I never thought I would need a prescription for sunshine
I never imagined that living in sunny Kenya could still leave me with insufficient Vitamin D. My experience is a reminder to listen to our bodies and make time for routine medical checks.
What you need to know:
- A routine hospital visit revealed that persistent fatigue and muscle aches were linked to Vitamin D insufficiency.
- The unexpected diagnosis sent me on a daily search for sunshine.
- The experience reminded me that routine medical check-ups should not wait until we fall ill.
About six weeks ago, I was diagnosed with Vitamin D deficiency.
I had been to several doctors to describe the same signs that made me feel unwell. My energy felt low, my muscles ached, and I felt lazy. The first doctor told me I needed to take some rest; it was fatigue, likely from work stress. When the symptoms persisted, I went back to the hospital. The second doctor diagnosed me with an oncoming flu. He gave me something to gargle because I said I had a mouth sore, and sent me on my way.
On a Tuesday evening, when the symptoms persisted, I decided to go to the hospital in my hood for a third opinion.
The doctor who attended to me, a lovely lady, listened patiently. This was refreshing because the previous doctors seemed impatient, I suspect because I did not look sick and my vitals were alright.
Blurry brain
After a few follow-up questions, she sent me to the lab for four tests. A blood count test, a haemoglobin test, a thyroid test and a Vitamin D test. I thought that last test was a joke until all the results came back and Vitamin D deficiency turned out to be the problem!
As the good doctor explained to me that my sunscreen works so well and no sun gets to me; my brain was blurry. How can the doctor say that I lack exposure to sunlight when I live in a tropical country like Kenya? All my geography came back to me: Kenya experiences sunlight throughout the year, including direct or near-direct overhead sun rays, so how can my problem be the sun?
When my mind came back to what the doctor was saying, she had prescribed Vitamin D Supplements for six weeks, instructed me to limit my sunscreen usage to when I absolutely have to – at least for the duration of the treatment- and given me strict instructions to spend at least fifteen minutes in the sun every single day!
I asked whether there was any food I could eat to get vitamin D because standing in the sun for 15 minutes doing nothing felt like a punishment. She said no. I could get small amounts of vitamin D from certain foods, but because my levels were already low, I needed regular exposure to sunlight as an immediate intervention.
After that diagnosis, I knew there was no way I would exonerate myself from my friends’ chides that I have “unserious problems”. One asked me, pointing at the sky, “This Vitamin D we get from the sun is the one you do not have?” We both laughed.
Another said, “What were you and the doctor looking for in your body before you discovered you didn’t have Vitamin D?” According to her, I was trying so hard to find a problem in my life.
Day one of being in the sun was tough. If you think 15 minutes is a short time, try standing in the sun on a busy street in Nairobi with your timer on while doing nothing! Dropping sunscreen was easy because that meant my monthly budget went down by Sh5,000. The supplements were not bitter, so that made swallowing them easy. I am just glad the issue was flagged, and now I am firmly on the mending path.
My favourite part of that diagnosis is that after I told my friends about it, they too decided to go for routine checks. One friend had been postponing a hospital visit for nearly five years! According to her, the discomfort was not that serious, and she disliked the smell of hospitals. However, after my story, she decided to get checked. Another one told me that after our conversation, she promptly attended a medical camp that was organised at her office – something she’d ordinarily ignore.
Biggest lesson
Perhaps the biggest lesson from this experience is that taking care of our health should not be something we do only when we feel unwell. Sometimes, the signs are subtle. Sometimes, we dismiss them as fatigue, stress or the demands of everyday life. And sometimes, we simply keep postponing that hospital visit.
My diagnosis may have started with an unexpected discovery about Vitamin D, but it has reminded me of something much bigger: we should not wait for our bodies to force us into a hospital. Make that appointment. Ask those questions. Get that unexplained pain checked out. Your health is worth the inconvenience.
The writer is the Research & Impact Editor, NMG, [email protected]
