I really enjoyed Anna Lea Roof's Article on Vitamin D deficiency. I am guessing that it is far more common than people realize. Especially during the winter months in the Northern states where we go to work in the dark, leave work in the dark and don't get outside during the lunch hour even if it is sunny and warm.
Does anyone else have any knowledge/experience with Vitamin D deficiency? For you doctors out there, is this something that you would test for as a matter of course or are vitamin deficiencies the long forgotten diagnosis?
I would be interested in finding out why and how Anna's doctor was able to diagnose the deficiency since in her article she states that at the time she felt fine.
Parents
Former Member
Susan,
The Vitamin D test is a blood test known as the 25(OH)D test, or the 25-hydroxyvitamin D test. It is not performed as part of the routine blood tests you get at the doctor's office (blood sugar, cholesterol, hemoglobin, etc.).
In my case, my deficiency was found by chance. My mother has severe osteoporosis; she has shrunk in height from 5 feet tall down to 4'8". Back in 2004, at age 43, I decided that I wanted to know my bone density. My reasoning was that if I had a problem I'd like to catch it early while I had a better chance of doing something about it.
The current recommendation for a woman to get her first bone density test is at age 65, so I figured I was getting a 22-year head start.
My OB-GYN's office performed the test. The results came back pretty bad for a 43-year-old, pre-menopausal woman.
Because of my (relatively) young age, my OB-GYN decided to send me to an osteoporosis specialist, an endocrinologist. The Vitamin D test is one of the tests that endocrinologists order when they're dealing with low bone density.
Vitamin D is starting to get more attention by researchers. The Vitamin D Council has a good web site; their newsletters are very informative. Visit them at www.vitamindcouncil.com, and click on "Publications".
--Anna Lea
Susan,
The Vitamin D test is a blood test known as the 25(OH)D test, or the 25-hydroxyvitamin D test. It is not performed as part of the routine blood tests you get at the doctor's office (blood sugar, cholesterol, hemoglobin, etc.).
In my case, my deficiency was found by chance. My mother has severe osteoporosis; she has shrunk in height from 5 feet tall down to 4'8". Back in 2004, at age 43, I decided that I wanted to know my bone density. My reasoning was that if I had a problem I'd like to catch it early while I had a better chance of doing something about it.
The current recommendation for a woman to get her first bone density test is at age 65, so I figured I was getting a 22-year head start.
My OB-GYN's office performed the test. The results came back pretty bad for a 43-year-old, pre-menopausal woman.
Because of my (relatively) young age, my OB-GYN decided to send me to an osteoporosis specialist, an endocrinologist. The Vitamin D test is one of the tests that endocrinologists order when they're dealing with low bone density.
Vitamin D is starting to get more attention by researchers. The Vitamin D Council has a good web site; their newsletters are very informative. Visit them at www.vitamindcouncil.com, and click on "Publications".
--Anna Lea
