew said: ↑

Thanks for this information.
I recently did a blood panel and my vitamin D came down very lower than previous blood work. It's below 20 now. I also did an iron panel and that was low too. My ferritin was normal but the iron& iron saturation is very low. Dr prescribed me ferrous sulphate medicines for 3 months.
I am also taking vitamin d3 with k2. I am not taking any zinc or magnesium. Is it good to take zinc with iron pills?
Click to expand...

Not iron and zinc/ magnesium at the same time, but taking with D3 is beneficial. There should be enough gap for iron and others for proper absorbtion. I am taking only Mg based on my doctors suggestion, mainly for gut function. Magnesium also helps to convert vitamin D from its inactive form to an active form that your body can use. If you dont have gut issue, focus on foods rich in Mg and zinc. Always take Vit D with food for proper absorbtion.

Role of Magnesium in Vitamin D Activation and Function - PubMed.

gknew · Oct 15, 2023

DDream said: ↑

Not iron and zinc/ magnesium at the same time, but taking with D3 is beneficial. There should be enough gap for iron and others for proper absorbtion. I am taking only Mg based on my doctors suggestion, mainly for gut function. Magnesium also helps to convert vitamin D from its inactive form to an active form that your body can use. If you dont have gut issue, focus on foods rich in Mg and zinc. Always take Vit D with food for proper absorbtion.

Role of Magnesium in Vitamin D Activation and Function - PubMed.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the link.
I started a magnesium supplement. My Dr said to include zinc as well to help with iron.

gknew · Nov 24, 2023

Did anyone see any changes in your vitamin D levels after taking supplements for a few months? I am taking it for years now and no changes. It's been the same. Did another blood work yesterday and it's lower than the previous work.
I am taking d2 prescription 50000iu per week along with daily dose OTC one 5000iu with k2 and magnesium.

I do have other health issues and chronic pain which I don't know why I have those. Does vitamin chronic deficiency cause chronic pain? Or autoimmune conditions?

DDream · Nov 24, 2023

gknew said: ↑

Did anyone see any changes in your vitamin D levels after taking supplements for a few months? I am taking it for years now and no changes. It's been the same. Did another blood work yesterday and it's lower than the previous work.
I am taking d2 prescription 50000iu per week along with daily dose OTC one 5000iu with k2 and magnesium.

I do have other health issues and chronic pain which I don't know why I have those. Does vitamin chronic deficiency cause chronic pain? Or autoimmune conditions?
Click to expand...

As I have already mentioned above D2 didn't work for me. My vitamin D levels increased from 22 to 50 during this year. Its a slow process. I take cod liver oil, vitamine D3 2000iu & Mg.