Overcoming Vitamin Deficiency's

I recently found out I was b-12 deficient, started taking shots, It went up to the 300's now, still taking shots and get tested again next month. During this time I switched my family Dr and she noticed I was super low in D 3 years ago and no one ever followed up with me, so I retested coming in at only a 12.. So am taking megadose's of 50,000 U weekly, Just finished my 3rd dose, and will get retested after 8 doses.

I guess now I kind of understand why I feel like I am 90 years old and am only 34. I am wondering if any of you have been in a similar situation and seen any difference in your ability to get past the feeling tired alllllllll the time, no motivation at all, and how long did it take? I hear such good things about both these vitamins and weight loss. I am hoping it is going to give me what I have needed to get to my goal.. I have been on my journey for 2 years and it's been very long and hard. Now I am at a point where it is sooooo hard for me to lose any more, and no energy to get up and move....
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Replies

  • NanaWubbie
    NanaWubbie Posts: 248 Member
    Been there. I had calcium and d deficiencies to the point of causing heart palpitations, depression and kidney stones. I now completely understand why I must have the calcium, d.....and the b's.....and I feel so much better!!!!! It's amazing how since having adequate nutrition (with diet and supplements), I no longer require Prozac or Zoloft.
  • MizzTweezy
    MizzTweezy Posts: 250 Member
    that is quite interesting, I have an anxiety and panic disorder heart palpitations and depression as well... I wonder if this can be an issue due to the lack of vitamins as well, I notice when I take my mega dose of D that I don't feel like I need my anxiety medication that day.. It's really weird.. How long did it take you to start feeling better?
  • 1223345
    1223345 Posts: 1,386 Member
    You are singing my song. I had a bad vitamin D deficiency not long ago. I now make sure to get 10-15 minutes of sun exposure daily. I also try to get in as much dietary D as I can. I can always tell if my D is slipping. My eyes feel heavy, and my brain goes on vacation.
  • BarackMeLikeAHurricane
    BarackMeLikeAHurricane Posts: 3,400 Member
    Are you eating enough fat? Fat soluble vitamins should be taken with food (containing fat) for proper absorption.
  • NanaWubbie
    NanaWubbie Posts: 248 Member
    I started noticing the depression lifting fairly quickly.....within a month I was symptom free. I take 5,000 units of Vit D daily. I have to take more calcium than most people, but I have a medical reason for it. I also take a B vitamin daily.....and a pre-natal vitamin. I am 45. I would not recommend the high doses with out a doc checking levels a couple of times a year. Too much of anything is never a good thing.
  • NanaWubbie
    NanaWubbie Posts: 248 Member
    Never in a million years would I suspected vitamin deficiencies to cause mental health issues. My doc asked me to trust her, reminded me I was paying her for her advice...and she was so incredibly right. Vitamins are cheaper than therapy.
  • MizzTweezy
    MizzTweezy Posts: 250 Member
    Thanks, I eat around 40 grams of fat a day.
  • BarackMeLikeAHurricane
    BarackMeLikeAHurricane Posts: 3,400 Member
    Thanks, I eat around 40 grams of fat a day.
    There's a good chance that's too low for you. Optimal fat intake is at least .35-.4g fat per pound of body weight so unless you're <115lbs you should probably eat a little more fat.
  • bigcrystal123
    bigcrystal123 Posts: 246 Member
    I have vitamin d and vitamin b-12 deficiency.just found out in sept of last year.went to the doctor a few days ago and they are still low so back to the shots every two weeks instead of every month.and back on the weekly vitamin d pills.i can feel they are low.i am always tired and i feel older then 25.
  • pinkraynedropjacki
    pinkraynedropjacki Posts: 3,027 Member
    Sunshine. Get out in it.


    100% natural Vitamin D
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
    I'm not 100% sure if I had a vitamin deficiency (never had a doctor test), but I think I probably have for the past couple years. Odd that it seems to match with the time frame that I became overweight as well. For me, I was struggling to stay awake for even 8 hours and would end up taking periodic naps throughout the day. Not even high amounts of caffeine could keep me awake. As for going out and getting some sunlight, I was a night shift worker (5pm - 2am) and generally only got the little bit of sun on the way to work.

    I started taking a multivitamin (GNC Womens Ultra Mega Energy and Metabolism to be exact) around the end of March. It took about a month and a half to really notice the difference. I am now able to sleep 7-9 hours a night (depending on the day) and I'm no longer needing naps throughout the day, even on days when I'm more active than normal. I feel better than I have in a long time.
  • MizzTweezy
    MizzTweezy Posts: 250 Member
    Thanks, I eat around 40 grams of fat a day.
    There's a good chance that's too low for you. Optimal fat intake is at least .35-.4g fat per pound of body weight so unless you're <115lbs you should probably eat a little more fat.

    wow that's interesting, something I didn't know... I definitely don't get enough fat in then. So how many grams is someone suppose to get if they are just under 200? I'm not good at math... This could be very helpful. thank you
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
    I am deficient in the following-


    Vitamin D (i can take 5,000 IU Daily now, or front load 25,000 at the beginning of the week), Vitamin B6, Vitamin b12, Iron, Folate, and magnesium.

    I do have to continually take supplements (wish i could just eat foods) but i believe it's more an issue of me not absorping them like i should vs. not getting the correct amount in my diet.

    I definitely feel a hell of a lot better though!
  • lilypad_604
    lilypad_604 Posts: 15
    Vitamins make a HUGE difference in regards to mental health issues.
    Depression reduces the size of the hypothalamus and Vitamin D can help repair damage caused to this part of the brain. Also notice a huge difference in anxiety.
    I also take Omega 3's - they're awesome for brain/heart function.
    And B-Vitamins. (complex)

    Psych doc was hte one who recommended these supplements over using prescription meds. Theyve worked better at least for me..
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
    Vitamins make a HUGE difference in regards to mental health issues.
    Depression reduces the size of the hypothalamus and Vitamin D can help repair damage caused to this part of the brain. Also notice a huge difference in anxiety.
    I also take Omega 3's - they're awesome for brain/heart function.
    And B-Vitamins. (complex)

    Psych doc was hte one who recommended these supplements over using prescription meds. Theyve worked better at least for me..

    Same here! Less depression, fatigue, and a LITTLE less anxiety. :)
  • BarackMeLikeAHurricane
    BarackMeLikeAHurricane Posts: 3,400 Member
    Thanks, I eat around 40 grams of fat a day.
    There's a good chance that's too low for you. Optimal fat intake is at least .35-.4g fat per pound of body weight so unless you're <115lbs you should probably eat a little more fat.

    wow that's interesting, something I didn't know... I definitely don't get enough fat in then. So how many grams is someone suppose to get if they are just under 200? I'm not good at math... This could be very helpful. thank you
    About 70-80g would be ideal.
  • 1223345
    1223345 Posts: 1,386 Member
    Thanks, I eat around 40 grams of fat a day.
    There's a good chance that's too low for you. Optimal fat intake is at least .35-.4g fat per pound of body weight so unless you're <115lbs you should probably eat a little more fat.

    wow that's interesting, something I didn't know... I definitely don't get enough fat in then. So how many grams is someone suppose to get if they are just under 200? I'm not good at math... This could be very helpful. thank you
    About 70-80g would be ideal.

    Wow. Great info. I wish I had known this when I was fighting my own vitamin deficit. I knew we needed fat to absorb certain nutrients, I just did not realize we needed that much.
  • ddky
    ddky Posts: 381 Member
    I overcame my V D deficiency with just a multivitamin for women and increasing sun exposure. Not excessively, just 20 to 30 minutes a day. I do feel better.
  • bacitracin
    bacitracin Posts: 921 Member
    Something like 1/4-1/3rd of Americans are Vitamin D deficient. I also take the 50,000 IU weekly dose. I blame having an office job. :)
  • MizzTweezy
    MizzTweezy Posts: 250 Member
    Thanks, I eat around 40 grams of fat a day.
    There's a good chance that's too low for you. Optimal fat intake is at least .35-.4g fat per pound of body weight so unless you're <115lbs you should probably eat a little more fat.

    wow that's interesting, something I didn't know... I definitely don't get enough fat in then. So how many grams is someone suppose to get if they are just under 200? I'm not good at math... This could be very helpful. thank you
    About 70-80g would be ideal.

    Wow. Great info. I wish I had known this when I was fighting my own vitamin deficit. I knew we needed fat to absorb certain nutrients, I just did not realize we needed that much.

    That is amazing, thank you so much for your help...
  • RumpusP
    RumpusP Posts: 163 Member
    Over the course of a few years I found I was increasingly showing size of dementia... it started as a bit of forgetfulness (more than my normal, I mean) and progressed to where I was almost incapable of functioning. It got to the point that I couldn't understand what numbers stood for at times, a few times forgot how to make my body pick up an object, inability to remember words for objects and ideas, etc. Very scary.

    I went to a neurologist and he blew me off and told me everyone forgets the word for something now and then and put in my records that I came in with "mild aphasia".

    A bit later, purely by accident of unrelated testing it was found that I was seriously deficient in B-12. It took a few months of oral vitamins and weekly shots to bring me up to a normal level and I must stay on sublinguals for it (especially now that I'm post-bypass).

    It got 95% better after that course of treatment and I've basically gone back to normal, thank god. I was very scared with those symptoms that I was developing some major neurological issue of a permanent/progressive sort. The deficiency went on long and severe enough that some of the symptoms seem to be permanent but only to the extent that it causes annoyance, I can now get through a day of being able to form regular sentences and pick up things and all that normal stuff again.

    They never figured out why I was so low and just left it as "well, you're fine now".

    I had a vitamin D deficiency that they caught when I was getting my pre-op bloodwork done for my bypass. Never had any noticeable symptoms, though, nor felt any different when they told me my levels went back to the healthy range. This one is an ongoing issue for me, it bounces up and down some.
  • Joreanasaurous
    Joreanasaurous Posts: 1,384 Member
    Sunshine. Get out in it.


    100% natural Vitamin D

    If only it were that simple...
  • MizzTweezy
    MizzTweezy Posts: 250 Member
    yes the symptoms for my b12 were horrible, I thought I had ms, was in a walker and everything.. I was very scared. I didn't know what was going on, had a brain mri done everything.... Glad to hear it got better.
  • MizzTweezy
    MizzTweezy Posts: 250 Member
    Sunshine. Get out in it.


    100% natural Vitamin D

    If only it were that simple...

    Right.. Were just getting over Winter in Mid May here in Wisconsin.. lol
  • RumpusP
    RumpusP Posts: 163 Member
    And yeah, vitamin deficiencies can be a major cause of mental health issues. It's disturbing how rarely they are tested for when trying to rule out non-psychological causes of depression, anxiety, etc. Even when someone's mental health problems are not nutrition or other illness based deficiencies can make them worse.
  • MizzTweezy
    MizzTweezy Posts: 250 Member
    yeah I wonder if mine will get at least a little better now that I am being treated. I got so bad I had to go on ssi.
  • hookilau
    hookilau Posts: 3,134 Member
    Sunshine. Get out in it.


    100% natural Vitamin D

    If only it were that simple...

    Indeed. I am Vit D deficient as well....and I'm brown :huh:
    :laugh: :laugh:

    The sun won't help me much, lol.
  • 1223345
    1223345 Posts: 1,386 Member
    Sunshine. Get out in it.


    100% natural Vitamin D

    If only it were that simple...

    Indeed. I am Vit D deficient as well....and I'm brown :huh:
    :laugh: :laugh:

    The sun won't help me much, lol.
    The darker the skin the longer you have to be out in the sun. This can be especially hard for people who live in certain areas. I was really irked when I found out that vitamin D supplements don't actually have what they say. Not good news for people who live in not so sunny places.
  • parmoute
    parmoute Posts: 99 Member
    I don't think I have any vitamin deficiencies for most of the month, but I do have sleep and anxiety problems which would get really bad just before my menstrual cycle restarted -- like PMDD bad, not plain old PMS. I'm now on medication for it, but taking extra calcium, magnesium, and vitamin D the week before my period seems to have leveled out the lingering symptoms (and my psychiatrist approves).
  • hookilau
    hookilau Posts: 3,134 Member
    Sunshine. Get out in it.


    100% natural Vitamin D

    If only it were that simple...

    Indeed. I am Vit D deficient as well....and I'm brown :huh:
    :laugh: :laugh:

    The sun won't help me much, lol.
    The darker the skin the longer you have to be out in the sun. This can be especially hard for people who live in certain areas. I was really irked when I found out that vitamin D supplements don't actually have what they say. Not good news for people who live in not so sunny places.

    Ahhh, just another bright spot in my day, lol.
    I spend a good deal of time avoiding being in direct sunlight for a number of reasons.
    Sigh.