We are pleased to announce that as of March 4, 2025, an updated Rich Text Editor has been introduced in the MyFitnessPal Community. To learn more about the changes, please click here. We look forward to sharing this new feature with you!

Vitamin D levels? How do all these people know their levels?

catscats222
catscats222 Posts: 1,598 Member
edited November 2024 in Food and Nutrition
I found my blood work from 7 years ago.
I am a healthy person, so don't visit doctor often.
No mention on the report about vitamin D or other vitamin levels.
I see potassium and calcium levels in the blood (not bone) and thats about it
Not even iron is on there
Just my cholesterol numbers, hdl, ldl, etc
(get free yearly tests of total at sams club - good enough for me)

How do all these people get all this blood work done?
That tells them all their vitamin levels?
Are they super rich and just don't care?
Is it other countries, insurance pays for whatever a person asks for?
In the US you have to pay for extras unless there is a medical necessity.
Maybe there is a certain age that you get more blood work done? Like Vitamin D levels?

Tell me, how do you get all that blood work done that tells you all those vitamin levels?
Do you go to a center for this? Big city?
How much does it cost to know all this information?
I know insurance doesn't pay for many, many things.

Replies

  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
    edited October 2015
    D might be part of a standard blood draw for some insurance companies now, esp if the doc specifically asks for it --- that is how it is with my insurance. It might be medical protocol to do Vit D after a certain age (like 40 for example) --- not sure about that.
    Docs in states that get little sun in the winter know to order the test.
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    It's covered yearly with my insurance.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    Alberta health care insurance no longer covers this test after finding nearly everyone is deficient. There are exceptions for people with certain medical conditions. I get the test with a doctor's note.
  • ZeroDelta
    ZeroDelta Posts: 242 Member
    edited October 2015
    I'd like to live to be 100. In order to do that I need to monitor my body. If I'm not proactive and go to the doctor for physicals and monitor chronic conditions I have less of a chance of reaching my goal. Blood work is part of that monitoring. Vitamin D1, D2 & D3 tests are done every six months.

    I pay for health insurance. If I'm paying for a service I intend on using it. In the long term it saves the insurance company money. Problems are caught while they're small and cheap.

    My doctor has no problem ordering these tests. My insurance has no problem paying for them. If you don't go to the doctor, they can't order the tests.
  • Pawsforme
    Pawsforme Posts: 645 Member
    I'm 52 and have excellent insurance. I go to an internal medicine doctor for a yearly check-up (and in between as needed). The doc is part of a well-regarded medical group. And my Vitamin D level has never been checked. I've wondered the same thing as the OP. I'm going to ask about it the next time I go.
  • Traveler120
    Traveler120 Posts: 712 Member
    My insurance covered an annual lipid panel, complete blood count-CBC and a comprehensive metabolic panel-CMP. A few years ago, I requested a Vitamin D test to be included on account of having darker skin and therefore being susceptible to deficiency but I had to pay an extra $20 or 40 which pissed me off. After that, my dr started including it without me asking or paying extra. People on vegan/plant based diets might also need to request vitamin B12 checked because they don't eat meat, the only source.

    I don't know if it's necessary to check other vitamins like A, E, K, C, B if the routine CBC and CMP are normal and you're otherwise healthy. The CMP should include blood glucose, A1c, iron, in addition to the other mineral tests, kidney, liver function, electrolyte balance etc.

    In the US, if you don't have insurance, you can still get basic wellness blood tests for cheap by ordering from places like Requestatest.com, Walkinlab.com and others. You don't need to have your own doctor, it's built into the order. I've used them before and pay about $25-30 for either the Lipid panel, CBC or CMP. You pay for the test online, take your order number to a LabCorp or Quest Diagnostics lab to get your blood drawn. Unless you live in the boondocks, there should be one close by. My LabCorp lab was 10 minutes away. I'm usually in and out in under 10 minutes. Results are usually available online within 24 hrs.
  • mbaker566
    mbaker566 Posts: 11,233 Member
    i got it as part of my last draw but that was to rule out any medical reason i was having in regards to weight gain. and the doctor had to ask for it.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    I am also healthy and always have been. I have yearly checkups that include a full blood panel and get all routine tests and screens because I'm smart enough to know that feeling good and having a good lipid profile does not mean I have no health problems. Many health problems are too far gone to reverse by the time you start to feel bad.
  • gaelicstorm26
    gaelicstorm26 Posts: 589 Member
    I'm in the US.

    I get my vitamin D levels checked regularly. Here's the scoop:

    About 3 years about I was having terrible bone and joint pain. I was sent to a rheumatologist who took 8 vials of blood to test everything under the sun (ok, not quite, but it felt that way). One of the tests was to look at my vitamin D level, a test my PCP never thought to request. Guess what...the vitamin D was the culprit! My vitamin D was extremely low and I had to take 50,000 IU of vitamin D each week plus 400 IU of vitamin D daily for 6 months until my levels were in the very bottom of the normal range.

    It is common for people who are obese to have low vitamin D levels. Our use of sunscreen also impedes how much vitamin D we absorb while being out in the sun.

    So no, I'm not rich without a care. It just took a really good specialist to think of something totally obvious that was causing me significant pain. Now that my vitamin D levels are in the normal range I have no more bone pain.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,603 Member
    It's part of my yearly physical.
  • VioletRojo
    VioletRojo Posts: 597 Member
    It's part of my yearly physical along with iron, B12, cholesterol, thyroid, etc. I'm in the U.S. and my insurance always pays for it.
  • enterdanger
    enterdanger Posts: 2,447 Member
    I only had it done once and that was recent. I'm having an issue with recurring stress fractures and my mom and granny both have osteopenia. Mine was 31 which falls at the low end of normal.

    My OB keeps giving me a slip to get a whole bunch of bloodwork done as part of my yearly but it's fasting and I have to get the kids to daycare before work so I never go.
  • palmettoadventurer
    palmettoadventurer Posts: 51 Member
    I dunno. The VA doctor just tested for that along with everything else at my last annual appointment, which was a couple of weeks ago. (Turns out I'm deficient in both D and B12, so now I'm supplementing both at her direction.)

    Generally, if your doctor thinks there's a reason to order the test, your insurance should cover it to the same extent they'd cover any other doctor-ordered bloodwork.
  • ForecasterJason
    ForecasterJason Posts: 2,577 Member
    I think it depends on your insurance coverage. I'm 21 and got my vitamin D level tested during a normal checkup (I believe without an extra cost).
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,400 Member
    It depends what country you are in too.

    This would be free in Australia or at most $20 ish for the doctors visit. The blood test itself would be free.
  • Pawsforme
    Pawsforme Posts: 645 Member
    It shouldn't depend on insurance coverage. It's fairly basic blood work, and as far as I'm aware almost every insurance plan will cover whatever a doctor orders as far as blood work. My *guess* is that some doctors, for whatever reasons, don't feel it's as necessary to check as others.
  • KellieTru
    KellieTru Posts: 285 Member
    I'm from Ontario Canada and I got one done. It's a specific blood test and not covered in our provincial insurance...I paid out of pocket for it; $25 or so...and I was found deficient so I do take vitamin D drops in the winter.
  • Derf_Smeggle
    Derf_Smeggle Posts: 610 Member
    OP,

    In the US, testing for levels of vit-D became a little more prevalent in the last 5 years or so. that's why so many more people are aware of their levels.
  • azulvioleta6
    azulvioleta6 Posts: 4,195 Member
    Your doctor needs to check that panel when you have bloodwork done. It's just a simple draw--no great mystery.

    Even without insurance, it should be quite inexpensive to have it tested.
This discussion has been closed.

Categories