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The Role of Vitamin D Deficiency in Thyroid Disorders

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This article is part of a special report on Thyroid Disorders. To see the other articles in this series, click here.

Note: This will be my last post until the end of August. My wife and I are going up to the Sierras to hike and soak in the hot springs for a few days before the big acupuncture licensing exam next Tuesday. The day after that we head to southern Mexico to surf and relax on the beach for a couple of weeks.

I won’t have time to respond to comments while I’m away, but please do leave them and I’ll answer when I come back. I’ve got a few more articles in the thyroid series, and next up after that will be type 2 diabetes & metabolic syndrome. Have a great August!

Vitamin D is all the rage. It seems like every day another article is published in medical journals or the mainstream press about the dangers of vitamin D deficiency, and the benefits of supplementation. In this article we’re going to discuss the impacts of vitamin D on thyroid physiology and wade into the increasingly murky topic of vitamin D supplementation – specifically as it relates to thyroid disorders.

Vitamin D deficiency has been associated with numerous autoimmune diseases in the scientific literature. Vitamin D plays an important role in balancing the Th1 (cell-mediated) and Th2 (humoral) arms of the immune system. It does this by influencing T-regulatory (Th3) cells, which govern the expression and differentiation of Th1 and Th2 cells.

Vitamin D deficiency is also specifically associated with autoimmune thyroid disease (AITD), and has been shown to benefit autoimmune-mediated thyroid dysfunction.

Vitamin D has another little-known role. It regulates insulin secretion and sensitivity and balances blood sugar. This recent paper showed that vitamin D deficiency is associated with insulin resistance. And as we saw in a previous article, insulin resistance and dysglyemcia adversely affect thyroid physiology in several ways.

“Okay, big deal,” you say. “I’ll just take vitamin D supplements or get more sun.”

Not so fast. Research over the past two decades has identified a variety of mechanisms that reduce the absorption, production and biologic activity of vitamin D in the body.

  • Since vitamin D is absorbed in the small intestine, a leaky and inflamed GI tract – which is extremely common in people with low thyroid function – reduces the absorption of vitamin D.
  • High cortisol levels (caused by stress or medications like steroids) are associated with lower vitamin D levels. They synthesis of active vitamin D from sunlight depends on cholesterol. Stress hormones are also made from cholesterol. When the body is in an active stress response, most of the cholesterol is used to make cortisol and not enough is left over for vitamin D production.
  • Obesity reduces the biologic activity of vitamin D. Obese people have lower serum levels of vitamin D because it gets taken up by fat cells.
  • Not eating enough fat or not digesting fat properly reduces absorption of vitamin D. Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin, which means it requires fat to be absorbed. People on low-fat diets, and people with conditions that impair fat absorption (like IBS, IBD, gall bladder or liver disease) are more likely to have low levels of vitamin D.
  • A variety of drugs reduce absorption or biologic activity of vitamin D. Unfortunately, these include drugs that are among the most popular and frequently prescribed – including antacids, replacement hormones, corticosteroids, anticoagulants and blood thinners.
  • Aging reduces the conversion of sunlight to vitamin D becomes.
  • Inflammation of any type reduces the utilization of vitamin D.

“Okay, fine,” you say. “I’ll just get my vitamin D measured, and if it’s low, I’ll take supplements.”

If only it were that simple. We now know that certain people with normal serum levels of vitamin D still suffer from deficiency symptoms. How is this possible?

In order for circulating vitamin D to perform its functions, it must first activate the vitamin D receptor (VDR). The problem is that many people with autoimmune disease have a genetic polymorphism that affects the expression and activation of the VDR and thus reduces the biologic activity of vitamin D. Studies have shown that a significant number of patients with autoimmune Hashimoto’s disease have VDR polymorphisms.

In plain English, here’s what this means: if you have low thyroid function, you might be experiencing vitamin D deficiency even if your blood levels of vitamin D are normal. It also means that, if you have a VDR polymorphism, it’s likely you’ll need to have higher than normal blood levels of vitamin D to avoid the effects of vitamin D deficiency.

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“Okay, I get it,” you say. “I may need higher vitamin D levels than the average person if I have one of those genetic defects. So tell me what my levels should be!”

Well, this is where we venture into murky territory. The question of how high vitamin D levels should be is very difficult to answer in the case of someone with autoimmune thyroid disease. Studies suggest the optimal 25(OH)D level is 35 ng/mL for the average person. Some researchers (notably Dr. John Cannell and colleagues at the Vitamin D Council) have suggested that 50 ng/mL should be the minimum level.

The bulk of the evidence, however, doesn’t support that claim. For starters, the other authors of the study Dr. Cannell used as the basis for his 50 ng/mL recommendation came to a very different conclusion from the same data. In the paper they published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, they wrote that their data confirmed the previously acknowledged optimal level of 35 ng/mL – not the 50 ng/mL suggested by Dr. Cannell.

What’s more, some recent studies have shown that higher isn’t better when it comes to vitamin D. A study in the American Journal of Medicine found that, in most people, maximum bone density occurs at 25(OH)D levels between 32-40 ng/mL. When levels are pushed above 45 ng/mL, as recommended by Dr. Cannell, bone density starts to decrease. Another study published in the European Journal of Epidemiology found that South Indians 25(OH)D levels above 89 ng/mL were three times more likely to have suffered from heart disease than those with lower levels.

If you’ve been following this blog for a while, you know that we don’t put too much faith in epidemiological studies. They don’t prove causation. They only show a relationship between two variables. But the relationship of vitamin D to calcium levels also provides a plausible mechanism by which high 25(OH)D levels could increase the risk of heart disease.

Complicating the matter further, recent work by researcher Chris Masterjohn suggests that the harmful effects of vitamin D toxicity are at least in part caused by a corresponding deficiency in vitamins A & K2. The fat-soluble vitamins A, D & K2 work synergistically, as Masterjohn has described in his Cod Liver Oil Debate article and a recently published scientific paper.

Masterjohn’s hypothesis, which has been confirmed by others, raises the possibility that the higher levels of 25(OH)D that were linked with lower bone density and heart disease may be safe if vitamin A & K2 levels are sufficient. Unfortunately, there is no clinical evidence (that I’m aware of) that helps us to answer this question.

“Okay, okay,” you say. “Just tell me how much to take already!”

I wish it were easier to answer this question. Really, I do. I think about it a lot for my own patients.

The research is clear that 35 ng/mL is the minimum level for optimum function for healthy people. But people with autoimmune thyroid conditions aren’t healthy.

They often have GI disorders, inflammation, stress, excess weight, VDR polymorphisms and other factors that impair their production, absorption and utilization of vitamin D. This suggests that the minimum 25(OH)D level for those with AITD may be significantly higher than for healthy people.

My current approach with these patients is to do a cautious trial of raising their serum levels to a range of 60-70 ng/mL. If their symptoms improve at this level, I will then switch them to a maintenance dose while watching for clinical signs of vitamin D toxicity. These include kidney stones (also a sign of vitamin K2 deficiency), low appetite, nausea, vomiting, thirst, excessive urination, weakness and nervousness. I will also monitor serum calcium levels, because elevated calcium in the blood is a sign of vitamin D toxicity and a significant risk factor for cardiovascular disease (especially in the presence of vitamin K2 deficiency). Calcium levels above 11-12 mg/dL (or 2.8-3 mmol/L) are indicative of vitamin D toxicity.

I will also make sure these patients are getting adequate amounts of vitamin K2 and vitamin A in their diets. Sources of vitamin A include organ meats, cod liver oil and full-fat milk and cream from grass-fed cows. Sources of vitamin K2 include fermented foods like natto, hard cheeses and kefir as well as egg yolks and butter from grass-fed cows. I may also use a vitamin K2 supplement (MK-4/MK-7 combo) if patients can’t tolerate fermented foods.

Finally, if you’re interested in finding out if you have a VDR polymorphism that could be affecting your metabolism of vitamin D, Genova Diagnostics has an Osteogenomics panel that tests for them. I’m not sure how much value this test has clinically, however, since it doesn’t provide any information about how the VDR polymorphism affects vitamin D metabolism in each specific case. That’s still something that would have to be figured out using the “trial and error” process I described above.

In time we can hope that the explosion of research being conducted on vitamin D will lead to more clarity on the question of appropriate serum 25(OH)D levels for people with autoimmune diseases. For now, we have to make our best guess based on clinical results and anecdotal reports.

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212 Comments

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  1. Im really nervous… I have been feeling really out of it. I am 31 and was diagnosed with Hashimotos last year while pregnant. I have goiter but tsh level is 3.2. Bloodwork just in and vitamin d is 11 and b12 is 307. I am as lso experiencing a host of GI issues. Could something else be going on? CBC normal…

    • Hi Asley,

      B12 deficiency is tricky. You can have all the tests come back normal, and still not have your cells be able to use it. Take sublinguals. I had a host of problems with my GI tract, well, dairhea, until I started taking B12. Then I was constipated all the time until I took Magnesium. Look at my list on Chris’s B12 page. Also add Folic acid, C, and B2 to the list.

      As I wrote to someone before, there is no way that your thyroid is functioning properly if you have goiter. Go to another doctor, and supplement with iodine (don’t go overboard on the iodine, though).

      BTW, from what I have read, it is not clear if Hashimotos is caused by B12 deficiency, or vise versa, but I always see the two linked.

      • Sorry, I hit Comment before I corrected Asley to Ashley, and before I wrote, “Don’t worry, it’ll all work out. Vitamins and minerals aren’t like big pharma medicines. You can just keep adding one at a time without worrying about taking too many together (doses should be watched,of course). Medicines, that is when you worry about one being added on to another. It takes the body time to heal itself once it has the right tools, so just eat right, excercise, sleep right, take your supplements, and wait.”

  2. Hi. I just happened on your site. I recently had my Vit D level tested and find it to be at 45 and I take a D3 supplement and a K2 supplement. In June 2012 my level was at 70 with the same supplements. Since that time I had a whipple procedure (December 2013) and I suspect this is the reason my levels are lower while taking the same supplements. I do have to take digestive enzymes, Creon, since the surgery and I understand that my problem absorbing fats naturally could be my problem. So, how do I increase my number? Being a cancer patient I know it’s important to get my level higher, like 70+, but how do I do that under my particular circumstances?

    Thanks in advance for your direction.

    • Hi Bonnie,

      Your body will tell you which fats you can and can’t process, so experiment with a little at a time. Try Cod Liver Oil, grapeseed oil, and pork fat — lard is probably best. Even water soluble vitamins need fat, as you probably know. Can you get a vitamin patch to wear, or shots? Look for problems with and alternatives for your digestive enzime. I have heard you have to watch those, even the papya one.

      Bragg’s Unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar is good for just about everyone. So is honey, look for an internet newsletter called, “Bee Pollen Buzz” for info.

      Best of Luck.

  3. Hi. I am a 45 yo female who has been feeling just plain “cruddy” for about 3 years or so now. I had a complete hysterectomy 12 years ago. I have felt fatigue, hair loss, weight gain, and real problems sleeping. Been trying to convince my doctor for years that something is wrong. My vitamin d level a year ago was 13, now it is 11. She just put me on 50,000 unit per week for 12 weeks again. My mom had an inactive thyroid. My thyroid levels continue to be between 2.5 and 3, which is in the range, so they won’t do anything about it…but, as a nurse, and as the daughter of someone who had a thyroid problem, I know there is something wrong. I feel it…I know it. My estrogen level was also very low, raised some a couple months ago when they increased my medication dosage, but now since July it has gone down again by 30. I started to see a GYN because of an onset of bacterial vaginosis, which doesn’t seem to go away either. I am a home health nurse, and one of my patients is a diabetic, so I also test my blood daily with her…usually around 11:00 AM or so, before eating lunch. My levels usually run between 67 and 78. I am sick and tired of being sick and tired. Is it time for me to see an endocrinologist?

    • Has anyone ever taken a look at your transferrin saturation? For me, taking a specific iron supplement worked. (apparently the free soluble iron level was okay, but the transferrin saturation was not high enough).

      • I think I have the same problem, Judy. My dr. just tested my iron level and transferrin saturation. My iron was 77, TIBC was 408, but iron saturation was only 17%. I wonder if this warrants supplementation as well??

    • Hi Missy,

      Start taking B12, and all the vitamins I have listed on Chris’s B12 website, plus B2, Folic Acid, Vitamin C, and eat iodine rich foods. Get your testosterone tested. Women need testosterone as much as estrogen, and estrogen supplements can almost wipe it out. Have yourself genetically tested for anything that might interfere with vitamin and mineral use — I know the MTHRFR gene is important with B12 deficiency.

      Last but not least, get another doctor.

    • Missy your should be between .5 and 1.5 . My dr hemmed and hawed over a level of 5 for months just kept testing but no Rx and i ended up in the ER blown up huge with fluid, chest pain, trouble breathing. Untreated hypothyroidism can result in myxedema. It can crush your brain or your heart. See an endocrinologist please.

  4. I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism 13 years ago when I was 14 years old. My TSH was within normal limits for years up until about 5 years ago. I got pregnant last October and my tsh was 169, my obgyn said she has never seen a tsh that high. My levothyroxine was increased from 200mcg to 225mcg. My tsh stayed within normal limts for months and two months after my son was born it was 0.9 the best it has been in years, the decreased my levothyroxine to 200mcg I just had it rechecked a few days ago and its 6.3 so they increased it to 225mcg again they also check my vit d and it is 21. She prescribed me a once weekly dose of vit d and I am to have it rechecked in two months. My question is, is it normal for tsh to be all over the place? Should I try to look into why it cant stay within normal limits very long? I am also a nurse so I know to take it 1-2 hours before you and and take it the same time everyday which is what I do. I am so exhausted all the time. I am worried something more serious is going on. Any help is appreciated!

  5. Hello, I stumbled across your article while trying to unravel the mystery of a prescription made out to me without explanation by my doctor who is particularly uncommunicative. Thank you for this article and the cmments it all makes sense to me now.

    I am 29, lived all my life in the tropics and then moved to germany last year and developed Hashimoto’s the same year. (i know as i was regularly checking for the last few years). Now I went for a checkup and they tested my FT4 and TSH (only) and she gave me a prescription for a higher dosage of euthyrox (75mg/day) and a vitamin D capsule.

    I am concerned as she prescribed a 20,000 IU softgel tablet (main ingredient- cholecalciferol solutions oily -20 mg ) to be eaten once a week for 50 weeks, without testing the vitamin D levels in my blood or even scheduling further monitoring in the coming few months. Is that alarmingly high? It it going to be harmful in the long run?

    Thank you again for this article.

    • If she won’t communicate with you, get another doctor. You wouldn’t let a plumber just start working on your pipes without telling you what was wrong, would you? Why let a doctor do as she pleases with YOUR body?

      • Sorry Nisha, I hit Comment again instead of return.

        Second, She had to have taken your blood for your other levels, so she probably did other routine tests, including Vitamin D, as well. Having said that, the amount of vitamin D she prescribed for that long of a time does seem excessive, especially since she is not monitering your levels, and once they are high enough, you can start overdosing on it….go to another doctor.

  6. … forgot to mention that in the last year I also became Gluten Intolerant but since I refuse to go to a GI for this I do not have an official Celiac diagnoses, another in the autoimmune family. Compared to what I went through 6 years ago, teaching myself the gluten free diet and following it has been easy.

  7. My health decline was eventually nailed to be caused by a severe (4) and long-term (2+ decades) D deficiency which began with crippling, Level 10 shin bone pain nothing could touch, then I became diabetic, was diagnosed with Graves disease and Graves eye disease, goiter but no one could explain the shin pain at that time. One of my 7 specialists noted the extremely low D off on of my labs and offhandedly added the supplement to my growing bottle lineup. About 8 weeks later I noted a slight lessening of the pain level and less frequency of acute attacks. Meantime I’d run out all of my s/t term disability and elected to take a very early retirement I was fortunate enough to qualify for so I could give my fight for my health 100% of my attention. Alkaline Phosphatase was the key … home in a wheelchair 24/7 you have nothing better to do but Internet research and teach yourself to read your own labs – my level was 411, normal is about 50-150. Among the things it could indicate was ‘high level of bone turnover’ – my body had been so depleted of D it was literally cannibalizing my bone marrow! Osteoporosis as well as Osteomalacia had already set it. I was 50 years old.

  8. I take D3 every day and my levels are good however, I ran out of capsules about 7 days ago and haven’t been able to purchase any for the moment.

    How long does it take for the D3 levels to go down in the body?

  9. Lots of the supplement companies have been taken over by big pharma. ‘Seven Seas’ cod liver oil manufacturers for instance and many more. For this reason I will not seperate the pushing of some supplements and drugs, it is all profit.
    I wonder whether the renaming of vitamin D to its true ‘type’ a hormone would make people any more cautious with supplementing it?
    I mean our body makes so many hormones but if you say you are supplementing them people go all cautious on you then 😀
    I am really happy for those of you who have been relieved of illnesses by it. I really wish it would do this for me, I was so disappointed.

    • Big Pharma, or no, you gotta do somthin’! I am cautious about what I take, but supplements like Cod Liver Oil are better than other processed D. The alternative is a not too pleasant life and early death.

      I was going downhill fast and could hardly walk before I started taking B12. Big Pharma? Yes. Life Saving? YES!

  10. Hi I’m hypothyroid for last 15 years since I was little I have had syptoms leading up to hypothyroidism .jst before I got pregnant with my oldest child doctor did tests but she gave me results same day I told her I was pregnant and she said it low but pregnancy does strange things to results so she wasn’t worried . Anyway bad pregnancy with preeclampsia followed . I wasn’t recovering from delivery and six months later I was diagnosed as hypo thyroid . Anyway I was slowly buit up too 100 mg dose which worked a chArm . Until this last year maybe more . I feel all the same symptons stuff body aches pains hair loss no plucking if eyebrows for ages and also they are receding . Psoriasis, puffed out tired etc moon face . Bad pmt anxiety depression . Had bloods done everything fine even though I’ve been on same does ten years plus I even had preeclampsia again despite normal pregnancy In between . Vitamin d was low it was. 18 . Could it be that us making me unwell this much ?? Or something can be going on with thyroid despite bloods being fine ? Desperate fir answers . I’ve insisted on seeing a specialist

    • I am sick of the orthodox Medical Doctors be it M.D’s or D.O’s
      who give all the so call great Pharmaceuticals to patients like
      myself with no regards of the awful tailspin they put you in
      and then just keep adding more because of the nutritional deficincies they cause . Then the patient dies of some
      unknown reason and the Pharmaceutical Industry goes on
      untouched . No body know or seems to care as long as this
      Industry continues to propel the economy.

    • Hi Sarah,

      Preeclampsia is high blood pressure. Nobody knows why it happens. One of the problems with HBP, though, is that most doctors buy into the “white coat” theory and dismiss HBP as nerves. I have heard this story over and over, and though they tell the doctor they are not nervous, the doctor dismisses the readings just the same.

      Look at Chris’s B12 page. Look for my vitamin list, and start taking them. Also take B2, C, Folic acid, and a supplement of or foods rich in Iodine.

  11. Hi had thyroid removed due to cancer and gave subsequently had 2 sessions of radio iodine treatment, the last one in Feb 2013. Not really sure if should be taking vitamin d. Asked my consultant and he said not required, but levels not been tested. A collegue of mine thinks that pharmacist of mine thinks i should be taking it and quite a high dose. Really not to sure.

    • Hi T,

      Find out exactly what your levels are, and then procede. There is a lot of wiggle room with most Vitamins, even A, which certainly has to be watched.

      To me, Chris doesn’t really do a good job here of telling us what we should do about vitamin D, “You could do this, but not so fast. You could do that, but not so fast.” Give me a break.

      You are safe at 3000 to 4000 units a day if you are deficient. If you are only comfortable with 3000, then take that. It is better than nothing. Take it with regular fat milk.

  12. Sadly the FDA has been in bed with the pharmaceutical industry for a very long time. They (FDA) allow us to be poisoned slowly through our food and water supplies, then through pharmacology, offer their remedies usually in the form of nsaids, ssri’s, warfaren, blood thinners etc and so on..
    Most males above 19 are severely deficient on testosterone.. You see, the thing is they know what they are doing to us and its affecting everyone different because none of us are of the same chemical make-up. Low T due to low vit D. Use liquid vit D under your tongue.. Straight into the blood stream.

    Everything from a.d.d, to Parkinson’s disease to fibromyalgia is all caused by the poisoning of our food and water.

    Doctors are nothing more than glorified pill peddlers.. They are kept just dumb enough to never figure it out and still sound smart enough to push the drugs

    Unless you live near the equator, everyone should be supplementing vitamin D and heavily up to 10k IU a day.
    The next thing you all need to do is drink distilled water and stop eating processed foods. Its even getting bad with all this GMO garbage infiltrating our fresh veggies they are pushing on us that is stripped of any beneficial nutrients we need which is why our bodies are so out of whack these days.

    What really bothers me is they know all this.. They don’t care, its a trillion a year industry for pharmaceuticals..

    Educate yourself.. Discernment is key even when reading a blog like this..

    I can testify that vitamin D cured my bi-polar disorder, my depressions, my social anxiety, my energy levels etc etc.. Its all connected.

    Dopamine deficiency is another huge problem…

    Alkalize your bodies… Think of your body as a very complex salt water refinery.. Disease will run rampant in an acidic pool… but alkalize it… And yup, you guessed it.. You will cure yourself of just about everything even cancer..

        • Hi Riley. There are a number of websites you can go to that will provide you with lists of foods that are more alkaline vs those that are more acidic. You can also put a pinch of baking soda in a bottled water, cap it, shake it and drink it. This may help some, but the key is to consume a more alkaline diet. Generally animal protein is a no-no and fresh vegetables are good. Good luck.

        • It sounds weird, but Apple Cider Vinegar turns alkalai in your system. Drink a teaspoon of Bragg’s Unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar in warmish water with a little unpasteurized honey twice a day. Also, eat more sauerkraut.

    • Hi Travis,

      Low testosterone can also be caused by too much estrogen. Why consume estrogen raising foods every day, and it’s getting worse. More and more, our food supply is becoming tainted. We don’t get the same nutrients we get out of it we once did. I do believe supplements are the way to go and they should be started before problems arise.

      I don’t believe that doctors are necessarily bought out by big pharma, but I do believe they like to see instant results, even more than their patients do, and to that end they kind of turn a blind eye to side effects, nor do they report them as they should.

      The tainting of the FDA began with the Reagan administration (sorry to bring politics into it, but that’s when it happened) and their push for NutraSweet. After that, they really didn’t seem to care.

  13. Thank you so much for this information! My 8 year old daughter has had gut problems, chronic constipation, for a long time. At around 6, she was diagnosed with encopresis. Other doctors have just treated the constipation. Luckily, the encopresis has resolved. Of course, she still suffers from constipation so prunes have become a regular in her diet. Her new doctor told me that her constipation could be related to her thyroid. He was right on. She also has horrible cramps behind her knees, which was the reason for our latest visit. Her vitamin D level was tested at only 18!

    I have suspected that the 2 were related. I’m an RN so I naturally look for the connection in blood tests. Your blog confirms my suspicion. Now, the search in how to help her. I will definitely tell her pediatrician of this information when she has her levels redrawn. He has not yet decided to treat her hypothyroid. He tells me we should retest it when we recheck her Vitamin D level. I am assuming this is due to her age.

    Do you have any advice for me? Is there anything else I should ask when I take her back for her next labs?

    Thanks in advance.

    • To Kathy, I would recommend your daughter take magnesium right before bed to combat constipation. Most people are low on magnesium because the soil is depleted and very little is in our food these days. You might have to look into a liquid magnesium supplement such as Calm which is a powder you can make into hot drink because most other magnesium supplements are such large horse pills I’m not sure a child could get one down. There are also transdermal magnesium creams that are just recently available, but I don’t know how much actually will get absorbed through the skin. Saw some of the cream on Amazon. So you might want to research magnesium as means to alleviate her problems. It will relieve muscle cramps too if that is what is causing behind the knee pain.

    • You need to see if your child is sensitive to milk or gluten. My son had constipation, night terrors and poor self control. Then we tested him and he has casein sensitivity to dairy. Once we stopped all dairy for a few weeks all problems went away. Good luck.

  14. Hi,
    can anyone tell me why there are people with hashimoto’s – like me – who can’t tolerate
    Vitamin D?

    I tried different brands, took it with vitamin K2 and magnesium. PTH and calcium levels are
    normal.

    • I cannot say why but it seems it gives me rotten effects. A few people on the net seem to be mentioning this now. For a while in the past I thought I was odd as everyone else seemed to be saying how fine and dandy they all were doing on supplements.
      At least when we post that we cannot take it for side effects, someone somewhere might come up with an answer. I have Hashis too.

      • what side effects do you get from D? I also have hashi and hate taking my D cuz I swear it makes things worse.

    • Markus,

      I had the same problem. I now take the VitaFusion gummy D3, and all is fine. Sometimes, it is the capsule or fillers they use that upsets my stomach, but until I started taking Vitafusion. I also take a liquid pour out a spoonful Cod Liver Oil, and I tolerate that very well too.

  15. I am a regular user of sunbeds and also regularly testing my vitamin D levels (which are normally in the 50-70 ng/ml range).
    Now, my question is if there is a direct relationship between a high vitamin D level and the TSH level?
    I am 61 years old and have never had a TSH test until recently when it turned out to be quite high (17.13 with the norm being between 0.35 – 4.94). My Free T4 was fine, just in the middle of the norm).
    Could it be so that, since most people have low or even very low vitamin D and the norm for TSH therefore most likely is created from people with low vitamin D, the norm is wrong?
    If there is a direct relationship between vitamin D level and TSH level, maybe it is natural that the TSH goes up when vitamin D is high?

    • Hi there,
      I don’t think so. In my case, the exact opposite is the case. My TSH is completely out of whack, but has been high like yours, 11, 20, now it was 59 or >150 the past year.. and my Vit D level was 17. I’m a 30 year old female. My vit D is always low, granted I don’t drink a lot of milk or spend too much time in the sun (gotta love Irish skin). They may be related, but each is separate.

  16. Hi Group!
    I am 30 years old. In 2005, I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis. Since that time, my thyroid condition has deteriorated and my dosage for Levoxyl steadily increased from 25 mcg to now 125 mcg. In 2011, doctors felt nodules on my thyroid and after having a bunch of ultrasounds and biopsies performed, I was diagnosed with papillary thyroid cancer. That October, I had my thyroid removed and surprisingly, I dropped 80 lbs over 6 months. I know I’m stupid, but at that point, I figured my life was great and I stopped taking my medication. I was not having the symptoms of weight gain and depression as I had experienced in the past.
    Lately though, my life has taken a turn for the worse. In the past month, I have been in 2 car accidents, because I have fallen asleep at the wheel. The last accident totaled my car. Luckily they were both single vehicle accidents and I didn’t hurt myself or anyone else… just be beloved car. My doctor has told me not to drive, and I am hoping to schedule a sleep study to check for narcolepsy (but insurance company is saying I don’t qualify for a hospital test and want me to do it with a home kit). My TSH is >150 and so my endocrinologist has increased my dosage from 100 mcg to 125 mcg. He has also instructed me to take double the dose for a week and then repeat lab work.
    I am wondering a couple things:
    1) Are the symptoms of severe fatigue and falling asleep while driving due completely to the TSH levels or does anyone know of a correlation between hypothyroidism and narcolepsy. Articles I’ve read seem to say they are both autoimmune conditions, but I’m not sure if the hypothyroidism could be responsible on its own. I had a sleep study done in 2010 and it came back negative, so I highly doubt that I have sleep apnea, and then after that, they want to do a MSLT for narcolepsy, but I don’t know if I’ll get approval from the insurance company.
    2) Does anyone else just feel like a victim – having to take medication for the rest of your life. I am dealing with the depression separately, but its a vicious cycle. I am depressed, so I don’t want to take my medication which makes me more depressed. I don’t have a suicide plan, but I wouldn’t mind if I were dead. Does this make me suicidal? I know there’s something wrong with me, but I don’t know how to put together all the symptoms to get a diagnosis. I don’t want to be put on a stimulant (due to a history of drug abuse), so I’m praying the synthroid/levoxyl makes me able to drive / work again.
    3) I also have low vitamin D. I think my level is in the – teens .. like 15 or 17. I think taking 10,000 IU weekly is stupid and I should just take 500 IU or whatever the OTC amount is. I’m sure I’m really screwing up my cardiovascular system and possibly my musculoskeletal system but truly, I don’t want to lose more weight and I just don’t really care about much of anything (again, the depression talking). Ugh, anyone have any words of wisdom/hope? I’d be greatly appreciative to hear about it.
    Thanks for reading 🙂 Good luck to everyone out there!
    Amanda

    • I can’t type much but yes no thyroid and no meds is going to do this and more. You have to be on meds. Check this website for tons of great info. She had thyroid cancer also and saved her own life with the help of a great doctor. You need proper testing and proper meds. http://www.naturalthyroidchoices.com/

      Good luck

    • amanda, the autoimmune symptoms are related. they are all gut issues. seek out a nutritionist that can help you get your health back. i understand about feeling a victim. i too have struggles with many health issues and feel the system has failed us. So little emphasis is put on nutrition and yet it is the foundation of what feeds us. The best analogy i have thought of is that it would be like not putting the right type of fuel in your car (so leaded or diesal in an unleaded car) and then expecting it to run properly! as for the depression, which i know first hand (myself and my son both have it) how hard it can be, needs to be addressed first to be able to focus on your other needs. Vitamin B has worked wonders for my son and as well for a friend of mine’s son. There is hope.

    • I have been on 50,000 IUD a week now for over 2 months. The depression and fatigue have subsided. I have no ill side effects, except for constipation. If you do your research, you’ll find that it really takes extremely high doses to be toxic and your doctor can monitor this.Constipation is a small price to pay not to be so depressed and fatigued.Also my joint pains and back pains are gone too.

  17. I have low vitiamin D I was told to take more vit. D by one endocrinologist . But that contradicted another test that I am allergic to the vitamin. I have Lyme disease. I probably have a pituatury/adrenal thyroid problem. I am allergic to many food stuffs. Vit d is not manufactured by sun light. It may well suppress the immune system. Many Lyme suffers get put in hospital with psychotic medication which makes the immune system even worse. They could of given us proper treatment with neutrients and proper care for 3 months. But you get sectioned. If you say you have Lyme. Even a positive blood test does not help. 3 positive tests they still can’t quite believe it. Lyme changes liver function tests and inflammatory cells so they appear normal.
    On this basis they will not give you intravenous antibiotics. Because you don’t have the right markers. If they are given antibiotics at the right level then the blood markers will then show up.
    They then say people are over diagnosed.

  18. I have just found out my vitamin d is low but was told to eat food with more calcuim but i constantly get kidney stones caused by calcium what can i do id rather have a baby then a stone any advice thanks

  19. What about hyperparathyroidism… I understand your body may lower d as protection from high calcium? So confusing 🙂