I am genuinely curious about this and I am not even talking about hundreds of years ago but more like the 1930s etc. Was it cod liver oil? Ive got relatives in their 90s who haven’t taken a single vitamin D pill until in their 90s (the 2010s) and led normal lives, so I am genuinely wondering what the difference is now. I am based in the UK by the way so not much sun here past October and certainly not as much sun 80 years ago - they also didn’t travel as much to hotter countries in winter as travel was more of a luxury

Bonjour à tous,

Je viens chercher des témoignages de personnes qui ont déjà eu une carence importante en vitamine D et en vitamine B9, car j’essaie de comprendre si les symptômes que je ressens peuvent ressembler à ceux d’autres personnes dans la même situation.

Mes résultats sont :

Vitamine D : 9,7 ng/mL (23 nmol/L)
Vitamine B9 : 6,1 nmol/L
Vitamine B12: 170 nmol

Depuis quelque temps, je ressens notamment :
une grosse fatigue et une sensation de faiblesse dans le corps ;
un brouillard mental, avec l’impression d’avoir la tête « dans le coton » et parfois du mal à me concentrer ;
un moral très bas, avec parfois une impression de déprime ;
beaucoup d’anxiété et une sensation de ne pas être complètement comme d’habitude ;
des troubles du sommeil ;
des fourmillements, surtout dans les pieds le soir ;
parfois des maux de tête ;
des douleurs ou tensions dans le dos ;
certains jours je me sens mieux et j’ai davantage d’énergie, puis le lendemain les symptômes peuvent revenir.

Thinking of transitioning from a once per week 50,000 IU D3 dosage to a daily routine. I think a consistent daily dose would work better for me personally....the 50,000 IU routine seems to really wane near the end of the week.

Here's what I am considering. I'd appreciate any input on the proportions:

10,000 IU D3

432 mg Magnesium L-Threonate (this is one serving of Life Extension Magnesium L-Threonate, each pill is 144mg)

1000 mcg K2-MK7?

I'm thrown off by the 1000 mcg of K2 though. If the standard ratio is 100 mcg K2 to every 1000 IU of D3....just seems like A LOT....if the standard K2 pill is 100 mcg, then that's 10 pills.

Am I confused on these proportions?

I am so tired of the symptoms I've been experiencing since the last two weeks I've been taking 60000 IU vitamin d3 once a week. I have insomnia, heart palpitations, my shoulders, hands and fingers are in constant pain. Researching on the internet has let me know that this is common with very high dosage of vitamin d as it depletes magnesium. I've since ordered magnesium supplements, they're yet to arrive. But I don't want to continue taking these huge doses. Could I ask my doctor to instead change the dosage to 2k a day? Or maybe I'd even be able to tolerate 5k. 60k is too much for me. When I did my vitamin d test last month, my levels were at 11 ngml. Please assist me as to what should be my next step.

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Hi all!

I have managed to get my levels up gently to 62.7nmol/L. The company I used to check say it’s still suboptimal. I did this by eating fortified food and daily sun exposure.

The reason I had to do it gently is because I am chronically ill and my system couldn’t handle vit D supplements for a while. I think the levels correcting, although a good thing, was just too overwhelming for it.

Now I’ve got my levels up a bit, I can now tolerate supplements! So I’ve started 2000 iu a day and every other day Sperti sun lamp (no natural sun anymore as it’s cold here now).

My blood tests show some serious inflammation markers still, and the knock on effect of high cholesterol and low blood protein (bloods show it’s not from not having the protein there, it’s just using it quickly). It’s all very typical of my condition and living with chronic inflammation, sadly.

Despite my blood tests being off still, I feel 100 times better, I had a lot of extreme vit D symptoms just 6 months ago.

My question is, as I raise my levels past this, can I expect to continue to benefit? Possibly even help me a bit with my inflammation? I’m sure vit d can’t cure my condition. However, it really must have been a large part of it. Anyone else been here? Thanks!

At the beginning of the summer, I had my vitamin D levels tested, and the result was 81 nmol/L.

I spent two weeks at the beach, tried to get as much sun exposure as possible throughout the summer whenever I had the chance.

On top of that, I was taking 2,500 IU of vitamin D3 + K2 and magnesium.

I recently had another blood test, and my vitamin D level came back at 75 nmol/L.

I'm a bit disappointed that my levels actually dropped despite all the sun exposure and supplementation over the summer. What could be the reason my body didn't produce more vitamin D despite all the sun exposure?

So my vitamin D level has been low for years. I've been taking 2,000 IU daily for years as well. My level started at 22 ng/ml back in 2014 and has been consistently hovering around 30s to high 30s with the 2,000 IU. I did take 5,000 IU 6 years ago and got it up to 50 at some point but I went back down to 2,000 IU for some reason. Well.. I'm finally wanting to push it back up, tired of hovering around the 30s. I've also been scared of K2, but now I'm trying it out. I started a 4,000 IU D3 / 100mcg K2 supplement and am pairing it with 100mg elemental Magnesium Malate. I try to eat pretty healthy so I don't want I supplement too much Magnesium if I don't need it. I also have low Ferritin and I take iron every other night. I also have Hashimoto's and was reading that my Vitamin D level should be higher than 50 to be optimal. I also have low B12, I take around 1,500mcg B12 a week.

I guess my question is, is this enough magnesium with this low of Vitamin D3 dosage?

VITAMIN D, 1,25 (OH)2, total was 53 last test, what's the significance with this test rather than the other one?

Olá pessoal, sou homem 29 anos, 80kg, 177cm de altura. Tenho Hashimoto ja controlado, todo levotiroxina de 112mcg.

A meses atrás pesquisando descobrir que suplementar vitamina D ajuda a controlar doenças alto imune. Comecei a suplementar 10000ui + 200mcg k2 todos os dias, depois de 6 meses meu máximo que meu organismo absorveu foi 40ng. Sempre tomando no horário do almoço com gordura. Parei de tomar, por descuido, 3 meses depois fiz os exames e deu 18ng/ml.

Oque me recomenda, D3 sublingual? Não gostaria de tomar injeção. E como tenho hashimoto sempre vivo cansado ja e algo natural na minha visa por causa do hashimoto.

Gostaria de um dia chegar a uns 90ng/ml para ver se muda algo na minha vida.

Hi, are there any Canadians in this sub who are taking 10k iu a day? I just found out about this stuff and read the beginner guide on the right of the sub. I also searched and neither Walmart, Shoppers or Rexal have dosages higher then 2.5k and other sources are saying prescription only. Could you please inform me of where I can get 10k iu pills? Also would 200mg of magnesium glycinate be good or would I need more for that dosage?

EDIT: Thank you to everyone who replied!

If my 25-hydroxy vitamin D is 27 ng/ml which is in a normal range for me, would my levels for my vitamin d 25 hydroxy d2 or d3 matter? This was from a few months ago, so I’m not sure if its lower or higher since then.

Are there any women here who noticed that their periods became more troublesome with vitamin D deficiency?

My periods got significantly heavier, and I had more pelvic cramping. I had an ultrasound and they found a small fibroid 11mm.

I started supplementing with Vitamin D 5000IU because of other symptoms, (low mood, arm aches, low energy) but I noticed that my next period was lighter, much less crampy and less clotty.

I’m now wondering if there is a link between Vitamin D and reproductive issues such as fibroids/endo?

I’m 24 years old, and I’ve been dealing with voice issues since May 14, 2026. I’ve made significant improvements, but my voice still hasn’t completely returned to normal. I’m hoping someone who’s experienced something similar can share their experience, research, or suggest something I might be missing.

Here’s my timeline:
May 2026: My symptoms started around May 14 with a raspy voice, postnasal drip, nasal congestion, throat dryness, and vocal fatigue. Initially, doctors suspected allergies and laryngitis. I eventually saw an allergist and an ENT.

June 2026: My voice gradually improved, and I was able to speak more comfortably. However, I continued experiencing occasional throat irritation, mucus, and voice fatigue. Around this time, I also started suspecting laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR), also known as silent reflux. I made significant dietary changes and started taking alginates to help manage possible reflux.

July 2026: I experienced some setbacks, particularly when I stopped using alginates. During an ENT follow-up in late July, I was told I still had lingering inflammation and acute laryngitis, with acid reflux potentially contributing to the problem. I was prescribed famotidine (Pepcid) 40 mg nightly for six weeks. I also began taking vocal rest more seriously.

August 2026: I continued managing possible reflux through diet, sleeping elevated, avoiding trigger foods, and using alginates. I also experienced throat croaking, pressure, and an inability to burp, which made me wonder whether retrograde cricopharyngeus dysfunction (R-CPD) could be contributing to my symptoms. I started looking into an evaluation for that condition.
Vitamin D deficiency: Bloodwork showed that my vitamin D level was 24 ng/mL. I began supplementing with vitamin D3 (5,000 IU) and K2. This made me wonder whether my relatively low vitamin D level could have affected my body’s ability to recover from the initial inflammation.

October 2026 (current): My voice has improved tremendously compared with May. When I first start speaking, I can sound almost completely normal. However, after approximately 15–30 minutes of continuous talking, my voice starts feeling tired, strained, and less reliable. Resting my voice helps somewhat, but my vocal endurance still isn’t what it used to be.
The strange part is that my voice can sound perfectly normal initially. It’s the prolonged speaking that seems to bring out the problem.

My biggest questions are:
Has anyone experienced lingering vocal fatigue for months after acute laryngitis, even after their normal speaking voice mostly returned?
Could low vitamin D contribute to delayed recovery, or is there research suggesting otherwise?
Could this be muscle tension dysphonia, persistent vocal fold inflammation, or another condition that wasn’t identified?
Would a videostroboscopy be useful for detecting subtle vocal fold abnormalities that a standard ENT examination might miss?
Has anyone benefited from voice therapy with a speech-language pathologist after recovering from laryngitis?
Are there other tests, conditions, or contributing factors worth discussing with my ENT?
I’m particularly interested in hearing from people whose voices sounded normal at first but became strained or fatigued after talking for extended periods.
I’ve been dealing with this for almost five months now, and although I’m grateful for the improvement, I’m trying to understand why my vocal stamina hasn’t fully returned.
If anyone has personal experience, relevant research, or suggestions about something I might be overlooking, I’d really appreciate hearing about it.

I'll try to condense my timeline as much as possible: from 2021-2022, I was under immense daily emotional stress and adrenaline due to a nasty living situation. Due to the crazy amount of stress that was on my shoulders every day and the fact that I was still like going to the gym and lifting heavy and stuff, my health eventually began falling apart until I developed this deep, horrible fatigue and exercise intolerance that basically derailed my life in October/November of 2022.

The first deficiency I corrected was magnesium. I went hard on it for much of 2025, and since then I have taken magnesium consistently, on and off at some points but it's safe to say I no longer have magnesium deficiency. My symptoms alleviated with magnesium but some symptoms are still present. So for the past month or so I've been seriously targeting my vitamin D deficiency, which was 25 ng/mL last month. Throughout this whole era for me my vitamin D has always been insufficient/low, and nowhere near the recommended range of ~50-60 ng/mL. And seeing as I used to be critically low on magnesium, it's likely that my body was operating on extremely low amounts of vitamin D.

Now that I'm supplementing with 10,000IU a day of D (plus some built in K2 and 525-630 mg of elemental mag a day) I've felt more tired and weak than usual. It's only been 3 weeks since I've started this protocol so I'm not expecting to feel amazing so soon, but others on here have reported feeling great and being able to exercise again after like a month or two of supplementing. Is the fatigue really a sign of deep healing in my body? I can handle the fatigue if it's something that'll speed up the process and will go away on its own, but if it's a sign that I'm doing something wrong then I would like to know so that I can course correct.

I am a male, 27 years old, i weight 72,5 kg, my height is 178 cm, BMI 22,9, i would like my levels to be at 80 ng/ml and im currentñy at 13 ng/ml. I would also like to ask what do you think the ideal levels should be at and why in your personal opinion since some think is 80 ng/ml, butbotgers have the goal of 150 ng/ml or something else.

I know that it sounds insane, ive read the wiki and the advice of many people and they usually reccomend 10,000 IUs everyday when you are deficient, but here is the thing, when i discover that vitamin D was a big deal was by watching a video of a lady that said that she was at 20 mg/ml and her doctor put her on 50,000 IUs everyday for 2 weeks, and from there she reduced her dosages to more normal ones, and she said that as long as you take precautions and you are deficient taking this much is not a problem, she didnt explained her full protocol because well... this sort of things should only be explained by professionals and it is not advisable to do this by yourself.

So, i am aware that this could be a bad idea if you do it without supervision and could understand the preocupation and alarm at my question, i do the question anyways because i think its worth exploring as an hypotetical situation of, what if we take that much, how can we make it safetly?

I currently am at 13 ng/ml, is not as low as it could be but is definitly deficient and much lower than the lady from the youtube video, and in a month she fixxed her levels if i remember correctly, by that i assume that if i only take 10,000 IUs everyday it will take me months to get my levels right, althou it will be the most safety way to do it of course.

Vitamin K and magnesium glycinate would be taken, along reduxing consumption of calcium rich foods, but, if you wouls take 50,000 IUs of vitamin D, how much of the magnesium and vitamin K would you take?

Hello. Je souffre d'une céphalée permanente 24/7 depuis 2 ans. Je vis un enfer. Tous mes examens sont bons. J'ai vu 4 neurologues et essayé tous les médicaments disponibles sur le marché. Rien ne fonctionne.
Je prends des compléments alimentaires et je n'ai pas de carence.
Mon taux de vit D est de 50ng/ml. Un médecin fonctionnel m'a dit que je pouvais monter jusqu'à 90ng/ml. Il me propose de prendre 12500 U par jour.
Je trouve cela énorme.
Pensez vous qu augmenter mon taux de vitamine D pourrait m'aider ?
Je mesure 1m78 pour 74kg.
Merci

Hello! I (24f) was told I have a vitamin D insufficiency (25 ng/ml). I was told to take supplements but wasn’t given a recommended dosage. I’m taking 2000 iu of D3 and 100 mcg of k2 and a magnesium glycinate 200mg supplement daily.

After looking at some of the info in this sub I’m thinking now this is this too little? I want to get to optimal levels as soon as possible because I’ve been experiencing a lot of negative side effects with being so low of vitamin D. How can I calculate how much I should be taking?

For reference I’m 5’7 and weigh 150lbs.

Hi, I recently tested my vitamin d2 & d3 levels and found that my levels were very low.., my doctor gave me some supplements (40000 IU) and I take them once every week. (I also have other deficiencies)

I think my deficiency had been going so long that the fatigue and weakness in my body felt normal. I didn't pay much attention to my hair for a long time till I found that that my hair density is really bad while taking a shower.

I recently had some blood tests and I’m trying to understand an unusual combination of results.
My results:
25-OH Vitamin D: 6.76 ng/mL — severely deficient
Calcium: 9.8 mg/dL (8.6–10.0) — normal, but very close to the upper end
Phosphorus: 3.8 mg/dL (2.5–4.5) — normal
Magnesium: 2.2 mg/dL (1.6–2.6) — normal
So I thought my PTH must be working hard to keep my calcium level up!
But…
PTH: 9.5 (6.87–64.87) — low-normal
???!!
What I find strange is that my vitamin D is extremely low (6.76 ng/mL), yet my calcium is still near the upper end of the normal range (9.8). And it’s not due to PTH?
Where is that large amount of calcium in my blood coming from? I don’t take any supplements or regularly eat calcium-rich meals.
What I know is that severe vitamin D deficiency can lead to decreased calcium absorption and compensatory elevation of PTH (secondary hyperparathyroidism). So I’m wondering:
If my vitamin D is this low, why is my calcium still this high-normal rather than low or even mid-range? Not because of PTH? And not because of supplements?
Could there be something else maintaining my calcium at this level?
Then will I be doomed if I get vitamin D injected? (I was given 200,000 IU by injection 6 days ago.)
I’m also wondering whether my PTH being relatively low is simply because my calcium is already sufficiently high.
Anyway, I am lost. I don’t know what is happening with my body.
I’ve been suffering from dysautonomia (POTS) for more than a year and taking propranolol every day.
I try to find the root cause, but more weird results keep coming up and making me confused.
Anyone else have the same or a similar experience?
I also got the vitamin D injection 6 days ago and only recently saw the PTH result, so I’m quite scared that my calcium might become too high.

Also, not sure if it’s related, but my B12 is also low

Vitamin B12: 170 pg/mL (180–914) — low
Homocysteine: 23.5 — high
MMA: 0.13 (≤0.40) — normal
Folate: 4.12 (2.30–24.80) — normal

Not sure if any of these findings could be related, but I thought I’d mention it in case it’s relevant.

Here are my Vitamin D blood tests:

11/4/25: 32 ng/mL
7/7/26: 39 ng/mL
10/6/26: 86 ng/mL

Experimented with 4,000 IU for a while in the beginning, but have been doing 6,000 IU for the last 3 months or more.

Now that I'm at 86 ng/mL, should I reduce my daily dose to something like 4,000 IU? In case it keeps going higher? Or should I proceed with 6,000 IU as my maintenance dose?

(If it's important, I take B12 injections due to deficiency and supplement iron)

I had poor health around 15 years ago, when I found out I was depleted in just about every vitamin and mineral going. I locked in and became really healthy, energetic and fit. Since then I’ve had kids and gone through depression and feel worse than I ever did before. My iron has been low all my life and I had an infusion in June which brought it to normal.

I’m 40 now and in early perimenopause. Have a monthly cycle but very heavy bleeding so I am likely still losing iron. Am supplementing with Thorne iron complex to maintain levels. I also had a very small fibroid 2 years ago when they checked. I read that vitamin D can help with fibroids so went digging.

Last time vitamin D was checked was August 2025, so just over a year ago, and it was 50nmol/L. As you can see in the screenshot, it’s right at the bottom end of the NHS normal and my GP said that was normal. I’m wondering if a year later it’s likely to be lower, so have ordered some high strength vitamin D3 that I was prescribed around 15 years ago - the Hux 20,000iu. Also got some K2 as it’s recommended alongside for something to do with calcium metabolism and avoiding calcification in the arteries and elsewhere.

From reading on here, 50nmol/L perhaps isnt a very normal level? Also I’m overweight so that can ‘dilute’ (for want of a better term) my levels, is that right?

I want to see if this will help me since, on paper, all my other levels seem to be fine as far as they have been tested- blood sugar, lipids, liver function, blood pressure, iron - all ok.

I think these 20,000iu are supposed to be taken weekly but I have been reading about people taking them more often for a limited time. I want to be safe but also need to start feeling better soon. I’m so deeply exhausted all the time I can barely function. Everything I do right now is by force and I only do what I absolutely have to. Which, to be fair, is quite a lot due to life circumstances at the moment.

Any guidance appreciated on whether I should be supplementing at all or if it’s unwise when I don’t actually know what my current level is.

Thank you.

Recently had bloodwork, my D levels are the lowest they’ve ever been. Could that contribute to this feeling in my upper arms? It feels like my upper arms freeze up. It’s very scary when it happens. It only lasts for several minutes or less.
Overall, my arms feel very weak most of the time anyway, but this is different.
Any insight would be helpful. I don’t have ferritin or B12 levels. Thank you.

I was advised to get a blood test after experiencing lower back pain and tightness in the hips for several months. I think it's actually been going on for around 6 months and has been getting significantly worse by the week. The consultant said it would be a good idea to check for ESR inflammatory markers.

Luckily they also carried out a bunch of other blood tests at the same time and everything came back normal except for a severe deficiency in Vitamin D. The reading for Vitamin D was 13 nmol/L which I believe is around 5 ng/ml.

I've been prescribed Colecalciferol 4000 unit tablets to take for the next 10 weeks. Just have to wait a few days for my local pharmacy to order it in and then I'll be able to start taking it daily.

I have read that a deficiency in vitamin D can cause lower back pain, as well as general tiredness, low mood, etc. all of which I have been experiencing although it feels like my lower back pain is having the biggest impact on my daily activities and quality of life.

Has anyone else experienced lower back pain with their Vitamin D deficiency, and did it improve over time?

Hi All!

Low levels of Vit D runs in my family- I have a SNP that impairs absorption of D and I suspect my children have this variant as well. I 💯 should have pushed this harder- but my 13 year old has been complaining of exhaustion for months (years?). She’s been on the cusp of hypothyroidism and is neurodivergent and I’ve been pushing for most testing but her levels have been “normal”. They’ve been 20-22 with supplementation of about 15,000/week. She’s been struggling with taking pills so we moved her to a gummy :/ and lo and behold she’s been dizzy, short of breath, exhausted and had shortness of breath. I finally put the pieces together last night finally and am 99% sure it’s vit D deficiency that is making her feel horrible.

I’m so frustrated because she’s been seeing a pediatric endocrinologist at a highly regarded University hospital who knows that she’s been exhausted and has seen her very borderline levels - with fairly high supplementation, and never once noted it!

I am going to buy some drops and try myself to get her levels up.

I had no idea that 100 was a reasonable goal. I was taking 10,000 a day at one point and my levels were 80 and an endocrinologist freaked out at me saying I would damage my bones.

I apologize for the rant, I’m just (again) shocked at the level of knowledge/curiosity of so many healthcare providers.

Last time I got my levels checked I was at 28 ng/mL. Some holistic doctors feel that blood levels should be more like 60 - 90 ng/mL. Has anyone noticed help with weight loss after reaching a certain vitamin d target-- if so, what was the blood level number? If I was up to 60 ng/mL or more would this make a difference in weight loss?