Comments for Link Between Hypothyroidism and Vitamin D Deficiency

there seems to be a link
by: karen crenshaw

I also have Hashimotos thyroditis since age 20.
I have been on thy replacement since. I had my appendix out about 8 years ago. I now found out at age 49 that i have Vitamin D deficiency.

I do go to they gym twice a week but i am very tired. i hope after taking vitamin D 50,000 units twice a week for 8 weeks, will help. I was told to take 1,500 units after that.

There's not proven to be a link..
by: Kerri Knox, RN- The Immune Queen!

Hi Karen,

There's not proven to be a link between hypothyroid and Vitamin D Deficiency. Up to 85% of the population is vitamin d deficient and endocrinologists are the doctors that are most likely to check for vitamin d deficiency. As well, people who are tired have a higher suspicion of having vitamin d deficiency and so the fact that they are going to more doctors complaining of fatigue makes them much more likely to get diagnosed than the general population.

Also, people who are tired are not as likely to get out in the sun for exercise, picnics, trips to the beach, etc. So, it's more likely that the hypothyroidism is actually causing the vitamin d deficiency!!

HOWEVER, because Hashimoto's SPECIFICALLY is an inflammatory and autoimmune problem, there is a link that low vitamin d levels could be contributing to it because Vitamin D is an immune system stimulant and helps to control inflammation.

Hashimoto's is a very different animal from 'hypothyroid' in general. It's a very specific disease that also has a component of Increased Intestinal Permeability that needs to be addressed. Your body doesn't just 'randomly' start attacking your thyroid for no reason despite that your doctor won't address the REASON why you have Hashimoto's in the first place.

The other thing that you should know is that if you are taking 50,000 IU's twice a week, it's likely that he gave you a prescription. And you should read my page on Prescription Vitamin D to see why that is not recommended.

And telling you to take 1500 IU's a day after that is not the right thing either. How does he know that after your 8 weeks that your numbers are going to be OK? I've seen people have to take twice that dose for 3 times that length to get their numbers up to normal. So the right thing to do is to have your level checked after the 8 weeks like is outlined on my Vitamin D Deficiency Treatment page.

In any case 1500 IU's is a small child's maintenance dose, and adults need twice to 3 times that dose on a daily basis as outlined on the Vitamin D Requirements page.

Hope that I didn't overwhelm you with info. Feel free to ask any questions if I did!!

Kerri Knox RN Immune Health Queen

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

Vit D and Hypo
by: Anonymous

I'm a 50 year old female who has been hypothyroid for 6+ years due to partial throidectomy.

I had a vitamin D deficiency 6 months ago and was put on mega dosage of D2. I was taking a one a day vitamin previous to my Vit. D test.

I just came back from my GP from getting results of my test and sure enough my Vit D levels dropped again down to 18.

She tested for every known causes of Vit. D deficiency and the only connection is the hypothyroidism.

I was in florida, and I am outside in the sun, every day for at least 4 hours a day. No way in heck my deficiency is from lack of sunlight.

I am now taking 2000 iu of D3 twice a day probably for the rest of my life. We will see if this sustains my D levels in the future.

Many doctor's do not test for Vit. D, and the few that do, seem to test people who have an auto inmune diease. Even when they get the test results back they tend to treat it as a seperate issue. If you read the countless message boards of actual people with thyroid problems you'll see the connection clear as day. There is your STUDY!

Message Boards are not a proven link
by: Kerri Knox, RN- The Immune Queen!

I sense your frustration, but message boards do not imply a proven link between vitamin d and hypothyroidism. Yes, a large percentage of people with thyroid problems have vitamin d deficiency. But also 90% of Infants have Vitamin D Deficiency, does that imply that they all have hypothyroidism?

And living in Florida and getting 'plenty' of sun does NOT imply that you will be vitamin d sufficient. If YOU were to actually READ the information on my site that you are commenting on, you would have found a study called Low Vitamin D Status despite Abundant Sun Exposure that showed that a group of young people living in Hawaii who got 20 hours a WEEK of unprotected (no sunscreen) sun exposure were STILL vitamin d deficient!!

Does that imply that all these young people have hypothyroidism too? According to YOU, they do. Ridiculous. I put real information on my site that is backed by research studies and NOT a bunch of heresay on message boards.

Yes, all the people with hypothyroid are vitamin d deficient, but so is everyone else- including newborn babies!!

Show me a STUDY that links hypothyroidism as a CAUSE of vitamin d deficiency and I will change everything that I just said. But if YOU were to actually work with REAL people, you would find that they ALL have vitamin d deficiency and NOT just people on your message boards.

And you said that your doctor tested you for 'every known' cause of vitamin d deficiency. Did she also tell you that even if she tested you for magnesium deficiency (which she probably did not) that Magnesium Levels are absolutely worthless so she COULDN'T test for magnesium deficiency as a cause.

Did she also tell you that it takes upwards of 36 to 48 hours for your body to absorb the vitamin d from the oil on your skin and therefore if you get sun exposure and take a shower within 48 hours that you have just washed off all of the vitamin d that you just made? Yes, that's right, you don't 'instantaneously' get vitamin d just because you are in the sun, you make it from the oils and then absorb it slowly.

Did she tell you that?

Did she also test your fat soluble vitamin status- vitamin A, K, and Omega 3 fatty acid status? Because if you don't eat enough fat or absorb it properly then your body doesn't manage to get it into your skin - then you won't absorb vitamin d? Did she test you for all of that too?

Thank you so much for your constructive comment...

Kerri Knox RN Immune Health Queen

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

Click here to add your own comments

Return to Link Between Hypothyroidism and 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