GET VITAMIN D A 1ST-HAND STORY

On the day of the Thibodaux High School Football Jamboree, I knew something was wrong, but I couldn’t put a finger on what it was.

I woke up with energy, but I felt a little antsy or jittery all day. It was nerves because of the start of football season – at least that’s what I told myself.

I got to work, started my assignments for the day and all was OK.

No big deal.

Then it happened.

Around 2:30 p.m., I started to feel weak and my hands got cold and shaky. I felt hungry, so I got up to go get a snack. The entire room started moving around.

Panicked, I quickly left our office to get a soft drive and a bag of chips, but my head was going a mile a minute.

What in the heck was doing this?

Then, I started to come to grips with reality – I’d not felt good for a long time now, but was living in denial. My sleep schedule was all off, my diet stunk to high heavens and I did next to nothing to get exercise.

I felt better after getting my snack – well enough to go to the game, but that night, my symptoms started creeping back, so I went to the emergency room.

Initial blood work came back OK, and I was told I had anxiety.

That was a crock of bologna and I knew it. I love my job. I have little stress and I don’t have financial troubles.

But I played along and did what the doctors told me to do.

Two weeks later, I felt even worse, so I went back for another visit, which prompted blood work, which discovered that I had brutally low levels of Vitamin D in my system.

Vitamin D is known as the sunshine vitamin because our skin makes it when it’s in contact with the sun.

It also comes in some foods and can be taken via tablet.

Studies show that literally millions of people are low on the Vitamin and some doctors recommend ALL people take a vitamin – just to avoid deficiency.

My message is this: pay attention.

If not feeling well, figure out why. If you’re like me, go out and get some sun. Winter is a bad time for Vitamin D because the sun is farther away, which affects how our body makes the vitamin.

But from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. roughly, our skin can soak in enough to be OK.

If not a sun-bather, get a supplement and/or eat foods rich in it.

It worked for me. It will work for you, too.