She said that he talked about new and old studies showing the importance of vitamin D in the prevention and treatment of a wide variety of illnesses including chronic pain. A lack of vitamin D will actual make one hypersensitive to pain.
So we decided to draw some blood and check my vitamin D level, it came back at 0, I have no vitamin D in my body... I guess that is what the test results of 0 mean.
She has put me on 50000IU capsules of vitamin D (Rx only), I take 1 a week for 6 weeks. 2-3 days after my last pill I have to get my blood levels draw again and hopefully it will show a significant improvement. If it does then I will go on a maintenance dose of over the counter vitamin D.
I take a daily multi-vitamin and have for years as well as supplements of B complex but evidently the level of D is not enough to make a difference.
Please remember, I was on IV antibiotics for almost 5 years due to the MRSA I contracted during surgery about 11 years ago. I was told at the time that no one was really sure what consequences I would endure due to the long term IV antibiotic therapy and depletion of my vitamin D might be one of the effects.
After I caught pneumonia last year they gave me a pneumonia shot and when they drew blood for the above test they also checked my immune system titers..... out of 10 or 12 different values mine were all ZERO. I have absolutely no immune system either. They gave me another pneumonia shot and I have to get my levels redrawn in a couple of weeks. If there is still no improvement, I will get one more shot.
I had suspected that my immune system was shot to hell and have tried many conventional as well as alternative treatments to build it back up but I guess all of them failed. This is scary to me. I am just a walking sponge for any germ that wants to leap off onto me and make me sick.
This makes me wonder if my childhood immunizations are still functioning, the MMR, etc. so I am going to ask to have all of the titers for those diseases as well as all my vitamin levels done.
There is something going on in my poor worn out 48 year old body and I don't like it one little bit. I eat lots of veggies, fresh or frozen not canned, loads of fruit and all of the food that is supposed to be good for the body but it's not taking.
Just a suggestion, get your vitamin D levels drawn and see what yours is.
I don't really have any reference other than what my MD told me but I did find the below blurb about chronic pain and vitamin D and a few websites that can give you some info to take to your MD.
Chronic muscle pain can be a symptom of vitamin D deficiency. Vitamin
D is found in fish with small bones, fortified milk and cereal, and exposure
to sunlight.
Risk factors for vitamin D deficiency are:
darker
pigmented skin (e.g. Hispanic, African American, Asian) does not convert UV rays
efficiently to vitamin D
digestive disorders, such as celiac disease
use
of glucocorticoid medications for conditions such as lung diseases and
allergies
minimal sun exposure (elderly, institutionalized, homebound, veiled
or heavily-clothed individuals)
latitude and season - for example, people in
Boston do not produce vitamin D from sun exposure between November and
February
A study by the University of Minnesota looked at the prevalence of
vitamin D deficiency in 150 people with chronic musculoskeletal pain.
Researchers found that 93% of patients had vitamin D deficiency. All people with
darker pigmented skin (African American, East African, Hispanic, and Native
American origin) had vitamin D deficiency.
Another interesting finding was
that the majority of people with severe vitamin D deficiency were under 30 years
of age. Season was not a significant factor.
The researchers concluded that
all people with persistent, non-specific musculoskeletal pain should be screened
for vitamin D deficiency.
- http://www.vitamindcouncil.com/
- http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/533686/
- http://www.thaifoodandtravel.com/features/vitaminD.html (this article has other good info on vitamin D)
Please be sure and leave comments on your experience I am really interested in what you have to say.
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