It seems like I have been living with the symptoms forever. Inability to sleep at night. Extreme exhaustion all the time. Aching muscles and joints, especially in my feet and legs. Inability to lose weight, despite working out and eating healthy. I seem to catch every virus and infection going around. I'm always sick! My teeth have started to fall apart from the inside. I knew something was the matter. However, I have had blood work done before and everything always seemed to check out.
My husband actually got the call from the doctor's office yesterday afternoon while he was on his way to work. My thyroid, diabetes, cholesterol, and all the blood work came back with normal numbers... all except the vitamin D test.
No one has ever ran this test on me before. Truthfully, I had known that Vitamin D could be deficient because I suspected an auto-immune disorder and vitamin D deficiencies are usually present. I had started taking a supplement. However, that was nowhere near enough. In fact, it was only about a fifth of what the doctor told my husband I should begin taking immediately.
At first I was a little let down. That was it? I mean, the months and even years of overwhelming exhaustion and frustration at the fact that I couldn't lose weight, and it wasn't my thyroid? Yes, I was happy that it wasn't, but I had figured that, with the family history and my symptoms, that would be an easy answer. Instead, it was a vitamin deficiency? I TAKE VITAMINS!
So, I hopped on my computer and did what I do best... research. I discovered that vitamin D isn't really a vitamin. It is a hormone. A deficiency is linked to severe problems including several cancers. It is common in cooler areas, but the deficiency is growing as we have become a culture that spends most of its time indoors. The best source of vitamin D is the sun.
I found that ironic. For years the dangers of the sun have been touted by the best specialists. The dangers are real for those that spend a lot of time in the sun. Skin cancers are a very real danger. However, now we tend, as a society, to not go in the sun enough, or to be covered with sunscreen the entire time.
The truth is that we need a little time in the sun every day, without sunscreen, to absorb the vitamin D that our bodies need. God knew what he was doing. In other cultures and in times past most humans were in the sun a lot more than they are now. They were farmers or shepherds. They labored outside. Even if they didn't, they still traveled outside. Now, we hibernate in temperature regulated homes and businesses all year round. We don't spend near enough time absorbing the sun's rays, which produce vitamin D in our bodies.
My personal habits have changed from when I was a kid. As a child, I spend as many waking hours outside as I could, whether it was blistering hot or freezing cold. Now, while I spend time outside in the summer gardening or hanging clothes on the line, it still isn't enough. And I don't get enough vitamin D from my diet either. I don't drink a lot of milk since it makes me feel sick. I eat dairy, but probably not enough. I think fish is disgusting, and it is a good source of vitamin D. I haven't eaten any beef liver or taken a tablespoon of Cod Liver Oil. So, that leaved me deficient in my diet for Vitamin D.
Living in the more north part of the Midwest, I know that we only have a few months in the spring and summer when the sun is strong enough to give me a good amount of vitamin D anyway. Severely deficient were the words spoken to my husband. I am on a very increased amount of vitamin D for at least two months. I am also on a special diet and am to continue with my walking and working out. I also am going to use the sun's potential by getting outside at least twice a day for fifteen minutes each time.
I am praying this is an answer. I so desperately want to feel better. I want to lose weight. I want to have energy. I want to not feel like my feet and legs are in constant pain. I want to sleep at night without having to take a sleeping pill. I want to be a good mother to my children. I want to wear a pretty outfit now and again without feeling like nothing fits.
I had my gallbladder removed a few years ago. That may have been the start of the deficiency, although I tend to think it started even earlier. Either way, I am dedicating this summer to getting healthy! I have been feeling horrible for a long time.
This morning, I woke up with a severe cold and congestion. I almost never get sick in the summer, and yet I am sick once again. Determined not to let it get me down, I have tried to get outside in the sunshine anyway and take my vitamins. It may take a few weeks to notice a big difference, but I am praying that God will walk with me through each and every step.
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