Vitamin D

[Mother]

Well, actually not okay.  You are low in vitamin D and that really can cause a LOT of things , including depression.  I was given 50,000 IU’s RX once a week to begin with years ago and was in horrible bone pain with it. My D levels came up only marginally.  Then they put me on 5000 daily.  That still made me miserable and we’ve had to settle for 2000 a day and I had to build up to that slowly but it just barely maintains my levels in the upper teens.  They want mine at fifty!  
 

Start where you are but if you don’t improve get tested again.  

Edited March 25, 2022 by Mother

[themartianchick]

When I was around 12, I began to notice that my grades would drop in the winter and I'd get really tired. I had trouble concentrating in class and couldn't focus in the evenings to get my homework done. Back then, my parents just thought that I wasn't working up to my potential. A few years later, I was sick and stayed home from school. I was able to watch the Oprah show (at 10 am) and she had a guest who spoke about winter depression. He mentioned the special lights, but they were really expensive back then. I felt so relieved to learn that this was a real thing. 

 

As an adult, I was diagnosed with seasonal affective disorder (SAD). I have 2 kinds of vitamin D pills. One is a massive dose for when I feel myself getting incredibly low and the other is a more nominal dosage for daily use. Vitamin D is one of the things that I credit for helping me to avoid COVID, thus far. I also take a supplement that includes magnesium, zinc and calcium. 

 

Regardless of how much time I spend in the sun, my vitamin D levels are generally low. Darker pigmentation in skin really does reduce the body's ability to make vitamin D naturally.