I'm not dying (probably)Follow

Last week I went to my GP because of some weird symptoms - most of them matched that of a dysfunctional thyroid, so I wanted to get tested. I've been tired all the time, have trouble losing weight even with diet and exercise, get muscle cramps, am very sensitive to the cold (it's 70F in the house and I'm wrapped in a blanket), and other things.

My doctor sent me in for blood testing and said he'd call as soon as there was anything to say.

Well, the thing to say today was this: My vitamin D levels were so low I needed to start taking massive supplements today. (Anything else can wait until we meet again next month.)

It's funny, because the calcium chews I take have the RDA for vitamin D already in them, Apparently, my aversion to sunlight and milk means that isn't enough.

There are other disorders that can lead to vitamin D problems that I suspect he'll have me tested for, but at least it's not ovarian cancer, which he warned was a very unlikely possibility but one nonetheless based on the symptoms I went in for. (He was leaning toward PCOS, which it apparently is not.)

The upside? My cholesterol levels are acceptable. So, even if I'm still a fatty, all that diet and exercise is at least doing something. I am officially among the "fit/fat" who are obese without presentations of metabolic syndrome.

To put it in perspective, the amount I take with my calcium chews includes 1000 IU.

The mega pills I got prescribed are fifty times that.

I think that if I test low again in a month, they'll know its an absorption issue and go from there.

Blue, but yes, once a week.

I took one as soon as I got home from the store and I do feel a bit more energetic already, but that's probably a placebo effect.

So, looks like you're taking the blue pill.

I have no idea what that means.

Glad you found some answers and have something to help you. I was in a similair boat a few months back: exhausted, could not lose weight no matter what I did, etc. I finally got to an endocrinologist, and after extensive bloodwork, while the numbers said I was haircross borderline normal, all of the other tests they ran showed I had hypothyroidism. On top of that I was also very low on vitamin D. I now take a daily horsepill size of Vitamin D. After about a week, along with a careful diet, I noticed a big change in my energy. Still finding it diificult to lose any weight, but my bloodwork since then has shown drastic improvements. Good luck and I hope that you see the changes soon! Keep us posted

ETA: I was prescribed a daily Vitamin D at 5000 IU

Edited, Jan 7th 2013 7:57pm by DSD

I've been thinking of switching over to the gummy adult vitamins they now sell, also because I hear they are absorbed so much better.

Funny enough about all that calcium - it's not there. My platelet donations ensure that all the calcium gets chelated out of my blood on a pretty regular basis, and if I don't load up on supplements just before I go on, I'll experience a calcium crash during my donation. Calcium levels were normal.

If you're anything like me, they're also much easier to remember to take. I've never been good about remembering my vitamins, but I haven't missed more than a handful of days in the year or so since I started on the gummies.

Glad you found some answers and have something to help you. I was in a similair boat a few months back: exhausted, could not lose weight no matter what I did, etc.

Weird, I have the same symptoms, but my doc told me: "We refer to that as "Being 40 year old with an infant".

I recommend blueberries and walnuts.

Last year when I was having atrocious lower back pain they ended up taking blood and found I had low vitamin D levels.

It's what they tell people they think are hypochondriacs.

Glad you're OK. Go make friends with the sun. I promise you won't sparkle if you step out into the sunlight.

Refreshing that the pharmaceutical conglomerates have an ever-increasing range of remedies for hypochondria.