Low vitamin d level and other symptoms

[Ima10]

My son is almost 17 years old. He is suffering fatigue and his whole body hurts. His blood tests showed a vitamin d level of 15 and his Cytomegalovirus IgG is 1.68. The doctor said he is a little low in his level of vitamin d and he must have had the virus CMV some time ago. He doesn't seen to take this at all seriously and offers no help. Does anyone have any info about this or what would be the way to get him feeling better. He feels like a truck ran him over! Thank you. He also has a very hard time waking up in the morning.

[Ima10]

Interesting idea! Never thought of allergies of any kind. I wonder what are other signs he might have and who would be the doctor to go to for this. Also, as far as environment- are there any thoughts as to which ones and how would I know. Thank you

[ChitChatNine]

I was told that >32 for adults is normal for Vit D . .not sure for kids though.  However, when I am at 26 I am symptomatic with insomnia and some joint pain, too, that is there at 22.  

Here is another link from our health pages about Vit D  compiled from the NIH:
http://www.medhelp.org/health_pages/Weight-Loss/Dietary-Supplement-Fact-Sheet-Vitamin-D--Page-1-of-3/show/1005?cid=129

One other thought .. does he show any signs of any type of allergies .. be it food or environmental?

C~

[Ima10]

Will check on that. Thanks

[garrettandelsasmom]

Ugh - I'm sorry the endo didn't uncover anything helpful! I know for myself, any insomnia is generally a sign I'm very anxious. I assume things like that have been ruled out?  Has he had a full iron panel, including things like ferritin?

[Ima10]

Actually, the endocrinologist didn't help us too much, since she said his blood work was good. His regular doctor treated him with the vitamin d, first as a prescription of 50,000 for 6 weeks and now 3,000 over the counter daily. He feels so much better as far as his joints are. However, he still has problems with his sleep; doesn't feel refreshed and has a hard time falling asleep. His levels of vitamin d are up to 26 now. His last blood result show a slight elevation in his Hematocrit at 49.2%, his Hemoglobin is 16.9, Red blood count is 5.76 and the Eosinophils is 12.3%. I am not sure if that is any concern and if it relates to his sleep problems. Thank you for asking and if there is anyone who might be able to shed any more info, it will be much appreciated.  

[garrettandelsasmom]

How is he doing now?  I'm glad he was getting an assessment by an endocrinologist.  That will provide some helpful information.

[Bird4579]

Insomnia is indeed a symptom of vitamin D deficiency. I can always tell when my vitamin D levels are low: I don't sleep well, I get exhausted easily and my muscles ache and spasm all over. I was first put on 50,000 iu per week and it took about 6 weeks for my blood levels to increase by 6 ng, after the initial 6 weeks of 50,000, I then took 5000 i.u. per day and my levels increased by about 4 ng per month, but everyone is different, and I'm 55 years old, that makes a difference also. Younger people absorb nutrients better. It also depends on your magnesium levels, as well. The better your levels of magnesium, the easier it is for the body to absorb vitamin D. Magnesium also helps with sleep, as well as the amino acid supplement L-Tryptophan. Check out the Vitamin D Council's website: www.vitamindcouncil.org, they recommend blood levels of vitamin d at at least 50 ng. They also recommend supplementing with a good quality magnesium to help with vitamin D absorption. Best of luck to your son, I hope this helps.

[Bird4579]

Insomnia is indeed a symptom of vitamin D deficiency. I can always tell when my vitamin D levels are low: I don't sleep well, I get exhausted easily and my muscles ache and spasm all over. I was first put on 50,000 iu per week and it took about 6 weeks for my blood levels to increase by 6 ng, after the initial 6 weeks of 50,000, I then took 5000 i.u. per day and my levels increased by about 4 ng per month, but everyone is different, and I'm 55 years old, that makes a difference also. Younger people absorb nutrients better. It also depends on your magnesium levels, as well. The better your levels of magnesium, the easier it is for the body to absorb vitamin D. Magnesium also helps with sleep, as well as the amino acid supplement L-Tryptophan. Check out the Vitamin D Council's website: www.vitamindcouncil.org, they recommend blood levels of vitamin d at at least 50 ng. They also recommend supplementing with a good quality magnesium to help with vitamin D absorption. Best of luck to your son, I hope this helps.

[Ima10]

He still isn't feeling much better and he is taking 50,000IU of vitamin d  one time a week for the next 6 weeks. This was given as a prescription. All his blood work is so far fine. Does anyone know how long it takes for the vitamin d to start working and he should start feeling better? Also, is the insomnia related to his vitamin d low level? Any help out there would be so much appreciated! Thanks again to everyone.

[ChitChatNine]

Hi,

How is he doing now?  I hope you have results from his tests.  Are they also checking parathyroids?

I hope he feels better soon .. 15 is certainly low enough to feel symptoms as I feel them anywhere <25

Keep us posted!

C~

[Ima10]

Thanks for all the info. He was seen by an endocrinologist this week who ordered blood and 24 hour urine test to check for many other hormonal disorders and to recheck his vitamin d level. She doesn't want to start him on any vitamin d until she doesn't check everything else out. Right now, he is feeling awful and very tired. He has a very hard time falling asleep and he wakes up late and doesn't feel refreshed. All his muscles and bones are feeling achy and painful. Is there any connection to vitamin d deficiency and insomnia? Thanks for your time and help?

[Red_Star]

Vitamin D is measured in ng/ml and nmol/L.  The body does not reliably begin to store vitamin D in fat and muscle tissue until the level gets above 50 ng/ml (125 nmol/L). The vitamin D council recommend optimal vitamin D levels at 80ng/mL (200nmol/L).

Vitamin D deficiency is now recognized as a pandemic. Vitamin D is crucial for bone and muscle development and in preventing rickets and osteoporosis.  Vitamin D deficiency impacts 32 organs in the body as well as tissues and cells. Vitamin D is also essential for calcium absorption.  Vitamin D has recently been discovered to be crucial to activating the immune defenses.

Vitamin D deficiency may not result in any obvious symptoms so testing for this deficiency state is recommended for everyone.  Without treatment, vitamin D deficiency can have significant health effects including:

Bone and muscle pain
Rickets (soft, weakened bones) in children
Osteopenia (weak, fragile bones – also known as osteomalacia or osteoporosis) in older adults
Muscle weakness
Chronic fatigue
Cold/Influenza
Allergies
Asthma
Tuberculosis
Depression
Seasonal Affective Disorder
Gum disease/tooth decay
High blood pressure
Coronary heart disease  
Cancer
Type 1 diabetes mellitus
Multiple sclerosis
Rheumatoid arthritis

Treatment is vitamin D3 (not D2) supplements.  You can find this supplement at pharmacies and health food stores.  The Recommended Daily Amount for vitamin D is 400IU - 600IU (many health professionals state this is far too low) and the Upper Tolerable Limit is 4000IU daily. Higher amounts of vitamin D can be taken temporarily to correct a deficiency state.  I wouldn't recommend over 10 000IU of vitamin D3 without medical supervision.  

Just to note: high doses of vitamin D can cause or worsen a magnesium deficiency; magnesium is the most important co factor for vitamin D absorption.  You may also want to purchase magnesium supplements (not recommended if your son has a kidney disorder).  Magnesium chelated with amino acids is the most absorbable in supplement form and less likely to cause diarrhea. The total dietary requirements for magnesium from all sources (food and supplements) is 320 - 420 mg of elemental magnesium.