Comments for Is Difficulty Walking a Symptom of Vitamin D Deficiency

You Need to Get Aggressive..
by: Kerri Knox, RN- The Immune Queen!

Hi Anne,

You need to get seriously aggressive with your doctors. You are actually in a good position (believe it or not) where you do not have a preconceived notion about what your 'disease' is and what 'treatment' (meaning drugs or surgery) that you should be taking.

That's actually a good thing because it means that you have some leverage to get your doctors to help you.

Anne, there is an EXTREMELY high likelyhood that your problem is, at least in part, due to severe vitamin d deficiency. 800 IU's a day is less than the amount that researchers recommend for newborn infants who weigh 8 pounds! That is NOT an adult dose. And it is seriously CRIMINAL that your doctors have not tested you for Vitamin D Deficiency- criminal malpractice in my opinion!!!
Really!!

So, first of all, you should print out this study on Vitamin D Deficiency Myopathy, take it to him and INSIST that he check your vitamin d level!!!

If he says that it is not indicated for WHATEVER reason, then tell him that you'll get it checked on your own and if it's low then you are going to sue him for malpractice because there is SO much evidence that low vitamin D can cause muscle weakness that it is CRAZY that it hasn't been checked yet!!

Then, when you find out how INCREDIBLY low you are, do NOT let your doctor give you Prescription Vitamin D or give you some silly dosage like 2000 IU's a day or something like that.

You should read the Vitamin D Deficiency Treatment page and make sure that you understand the high dosages that you should be taking if you are low.

In fact, my advice to you is to begin taking 10,000 IU's of Vitamin D per day immediately after you get your blood drawn for your Vitamin D Level (please don't start before that- get your level drawn because you MUST find out how incredibly low in vitamin d that you are!!) before you even get your lab results back.

Take the pills with you to the blood draw and take 10,000 IU's of Vitamin D3 Supplements the second that they put the band aid on you and continue that dosage until you get the results of your test!!

Anne,

I have LOTS of other things that you could do- for instance taking very high dose Vitamin B12 as outlined on the Vitamin B12 Deficiency Treatment page. You COULD get tested for Vitamin B12 Deficiency, but ....

(continued below...)

(continued....)
by: Kerri Knox, RN- The Immune Queen!

its EXTREMELY inaccurate and will make you and your doctor think that you are NOT deficient, when you may get a great amount of benefit from Vitamin B12.

You could also start taking Magnesium, as outlined on the Magnesium Dosage page and start eating a gluten free diet. See why you should on the Gluten Sensitivity page.

Seriously, you have no time to lose, you can't go through life in a wheelchair because of some simple problems that could very well go away with nutritional supplementation!!

So, ASAP, get your vitamin d level checked.

In the meantime, you could start TODAY on a:

Gluten Intolerance Diet

Vitamin B12 Deficiency Treatment

Magnesium Therapy

and even taking

Carnitine for Fatigue

Your doctor is NOT going to even LOOK for these problems, and the lab testing for these problems (except for Vitamin D) will NOT show whether you will benefit from lack of these problems.

Seriously, there IS hope for you and it could be VERY likely that nutritional therapies could help you!!!

Kerri Knox RN Immune Health Queen

Kerri Knox, RN- The Immune System Queen
Functional Medicine Practitioner
Immune System

Thank You...
by: Anne

Thank you for your very prompt reply to my previous question.

I am ordering some Vitamin D3 in 5000 IU capsule form and will take two of these per day. I will make an appointment with my Doctor for a test as soon as the snow stops here and I can get out again!

I also intend to buy some B12 Supplements and magnesium supplements as you suggest and will find out more about a Gluten Free Diet.

Should I increase my calcium intake too or is it OK to continue to take the Adcal-D3 tablets prescribed by my doctor? (They contain 1500mg calcium carbonate and 400 i.u. of Vitamin D3) I take two of these tablets per day. I also take Protolos (strontium ranelate) once per day for osteoporosis and baclofen tablets for my muscle stiffness (although these are not helping at all)

Thank you for giving me some hope - I was beginning to despair!

Anne

Don't Despair...
by: Kerri Knox, RN- The Immune Queen!

Don't despair Anne, there can very well be nutritional issues that are going on with you.

I would NOT increase your calcium- and are you taking a TOTAL of 1500 mg of calcium or 3000 mg? 3000 mg is REALLY REALLY high and I never recommend taking over 1000 mg without the specific recommendation of your doctor. Strontium is great. Do you HAVE osteoporosis?

If so, that makes it even MORE criminal that your doctor has not checked your vitamin d level!!!

Be sure that you read the Vitamin B12 Deficiency Treatment and Magnesium Dosage pages before you buy any supplements.

And if you can, get a neighbor to go to the drug store and get you some epsom salts. Epsom Salts are magnesium, and one of the Epsom Salt Uses is to take a bath in it and it will get magnesium absorbed right through your skin!!

This could really help with the stiffness that the baclofen isn't touching. You might just have a really severe magnesium deficiency that is causing your stiffness!!

Kerri Knox RN Immune Health Queen

Kerri Knox, RN- The Immune System Queen
Functional Medicine Practitioner
Immune System

Thank you again!
by: Anonymous

Thanks again for your reply - I'm amazed to get answers so quickly!

I will do all the reading you suggest to make sure I get the right supplements. I would love to take an Epsom Salt bath but, unfortunately, I can't get into a bath at the moment - perhaps I could just soak my feet as my ankles and feet are very stiff too!

I can't wait to get started and am feeling more optimistic than I've felt for some time.

I take a total of 3000 mg of calcium carbonate and 800 iu of Vitamin D3 at the moment - all prescribed by my doctor.

I have been diagnosed with osteoporosis and asked to be put on Protolos as I did not want to take Fosamax. I have also been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis although, fortunately, this does not cause me much pain or problems.

Just over 2 years ago I had a right hip replacement although my consultant was never 100% convinced that I actually needed it (I had started to walk with a pronounced limp and my hip had become very stiff but I was not in great pain)

Can't think of anything else to tell you!

Many thanks once again.

Sad...
by: Kerri Knox, RN- The Immune Queen!

It's VERY sad that your doctor did not check you for vitamin d deficiency earlier. It's hard for me to believe that doctors are letting people with osteoporosis get vitamin d deficient in a first-world country that has all the technology and studies to know better.

Your RA adds another dimension to it as I REALLY think that you are gluten sensitive as there is a lot of connection between the two. You can read about it here on the Celiac Disease Research page.

And yes, you can simply do an epsom salt foot bath instead of a full bath if you can't do a bath (yet!). And to give you some idea as to how powerful magnesium can be, take a look at this Increasing Fibromyalgia Pain page that a woman wrote in asking about her fibromyalgia pain! You'll be surprised!

Don't give up hope, keep reading and education yourself. Try out some things and write back to let us know how things are going!

Kerri Knox RN Immune Health Queen

Kerri Knox, RN- The Immune System Queen
Functional Medicine Practitioner
Immune System

walking problems, stiff muscles -->
by: Anonymous

magnesium deficiency should be considered also

up-date
by: Anonymous

Hello again

i have just had my Vit D test results back and it is "95ng/mL I am assuming this is OK but will cut my supplementation down a bit.

I am still taking magnesium and B12 supplementation and use epsom salts and magnesium oil too My leg muscles are still extremely stiff (I cannot step sideways at all at the moment) and I still cannot stand without holding onto something because my balance is so bad. I am doing all the exercises my physiotherapist gave me and I use a pedal exerciser twice every day but my leg muscles stay as stiff as ever.

Thankfully I have no discomfort or pain - I would simply like to be able to move a little more easily!

I have had further blood tests for thyroid/diabetes problems but they have all come back as OK apart from the fact that my cholestorol is high at 7.5, so I am now dealing with this.

I have enlisted my husband's help re. the gluten free diet as he does most of the cooking.

Any other suggestions would be much appreciated.

Stiffness...
by: Kerri Knox, RN- The Immune Queen!

Hmmm. OK, your vitamin d level is definitely on the upper end of normal and slightly above optimal, so cutting back to the daily recommendations on the Vitamin D Dosage page is recommended.

Since you've not started the Gluten Intolerance Diet, that is definitely recommended. You can get him the ebook, the Essential Gluten Free Guide and that will tell him everything that he needs to know to cook for you.

Otherwise, Ann, the next step would be to do some testing to see what is going on. I have a very comprehensive Vitamin Deficiency Test that can tell you about:

* MANY MANY vitamin deficiencies
* How well you detoxify substances
* Your neurotransmitter status
* The health of the good and bad bacteria in your digestive tract.

Take a look at the patient guide there to see all that this test encompasses. It can really give you an amazing amount of information about your health, you'd be surprised.

So, that would be my recommendation for a next step.

Kerri Knox RN Immune Health Queen

Kerri Knox, RN- The Immune System Queen
Functional Medicine Practitioner
Immune System

Thanks again
by: Anonymous

Thanks Kerri - will do some more reading!

Go to doctor - check blood calcium levels and do urinalysis
by: Anonymous

Hi there,

The original poster might consider having a doctor check her blood calcium levels and kidney function and perform a urinalysis. There could be a problem with milk alkali syndrome, in this case a too-high dose of calcium carbonate possibly made worse by high-dose vitamin D.

I had same problem, it was magnesium deficiency
by: CM

Hi,
I have been suffering with the same problem and I just discovered a severe magnesium deficiency. Interesting the tests show that I am not deficient but my own experimenting is showing that I am deficient.
I had muscle weakness, pain, stiffness and inflammation, which also caused fatigued. I had difficulty walking. I then made a poultice with epsom salt and applied it to my legs and the pain went away for 10 minutes and then came back and I kept reapplying the poultice and the pain kept leaving me.
I next took a lot of magnesium so much that it caused diarrhea but the leg pain left me and I gained strength in my legs and could walk. This all happened 2 days ago so I'm still figuring out what is going on. I discovered a magnesium supplement by TerrainZyme called Mg/K-Zyme. It appears that I'm able to absorb this magnesium better than other forms. Or maybe it is because this supplement has potassium in it as well. I don't know. I'm not in pain anymore and I'm walking now. I'm still at the threshold of figuring this out. Also, I know the pH of my body is acid. I measured my salvia and urine. Urine should be more acid than salvia and mine is the opposite indicating that toxins aren't leaving my body. I'm thinking this may be related. Here's my theory, maybe the tissue in my legs are acids and calcium is being deposited there and calcifying causing pain and inflammation. The magnesium balances the calcium and put it back into solution and the result is no more pain.
God, Bless, CM

Click here to add your own comments

Return to Is Difficulty Walking a Symptom of Vitamin D Deficiency.

Return to Vitamin D Deficiency Symptoms.

Enjoy this page? Please pay it forward. Here's how...

Would you prefer to share this page with others by linking to it?

Click on the HTML link code below.
Copy and paste it, adding a note of your own, into your blog, a Web page, forums, a blog comment, your Facebook account, or anywhere that someone would find this page valuable.

Search this Site

Custom Search

Free Vitamin D Fact Sheet by Getting
My Newsletter