Vitamin Deficencies

Robert Albright

PEB Forum Regular Member
PEB Forum Veteran
Anyone have a problem with extremely low Vitamin D and extremely low vitamin B12? I've been having gasto problems too. The Vitamin D was discovered after a lab was ordered by my Psychiatrist. The B12 was discovered by a civilian doctor. Was tired of the army docs telling me that they couldn't figure out my symptoms and I paid out of pocket for a civilian doctor. I'll follow up with the civilian doc when I get paid on the 15th, but I was wondering if anyone had had similar problems and what the diagnosis turned out to be?
 
Both can be related to many different med conditions, or even diet. For example, I have the low vitamin D, and the docs have linked it to Prednisone (systemic steroids) that I take for my lungs. What conditions do you have?
 
Anyone have a problem with extremely low Vitamin D and extremely low vitamin B12? I've been having gasto problems too. The Vitamin D was discovered after a lab was ordered by my Psychiatrist. The B12 was discovered by a civilian doctor. Was tired of the army docs telling me that they couldn't figure out my symptoms and I paid out of pocket for a civilian doctor. I'll follow up with the civilian doc when I get paid on the 15th, but I was wondering if anyone had had similar problems and what the diagnosis turned out to be?
I have low thyroid and adrenal function(caused by something bigger). I take high doses of D and armor thyroid for fatigue. B-12 injections work well for some people. Just painful getting shot in the butt every week.
 
Where are you located? You should probably seek out an "integrative medicine" doctor. They tend to work outside the box.
 
Anyone have a problem with extremely low Vitamin D and extremely low vitamin B12? I've been having gasto problems too. The Vitamin D was discovered after a lab was ordered by my Psychiatrist. The B12 was discovered by a civilian doctor. Was tired of the army docs telling me that they couldn't figure out my symptoms and I paid out of pocket for a civilian doctor. I'll follow up with the civilian doc when I get paid on the 15th, but I was wondering if anyone had had similar problems and what the diagnosis turned out to be?

I have both extremely Low Vitamin D and B-12 levels.... and administer weekly shots to myself for both. The Doc's answer..... It's one of three things: (A). It's caused by my medicine. (B). It's caused by the combination of all my conditions. Or My Favorite....... (C). We Don't Know. That's why I say that the are only "PRACTICING MEDICINE".

I do take 3600mg of Nuerotin a day for my "Nueropathy Of Unknow Etiology" and I did just have a mild heart attack that required two stints to correct, so I'm very frustraited that I am not provided more answers. I know we drove through a big burning pit everyday to leave and enter the base camp (BIOP) out the back gate. I know a hand full of us were outside our vehicle on a daily basis when all our jamming equipment was on.... sometimes for long extended time frames.... and I know that I know have bumps and brown spots all over my body that I never had before. I aslo know that since I have returned (2009) my health continues to spiral downward with only periods of relief.

When I say that " It doesn't matter what your percentages are or how much your compensated if you don't live long enough to spend any of it", I Really Mean It.
Compensation really means nothing if you don't live long enough to experience and enjoy (At Some Level) your retirermemnt or a portion there of". :(
 
Both can be related to many different med conditions, or even diet. For example, I have the low vitamin D, and the docs have linked it to Prednisone (systemic steroids) that I take for my lungs. What conditions do you have?
Mostly spinal; synthetic disks at C5-C6, three extruded disks in T-Spine, Two herniated disks in L-spine,Labral tear in right shoulder, cervical radiculopathies. Nothing diagnosed that relates to the vitamin deficencies. Went to the civilian doc because of fatigue and widespread muscle cramping; cramping is now almost non-existant. but still have problems with fatigue. None of the meds I take can account for the deficencies.
 
I have both extremely Low Vitamin D and B-12 levels.... and administer weekly shots to myself for both. The Doc's answer..... It's one of three things: (A). It's caused by my medicine. (B). It's caused by the combination of all my conditions. Or My Favorite....... (C). We Don't Know. That's why I say that the are only "PRACTICING MEDICINE".

I do take 3600mg of Nuerotin a day for my "Nueropathy Of Unknow Etiology" and I did just have a mild heart attack that required two stints to correct, so I'm very frustraited that I am not provided more answers. I know we drove through a big burning pit everyday to leave and enter the base camp (BIOP) out the back gate. I know a hand full of us were outside our vehicle on a daily basis when all our jamming equipment was on.... sometimes for long extended time frames.... and I know that I know have bumps and brown spots all over my body that I never had before. I aslo know that since I have returned (2009) my health continues to spiral downward with only periods of relief.

When I say that " It doesn't matter what your percentages are or how much your compensated if you don't live long enough to spend any of it", I Really Mean It.
Compensation really means nothing if you don't live long enough to experience and enjoy (At Some Level) your retirermemnt or a portion there of". :(
The only thing better than we don't know is when they enter malingering in your medical records. That was the final straw that prompted me to see a civilian doctor. Have you been tested for anti-nuclear antibodies?
 
I have low thyroid and adrenal function(caused by something bigger). I take high doses of D and armor thyroid for fatigue. B-12 injections work well for some people. Just painful getting shot in the butt every week.
Paid for thyroid testing and celiac testing out of pocket; everything was normal.
 
I have low thyroid and adrenal function(caused by something bigger). I take high doses of D and armor thyroid for fatigue.

I do take 3600mg of Nuerotin a day for my "Nueropathy Of Unknow Etiology"

I'm there with you guys here, except I take Synthroid instead of Armor (no adrenal issues, just Hashimoto's and hypothyroidism). I was initially prescribed Lyrica for pleuratic lung pain...but Tricare fights to not cover it due to cost...so I take Neurontin instead.

Robert, even if the docs can't find a reason for the deficiency yet, with disc/back/bone issues, keeping that vitamin D up is critical to recovery and quality of life. Your issue could be as easy as adding more D to you diet or could be something like CFS (chronic fatigue syndrome).
 
I'm there with you guys here, except I take Synthroid instead of Armor (no adrenal issues, just Hashimoto's and hypothyroidism). I was initially prescribed Lyrica for pleuratic lung pain...but Tricare fights to not cover it due to cost...so I take Neurontin instead.

Robert, even if the docs can't find a reason for the deficiency yet, with disc/back/bone issues, keeping that vitamin D up is critical to recovery and quality of life. Your issue could be as easy as adding more D to you diet or could be something like CFS (chronic fatigue syndrome).
Doubt its diet. My D level was initially a 12, anything less than 30 is cause for concern (thats what they told me). I was prescibed 50,000 IU capsule once a week. When my initial prescription ran out, I stayed off of it for a month before my new levels were drawn. After a month without it was a 15. The good thing is that since I've been taking vitamin D I've been able to completely titrate off of Zoloft and I feel much better.
 
I had labs that also found a Vitamin B12 & Vitamin D deficiency, and I have hypothyroidism, so there must be a correlation there. Once I was put on Synthroid and began to take a daily multivitamin and eat foods high in those vitamins my levels rose to an acceptable level. Hypothyroidism also causes muscle cramps and fatigue. My civilian endocrinologist has told me that blood tests aren't always accurate when it comes to a diagnoses, an ultrasound of the thyroid gland is the definitive test that you should request. Here are a couple of helpful links I found:
http://www.thyroid.org/what-is-hypothyroidism
http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/health-conditions/
 
I have had abdominal pain and problems since '05. I finally have good Doc's. My Endocrinologist found I have a Pituitary dysfunction due to TBI. Now I take androgel for life. My GI Doc has been pursuing my GI problems for almost 2 years. He thinks he has it down to Celiac disease. My Iron panel from last week show iron anemia consistant with Celiac. My Endoscope showed the hallmark flattening of the small intestine villi. However, the IgA antibody was not indicitive of Celiac. Therefore, the labwork is not always conclusive. I have low Vitamin D, B12, and Iron. Now I have to start a gluten free diet and see if that works. Bye the way, my MSC failed to list that as one of my MEB conditions so I have to wait to claim it.

I am a Nurse now and I have seen this problem of soldiers not really being taken care of propertly. It sucks you had to pay out of pocket to prove a point. I don't know where you are Robert, but i will try and help you if possible.
 
Anyone have a problem with extremely low Vitamin D and extremely low vitamin B12? I've been having gasto problems too. The Vitamin D was discovered after a lab was ordered by my Psychiatrist. The B12 was discovered by a civilian doctor. Was tired of the army docs telling me that they couldn't figure out my symptoms and I paid out of pocket for a civilian doctor. I'll follow up with the civilian doc when I get paid on the 15th, but I was wondering if anyone had had similar problems and what the diagnosis turned out to be?

After I requested lab work for the 3rd or 4th time in Ann Arbor, they did find low Vitamin D in my lab work. My B12 is on the lower end of the spectrum, but not below the minimum. I was told by the Doc that this is not uncommon for chronic fatigue sufferers.
 
Anyone have a problem with extremely low Vitamin D and extremely low vitamin B12? I've been having gasto problems too. The Vitamin D was discovered after a lab was ordered by my Psychiatrist. The B12 was discovered by a civilian doctor. Was tired of the army docs telling me that they couldn't figure out my symptoms and I paid out of pocket for a civilian doctor. I'll follow up with the civilian doc when I get paid on the 15th, but I was wondering if anyone had had similar problems and what the diagnosis turned out to be?


I too was found to be low in both of those vitamins. I also battling the fatigue issue, I do know that the vit D deficiency affected my achilles heel. They too dont know how to fix my depression and fatigue, it did help the pain in my heels.
 
I found out that my low vitamin D levels are most likely due to Hashimoto's (auto-immune disease), although my hypothyroidism, pulmonary disease and severe OSA (and all the meds I'm taking) could play a part in it as well.
 
Ok, I am going to take a chance here and suggest something....Have any of you watched Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead? It is a documentary on a man's journey to change his quickly deteriorating health. Although you do not have to be fat to benefit from watching this Documentary. I starting "juicing" as they put it and it helped tremendously with my energy levels as well as immune system and healing benefits resulted from it as well. I can not, can not reiterate how it helped. I was discharged with Fibromyalgia, have suffered years from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, migrains, parasthesias, and IBS. It is worth a try....
 
Definitely worth a shot. I took a couple of nutrition classes when I was an undergrad during a break in service and I changed my diet drastically. Lost 40 pounds over the course of a year and was in great shape when I came back in service. After speaking with my civilian doc today, he decided that I should have a sonigram done on my abdomen as I get extremely nauseus when I eat greasy food. He's thinking I may have gallstones.
 
I am glad to say that two months on a gluten free diet and I feel great. I have started to loose weight, I do have more energy, and my IBS symptoms have all but disappeared. I can now eat a ton of veggies and salads, which i thought was the cause of my IBS. Vitamin levels are coming up and so is my Iron. I have been taking prenatal vitamins with Iron. May sound strange but it has helped.

You may not realize how many people out there may have Celiac Sprue or how many more have a gluten sensitivity.
 
="Robert Albright, post: 65582, member: 12041"]Anyone have a problem with extremely low Vitamin D and extremely low vitamin B12? I've been having gasto problems too. The Vitamin D was discovered after a lab was ordered by my Psychiatrist. The B12 was discovered by a civilian doctor. Was tired of the army docs telling me that they couldn't figure out my symptoms and I paid out of pocket for a civilian doctor. I'll follow up with the civilian doc when I get paid on the 15th, but I was wondering if anyone had had similar problems and what the diagnosis turned out to be?

Yes, I have to take Vitamin D now and they had to give me shots until my levels came up so now taking daily. B12 as well.
 
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