Do You Have Muscle Aches? Maybe it’s the Vitamin D?

August 1, 2006

3998566497.jpg One of the intriguing topics in our conference was the idea that majority of us are actually Vitamin D deficient.  Vitamin D is predominantly made in our skin via exposure to the sun.  But come to think of it…I wake up and work before the sun gets up…stay in my office till afternoon… then drive home straight to my house.  How much sun exposure do I get?

Dr Holick who is the author of the UV Advantage was our plenary lecturer and his lecture really made an impact that patients complaining of muscle aches and bone pain and osteoporosis may all be suffering from Vitamin D Deficiency.  In fact there is a link between the rising incidence of breast cancer, prostate cancer and colon cancer to Vitamin D Deficiency!!!! His study revealed facts that almost always we don’t think of Vitamin D at all. A dose of 400 IU in our multivitamin may not be enough…if you’re taking only one tablet daily.

The best way to check if your muscle aches are due to Vitamin D deficiency is to get a 25 (OH) Vitamin D level.  If its below 30 mg/dl then take a Vitamin D supplement at most 1000 IU per day.  Food sources can only give us as much as 100 IU/day from salmon, juices and dairy products. 

PLUS… try to expose your arms and legs at least 15 minutes per day most days of the week to avoid Vitamin D Deficiency… another reason to enjoy the sun…

So my advise is… before you put on your sunblock, enjoy the benefits of the sun for 15 minutes then apply your sun block lotion to avoid increasing your risk for skin cancer.

Muscle Aches?… Enjoy the SUN!

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25 Responses to “Do You Have Muscle Aches? Maybe it’s the Vitamin D?”

  1. KW Brown Says:

    You have incorrectly used “your” in the last line of the second paragraph. Your refers to something you own or control, such as your house or car. You’re is the contraction for “you are.”

  2. Doc Gerry Says:

    Thanks Mr Brown. The correction has been made.

  3. Jan Says:

    I found your site while researching my muscle spasms and my vitamin D deficiency. I just started a prescribed treatment of one 50,000 IU gel cap once weekly. I hope it starts to work soon because I’m walking like a robot-trying not to flex my calf muscles. (They feel as though they could “charlie horse” any minute.) My DHEA and ACTH levels are also below normal. I have an adrenal adenoma (3.2 cm) It has not tested malignant-but I do suspect it is an active benign tumor. Cortisol seems to be ok, but I still have some symptoms of Cushings: Fat deposits between clavicle and neck, fat accumulation low on abdomen, dry skin, rash, irritability…Feel free to e-mail me with suggestions–thanks Jan

    • kathy Says:

      Just curious if the 50,000IU of VitD helped with your muscle spasms? I just stated it as well and my back spasms are killing me at night.

      • Cc Says:

        I took my first Gel cap last night with 50,000 IU and already started seeing difference when I woke up!. My muscle/bone aches are substantially reduced. Hopefully this trend continues. BTW my doctor told me they could not even detect VItamin D out of my blood test!

  4. Doc Gerry Says:

    Jan… you then need a full workup. Seek a qualified endocrinologist to help you.

  5. viki Says:

    My 82 year old mother was told by her doctor that her vitamin D was low. The Dr. prescribed 50,000 IU vitamin D weekly. That’s when her muscle aches began. She quit taking the prescription 3 weeks ago, but still has muscle aches. It’s so bad that she can barely lift a cup of coffee in the morning. What should she do now? Suggestions?

    • Doc Gerry Says:

      Hi Viki…sorry for the late reply. Been out on a different work. Better still to get Vitamin D level: 25OH VItamin D. If its low then replacement with Vitamin D should do the trick. Expose her to the sun at least 15 minutes daily.

  6. Sherry Says:

    I too have muscle cramps and twitches which are worse while on vitamin d. Last blood work up was at 32. The doc now raised my vitamin d to 4000 IU daily which makes the twitches and spasms worse. All blood work came back normal even calcium with pth at 4.
    Any suggestions. This has been happening for four yrs now since I had a total thyroidectomy.

    • Doc Gerry Says:

      Sherry…one complication of thyroidectomy is hypocalcemia which can cuase numbness and cramps. But if your serum calcium level is normal then this rules out the condition. Check your recent TSH FT4…hey may turn out to be on the low side and if so can be responsible fr your cramps

  7. Marcia Troyer Says:

    I, too, have muscle cramps from taking vitamin D. My vitamin D level was 32 and I started Vitamin D 2000IU daily. Soon after, I started getting bad muscle cramps in my feet and legs. I quit it and the muscle cramps soon quit. I restarted the Vitamin D some time later and the cramps returned. So, I cannot take Vitamin D and I bet I’m not the only one.

  8. Carol Magnusen Says:

    Not everyone is the same, thank heaven. After being extremely achy and getting a vit. D level of 9 (yikes!), I was put on that 50,000 unit regimen (and a maintenance dose of 2,000 IU daily afterward). Overnight, my aches were gone! Now if I’m achy it’s because of exercise I’ve done, and an extra vit. D will fix it. Research in 2010 showed that the upper limit of daily vit. D was 10,000IU (see Vitacost archives), so you CAN take an extra vit. D to help achiness (if it indeed helps your achiness).

    • steff Says:

      My recent Vitamin D test showed I am at a 38. My Dr. said I need to get up to betweeen 60-70. He said that a level about 200 is toxic and we don’t come anywhere close. He has me on a daily (liquid drop) Vitamin D at 30,000 IUs DAILY. Then once i am up to 60-70, I will go on maintenance which is between 5,000 IUs and 10,000IUs (more in the winter months).

  9. Al Says:

    Great topic!
    I have been dealing with severe urinary retention(hospitalized for 1 1/2 weeks) a couple of years ago. After almost a year I started to self catheterize. My doctor wanted me to take vit D by solar means. I didn’t have the time so I took supplements. Last May the catheter began to stick sometimes for up to an 1 1/2 hours. I increased my Vit D intake to about 14,000 IU a day. My doc seemed shocked so around the end of October last year I quit taking it. Within a day the cath quit sticking and did not again until this May. The original problem also began in May. I am thinking that the solar source vit D and the supplement Vit D are causing the problem at least in part since the original problem and this sticking of the cath begins each year as the days get longer in May. Any thoughts?


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