Requested the doctor do a blood test and check everything including vitamin D... everything was fine except for vitamin D.
Okay for everyone who doesn't know, basically vitamin D is produced in your skin upon exposure to UV light (the sun). If you don't get a lot of sun, or you avoid the sun due to a lifetime of government campaigns about the danger of skin cancer and the merits of wearing a hat, covering up and wearing sunscreen all the time, chances are you are below normal.
I was told the reference range is 60-160 nmol\L (the USA uses a different unit), my level is less than 20. The doc has told me to start taking vit D supplements. It will be interesting to see how much I improve once I get it back to normal, because I generally feel like shit every day with a sore neck, the feeling that I need a massage really badly, general lack of motivation, creaky knees and a variety of non-specific symptoms that are all apparently linked to vitamin D deficiency. Osteomalacia is the main thing that happens in deficient people, it is the softening of your bones, not really going to notice this, it just happens without you knowing. If I was slightly below normal it would be a different story, but mine is dangerously low... so I am expecting major improvements over the next few months.
So for all you geeks who sit inside playing around with your computation machines all day, go get yourself checked... the future is not bright for people with long term vitamin D deficiency. Since I live in Australia I didn't have to pay for the doctor visits or the blood tests, but you Americans probably have to... it's worth it.
Okay for everyone who doesn't know, basically vitamin D is produced in your skin upon exposure to UV light (the sun). If you don't get a lot of sun, or you avoid the sun due to a lifetime of government campaigns about the danger of skin cancer and the merits of wearing a hat, covering up and wearing sunscreen all the time, chances are you are below normal.
I was told the reference range is 60-160 nmol\L (the USA uses a different unit), my level is less than 20. The doc has told me to start taking vit D supplements. It will be interesting to see how much I improve once I get it back to normal, because I generally feel like shit every day with a sore neck, the feeling that I need a massage really badly, general lack of motivation, creaky knees and a variety of non-specific symptoms that are all apparently linked to vitamin D deficiency. Osteomalacia is the main thing that happens in deficient people, it is the softening of your bones, not really going to notice this, it just happens without you knowing. If I was slightly below normal it would be a different story, but mine is dangerously low... so I am expecting major improvements over the next few months.
So for all you geeks who sit inside playing around with your computation machines all day, go get yourself checked... the future is not bright for people with long term vitamin D deficiency. Since I live in Australia I didn't have to pay for the doctor visits or the blood tests, but you Americans probably have to... it's worth it.
