Vitamin D deficiency and RA

munglebungle

Hi

I was diagnosed with RA about a year ago, i am on Mtx and Sulphasalazine. As yet nothing seems to help and on my last visit to my Rheumy she suggested testing for Vit D deficiency. The test has come back as severly deficient. Now i am confused that my symptoms of aching joints and mucsles are not down to RA but to Vit D deficiency.

Has anyone else been told this? or have any ideas.

Thanks

elnafinn

I have read that Vitamin D is important for people with RA and OA. Vitamin D for makes healthy bones and researchers now say probably for joints too. Perhaps we should all have more Vit D and be tested that we are not deficient in it.

Remember not to take in too much sun though without sunscreen, especially when on certain meds. 8)

Elna

lindalegs

Hi Mungle,

I've RA for years but it wasn't till last November that my 'new' Rheumy noticed I had great difficulty getting out of a chair, he told me it could be lower joint damage but had me tested for Vitamin 'D' deficiency just in case. I, like you, am deficient. I was put on Calcichew D3 Forte tablets taken twice a day and since then pain in my knees has gone and my thigh muscles are alot stronger.

I don't know if you knew but the deficiency creates muscle weakness and pain.

I still have RA and also bad days but generally the tablets have helped me loads, I will also say that I've responded very well to Mtx too.

Hope this helps.

Luv Legs

elnafinn

I have taken chewable calcium tabs with Vit D daily for as long as I can remember puchased from a well known chemists. I have no idea if I am deficient in Vit D...... I feel I am quite strong considering my ailments....

Elna x

fayrose

All this Vit D stuff is new to me. I never knew that RA sufferers could be deficient. :shock: What is a natural source .... apart from sunshine, can anyone tell me please?

page35

i didnt know about this either :shock: i have very pale skin and burn easily so have never sat in the sun much. may be i need vit D. am gona ask to be tested next time i see rhumy.
i know that they found out that vit D may prevent MS. got to be worth taking for this alone, only thing is what is right amount? what if you have to much?

elnafinn

Hello!

Vitamin D is found in oily fish and eggs (the yolk), fortified foods such as margarine, breakfast cereals and powdered milk. Most vit D is from sunlight on our skin as we all know.

Liver is a good source of vit D but also Vit A, if you not a vegetarian.

Good old cod liver oil too. I take a capsule now - I used to take it "straight"

Luv
Elna

munglebungle

lindalegs wrote:

Hi Mungle,

I've RA for years but it wasn't till last November that my 'new' Rheumy noticed I had great difficulty getting out of a chair, he told me it could be lower joint damage but had me tested for Vitamin 'D' deficiency just in case. I, like you, am deficient. I was put on Calcichew D3 Forte tablets taken twice a day and since then pain in my knees has gone and my thigh muscles are alot stronger.

I don't know if you knew but the deficiency creates muscle weakness and pain.

I still have RA and also bad days but generally the tablets have helped me loads, I will also say that I've responded very well to Mtx too.

Hope this helps.

Luv Legs

Hi Legs

Thanks for the info, its reassuring to know im not alone. I, like you stuggle to get upstairs at times, feels like i've just climbed a mountain. I also get a lot of deep bone pain in my shins.

Hopefully this will be helpful to anyone else with similar symptoms.

All the best

Mungle x

woodbon

I have OA in my lower spine and neck, the MRI showed a bone spur compressing a nerve in my neck and that is what is causing some the problems you describe.

The rhummy sent me to neuro to rule out any neuro problems, which he quickly did. I think they sometimes need to cover all angles before if they are unsure themselves. As I said the Neuro was a very nice man and he did tests and some blood work, which was fine and put my mind at rest. So I'll say 'try not to worry' but I know how hard it is! :shock: Love Sue

fayrose

elnafinn wrote:

Vitamin D is found in oily fish and eggs (the yolk), fortified foods such as margarine, breakfast cereals and powdered milk. Most vit D is from sunlight on our skin as we all know.

Liver is a good source of vit D but also Vit A, if you not a vegetarian.

Good old cod liver oil too. I take a capsule now - I used to take it "straight"

Thanks Elna. I don't think I'll go for the liver diet thanks but oily fish and eggs are good.

slummymummy

I'm due to have my bloods tested today. I'll ask them to check my vit D level too. This sounds really interesting. I get lots of muscle aches, esp in my legs, not really in my joints. Thought it was all due to the RA but would be interesting if I was vit D deficient. I would love to get rid of those terrible aches!!

Thanks for the tip, I'll keep you posted.

rella1965

I have not yet been diagnosed with RA, as by the time I had got to see a rheumatologist the flare had gone off, and he refused to diagnose me without seeing a flare up, and only a positive rheumatoid factor but thats another story.

My bloods revealed a very very low vitamin D and calcium deficiency, and he referred me straight to an endocrinologist and then chucked me out of his clinic! There are some messages I left
way back in Feb I think on vit d deficiency if you want to have a look.

I dofeel a lot better with the calcichews and vit d. My memory was affected and my speech because of these deficiencys, but reckon I am now back to normal with the tablets.

My endo did millions of tests to try to find out why I was malabsorbing, looking at coeliac and cancer, lots of scans and blood tests. She is now convinced that I do have RA and low and behold I went into another flare up last Friday, I have no rheumatologist and have to start the whole process again....Am pretty annoyed about it I can tell you. Sitting here typing this with my splints on as my hands look like sausages.

katat1

Hi Munglebungle,

I am new to this site and also recently diagnosed with RA earlier this year. I am on methotrexate and hydroxychloroquine and I think I have a really good rheumy consultant.

Unfortunately the nurse I have been assigned to, though pleasant enough, is not too good. She wrote and said that blood tests showed my vitamin D to be 'very low' and in the letter said 'this may contribute to, or indeed account for your symptoms'.
I took that to mean that it might not be RA after all but when I spoke to her to ask if I should continue the RA meds she completely back tracked and said that was not what she meant. I then asked how low my vitamin D level was and she said 'borderline normal'
She said normal was 40+ and mine was 38

I am a bit confused now but have another appointment with the consultant on 2nd June so will try and find out exactly what is going on. Might see if I can switch to another nurse too. I have managed to keep positive thanks to the rheumy consultant but after seeing the nurse I feel quite anxious and low about it all.

Good luck with yours - hope it is not RA after all - wouldn't that be great?

K

munglebungle wrote:

Hi

I was diagnosed with RA about a year ago, i am on Mtx and Sulphasalazine. As yet nothing seems to help and on my last visit to my Rheumy she suggested testing for Vit D deficiency. The test has come back as severly deficient. Now i am confused that my symptoms of aching joints and mucsles are not down to RA but to Vit D deficiency.

Has anyone else been told this? or have any ideas.

Thanks

munglebungle

katat1 wrote:

Hi Munglebungle,

I am new to this site and also recently diagnosed with RA earlier this year. I am on methotrexate and hydroxychloroquine and I think I have a really good rheumy consultant.

Unfortunately the nurse I have been assigned to, though pleasant enough, is not too good. She wrote and said that blood tests showed my vitamin D to be 'very low' and in the letter said 'this may contribute to, or indeed account for your symptoms'.
I took that to mean that it might not be RA after all but when I spoke to her to ask if I should continue the RA meds she completely back tracked and said that was not what she meant. I then asked how low my vitamin D level was and she said 'borderline normal'
She said normal was 40+ and mine was 38

I am a bit confused now but have another appointment with the consultant on 2nd June so will try and find out exactly what is going on. Might see if I can switch to another nurse too. I have managed to keep positive thanks to the rheumy consultant but after seeing the nurse I feel quite anxious and low about it all.

Good luck with yours - hope it is not RA after all - wouldn't that be great?

K

Hi K

Thanks for your reply and everyone elses.

I have just started taking a Vit D supplement but have been getting severe headaches. I have redused the dose to see if that helps. Have been feeling a bit better so i will stay positive. I read your posts from Feb and they were very helpful.

thanks again

T

katat1

Hi MB,

I only joined the site this week so I cannot take the credit for the very useful VIT D posts last February!
I was given a Vit D jab and a prescription for Calcichew D3 tabs to be taken twice a day (sucking one as I type!) and have been lucky enough not to have had any side effects such as headaches as you have. I have also started taking a 15 to 20 minute coffee break in the sun mid morning before it is hot enough to need sunscreen and I really do feel a lot better since starting on the Vit D - HUGE improvement in the muscle aches and general joint pain in just a few weeks to the point that I am now able to walk or cycle to and from work again. Swollen joints are almost back to normal and the only stiffness remaining is a slight stiffness in my thumbs. Last blood tests show a drop in my ESR from 67 to 44 and CRP from 18 to <5.
Next blood test is 1st June and appointment with Rheumy on 2nd June so I will ask if these numbers have improved further and if it could be down to the VIt D (I have only been on the MTX and Hyroxy for 5 weeks - not long enough for them to have had an effect yet).
Will keep you posted but in the meantime try and stay with the Vit D supplements and positive attitude as I am sure you will feel lots better soon too!

Best,
Katat1

Hi K

Thanks for your reply and everyone elses.

I have just started taking a Vit D supplement but have been getting severe headaches. I have redused the dose to see if that helps. Have been feeling a bit better so i will stay positive. I read your posts from Feb and they were very helpful.

thanks again

T[/quote]

katat1

sarahh wrote:

None of the docs I've seen or nurses at the rhuemy have ever mentioned the vitamin D defiency, so might mention it when I next go. How's the test done, by a simple blood test?

Hi Sarahh,

Yes, I think it is a simple blood test as the letter I got said'your blood tests indicate that your Vitamin D level is very low'
Hope that helps?
K

joyous

hi well i never knew this one at all i got put on these bout a year ago but never got told why just got told calcuim for the bones i sais well i eat loads of dairy products cheese lots of milk etc and im always in the sun i love it my joints are not as bad on nice days i will certainly ask bout this vit d , think my tabs are c and d they are chewy ones im ment to take one in morinin and one at night i never do just night one as yhey upset my tum a bit and leave my mouth horrible im at the hos in june for my check up and i will be askin about this cheers xxx

slummymummy

Well, I said I'd update you, so here I am.

I asked the nurse to add Vitamin D level test to my usual Methotrexate blood tests. Then, I got a letter from my GP two weeks later, asking me to make an appointment to disuss the resulst. I was really happy to hear that I am Vitamin D deficient (22, I think), because now I've been prescribed Calcichew D3 Forte, and hopefully will be feeling better soon. I saw my rheumy last week, and he said that in my case, he didn't think my joint problems were due to Vitamin D deficiency, but that taking supplements might help the RA a bit.

THANK YOU everyone for highlighting this issue. I may have to move somewhere hot and tropical if the sun doesn't come out again soon :roll:

angel1

Can anyone advise me please? I found an unopened jar of Vitamin D 400iu tablets at the back of my medicine cupboard - think I was sent them free with something else. Expiry date is 2012, so OK there. However, they are not the chewable ones that you all describe. You take these with water, one daily. Will I be alright to start taking them?.......Ange.

joyous

hi all i presume they will be ok with that date on them or just get in touch with your gp if your not sure , did you buy these ones i got put on them by the rhemuy im not keen on them but the new lemon flavor ones are much nicer to chew all the best joy x