LPT: go get all around blood work done at least every yr

[earnestq]

I just got my blood work back and I’m deficient in iron and vitamin d.

Vigorous exercise lowers iron levels and my family has a history of skin cancer so I’ve been staying out of the sun/wearing tons of sunscreen for awhile now. I’ve felt pretty awful lately so I went to see my doctor who suggested the lab work.

Now I’m supplementing w vitamin d and iron, so hopefully that gets me back to normal soon. (Also-don’t supplant w iron w/o talking to your doctor first, too much iron is very bad for you).

Edit: I also had the worst under eye circles a few months ago, which got better once I started eating a lot of red meat. Hopefully they’ll be even better once I supplement but point is pay attention to your skin too because apparently an iron deficiency can cause pale skin

 

[lovelikeyou]

@earnestq Iron loss definitely makes you feel weak. While high intensity workouts lower iron levels through sweat and red blood cell loss, your best bet is to supplement iron loss with food. Leafy greens, beans and quinoa are probably your best whole food options

 

[earnestq]

@lovelikeyou Red meat too right? I’ve actually been craving that for the last 3 months

And also I’ve been craving vegetables which is really unusual for me lol

 

[pj62]

@earnestq Get a cast iron pan and cook with it!!

 

[bustinjustin]

@pj62 Seriously?

 

[veronique]

@bustinjustin Yes. Look up lucky fish they gave out in SE Asia

 

[albys]

@earnestq I have moments where I desperately crave meat and now I’m wondering if it’s an iron deficiency lol I just had blood work done last week so we’ll see what the results say! But I never made the connection.

 

[natasha]

@earnestq Start to worry if you're craving ice cubes

 

[earnestq]

@natasha Or dirt

 

[lovelikeyou]

@earnestq Red meats yes and even some sea food. But veggies will be your best bet, in short, the other nutrients that is absorbed with them supplies your body with iron in a superior way to red meat

 

[devin_rogers54]

@lovelikeyou Protip: if you take iron supplements, take it with water, orange juice, basically anything besides coffee or tea, both of those inhibit iron absorption. Your body basically takes in about 10% of iron ingested for utilization as it is.

 

[tnf_13]

@lovelikeyou Also cooking with an uncoated cast iron adds some iron into anything you make in it

 

[tiff_tiff]

@earnestq Side note: Almost everyone is vitamin D deficient. You should be supplementing ~2000iu everyday! Liquid is the most bio available.

Side side note: there’s some good evidence that low vitamin d levels are associated with severe Covid. Another good reason to supplement.

 

[earnestq]

@tiff_tiff Yeah true not a great time to be deficient

 

[starrss]

@tiff_tiff Probably going to get downvoted, but I’ll post this anyway. Unless you have renal failure, you are not vitamin D deficient and there is no medical need to supplement. The vitamin D level that is measured is in the inactive from. The active form (the one that matters) has a half life on the order of hours, while the form that is measured has it on the order of weeks. When your body needs vitamin D, it will activate it. Assuming you have a functional endocrine and renal system (you would know if you don’t), barring extreme circumstances, your vitamin D levels and calcium metabolism is a-okay. Technically speaking, unless you have abnormal calcium levels, there is no medical reason to even measure vitamin D levels.

Could really go more into this (this strikes a nerve for me, if not yet obvious) but I wouldn’t want to bore you all hahah.

Obviously, there is no real harm in supplementing (and a huge benefit in supplementing iron if you’re iron deficient), but I just wanted to throw this out there. Be careful not to take too much as vitamin D is fat soluble, so your body won’t simply be able to pee it out (like it can with B or C vitamins) if it’s intoxicated.

The misconceptions about vitamin D really get me going!

Source: I’m a medical student (doesn’t really give me credibility) who has talked to several reputable endocrinologists and laboratory medicine doctors (this is where the credibility comes from) who know the ins and outs of the endocrine system and interpretation of laboratory results. Many of them are even more annoyed at the superfluous vitamin D testing and needless worry we cause people than I am hahah

 

[tiff_tiff]

@starrss Hmm interesting. I haven’t come across this in any of my research (I’m doing my PHC NP). I would love to see the primary research. If you have any sources I’d be interested but I can also look it up myself.

 

[starrss]

@tiff_tiff Here is an interesting piece about the shitshow that vit d testing is (lots of good primary article links in there): https://www.nature.com/news/2011/110706/full/475023a.html

Here are the most updated guidelines I could find: https://academic.oup.com/jcem/article/96/7/1911/2833671

“At the present time, there is not sufficient evidence to recommend screening individuals who are not at risk for deficiency....”

Now obviously, this statement can be interpreted in many ways. The physicians I’ve talked to (and myself included), would consider risk of deficiency as having CKD or if your calcium levels are abnormal (which always prompts further investigation).
Others may consider risk of deficiency as simply having a job indoors. Like the Nature news piece said, testing and regulations are all over the place with no clear guidelines or agreement on what is right. I recognize I do take a more radical stance on this issue, but based on the physiology I’ve learned, it’s how I best interpret it.

Really glad I looked more into this! My opinion still hasn’t changed, but it definitely isn’t as clear-cut as the physicians I’ve talked to have made it seem. Guess that’s all of medicine, to some extent!

EDIT: After reading the recommendations on a clear mind (not the middle of the night when I wrote the comment hahah), I would tell you to look at table 2 under recommendation 1.1. It has all the indications for screening for vitamin D deficiency including CKD, liver failure, osteopenias, medications, surgeries, diseases, etc.

 

[starrss]

@tiff_tiff I’ll take a look to see if I can find anything. This information is from lectures and talks I’ve had given to me throughout my courses and while rotating in the hospital. I (embarrassingly) haven’t done a primary lit review myself (besides textbooks for pathophys obviously). I’ll see what I find!

 

[wanderingwombat19]

@starrss I’m sorry but no....I upvoted.

 

[francolepza]

@starrss So I wonder why my MD told me take Vit D supplements when my blood work came back deficient and I don’t have renal failure. I’m not attacking you just generally curious and would like to open a discussion.