Yes. I turned vegan in 2017 but didn't pay attention to my sun-avoiding lifestyle. A year later I was convinced I had osteoporosis and/or arthritis, because both run in my family.

Doctor had blood tests done, and Vit D was on the floor. Since then I have taken 10,000ius daily under her ongoing supervision.

It took a long, long time to start to get better - maybe 14 months, and it's not done yet.

I also take zinc, magnesium and K2, since these have related benefits for the absorption of vitamin D.

Yes. I took more vitamin D. I also increased magnesium, K2 MK-7, etc... I had to start small because I had a lot of calcium built up in my gut and vascular system. Starting too high all at once increases risk of hyperglycemia.

Were your results validated with blood tests?

CAC tests, yes. I have tested Vitamin D (25-hydroxy) and I was low but I am skeptical of the tests overall value. People that have, or are recovering out of metabolic syndrome need more than those who are otherwise healthy. 25-hydroxy still has to be converted by the kidneys to 1 alpha hydroxylase. I have not found a lab that will test for this yet.

can you tell me more about the calcium build up?

Yes, as we age and especially as we eat the wrong things such as too much sugar, carbs, processed foods the sugar damages the vascular system I am greatly over simplifying this after we develop insulin resistance and we start absorbing calcium in the wrong places. That body uses calcium, zinc, white blood cells and a few other things to essentially bandage the micro lesions in the artery walls. This causes several problems, including increasing risk of a cardiovascular event, reducing access to pathways required for nutrient uptake, arterial stiffness. I am also greatly oversimplifying this. You can find a myriad of studies on this topic on nih.gov. I find it best to use google and put in the search field "site:nih.gov topic" so in this case, "Coronary artery calcium testing".

Yes. Being a hermit and having lived in Scotland for a most of my life I had a chronic vitamin d deficiency. It took me years to get to optimal levels. I've underwent an actual treatment where I took intramuscular injections. Also moved to LA where my sun exposure increased by orders of magnitude.

How can you test for deficiency?

Blood test