Vitamin D Deficient

I finally got a call back from my doctor about the blood tests they ran on Monday. She said everything looked normal except my Vitamin D levels. Now, I had a problem with my vit. d levels a few years ago too. It was the leading cause of some serious fatigue issues. To put it in perspective, the optimal range is anywhere from 50-80 on the blood test. (Don't ask me 50 what, because I have no idea what the measurement is, haha. I just know the numbers.) Anyway, 50 is the minimum optimal level. My level was somewhere around 11. Not good.

My doctor told me to start spending more time out in the sun and to start taking Vitamin D supplements, something like 1,000 IU's a day. I did that. Went back in a few months to test and the level had only gone up to about 13. Ugh. I was tired all the time and it sucked. They ended up putting me on a prescription of 50,000 IU's a week. It made a huge difference in my energy levels, but (genius), they never came back to check my levels after that again. I guess they assumed those major levels were enough.

I kept taking the 1,000 IU regular pills, the kind you can get at any pharmacy or drug store, but lately, just like with the metformin I talked about earlier this month, I stopped taking my pills. I started having some serious fatigue issues again lately and was wondering what was up. I was hoping this month maybe it was a pregnancy symptom, but it seems that my Vitamin D levels are back down to below 20. I have no idea how it got that bad again! It's not like I stopped taking all my vitamins for months and months. It's just been a short period of time. I'm guessing the prescription they gave me way back when never really even brought me up to a normal level. I think it probably just got me to a decent, not tired all the time level. Then, when I stopped taking the vitamins like I was supposed to, it dipped down really low again.

From doing some online research, it seems like women with PCOS are quite often deficient in Vitamin D. I wonder why that is? Is there something inside that's not working right to allow our bodies to absorb the vitamin correctly? I want to look into this more. One study out there also claimed that something like 93% of women with infertility problems are Vitamin D deficient. I mean, it's the internet, so not everything is true. BUT if it is true, wouldn't it also make sense that a vitamin d deficiency is a possible cause of infertility? It makes sense to me. So why aren't RE's checking our vitamin d levels and making sure we have a normal level before resorting to all these injections and clomid and things that really mess with our bodies?? (Thank you Clomid for an extra 15 pounds I still haven't been able to shrug since May). I just wonder if it's a real issue or not. Deep thoughts by Sarra, lol.

Anyway, now I'm back on the 50,000 IU prescription and have to go back in 3 months to check my vitamin d levels again. Ironically, my appointment to check is right smack dab in the middle of the time when I'll probably be going through the end stages of injections for IVF and getting ready for my ER. (egg retrieval) I figure I'll be getting sticked with so many needles that month, what's one more, right? /sigh. Hopefully the new scrip will get me back on track with my energy levels and help get rid of some of this fatigue. And if it helps me get pregnant? That would be amazing!

Getting Back on Medication

I've been a bad girl long enough. The time has come to get serious about my health. I wrote earlier last week about my terrible Metformin habits, but it hasnt' just been a problem with the Met. It's also with all my other drugs. My vitamins, everything. Tonight, I officially started back on all the medications and vitamins I'm supposed to be taking. If I can be really good and take them every single day, I'll have just over 2 months of getting used to the drugs and getting in shape before we do IVF. Hopefully that's plenty of time to get myself in tip-top health before we start going through the hard stuff.

As much as I feel bad and regret going off my medication for selfish reasons (I felt awful ALL the time), I know that my doctor has my best interest in mind. I know these are medicines I need to be on to give myself the best chance of getting pregnant. So isn't it worth feeling bad and having digestive issues for a few months? Yes, I would say it is. In the grand scheme of things, there are much worse things I could be taking. Metformin is just a temporary sickness as long as I keep my nutrition under control. So as of tonight, I'm back on a plan and determined to stick with it.

Here's what I take on a daily basis:

• Glumetza, 1000 mg (This is the metformin. My doctor prescribed 2000mg, but I have to work up to it since it makes me so sick. I'm going to start on half dose first, then work back up to the 2000 in a couple of weeks. Yikes!)
• Vitamin D3, 1000 IUs
• New Chapter Organics Prenatal Vitamins, 3/day
• Fish Oil, 800mg EPA twice a day (I take Carlton's Finest Fish Oil from Whole Foods. It's a liquid but it tastes like lemon. I used to take pills, but then I always had this fishy taste in my mouth that I HATED. This fish oil is actually quite nice and has no real aftertaste issues. Plus, it's pure.)

It doesn't sound like a lot. Especially not compared to what I'll go through with an IVF cycle. It's definitely manageable, and I know in the long run, it's best for my body. I'm going to get back in the habit of taking them and hopefully with a new plan for diet and nutrition, the metformin won't bother my stomach quite as much.

As a side note, PCOS bites. I sometimes wish I could be like a normal woman who could just take the vitamins and be fine. End of self-pity moment.