Lowest Vitamin D Level Compatible with Life

by Karen
(Oklahoma)

About 2 months ago, my PCP tested my vitamin D level because of my diagnosis of fibromyalgia and extreme fatigue. My level was 6. That's right--SIX!! He said it was the lowest he had ever seen. As a result, I have been taking 50,000 IU of D3 three times a week.


Sounds like a lot to me, but the last time I was tested I was only up to 26. Is there any other way to immerse myself in vitamin D without becoming toxic other than with the capsules?

Being out in the sun is not an option for me as I have severe solar dermatitis (plus it's winter here). Any advice you can give me would be appreciated.

Comments for Lowest Vitamin D Level Compatible with Life

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Your level has quadrupled..
by: Kerri Knox, RN- The Immune Queen!

Hi Karen,

Your doctor saying that your level of 6 is the lowest he's ever seen is really only a reflection of his inexperience getting routine vitamin d levels. If he begins to get them more often, he'll find that a LOT of his patients with chronic illness are as low or even lower than you.



So, if you think about it, your vitamin d level has QUADRUPLED in a short amount of time with the treatment that you are doing. If you can't get out in the sun, your only other choice is eating lots and lots of herring!

But at 450 IU's per tin, that's about 300 tins of herring per week in order to do the same amount that you are doing now. Pork Lard, at 1800 IU's per 3 1/2 ounces is probably not a great choice for you either. Those are about your best choices (really!).



So, you just need to remember that you have probably been vitamin d deficient for years- maybe even decades! So, please be patient and let the vitamin d do it's job in the amount of time that it needs to. You can't expect, nor do you probably want to- correct your vitamin d deficiency overnight.

In fact, it's likely that your doctor just took your blood test too soon- I recommend 3 to 4 months after starting treatment to get a level.

Do, please read my page, however, on Prescription Vitamin D to see why that is not the best choice for you to be taking though.


Kerri Knox RN Immune Health Queen

Kerri Knox, RN- The Immune System Queen
Functional Medicine Practitioner
Immune System
low vitamin D and sun
by: Anonymous

Quite some time ago I too was tested for my level and it cme back 6. They tested me due to severe bone pain and fatigue. They put me on the 50,000 weekly dose for 2 mos but my insurance only paid for one. I felt no different and didn't really follow up, thought it was yet another dead end. Yesterday I spent about 3 hours in the sun (I know not healthy)and did end up with some sunburn. Well within a half hour of laying there I started to actually feel the warmth of the sun to the core, not hot mind you, just a warm feeling.

By the time we left my bone pain was gone!!!!I have had my good days and bad over the last 4 years, but not on my good day, not even narcotic pain relievers make the pain completely go away. Its been about 16 hours now, I'm trying not to get to excited but to be pain free is just so amazing to me it has been so long! Do you think it was the vitamin d from the sun? Is getting the vitamin d that way more effective than the pill form?
No, Sun Does Not Work Better
by: Kerri Knox, RN- The Immune Queen!

Hi Anonymous,

No, sun does not work better, it's just that you can get large amounts of vitamin d from the sun and it is the end of summer, so you may have corrected your deficiency somewhat throughout the summer so that long time in the sun 'put you over the edge' so to speak.

If you have a level that was very low when you were first diagnosed, lets just say that it was at about 12 ng/ml which is VERY low but double the original thread, 50,000 IU's per week for one month would have increased your level to maybe as high as 18 or 20 ng/ml.

Most people still feel terrible with a level of 20. So, it was really just a function of you not getting your levels up to affect how you feel. If you would have continued to take vitamin d (you could have just bought it at a drug store, you don't need to have a prescription or have your insurance pay for it) and increased your level to the Normal Vitamin D Levels that I have outlined on that page, you might have saved yourself years of suffering.


Kerri Knox RN Immune Health Queen

Kerri Knox, RN- The Immune System Queen
Functional Medicine Practitioner
Immune System
Help
by: Anonymous

I am hoping that you can give me some ideas. I am 31 years old and have been strugling with pain in my left shoulder, arm, shoulder blade, collarbone (also get LOTS of swelling in my collarbone, mostly the left side), unpper and lower back and rib cage. I have been through shoulder surgery in March which did not help. Then they found that I have a hurniated disc in my neck. PT and also injections in c6 c7, also did not help.

My blood test show Vitamin D is at 6 and wont go up. Thyroid is around 37 and Doc wants me at 3. Thyroid antibodies (? not sure) were over 2,000 and should have been at 19? My thyroid was removed 2 or 3 weeks ago (I still have my parathyroid). Vitamin D and thyroid Levels are not improving with meds only getting worse. (we have been working on this since the first of the year. we are almost into fall now. I have had thyroid problems since 1990 and have never had normal levels.). Plus I work out side and am in the sun all of the time.

I take 2000 units of vitamin D daily and take 150m sythroid. The Dr's don't understand what is wrong and say that it is a absopbtion problem. But can't tell me why. I soooooo don't feel good and just want to know how to fix it. I have been checked for MS and Lupus and Dr don't think that I have either (runs in the family). What else can I do to figure this all out?
Thanks for any ideas
You have gluten sensitivity
by: Kerri Knox, RN- The Immune Queen!

For one thing, if you have 'absorption problems', then why are they just blowing it off as nothing?? That is a serious problem and you almost certainly have Gluten Sensitivity.


Next, regardless of how much time you spend in the sun (do you cover up, wear sunscreen, live in the Northern part of the US and/or take a shower after you are in the sun? All of these can make being in the sun worthless to get vitamin d). So 'being in the sun all the time' means ZERO if your vitamin d levels aren't coming up. If your vitamin d levels arent' coming up then you are NOT GETTING ENOUGH VITAMIN D. If your levels aren't coming up, then I'm not sure why you are only taking 2000 IU's of vitamin d, which is the proper dose for a 50 pound child?!!

So, please read my page on Vitamin D Absorption. That will answer most of your questions. I also have DOZENS Of pages on how to relieve pain. Just use the search box in the upper right hand corner of every page and put in the word 'pain'.


Kerri Knox RN

Kerri Knox, RN- The Immune System Queen
Functional Medicine Practitioner
Immune System
Side Effects
PCOS and Vit. D usage
by: Toddie Mae

Im greatly interested if vit. D can actually act as an "estrogen" effect for my 19 yr. old daughter who has PCOS with high testrone levels?
She was having great success while on oral contraceptives while acheiving for the first time actual weight loss. However, she had concerns for her vision and lack of any period and was advised to discontinue for 3 months. Please advise
Keep vitamin d levels optimal
by: Kerri Knox, RN- The Immune Queen!

As far as I know, Vitamin D has NO 'estrogen' effect, as I've said on other places here in these threads. Vitamin D, in PCOS, is probably most effective for the potential assisting of normalizing blood sugars or preventing the blood sugars from turning into full blown diabetes.

Vitamin d has ALSO been shown to help with weight loss in SOME people due to the improvement of muscle tone and possibly the normalization of blood sugars.

Do NOT expect vitamin d to be some miracle for her, do NOT expect it to make her regain her cycles and lose a bunch of weight. Use it to get her a normal vitamin d level and all of the reduced risks of disease that goes along with it. If she gets some other benefits to help her PCOS along with it, then consider that a 'bonus', but not the primary reason to get her vitamin d levels up.


Kerri Knox, RN
Vit. D level is 9.
by: Ann

I'm kind of afraid after reading up on this vitamin problem. I just found out that my level is a 9. I do have high blood pressure which is being treated at this time. I have no thyroid but it is controlled with medicine. It would be nice not to have aches and pains. I do have a lot of leg cramps. So this is new to me. I am suppose to take my vit. D weekly for 3 months then we will see what happens.
Vit D is a 6
by: Ivy

Hi karen,

It was nice to read the comments. I was just told my Vit D is at a 6 . I was having sever left shoulder and arm pain, back pain. Started having massages and it got worst so I went to the doctor who performed a Vit D test. I'm concerned because I was tested a year ago and was normal. My doc put me on 5000u per day but still testing me for other things. I have family history of Lupus, and worried. Any thoughts.
Please read my instructions
by: Kerri Knox, RN- The Immune Queen!

Please read my instructions on how to bring your levels up to optimal on my Vitamin D Therapy page. 5000 IU's per day will NOT bring your levels up.

Maybe last year, you had just got back from a vacation or it was at the end of summer and you had a lot of sun. Or you misunderstood, since most people don't even get their vitamin d levels taken, let alone have them be normal when they are taken.

I'd be interested in seeing if you could get a copy of your vitamin d level last year and seeing what your level actually was. If you were not taking supplements or sunbathing, it's EXTREMELY unlikely that your vitamin d level was normal last year.


Kerri Knox, RN
I'm also a 6
by: Confused

I just received a call from my obgyn n he said my fit d level was a 6 as well, I had a gastric bypass in 09 and have had 2 children since 2011 my last son was born oct of 2012, I have had SEVERE depression n thought it was postpartum depression, as well as being soooo tired, is this all related? I've been on 150 mg of Zoloft n feel no effects as well as just being put on 25mcg of levothyroxine....will this help with my depression,fatigue n possibly help me lose some weight? Please help!!!!!
What are you confused about?
by: Kerri Knox, Registered Nurse

I'm not sure what you are confused about. You are MASSIVELY nutritionally deficient with Vitamin D levels that are as close as humanly possible to the 'undetectable' level. So, knowing what you now know about your levels, and assuming that you read at least a few pages on my site including Symptoms of Vitamin D Deficiency, then I'm not sure exactly what you are confused about. How would you expect to feel with vitamin levels that are almost the lowest they could possibly be?

Please see my page on Vitamin D Therapy. How heartbreaking to go through 2 pregnancies with such low vitamin d levels. This seems like negligence on the part of your doctors, since not only should they be checking the levels of pregnant women, but also those who have had gastric bypass. You were at EXTREMELY high risk to be vitamin d deficient and your doctors should have thought to test you. You may want to consider getting the levels of your kids tested. Since they did not get any in the womb or from breastfeeding, they may be as severely low as you are. I'm not saying this to scare you, only so that you are aware of this and can do something about it while they are small.

Please read my page on Vitamin D During Pregnancy to see why it's so important to be vitamin d sufficient during pregnancy.


Kerri Knox, Registered Nurse
Help reading vitamin levels
by: A very confused girl

Hi Kerri,

I'm having trouble deciphering my recent vitamin level testing. Could you possibly tell me what this means? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Specimen Test Name. Result. Units
Serum. 25-OH vitamin D2. <6. Ng/ml
Serum. 25-OH vitamin D3. 43.3. Ng/ml
Serum. TotVitD. 43.3. Ng/ml

Thanks in advance for your help.
Fact Sheet
by: Kerri Knox, Registered Nurse

Please sign up for my newsletter to the right and get the Vitamin D Fact Sheet. I go over how to read your test in the book.

Kerri Knox, RN
Similar problem
by: Larissa

I have had many symptoms such as stomach problems, dizziness and lightheadedness, migraines and depression. I got a blood test a few days ago and my vitamin d level is 4! Im 14.
Mine is 4.1
by: Anshuta

In all the comments. I have seen the lowest so far is 6 . I just got my reports and mine is 4.1. I will see doctor tomorrow. I am feeling I am going to die. I am so scared. I have been experiencing discomrft in chest also for quite sometime
Vitamin D Level 4.3
by: Farhana Hassan

I have tested Vitamin D as 4.3 although I never felt sick just felt tired sometimes
Pcos/Vit D /K2
by: April Estremera

Regarding the PCOS comments. It is possible there is a Vitamin K2 deficiency, which studies suggest K2 deficiency may be linked with insulin resistance and increased testosterone.

Also as a seperate issue. If you are taking vitamin d you should be considering taking vitamin k2 supplement which directs the calcium being absorbed BC of vit d.

If you do have k2 deficiency and are taking calcium or vit d you are at risk for heart attack/ stroke because of calcium building up in vessels.
4.1
by: Tricia

I just got my vitamin d checked and it came back 4.1. Doctor put me on 2,000 iu of vitamin d a day. I recheck in 1 month. Any suggestions on what to eat to help it along? Thank you!
vitamin d level 6 nmol/l
by: Anonymous

i recently get to know that my vitamin d level is 6 nmol/l which as per the lab incharge is critically low. tomorrow i have an appointment with my doctor. how much dosage should i expect? and what else can i do to get myself immersed in the pool of vitamin d?
Please see my page
by: Kerri Knox

Please see my page on Vitamin D Therapy
VITAMIN D Level is 0.6
by: Anonymous

MY DAUGHTER JUST GOT HER RESULTS AND HER VITAMIN D LEVEL IS AT 0.6 !! DOCTOR HAS CALLED IN A SCRIPT FOR 1 TIME A WEEK. ASSUMING IT WILL BE A PILL BUT
WOW!! I GUESS THATS WHY SHE IS SO TIRED ALL THE TIME. HOPE THIS HELPS HER AS I TAKE A DAILY ALCIUM PILL AND I GET SICK EVERY TIME I TAKE IT

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