goldicedance Posted December 3, 2007 Report Share Posted December 3, 2007 I wonder how many of you have been tested for Vitamin D deficiency. I had mine tested in the fall and found I was painfully deficient. The endocrinologist thinks that is what caused my enlarged parathyroid and very strange patterns of bone loss. Once I got loaded on Vitamin D and on a maintenance dose, the big bennie I have gotten is a marked decrease in watery bowel movements. I have gotten less concerned about going out in the late morning for fear of not reaching a bathroom in time. You might want to ask your doctor about it.Lois Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hummingbird Posted December 3, 2007 Report Share Posted December 3, 2007 Interesting that you posted this! I was just diagnosed with Vit D deficiency about 2 weeks ago. I have been taking Vit D 5,000iu a day. How much Vit D did you initially have to take? I haven't noticed any benefits yet.Lauren Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldicedance Posted December 4, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 4, 2007 Lauren, what a coincidence.Once a week for 8 weeks, I took a single dose of 50000 units. I also supplemented that with 1,000 units a day plus what is in my women's once a day vitamin.I need to get my vitamin D level re-checked to see where I am at.Lois Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lloppyllama Posted December 4, 2007 Report Share Posted December 4, 2007 I too am very vitamin-D deficient. I take supplements, and it my vitamin-D is still very very low. My doctor thinks that there might be something wrong with me where like I don't absorbe vitamin-D, but we aren't going to look into that for a few more months i guess...idk I'm not really sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patricia Posted December 4, 2007 Report Share Posted December 4, 2007 Well, I am another one very deficient in Vitamin D and just found out last week. It was MY suggestion to my doctor because I am so heat intolerant in the summer and do not get out much at all. I was taking 400 units per day in a vitamin, plus milk products, but I guess it was not enough. I am to take 50,000 units per week for 6! months and then recheck. I am not going to take the prescription form, but D3 from cod liver oil on my own at basically the same dose. I read it can take up to six months to stabilize things.Vit D deficiency can cause alot of symptoms other than the obvious serious risk of bone weakening. It can cause muscle fatigue, depression, irritability. I wonder how long I have had a low level and am obviously concerned about the health of my bones. I wish others had felt a great lessening of their fatigue....darn.Patricia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajw4790 Posted December 4, 2007 Report Share Posted December 4, 2007 There is just too many vitamins that we may be deficient in! I am not sure if I was tested for Vitamin D, I will have to ask. So, for those of you with it, regular supplementation wasn't working (daily vitamin), so it is necessary to take much larger doses?Is this an ability to absorb the vitamin problem that is causing the deficiency?Thanks! Good luck to ya'll! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JenniferInOhio Posted December 4, 2007 Report Share Posted December 4, 2007 I just found out a few months ago that I'm deficient too - I think a lot of the general population is deficient and don't know it - at least that is what I read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom4cem Posted December 4, 2007 Report Share Posted December 4, 2007 I had also tested deficient and after supplementation my blood work went back to normal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunfish Posted December 4, 2007 Report Share Posted December 4, 2007 lois - i was/ am particularly intrigued by your mention of reduced diarrhea since treating your deficiency. i don't doubt the correlation for you at all but was trying to look up if diarrhea could be a symptom & couldn't find it. just curious about your doc's thought on the correlation &/or if you have read anything on it? regardless i'm glad to hear it's helped you. how long was it before you noticed some improvement?i would LOVE something to reduce my diarrhea yet in relation to the rest of my health issues my docs don't seem to really care much about it, even with occassional leakage. i went from increasingly severe constipation for years (necessitating meds & suppositories at times to go at all) to the complete opposite wherein i've now had nothing but diarrhea for a year. the severity/ frequency changes a bit but it's diarrhea all the same. there have been lots of "reasons" offered that sort of made sense at the time, i.e. lots of IV antibiotics, tube feeding, some of my meds, etc. but none really make sense as they don't correspond with the timing of my dramatic shift. so who knows. as long as i'm continent i can manage but it's very bothersome & leaves my toosh quite tender at times (i finally told my mom that better toilet paper was a must!) other than running a few tests (c. diff, fat malabsorption), as long as my nutritional status & electrolyte/ fluid balance are okay my docs don't seem to think it's a problem. ah well.i know i've had Vit D tested along the way but will check into when it was last done. i know it was included in my multivitamin infusion during the year & a half i was on TPN & is in my tube feed formula now so am guessing it's okay but don't want overlook something that might possibly be a help to the ongoing diarrhea. thanks for the idea, melissa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs. Burschman Posted December 4, 2007 Report Share Posted December 4, 2007 Melissa, I'd highly recommend those "wet wipe" thingys they sell now near the toilet paper. My personal preference is Cottonelle. Much easier on the ol' bum!Amy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldicedance Posted December 4, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 4, 2007 Melissa,My problem started in September 2005 and preceded gall bladder surgery. After the gb surgery, I developed a c-diff infection. I was hospitalized a few times for the problem. No one could find out why.I tried the whole post-gb treatment for the big D. Nada.During the chemo-radiation year, I had other fish to fry.It was becoming increasingly more bothersome for me.There were times I couldn't get to the bathroom in time. During the month preceding gb surgery and continuing until I had the Vit D megadoses, I went about 4 times a day and ultra liquidy. I began to wear depends when I was leaving the house.In September 2007 I had another GI workup at Mayo in Jacksonville. The GI specialist ran a number of blood tests and stool cultures nothing. A few weeks later, I started the massive Vitamin -D supplementation. That's when my problem seem to get better.I did find on the internet one refererence to diarhhea as a side effect of V-D deficiency.Perhaps this will be helpful.Lois Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunfish Posted December 5, 2007 Report Share Posted December 5, 2007 thanks amy i've have used some of the wet wipe things but still get pretty tender at times. i'm sure i'd be in much worse shape without them though! and i haven't tried the cottonelle brand so may have to put them on my list... melissa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunfish Posted December 5, 2007 Report Share Posted December 5, 2007 thanks lois. i bucked the "norm" post gall bladder surgery...was still ultra constipated for years after. and yep, i have some depends myself though they seem to work like an umbrella for me! if i don't wear them i have a problem but when i do wear them they always seem to have been unnecessary. i cannot stand them as they are high cut enough to bother the locale of my tubes & the like but i have been thankful for them at times. sometimes b/c i can't get to the bathroom at times & a handful of times where i haven't even known that i've had to go in the first place. that's the worst. thankfully i have one less item to unhook now (gastric suction no more...yippee!!) to get to the bathroom which at least helps a bit in the "not enough time" department. every so often i'll have a day or even two wherein i don't go at all but whenever i do go it's diarrhea....ranging from 3 to 10 times a day but most often around 5. anyway....surely no one needed all that extra info on my bodily functions but ah well. you'll get over it . so glad though that you have seen some improvements. if i can't find that my vit d level has been run in the past few months i'll certainly be asking for it to be added on to my next scheduled bloodwork on the 12th.thanks again, melissa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sue1234 Posted December 5, 2007 Report Share Posted December 5, 2007 I'm a D-eficient person also! Last January I found out by accident, through a BATTERY of tests, that my D was at 19(30-?). I got on the prescription 50,000 IU/week, and only lasted 3 weeks. It made my heart race faster, made me extremely thirsty, and worsened my insomnia. At least my levels got back in the low end of range. It's probably back low, as I don't tolerate calcium/D very well--it bloats my stomach sooo bad I have no room for my lungs to breathe! So I just drink some milk, but I know it's not enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morgan617 Posted December 5, 2007 Report Share Posted December 5, 2007 I'm really low, but he doesn't give me anything...what a shocker there....I tried to get a bit more sun this summer, but not sure it helped. morgan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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