Tuesday, October 11, 2016

An Overlooked Vitamin

Sometimes we do all the "good" stuff" and find out we missed one thing that could make us feel better.

So not alarm anyone, it's something for me that was easy to fix but had it not been detected, it could have caused serious health problems.

As part of my yearly physical, since I'm approaching 60 in a few short years, my Doctor ran a complete blood work up.

Normally my numbers are really good, but I hadn't had it checked in about a year and a half.

So last week, she asked if I could come in to review them in person as soon as I could.

That didn't t sound good.

I'd been really tired the last 2-3 months but thought it was all of the extra work on the book.

Fortunately,  my cholesterol numbers and other heart health indicators were great, giving me a total cardiovascular health score that meant I am 1/4 as likely to have a heart issue as other women my age.

But there was something else that could have done some damage in the long run.

Apparently, my Vitamin D levels are less than 10% of what a normal persons' should be.  That explains just feeling lousy and tired, things  I just thought were "getting older."

I walk a lot and usually don't put sunscreen on my arms, so I get a bit of Vitamin D, and I eat fortified foods but apparently, I'm seriously low and we're not really sure why.

So I have to take a prescription strength Vitamin D capsule for the next four months, then daily supplements as well as taking off the hat and getting some sunshine a couple of times a week.

Lessons learned.  So go out and get some sunshine.

3 comments:

  1. I have had my D checked several times and am typically at the low end of normal. With all the running we do outside I thought it should be much higher. I wear sunscreen but not on my legs. But, normal is good at any end. Then as the weather began to change I noticed that I was feeling lethargic. I was sleeping fine but still felt like I was dragging. This went on for a few days and then suddenly one day (Friday) I was running and after the run realized I felt very energetic. It suddenly occurred to me that I had gotten some sun! I do take a D supplement but as I get older I notice that the sun is affecting how I feel. The past couple winters I noticed that too many dark days has me feeling gloomy. It will be interesting to see how you are affected!

    C

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  2. Hari OM
    Yes it's the thing I too have to boost since I returned to UK... sunshine? What's that???!
    Eyes-on... YAM xx

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  3. Yep, D3 is your friend. I've been taking D3 for years and it helps.

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