Thursday, March 19, 2009

I Win! I Win!

I'm a little competitive, but only on things I think I can really do well at. I had no idea that I'd be winning contests at the doctor's office, though. Who would ever think of it? And who would ever want to? I mean, who wants to have the highest blood pressure they've ever seen in someone still standing, or the highest cholesterol of anyone without heart disease? It's just not the place to get competitive.

I had a doctor's appointment on Monday, where I mentioned a list of symptoms that generally boil down to the fact that I just don't feel that great. The doctor did a blood draw and the general stethescope listening and sent me on my merry way. Last night, I got a call from said doctor. I wasn't asking to participate in the contest, but apparently I won for the lowest Vitamin D levels they've ever recorded in a patient. Lucky me! I win!

The bad news is that I have dangerously low Vitamin D levels. The good news is that just about everything I complained about can be attributed to low levels of Vitamin D. I also found out that it's quite common to have low levels and that it can manifest itself in much the same way that thyroid and blood sugar problems show up. Vitamin D also contributes to an overall healthy immune system, so people with higher levels do better at warding off colds and flu and are less likely to develop many types of cancer, including colon cancer (and who'd want that?!?).

So, I'm starting on perscription strenght Vitamin D supplements and hope to feel better soon. It won't improve quickly -- the doctor said I should come get checked in 6-8 weeks to see if the levels have gone up noticably -- but it will improve over time. That means, I should be feeling more myself over time as well. And that makes me feel like I really did win.

9 comments:

Lefty said...

Does living in Seattle and working all day (no sun) make a difference or is this a random thing?

Good thing you went into the doctor. Proactive behavior like that can save your life.

When I go to the doctor I always ask for a thyroid test since my mom and sister have hypothyroidism. I keep hoping for a high TSH level and a bottle of pills...it was only slightly elevated last time, darn it! I guess it's the M&M's and not the thyroid, after all...

Holly said...

Wow, you are the 4th person I've heard in the past 2 weeks with low levels of vitamin D. I must say I'm not well versed on vitamins and was surprised to hear that without vitamin D many other vitamins like C can't be absorbed. Which concerns me because I swear by my Emergency Drink whenever I'm feeling like I might get sick. Maybe I need to drink more milk. What else has vitamin D?

Anonymous said...

I had the same issue last year and felt lousy all the time...headaches, dizzy, not being able to concentrate......after a year I finally feel better......and I have had at least 10 people have the same problem...

LizzyP said...

I've never heard of that. I'm glad you're figuring it out. And congratulations on your win!

Megan said...

I started taking Vit D. right after JH was born. It has helped a ton.

I hope you get feeling better sooner rather than later.

M.

Anonymous said...

Ok. You're hilarious.

Hope you feel better really soon!

Ice Cream said...

Good excuse to go tanning, eh?

Seriously, take care of yourself and I really hope the vitamins work. Oh, and don't forget to eat dark leafy greens to help your body hold on to the vitamin D.

Anonymous said...

don't take that crappy prescription D2 doctors prescribe. Get the Active form of D >>>> D3

Vitamin D3 Extreeme 50,000iu once per week. you can buy it on the net.

I am a vitamin D expert.

Anonymous said...

you take this dose until you 25 hydroxy vitamin D test shows a level of 50-60 ng/ml then you take 5,000iu D3 every day to maintain it. the U.S. RDA for vitamin D is 400iu per day and that is RETARDED. Vitamin D is not a vitamin but a hormone and you need plenty of it every day to fend of any disease.

D2 is the crappy plant sterol version which is only half as effective as active D3 which most of us get naturally from the sun. D3 extreme 50,00iu is a no bullshit way to get the levels up to 50-60 fast. the test you should get is the 25 hydroxy NOT THE 1,25 hydroxy