Here too, and not just in winter. Wash. coast and we have many cool, overcast days.

A few years ago my endocrinologist asked me about my sun exposure and I thought she was going to give me holy heck for being too tanned (it was late summer and I'd been sunning) but she was looking into my Vit D. And where I thought I was in trouble for not using sunscreen, hats, she checked Vit D level and mine was low. I take 2000 units every day, year round at her suggestion.

When DH went for a physical and brought his lab work home, his Vit D levels were low normal too but his doctor hadn't said anything. DH works outside, he's outside 7 days a week. I had him start taking the same amount I do....

Our doctor checks our levels every 3 months with our routine blood labs. We have both been pretty low so we both take it daily.
She said she sees many people low and the better quality blocking windows are contributing to it. Blocking the rays is not necessarily a good thing.
She also mentioned that the use of so much sunblock is contributing, but agrees using it is good.

This post was edited by ravencajun on Sun, Dec 15, 13 at 23:30

I went to my doc several months ago because I was feeling extremely tired, had zero energy, my body hurt and had brain fog. My doctor suspected three things, depression, low thyroid or low vitamin D. My bloodwork came back and showed my D level was at 15. I was put on 5000 IU daily and within a week I started feeling better. Today I have my energy back, my body aches have disappeared and brain fog has lifted! I get tested again in 2 weeks, so I am curious to see my numbers.

I was surprised my level was so low as I live in sunny CA and spend quite a bit of time outdoors. Guess my body does not absorb or process it naturally. My DH had his tested and he is also low.

I spent a long time trying to figure out all the pains I was having a few years ago. Mri's, catscans, colonoscopies, scopes, ultrasounds,etc till finally I self diagnosed myself with low vitamin d and insisted my dr test me and it was extremely low. I felt much better after a few days of potent vitamins.

Also this was in Florida so it's very possible to have low vitamin D even in a sunny area. It makes such a big difference.

Even if you are cheerful with good energy and feeling well, you still need to watch those Vit D levels. If you are in a cloudy or colder climate, work inside, wear sunscreen like we are told, have it checked. Bone health. My endo was interested in my Vit D levels in assessing my osteoporosis risk. My mother has never smoked, always been active, lived in the Pacific Northwest all her adult life and my endo thought vit D deficiency may well have greatly contributed to her osteoporosis.

Having had skin cancer (basal cell carcinoma) I lather on the sun screen, use sun glasses year round and wear hats when outside, I take Vitamin D on the recommendation of my dermatologist. I also live in a cool grey rainy climate and in the winter sunshine is in definite short supply.

I've never heard about the link between Vitamin D and depression. The bit of reading I did sounds interesting though,

I didn't have the depression part but I had a lot of the other symptoms, my husband was much lower and he was starting to have a little depression which was very unusual for him. She put him on some pretty potent prescription strength vitamin D. It sure made a difference.

I think everyone should be checked with their normal blood work.
Our doctor said she was making it part of the regular routine for her patients now since she has been finding so many people that are low.

I also take liquid vitamin B12 because some of the diabetes meds are known to strip the body of B12. I occasionally have to get the shots too.

Depression runs in my family too. I can't take any meds, because I'm way too sensitive and if there are side affects, you can darn well bet I'll have them. I never use sunblock unless I'm at the shore by the ocean. I never had any vices in my life, drugs, cigarettes, but I did sun bathe half the year for many decades. I always had a tan.

Two years ago my old doctor , who left to start his own boutique practice, tested my Vitamin D and it was 83. Last week at my physical with new doctor I told him I take 2000 units of D a day. When I told him my count was 83 two years ago, he ordered it done again and this time it was 55. Maybe because one was in the late summer and this one in cloudy December. I think doctors are just realizing the connection between D and depression and good bone health.

I am outside so much... riding my bike, working in the yard... but I always have sunscreen on, wear a hat when not on the bike. I had myself checked for vitamin d levels, and was really low too. Been on vitamin d year round for several years now, and feel so much better/energized.

I would encourage everyone to get their vitamin d level checked.

Moni

Thank you everyone for your postings. I know I don't get enough sunlight in the winter and buy vitamin D but am not good about taking it. I just took one and will be better about it now. I promise. :) Thanks again.

I just had mine checked a couple of months ago. She said it was so low, she put me on a high-potency Vit. D2, whatever that is. I take it once a week.

and thank you jkayd for asking. I learned so much!

I had to stop taking D supplements because they were making me sick. i actually felt like I was dieing. My Dr. didn't believe me, but once I stopped taking them I felt much better after about a week.

For me, a better source of that vitamin was eating grass fed beef and switching to real organic butter and milk, better if you can find some that comes from grass fed cows, you can tell because it is yellower than normal. Hard to find, and expensive, but adding just a bit to my diet brought my D levels way up more than any supplement, and don't make me feel sick.

Upping the amount of red meat I ate also helped with my iron levels, and my cholesterol etc. have not raised.

I always ate a lot of grains and legumes but my B vitamins were always low. Once I started with the beef and better dairy, this has resolved as well.

Dances.

Depression is not always the result of Vitamin D deficiency. In my case, after much searching for reasons for my long-term problem, it was decided that my sleep cycle was contributing significantly to my depression.

Vitamin D deficiency can be as a result of what you eat; and what you don't consume. Yes, it is good to have it checked, but the right answer is not always a pill. Too many health practitioners prescribe or strongly suggest a pill, when a life-style change might be all that is necessary.

Jim

I had a doc on the plane who specializes in genetics...He is a believer in Vit D and told me to get on it so I could keep the osteoporosis at bay...I've been on it for about 3 months now and feel sooo much better...i have serious highs and lows in my life and it really has kept them at bay! (and my fingernails are growing like crazy!) I'm not much of a milk drinker or an outside person so I'm swearing by that little white pill everyday!

My kidney transplant docs have recommended a Vitamin D3 supplement daily. They told me 50% of US population has D deficiency.My levels are checked every 3 months.

I know Vit. D is *added to* milk, but don't know how much is in it naturally, or whether grass-fed dairy cows' milk has more of it.

I deliberately stopped taking Vit. D for a month before a physical (complete with the usual blood testing). It was indeed low, and I resumed taking 1000 i.u. daily. Next blood test was normal.

DH takes 1000 i.u., but also needs two meds for depression. He takes Cymbalta 30 mg. and Abilify -- ONE mg. His MD can't figure out how a single milligram of Abilify makes any difference, but it does. (Lowest dose pill is 2 mg.; 60 mg is max.) He's tried eliminating it several times; always develops RLS within a few days, so it's not 'all in his head'. The only bad thing about these two meds is their huge expense!

Ours is also D3 I take a 5000iu gel cap a day(buy them at Costco) , he is on a higher prescription dose.
Neither of us can drink milk and we don't eat much red meat anymore. He still loves steak and would eat it but I just started a while back not being able to stomach it. If I have it at a restaurant where I didn't have to handle it raw or cook it or smell up the house then I can stand to eat a little. Before that started I loved steak. I do use ground beef and roasts with out as much issues.

For you folks on over-the-counter Vitamin D, can you recommend a good one? I'm down to my last few and want to make sure I buy good quality and get the most bang for my buck.(I don't have a Costco membership so can't buy there). Also should it be a certain type of D (D3?)

I was getting it at gnc before Costco. It was D3 5000iu also.
Three of my doctors all called for the D3 after blood work. I think blood work should be done to get a baseline to know where you are.
With 3 specialist all saying the same thing with out knowing what the other said was very telling. I definitely believe their advice.

I brought this thread up, after doing research on hypothyroid. There's a connection between low D level and hypothyroid. My 12-year old daughter recently has depression. We brought her to the doc. to have her thyroid levels tested, plus complete blood count for anemia, plus vitamin D and B12 levels checked. Will update later when the lab results come back. I was also tested very low in vitamin D ... spent hours searching Amazon reviews on vitamin D, and the cheapest type: Nature Made brand, is reported by a few folks as effective in raising D-level. I will get my blood tested in a few months to see if that brand is indeed effective.

I check on vitamin D level recommended for those with low D-level: Mine is 17.9, versus the normal range of 30 to 80. Here's an excerpt from below link: " Richard Shames, MD:Make sure it is Vitamin D3. I usually recommend that my patients take at least 2,000 IU per day for maintenance, 4,000 per day if they are at the lowest end of the low-normal range, and 6,000 per day if their tests showed Vitamin D levels below normal. I typically recommend patients supplement for two to three months, and then get retested to monitor improvement. I usually have patients who were low or borderline move to the 2,000 IU maintenance dose when blood levels have reached 50 to 60 or better." http://thyroid.about.com/b/2010/09/30/vitamin-d-important-thyroid.htm

Funny thing is my sister, a retired Internal Medicine Doctor, told me that I SHOULD NOT GIVE my teenager daughter vitamin D !! I can't wait for the blood-tests to show the truth.

I thought vit d required sunlight to absorbed, one is no good without the other?

Orchids............I'm right there with you on the meds. And I take them for the same reasons.

Are your Brown and black days random or does there seem to be a cycle? I should keep a record but I'm really bad about that kind of thing.

My door is open for questions also.

Jeff, Orchid (Laura) sadly hasn't been present on the boards for quite a while. She was having significant problems related to her depression and just stopped posting. I know that Glenda kept in touch with her for awhile, but I think they are no longer in contact? Wishing you peace, Laura.

Jeff asked a great question ... Thanks. I checked on that and here's an excerpt from the below link: " The darker the skin, the more it's protected against skin cancer but the less able it is to absorb UV-B rays. It also depends on how much skin is exposed and the time of day. If you're fair skinned and sunning yourself outside in a bathing suit at noon, you only need a few minutes without sunscreen. If you're already tan or of Hispanic origin, you need maybe 15 to 20 minutes. Black skin may require six times the sun exposure to make the same vitamin D levels as a very fair-skinned person."

http://health.usnews.com/health-news/family-health/heart/articles/2008/06/23/time-in-the-sun-how-much-is-needed-for-vitamin-d

One D-pill doesn't solve the problem. For example, magnesium is needed for vitamin-D to be absorbed. There's a study where levels of D went up when magnesium is supplemented, rather than just D alone. Bone-marrow-broth has all the nutrients for strong bones: calcium, magnesium, and vitamin D. Here's a case of overdose on calcium and D from beef-bone broth. The guy was doing beef-bone broth for months and ended up vomiting, anorexia, dyspepsia from too much calcium and D.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3279073/

Below is good info. on hypothyroid and vitamin-D. Other nutrients needed for thyroid: vitamin A, B-vitamins, selenium, zinc, and iodine. Unfortunately some hypothyroid conditions can only be confirmed with thyroid antibodies-test, which most doctors don't give. I asked that test for my daughter and the doc. said only a specialist can give that test.

http://www.progressivehealth.com/the-role-of-vitamin-d-in-hypothyroidism.htm

Thanks for the heads up sleeperblues, you'd think I'd learn to check the post dates by now...not!

I hope things turn out well with orchid . Again if anyone wants to compare notes feel free.

Jeff - Vit. D levels can easily be checked if you have an annual physical with a blood panel draw. A year ago my primary care physician recommended I take 600 IU calcium along with 2000 IU Vit. D daily - not for depression, just being a bit low. This year, the D was just a tad low so was upped to 3000 IU. Skim milk is a good source of D and a banana is an easy source for magnesium; so are beans, nuts, leafy green vegetables, brown rice, and whole grains.

Natural sunshine is scarce here in the Spring. I'm not expert on these things, just following my test results and Dr's recommendations.

I was just reading that there is a connection between depression and vitamin B deficiency. I had to take vitamin D3 for a skin issue. Since I moved to Ohio, the sun hardly even shines Fall to Spring. It's horrible and so depressing! I am sure that there is truth to depression being linked to D deficiency. I am terribly depressed all through the cold/dreary months. Or maybe just not being outside in the sun is depressing to some? I know that I can be depressed and then the sun shines and suddenly I'm not depressed anymore...that has to be psychological though.

Very little sunshine in my zone 5a, Chicagoland. I take Brewer's yeast, high in all B-vitamins, except for B-12. I get plenty of B-12 through eating meat though. Lab tests came back for my 12-year-old daughter, it's hormonal imbalances ... she was depressed but now much better with high-dose of fish-oil & vitamin D & B-vitamins. Few people realize that vitamin D is fat-soluble, and vitamin D is a hormone.

We use liquid fish oil, it's the form that's documented to help with lipid panels & depression. The capsule ones don't get dissolve, esp. the hard-shell enteric-coated. I once soaked fish-oil capsules in vinegar for hours .. they won't dissolve. I had to poke the hard shell with a sharp knife to sniff the fish-oil inside, to see if it's fresh. Folks reported seeing fish-oil capsules floating in their toilets, not dissolved by stomach acid.

Arkansas girl... it's called SAD (seasonal affective disorder) and it's a real condition. It's a major problem in the arctic . The sun goes down for weeks and months and the suicide rate starts to climb. I hear the tanning beds get real busy in the winter.

Duluthinbloom... Thanks for the suggestions. I'm already doing them. One other thing that helps is, I take a vitamin called stress tabs. Originally marketed for people who burn the candle at both ends. It's full of Vitamins and minerals that people under stress need more of . And depression brings it's own brand of stress. It takes about a month to notice any change, it works for me. And ,oh yeah, it's just a good vitamin. I hope you both feel better, longer real soon:-)

Hi Jeff: thanks for the info. on stress-tabs, I checked the ingredients on Amazon: high in B-vitamins, esp. folic acid. I'm sure that they work, since I see the positive effects of Brewer's yeast (by-product of beer-industry, from fermented barley). Brewer's yeast is a natural & cheap-form of B-vitamins, selenium, zinc, and chromium. When I take Brewer's yeast (best mixed with milk & buckwheat honey) ... I get extra-energy & sleep better. I take NOW brand, it's bitter, but U. of Michigan Medical website mentioned that for brewer's yeast to be effective, the bitter-form is best.

Brewer's yeast doesn't have vitamin B12. My 12-year old had a B12 blood test ... hers is normal (she eats lots of meat). But B12 helps with older people & on certain medications or vegans. Here's a poster from Health forum .. I already checked her background: she posted a lot in Houzz, so it's NOT advertisement.

michelle_phxaz

I will try taking Vitamin D, I think that would help my depression too, worth a shot!

As another contribution to this conversation, I just started using B12 and holy COW the energy it gives me! I take it when I get up, it is better than an energy drink. I take the Ultimate Sublingual B12 1100mcg from Hi-Health and it has done wonders for my depression and low energy.

B12's contribution is, it develops red blood cells, they in turn carry oxygen . Pretty cool stuff, uhh?

They were also saying(in an article I just read) that a deficiency in B vitamins can cause signs of dementia!

Arkansas....I need more b vitamins, a lot more. ;-)