by Emily » Mon Sep 30, 2013 5:53 pm
It was unclear to me (maybe I didn't read carefully enough) if you've been supplementing B12. If you haven't, and you haven't been tested for deficiency, you should definitely start supplementing now. We can store B12 for several years, but from what I hear, many seniors have trouble with absorption of B12 and become deficient even as meat eaters. So if you haven't been supplementing, and it's been years, that could definitely be an issue. Your B12 could have started out low even before you became a vegan.
We make our own vitamin D by exposure of skin to the sun, but if you are not getting sun exposure, or always wear sunscreen, you could be deficient without a supplemental source. There is not a whole lot of vitamin D in food, but many of those eating the standard American diet get supplemental vitamin D from the vitamin D added to milk, so they have a lower risk of deficiency than those consuming no supplemental vitamin D. If you don't get sun exposure or supplemental vitamin D, that is a possible deficiency.
I'm fairly sure the things above are safe to say and are pretty well established. But I am not a medical doctor or nutritionist (not that I trust a whole lot of nutritionists when it comes to diet because from what I've seen, they jump on dietary bandwagons that have little evidence to support them, though I do trust JeffN).
It's true that seeing doctors can lead to unnecessary medical care, but if you're experiencing a problem, it would be responsible to seek medical care to make sure you don't have a serious issue, provided you've ruled out whatever is obvious (I'm assuming you're posting here to rule out the obvious). The truth is, if you see a doctor, you have no need to discuss your diet. Chances are, the doctors won't even ask you about it. Many don't consider diet at all. At your age, I'm pretty sure a test for B12 deficiency is pretty routine.