I just got a call from RD | Arthritis Information
My labs have come back and she is telling me that my Vit D came back at 16.6 and it should be over 40. So, I have to take 5000 units of Vit D3 a day, and 1200 mg of Calcium a day. I guess all of the labs she did on me are a plus huh? Hopefully, by summer I'll be my old self again. Deb, I think getting your Vit D levels up will make you feel much, much better. It has certainly helped me. My bones used to ache in weird random places, not the joints, and that has almost completely gone away!
Good find on your doctor's part - it gets missed by a lot of doctors. Here's to you feeling much better soon.
Karen
yeah the dreaded pill organizers! They make you feel old...but have become oh so neccessary!Hope you are feeling better soon. I have a stupid question.
I've never had my Vit D levels checked. What prompted your RD to check it?
The little pill boxes make it so much easier to take everything. Makes it easier not to forget something too. I use to be bad about not remembering if I took something or not. The daily/weekly box helps with that.
I have to agree about the pill "organizer". I was so bad about forgetting I had to talk with RD so I can take everthing at one time. Mtx day is rough I think its like 15 pills at once. I'm not sure why she checked it, but she did say that many many women are deficient in Vitamin D.
The 5000 unit pills for D-3 are hard to find in local stores, so I just ordered some online. Picked up calcium at CVS today.
The pill organizer really helps. Then no questions. If i can not remember i go look and if the pill is gone i took it. If i forgot then it is still there. Easy solution. Sorry about the deficiency, but glad they caught it.I have the Vitamin D deficiency as well. My OB found mine after we talked about the fact that my neruologist found a B12 deficiency. She just checked several things searching for signs of troubles.
Vit D deficiency is very common. Do a quick general search. Often it can be the cause of several other problems.
My Vit D levels were <7 when my regular doc checked them. He said he started checking all his patients because so many of them were deficient. He called mine a profound deficiency and I'm now on Vit D also. I spend almost no time in the sun (too busy, and it's supposed to be dangerous, isn't it?), which is one reason for the deficiency.
I feel more spunky and less achy since I've been on it. I'm a firm believer in Vitam in D deficiency playing a role in autoimmune diseases, after reading up on it on the web.
There was an article in our local paper about this today. I saw it after I replied the first time earlier today.
There is also some link between kidney disease, liver disease and Vit. D deficincy; but that's not usually the case for the majority. Like Bizz mentioned; their finding more and more of this mainly because they have started checking it in more people. It's not really as rare as they once might have though.
Strangely enough my father was recently dx'ed with it too and he spends a lot of time in the yard in the late afternoons/weekends. I wouldn't have thought he would have that problem.
Did anyone see this? It says Vitamin D supplementation could make disease worse.
This is one of those situations where you don't really know what to do. I have taken over-the-counter Vitamin D supplements for years, because I am allergic to the sun and to milk. I never expected to be deficient and I was extremely deficient. I now take prescription strength supplements, prescribed by my rheumatologist.
I don't know if my years of self-treating and taking supplements made me more deficient - it is certainly possible. But now what do I do? Vitamin D deficiency has been linked with many serious illnesses - including an increased risk for cancer. I am taking the supplements as prescribed, and I do definitely feel better.
Hillhoney,
I always feel better when I get more sun. There were actually some days I called in sick at work last summer just to get some sun when I was flaring. My mom tells me I feel better "emotionally" when I get sun, but I swear I feel better physically. Maybe both?
kweenb2008-03-25 15:00:32Yeah, I love the warmth of the sun, and love to be outside. Unfortunately when I am in the sun, I turn into a swollen, itchy moster! My kids call it my "leprosy". I get a headache, dizzy and break into a very itchy red rash that lasts for at least a week - oh and my lips puff up like Angelina Jolie's, but somehow aren't as attractive!
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