Vitamin D Deficiency

I went to the doctors the other day to get something to help me sleep, as I have not slept a full night in several months. She decided to run full blood tests as well, just in case there was something underlying other than just the fact that my life has been in a chaotic mess for several months now.

Turns out my Vitamin D levels are low. Very very low. Strange considering I ride my bike for half an hour twice a day 4 days a week, plus walk and garden. But there you go.

Some of the symptoms of a Vitamin D deficiency are:
- muscle pain
- fatigue
- low energy levels
- sleep irregularities
- symptoms of depression
- mood swings
- and lowered immunity
Hello my life! This is me exactly. And now I know why.

There are also links between vitamin D deficiencies and insulin resistance and also studies that show those with very low vitamin d levels can have extreme difficulty in losing weight. It has something to do with calcium absorption. There is a good article explaining all of this on the Women to Women web site.

Treatment is quite easy. I need to take a super high dose of Vitamin D3 today, then in 3 weeks, then in another 3 weeks. After that I need to take it once every 3 months for a year then go back to be tested. Also I need to ensure I get at least 15 minutes of sunlight – without sunscreen – every day. That part should not be a problem now that it is not dark when I ride in the morning. I will still sunscreen up for my ride home, but I’ll do the morning ride sunscreen-free.

Although I don’t like having anything wrong with me, it is actually good to know why I have been feeling so blah of late, and to know that it is easily fixable. I will go and get my first dose tonight, then put a reminder in my phone for 3 weeks to take my next dose. Hopefully I start feeling the effects fairly soon.

On a side note, I just want to thank everyone for their love and support re Bob.

xox