Thank you Emily for sharing . I heard about this and started taking magnesium and vitamin d I know longer get leg cramps and I got them horribly before.isabee

Vitamin D supplementation is the only "dietary" change that ever impacted my pain, but it was barely enough to notice.

It felt more like "hey my meds are working better" than "hey I'm better."

I believe everyone should be tested for nutritional deficiencies before they are diagnosed with fibromyalgia.

Thanks for sharing. I do take Vitamin D supplements. And good advice Peace.

I agree with the others medically all vitamins are a consumed pill and can have side effects if you do not need it. It is best to get a Vitamin /mineral panel done so that your doctor can watch over your values. Thanks isabee

I have been supplementing with vitamin D since the beginning of my diagnosis. I was found to be very deficient and was put on 15,000
ius a day, which later was increased to 20,000 ius a day. My blood work is monitored by my doctor every 3 months.

I used to get this horrible, deep bone aching pain that was eliminated after several months of supplementation. My doctor said that optimum levels are between 70-100; especially for chronic pain
patients. It took over a year to get my vitamin d level to 54.

I am still supplementing daily with 10,000 ius, under my doctors guidance. In addition to supplementing with magnesium; I was told to take vitamin d with a fatty meal for better absorption.

Supplementing with vitamin d is crucial, but must be monitored by a doctor if taking high levels.

My Vit D is so low that I have been on and off prescription Vit D for last 3 years. First with 50,000IU and that still didn't bring me up. Now I'm on 2,000 IU daily and I'm still low.

If you purchase over the counter make sure it's D3.

I am not low in magnesium. I don't take any supplements anymore without getting tested first. And even if the doctor says I need to take a supplement I have to check it out thoroughly. You wouldn't believe what they put in some OTC supplements these days.

Great advice! My vitamin D levels were checked recently and it is insanely low so I have to supplement for a year with 50,000mg weekly. I will bump up on magnesium too, couldn't hurt!

Good to know. I am low on D but my dr saod jist takr over the counter D3. 2000iu but a year later my D level is up one point. I take magnesium before bed often but i guess not often enough. I wish doctors tested all out vitamin levels as a routine test. There have been misdiagnosis of fibro and ended up being low D or low B12 then those people.clakm to be "cured from fibro" amd its insane. Its more like no..you were misdiagnosed with fibro when all you had was a vitamkn deficiency.

Its possible to have both..but if you get your vitamins to normal and still feel like crap then for certain its fibro cajsing the symptoms vs a vitamjn deficiency. Vitamin deficiency can certajnly make it worse though! I have deficiencies that are low but only a little low. Now we r finding i must not absorb the vitamjns. My theory is thag i do absorb but my body is sick so it uses them up faster.

If you take vit D, it should be D3, not just D! I do not take it until I find out if my levels are low and last time they were not, but during the winter my levels are always low???????

Good info Angel, thanks!

I too wish that these tests were routine. Seems like they should be part of an annual checkup as we don't ever know we're deficient until we show symptoms, and sometimes not even then.

My PCP had no idea there was a connection between muscle pain and Vit D so I never would have been tested if I hadn't asked.

For the most part I think insurance is to blame. My doc said if I wasn't showing symptoms of any kind he wouldn't get paid for the test.

Problem is most doctors have little if any training in nutrition so they don't know the symptoms when they see them. Definitely a vicious circle.

Fibro people aren't normal people and we don't seem to absorb vit D like normals. I spend a great deal of time in the sun at the pool or at the park and I also drink whole milk.

I read an article a few years back on Vit deficiency in people with FM and then asked to be tested. It was not something my doctor would have done normally.

You know it sure would be nice if the Medical Association would make up the tests and procedure for chronic pain patients and Fibro and each other illness. So that when a person comes in with pain they give them a check list . In this check list it would say what level tests should be at and what symptoms can be spotted for certain illnesses. At least then people wouldn't be pin cushions, the doctor would say oh your possible for Fibro , okay take this paper get all these blood tests and other tests done and then come back and we will go over the results. At least it would not be backward to what is happening. It would be great if Canada and USA got together with treatment plans for each illness. I know I talk with people all over who have never been tested for inflammation , it is a simple blood test. It alone can tell if there is to much inflammation in your body.Thank you isabee

You are so right Isabee. Why has so much time passed and they can't even come up with a standard set of tests for us? The Canadians have always been a step ahead of us in this regard.