Long Term Effects of Vitamin D Deficiency...

by Donna

I have been suffering for a few years with multiple symptoms but was just recently diagnosed with vit D deficiency. My symptoms range from tingling pain in feet legs arms and hands, abdominal pain, diarrhea ,nausea,and my newest symptom - the shakes.

I am 38 and sometimes I feel 80! I am so tired I can barely make it through the day . But yet I do not sleep soundly.

My doctor has just started me on 50,000 units a week of vitamin d for the next 8 weeks. Also they are sending me for a bone scan to see if I have any bone damage. I guess my comment or question is do peole suffer with the symptoms after they are diagnosed and are treated? And can I reserve any damage done?

Comments for Long Term Effects of Vitamin D Deficiency...

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Yipes. That's a Tough Question...
by: Kerri Knox, RN- The Immune Queen!

Hi Donna,

That is a REALLY REALLY tough question that I don't know if I or anyone else could really answer with certainty. Since the Symptoms of Vitamin D Deficiency may not occur for years, decades or not at all- few studies are able to be done looking at this particular subject.

But since you can't go back in time and do it all over again, all that you can do now is to get proper Vitamin D Deficiency Treatment and getting and keeping your Vitamin D Levels into the researcher recommended levels and not the ones on your lab sheet.

A couple of other things though Donna. You said that you are taking 50,000 IU's per week, most often that is Prescription Vitamin D and is not the best choice of Vitamin D formulations to take.

Another thing too, is that it is not likely that Vitamin D Deficiency is your only problem. Now is a really good time to take a look at what lifestyle and dietary habits you have been doing over the years that might be contributing to your health problems.

Most often people who are low in vitamin d don't have the best dietary habits and don't get outside and get exercise on a regular basis. So, if this sounds like you, it might be a really good time to realize that if you are deficient in Vitamin D, that you also might be deficient in a lot of other nutrients too- and that these can generally be remedied by taking a High Quality Multivitamin and Mineral Pack and changing your eating habits to match with the way we are intended to be eating.

I highly recommend that you take a look at The Healthy Urban Kitchen. They can teach you about how humans are MEANT to eat and help you to make the transition from a 'Standard American Diet' to real, whole natural food.

Donna, I really hope that you take this opportunity to realize the role that diet and lifestyle can play in your health.

Kerri Knox RN Immune Health Queen

Kerri Knox, RN- The Immune System Queen
Functional Medicine Practitioner
Easy Immune Health.com

Thanks for your POST!
by: Anonymous

I am 31, extremely active, live in one of the sunniest states in the US and get plenty of sunshine. I eat well rounded meals and do not suffer any lactose intolerance.

I too have been suffering almost exactly the same side effects for approximately 8 years. But as of late they have been getting progressively worse. Sometimes they go away for a while and come back. I went a whole year with no symptoms and four months ago I feel like my body just turned ancient.

I have been tested for diabetes, had my thyroid checked, my heart checked, food allergy check, and check for any neurological disorders. I seriously thought I was losing my mind as my doctors weren't finding anything.....

Then two weeks ago we discovered the Vit D deficiency. So now I too am taking the prescription of 50,000UI once a week along with 3000mg of calcium citrate, and now am going to see an orthopedic doctor for my joint pain.

What I guess I am getting to is that it would seem we are in the same boat and I would like to keep in contact with you to share notes on progress and treatments;)

3000 mg of Calcium citrate?
by: Kerri Knox, Registered Nurse

Are you sure that you wrote that correctly? 3000 mg of calcium citrate? That is an incredibly high dose and one that I would question your doctor about. Plus, when taking vitamin D, taking magnesium is far more important than taking calcium. Plus, taking that prescription vitamin d is not ideal.

Please see my pages on:

Magnesium and Vitamin D- it's likely a magnesium deficiency that is keeping your vitamin d levels low if, indeed, you do get 'plenty of sun'. I find, however, that most people simply do not, regardless of where they live. Unless you are tanned and bronzed, it's unlikely that you get plenty of sun from a vitamin d perspective.

Vitamin D Therapy- A step by step guide to bring your vitamin D levels up. Please read.

Kerri Knox, RN

Thanks for your response Kerri!
by: Anonymous

Yes, my doctor does have me on an extremely high dose of Calcium. Recently I have started to get joint pains in all of the major joints in my body, including swelling, extreme fatigue, and most recently three weeks of TMJ pain.

I am now currently seeing a rheumatologist who gave me sleeping pills (Lunesta)...his thought was if I am in pain and not sleeping well all side effects are going to be exasperated. I am entirely frustrated with seeing so many doctors and none of them seem to know/believe in my symptoms.....Since as I said previously I am relatively young and active (When my symptoms are dormant). And appearance-wise I look like a healthy individual.

So, now I am leading into seeing if I can control the symptoms with varying my diet. Kind of like controlling diabetes... I am trying to increase my food intake with natural anti inflammatory foods. Exponentially increasing my veggie intake and if it comes down to it I am seriously considering becoming a vegetarian. At this point the modern medical profession is stressing me out financially as well as psychologically and I believe I need to find a healthy balance within myself and my habits:)

It is reassuring to know that there are others whom are suffering with the same afflictions and it is very important to hear feedback and have mutual support for each other.

Thank you!

Update to Conditions
by: Anonymous

So along with my Vit D deficiency I have been treated for Rheumatoid Arthritis for the past six months. I did not however test positive for the RH factor but the symptoms are all there. Then This very week I tested positive for Lyme's Disease. Which I would much rather have than RA. But to think that I have had it for sooo long is incredible to me. I am looking forward to getting the proper treatment!

To anyone still struggling, stick with it kid!!! Find the doctors whom are willing to listen to you and what your body is trying to tell you!!!

to 31, extremely active, sunshine girl
by: Anonymous

The best thing you can do is get your lab results for several years and look at your Calcium, PTH, and Vitamin D levels. Your calcium should not be over 10. Go to Parathyroid.com and read because maybe you should not be taking Vitamin D. High Calcium and low Vit D usually go together and suggest a benign parathyroid tumor.

Vitamin d
by: Anonymous

I have been taking 50000 iu of vitamin d for the last year, folic acid, as well as calcium and multivitamins. My levels are still very low and we are active with hiking and out door activities. I have autoimmune disease and take oral chemo. I have started to have severe pain with walking and and even at night with walking and have fallen several times. At this point I am very frustrated.

Update Of Conditions
by: Anonymous

This active sunshine state girl was treated for Chrinic Lyme Disease which is now in remission. I am now 34. I was very close to being bedridden for a year and a half and was on antibiotic treatment for 8 months. I have extreme joint pain and fatigue that lingers and when I work out my body sometimes feels like it was hit by a bus, but all in all life is better;) it's hard to keep a positive outlook but cha just gotta keep on keepin on;)

vitamin D deficiency
by: Anonymous

I am 55 years old I have been falling a lot having a hard time doing just about everything I'm not sleeping I'm shaking I've broken bones they just told me that I have vitamin D deficiency it sounds very much like what you just described to me.

I'll have to get back to you on whether or not the vitamin D is going to help me or not but it could be an answer to everything I've been going to for the last close to two yearssuntan

Vitamin D deficiency
by: Anonymous

For the past few years I have suffered various symptoms which included sweating profusely, a Foggy head, constant urge to urinate, falling over and loss of balance. Another thing I noticed if I drank wine I would literally be slurring after a few sips. I was recently given a mammogram and was found to have calciium deposits appearing in my left breast. Which were begnign.

After reading a little I found that a vitamin D defiecency could cause calcium to build up within the body and that in some cases this could progress to cancer. I also read that a test was carried out on a random group of women. It was found that 84% of the women tested were deficient in vitamin d.

For the past 6 months my symptoms have progressed dramatically. I have not been able to do the simplest of things due to the now present pain in my arms. My shoulders feel as though the bones are crushing I can't do my own bra up. I cannot do my own hair I can't reach up without seriously excruciating pain.

After recent physio therapy I found the pain worsened and I was sent for blood tests which revealed I was vitamin D deficient. I am now taking 50000 per week of steroxerol D3. What I am worried about now is how much damage it has caused and what I can do to reverse this. I am 51 years old and feel 100.

My diet is good I am out at every given opportunity so this is not the cause. Thank you for this post it's interesting to see the similarities in the cases.

diet good, outside
by: Kerri Knox, The Immune Queen

So, I have quite a few comments. First of all, if you are low in vitamin d to the extent that it is causing you serious life altering symptoms, it's unlikely that you are sufficient in all other vitamins. It's just that doctors don't test other vitamins, so unless you do extensive testing, you'll never realize that you are deficient in many other things. If you are deficient in Vitamin D to this extent, you are almost certainly low in magnesium, Vitamin A, Vitamin K, and many other nutrients.

Second, everyone believes their diet is 'good'. But almost no one's truly is. Are you on a strict Weston A. Price or Paleo Diet? If not, you are undoubtably eating what governments tell you is 'good' but that is probably not only 'not good' but downright terrible.

If you are following the 'food pyramid' and getting your dairy and grains, as the government thinks you should, you are probably setting yourself up for serious health problems and I'd recommend getting on the Paleo Restart Program program.

Next, 'getting out' is not very specific. Do you live below 37 degrees latitude and are tanned and bronzed from being out in the sun and exposing your entire body to direct sunlight until just the point before burning?

If not, then you are not getting enough sun. In fact, if you live above 37 degrees latitude, you cannot make Vitamin D in Winter no matter how much sun you get, from October to March in the Northern Hemisphere (the opposite in the Southern Hemisphere). That's 5 to 6 months right there that you are likely getting almost no vitamin D per day!

And getting Vitamin D in Foods is a practice in futility, as that page will explain.

So, what I find in my practice is that people just 'believe' they are eating right, and believe that they get enough sun, but 99% of people who are vitamin D deficient in my practice are not eating properly and are not getting sufficient sun.

As for the long-term consequences and 'undoing damage', you can only go forward and do what you can to solve your problems, learn to eat right, and stay nutrient deficient. Worrying about the past, since you cannot change it, is not useful. In fact, worry means that you are experiencing stress, which is detrimental to health. The very act of worrying is counterproductive to a stated goal of getting healthy in the future.

Simply set your mind to optimize your health in the future, as that is all that you can do.

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

PS: If you appreciate the free help that I give on my site, please consider making your next supplement purchase through my Health Store in order to help keep this site in operation.

Vitamin d problem
by: Anonymous

Hi, I have recently been told I have low vitamin d. I'm constantly out in the sun and I am eating all the foods suggested anyway, However, I keep getting sharp and throbbing pains in my hand and feet. Any advice

????
by: Anonymous

when you've been searching and trying and getting nowhere or the town close to it have you considered finding a qualified functional medicine doctor and ask to be tested for extreme elevated inflammation in your body which could be a hidden lyme disease?

Tennessee Girl
by: Anonymous

I've been diagnosed with Degenerative Disc Disease, Spinal Stenosis, Formial Disease, and a few other back issues. Pinched nerves in my lumber spine and below, frequent urination, and 10 building discs. All of which progressed from one bulging disc to 10 in less than 8 months. Nerves in my feet and legs seizing up and causing me to fall, permanent loss of feeling in my leg and foot, and extreme progression in the last month. After myself and my doctor baffled at the cause, blood tests revealed extremely low Vit D and I've been placed on 50,000 3x per week. I'm hearing and seeing that most are on that just once per week. I'm only 34 and up until now, healthy and very active after gastric bypass surgery 8 years ago. I continue to loose weight, progress in symptoms, and now have a large indentation in my hip that appeared out of no where. HELP!!

Other possibilities
by: Anonymous

You may want to be checked for diabetes if your vitamin D is extremely low as well, it has to do with your diet and exercise. I'm fine on all my blood levels except vitamin D and A1C levels. They may go hand in hand.

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