Vitamin D?

So, I haven't gone to the doctor yet, but for quite some time I have been feeling blah. Tired, always tired. Now, yes I work 2 jobs and I just moved. However, I think it cold be a slight deficiency of Vitamin D?

I do not take vitamins, Last time they checked, all my levels were perfect. But, its been a while. I also sleep like crap. I 'toss and turn' a bunch at night'. Anyway, what are some brands of vitamins or vitamin D's that you take? I am going to the store this weekend to get back on those Flinstone's, but am wondering to add D?

There is no way to tell what you might be deficient in without labwork. Those symptoms could be D, or more likely iron, or many other things.

Get labs done ASAP. Since you have been taking no supplements, get a FULL set. A full bariatric panel for vitamins and minerals will require 14 or 15 vials of blod. If they take 3 to 5, you are playing Russian Roulette with your health.

Don't take anyone's word that your labs are perfect. Get the full printout. Start a spreadsheet and track them yourself. Track the trends over time. The range for "normal" ferritin, for instance, is 7 to 350 or so. If it has dropped steadily over time, you are heading for a trainwreck, even if it shows it is still currently within that range. It's not a question of if it will get too low, but when -- and how badly your health will suffer because of it. Same goes for all vitamins.

For god's sake, don't take Flintstones. They are crappy, expensive vitamins. They lack many things. The only value they have is that children think they are candy, and can be fooled into taking them. You aren't a child. Take 2 adult multis per day.

Most people need additional B12, D3, and iron on top of the 2 multis. But only labwork will tell for sure.

You also should be taking calcium citrate three times per day. When you ask for labs, ask for a DEXA bone density test. There is no blood test to see if you are getting enough calcium.

A really complete set of labs is vital. All of these vitamins and minerals work in complex and interrelated ways. Copper is vital for utilization of iron, among other things. If your copper is too low, all the iron in the world won't help. Calcium needs vitamin K to be absorbed properly, as well as magnesium. The list goes on and on.

Please get this done, and start taking your supplements religiously. I've seen too many people get extremely sick because they started coasting on supplements.

They used to think people who had VSG did not need to worry about vitamins because they do not have the malabsorption component but recent studies have shown that is not the case. Get your labs done!!

I take the CVS version of Citrical Petites for calcium.

As a "General" broad stroke, our program recommends twice the normal dose of a high quality Multi Vitamin.

Blood panel is the only way to get a proper read on your levels.

As for vitamin D, mine typically are on the low side. I try and get D from sunlight and mushrooms. My calcium supplement also has some D in it.

frisco

For the love of Pete - get a grownup vitamin! Any generic equivalent to Centrum will do.

I take 10,000 units of Vitamin D a day in addition to whatever is in my other vitamins. I live in Minnesota though too, so we don't get a lot of sun in the winter and before surgery if I had anything less than 10,000 a day my levels were barely above the minimum. I would suggest getting blood work done though before starting Vitamin D on your own.