New here 3 year old son def

[JacksonsMOMMY66112]

Hi my three year old son (almost 4) has vitamin d def. whe have been dealing with this for a year now.  he has leg painj that wakes him up at night. we have been sent to an arthrits dr and found out nothing and now we are going to a kidney dr that deals with bones and minerals in july......he is currently taking 1000 iu's every other day we are outside all the time and his levels are not going up at all in fact the drop last month he was at 28 and now his is at 24. anyone going through this too.....please help thank you for looking

[JacksonsMOMMY66112]

I hope things get better with you too.  We are going to a kidney dr in july.  It ***** when the dr tells to see someone new and you have to wait 6 weeks to get in. I just hope we get this under control before he starts pre school. We have been told to limit his activity how do you do this with a active 3 almost 4 year old....its pretty hard. my oldest had an picnic yesterday and Jackson was limping by the time we left....I worry about him all the time and its nice to know there are people to talk to that know what he is going through.


Jackson has also been very grumpy. Not sure if it is from pain or not.

[sethw74]

According to modern medical papers, it is unusual for kids to develop rickets since vitamin D was added to milk and other foods... but It was also suppose to be uncommon for Vit D deficiency (VDD) in adults who aren't on bed rest.  Most of us here are living proof it can happen, even if we got a little or a lot of sun.  Myself, I got a decent amount of sun in the summer, but I burn so easy I overused sun screen.  That is my best guess how I became VDD.

I experienced horrible leg pain with my VDD (osteomalacia is my guess).  I empathize with your child.  It made me want to stay in bed every morning the alarm went off.  I am almost 2 months into treatment with 50,000 IUs of D2 twice a week and I still have bad days.  Today is one of them...  But most days are a lot better than before.

I don't have any words of wisdom specific to the subject of VDD in kids, only words of encouragement.  Stay on top of this with your doctors.  Rickets is serious because of the risk of bone deformities.  With the right doctors, you will find the reason.  

If things don't seem to be progressing, make sure to check the thyroid and parathyroid (as suggested before).  Still nothing, try the kidneys and the liver.  They all have a play with vitamin D in the body.  For example, the kidneys and liver process vitamin D into different forms, making it usable by the rest of the body.  Another example, parathyroid hormone (PTH) is used to remove calcium from the bones if blood levels of calcium are low (vit d is used to absorb calcium).  If the parathyroid has a tumor (normally benign), there can be too much PTH, causing bone pain.

Hope all goes well.

[gadgetsmidnight]

Kind of sounds like he may have to use the supplements and not go off of them for any extended length of time.  When he went up to 45 did he have any decrease in his pain complaints?
Keep your chin up.  Even though I haven't talked to a Mom regarding their child, doesn't mean they are not here.  Have they checked any other lab?  At least in adults it is common for their thyroid, parathyroid and ionized calcium are checked.

[JacksonsMOMMY66112]

Thank you soo much for your info. Jackson is fair skined and we haven't been using sunscreen at all. He had blood work done by an orthopedic in Dec 09 and his level was at 32 then at next lab a month later he was at 45 and we where told to stop using the suppliments and had labs done the next month and they where 28 and now we are at 24 we have made more of an effort to make sure we are outside as much as we can be and we are taking the 1000 ius every other day. I was so glad to find this site. I thought we where the only ones going through this.

[gadgetsmidnight]

Hi, I am sorry that your son is going through so much pain.  How long has he been treated for the Vitamin D deficiency?  Do you know what his original Vitamin D level was?  Has he been checked to see if his deficiency has caused bone abnormalities?  I know that low vitamin D deficiency in children can cause the bone to not grow correctly.

I wish I knew more about children and vitamin D.  Medhelp is a great resource, but remember to do your own research and don't take what is said here as gospel.  Most people here are ordinary people coming together to pass on information (valid or not).  One place I got a lot of good information is the Vitamin D council.
www.vitamindcouncil.org
They may information that you could use in regards to your child.

I know you are outside all the time, but if you use sunscreen, he will not absorb the vitamin D from the sun (always use sunscreen on the face).  If your child is tan or is darker skinned it is harder to absorb.  There is even research stating if you wash your body too often, you wash away the Vitamin D before it gets a chance to absorb.  I hope you find what you need.  Please keep us updated on his progress.