I got a blood test a few months ago which revealed that I was deficient in vitamin D and choline. I was also relatively low in magnesium. This test was done almost a year and a half after starting a supplement regime of 5000 IU a day of vitamin D, and ~800mg a day (400 in the morning, 400 at night) of magnesium taurate (among many other supplements), as well as having 2 eggs for breakfast every day, and generally eating pretty healthy, and trying to get a fair amount of sun (the test was in October, so presumably my vitamin D levels still reflected summer sun exposure to some extent).

First, I'm a little perplexed by this vitamin D result, given I've been supplementing for so long. What might this indicate about my ability to absorb vitamin D? Is there anything I can do to boost absorption? What effect would a deficiency in vitamin D have on my healing?

For the choline, I started taking 500mg of citicholine daily at the beginning of November (can't remember exactly when now). It was around this time that I started feeling worse symptom wise, and that's persisted till now. Could the choline supplementation cause this? I've tried stopping a few times and haven't noticed a change, so I'm doubtful, but wondered if anyone had thoughts. What would the effect of a choline deficiency be on healing? It may be that I started my PCS journey with low levels of this already, as apparently it can be low in endurance athletes, and I was a long distance runner for most of my life up until about 6 months before the concussion.

Vitamin D has a short half-life and can be impacted by your parathyroid hormone (PTH), calcium, and phosphorus levels.

Have you had any PTH testing done.

There are a few malabsorption syndromes that can be a problem.

Have you tried tanning booths to enhance natural Vit D production ? It is sometimes prescribed.

Are you taking any acid blocking drugs? These may impair the digestion of the eggs, and also the magnesium absorption may be impaired too.

People with malabsorption issues, (gluten intolerant/celiac or inflammatory bowel diseases) may not absorb from food very efficiently.

I haven't had any hormone testing done, can a regular doc do those? Or do you have to go to an endocrinologist or something?

Should I be taking calcium? That's one I haven't supplemented, but my levels are pretty good according to the test.

I was on omeprazole for maybe 4 or 5 years, but have not been for a couple. It was prescribed for difficulty swallowing that the doc thought was due to acid reflux. Food would get stuck in my throat easily and I'd have to sort of gag it out. Happened to me since I was a kid. 3 years ago I saw another doc, prompted by intestinal difficulties I would have on runs, and I found out it wasn't acid reflux, but esosinophilic esophagitis (say that 3x fast), essentially my esophagus was allergic to stuff. I did a short treatment with an inhaler that I swallowed instead of inhaled, and my problems got a lot better.

Probably TMI, but in short I don't think I have serious gluten intolerance or IBD.

I may look into a tanning booth...