wow i think i have been asleep for a week ... well.. that's probably because I have slept for most of it .on top of my other multiple health problems a Vitamin D deficiency is kicking my A$$
to say the least..
It is unbelievable how the lack of a nutrient can affect your overall well being . When my Doctor first found the vitamin D deficiency about 3 months ago , I had already been complaining of being physically exhausted and in an unusually higher level of pain than normal, for about 4 months and it was getting worse . Now, I am not talking about the "i worked 16 hours on a concrete floor and need to rest" physical/mental exhaustion .. i am talking about a completely debilitating physical exhaustion that was not met at any equal level mentally. I wanted to Go and do , but my body could not keep up. I could not understand what was happening.
for example: i would simple retrieve the items needed to make say a simple boxed cake mix and be so physically exhausted I couldn't make the cake. My arms and legs would become incredibly weak and I would feel as though I would literally pass out from sheer exhaustion of the simple effort of getting out a box mix, a couple eggs and some oil. Literally! that was as far as I could get in the process . and the pain in my muscles and bones .. especially my shins and joints... was overwhelming to say the very least.
I started calling it "bird in a cage syndrome --Just throw a blanket over my head" and I would literally fall asleep.. I mean I was so tired I would literally fall asleep in the middle of a sentence at one point. It got so bad i just couldn't stay awake... you know you are in trouble when you are so thirsty you can barely speak and yet your arms are to week to reach for the glass of water.. literally.. and the bone pain seam to get worse, at one point they checked my legs to be sure I didn't have a blood clot and the muscle pain was worse than the flu! I wish I could find better words to convey how debilitating this is .
So , as I said, about 3 months ago I went to my Doctor who did some blood work and found a sever vitamin D deficiency . At that time he put me on 50,000 ( yes, fifty thousand ) IU of vitamin D once a week and I paid extra attention to the foods I ate to ensure was putting proper amount of vitamin D in my diet as well . Believe me when I tell you that within the first week there was a noticeable difference in my energy level . I did great at this dosage for the first 2 months. the third month I was to decrease the amount prescription intake of vitamin d to 1- 50,000 IU pill once a month instead of once a week .. apparently my body was not ready for that decrease.. about 8 days after I took the now once a month pill, I began to feel the return of the exhaustion and weakness.. at about 15 days i felt as though I was almost back to where I was in the beginning and by the time I saw my Doctor a few days ago I was in trouble again. So , I am back to the 50,000 IUs weekly. and though it has only been a day or 2 since popping my vitamin D gel cap, I am starting to feel as though I am "coming back" as it were. But I know I have to be careful as to much vitamin D can be just as detrimental to the body's system as to little can be.
I want to share with you some interesting facts that I learned over the last few months about vitamin D deficiency:
Vitamin D is produced in the body as a result of sun exposure. ( being basically a shut in means I don't get as much sun as I should - but i am working on that on) Sun screen protects the skin, but also inhibits the body from producing the much needed vitamins , such as D , produced by it's exposure to sunlight. So it is recommended you leave your skin exposed to the sun clean and uncovered, for at least 15 minutes each day when the sun is at it's highest point.( very hard to do in the cold winter climate I live in .. Oh , you know those windows with the wonderful UV protection , yup that's blocking your body's ability to absorb sun to make those much needed vitamins too...
It occurs naturally in a few foods , including fish, fish liver oils, cheese , egg yolks and beef liver as well as in in fortified dairy and grain products. (I am not a fish fan and I tend to save the eggs for cooking other dishes , only eating them once in a great while and usually -because of cholesterol concerns- I normally only use the whites or a substitute... not doing that any more)
Apparently some medical problems, including Crohn's disease, cystic fibrosis, and a few others can affect your intestine's ability to absorb vitamin D from the food you eat.
To little vitamin D in the body can lead to an increased chance of death in heart disease, Cognitive impairment ( usually in older adults or sever deficiencies) , sever asthma in children, cancer and several other not so good goodies such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension, multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia ( it is some times mistaken for fibromyalgia as well).
What I have shared with you here is just a drop in the bucket in relation to the amount of information out there on the web.. and apparently vitamin D deficiency is much more of a problem than most know..
But , It feels good to be able to sit at my desk and blog, and to plan a simple dinner that though I will need help to make, I will at least be able to help make it . It's a slow process to get this all built back up, but I am back on the mend .. THANK THE GODS!!!
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