Is this dosage safe?

[MsWobbles]

Hi, all,

I'm new to this site.  Just told by my neuro that I will need to take prescription pills:  2 pills of 50,000 units of vitamin D twice a week for 8 weeks.  Then he wants me to take 4,000 units of D per day.  

From your experience, is this a safe dose for an older person (early 60s) to take?

Do you advise monitoring liver function tests, D, and calcium levels during the first 8-week period when I will be taking 100,000 units of D  per week?

WAF

[Phyllis2010]

I can't advice you but I can give my opinion. Docs prescribe the high dose D2 because it's the only high dose form that's been approved by the FDA -- they prescribe it to get your vitamin d levels up quickly. (I believe you have to convert D2 to D3). Many people do quite well on high dose d2 then drop down to maintenance doses of D3 or D2 once they get their counts up. I did not do well on D2 -- I'm old and develop lots of side effects. I'm currently on D3 4400 units per day and doing fine. Hope this helps.

[Medavinci]

I posted about my daughter 16 being deficient in vit D3 and she has hashimoto's disease. Should she not take the high dose of 50,000 IU the dr ordered? would it be contraindicated? Also, he ordered D2 versus D3.  I believe she should stick with D3 rather than switch to D2 since I read D2 has lower bioactivity, poorer stability, and shorter duration of action, resulting in approximately 33% lower potency compared with vitamin D3. Thanks!

[Phyllis2010]

In response to the earlier posts regarding parathyroid issues, parathyroid nodules do not show up on ultrasound; however, thyroid nodules do. I had an ultrasound of my thyroid and it showed multiple colloid nodules (<1 centimeter). Go to parathyroid.com for information about vitamin D, calcium and the parathyroid.

[bisan]

I'm only 27 years old and can't tolerant mega dosage of vitamin D any more. At the beggining of my treatment it was ok but now even 3000 IU's makes me sick,So I just take 1000 IU and Natural Vit D from sun.
Talk to your endo about reducing your dosage.

Good Luck:)

Bisan

[Phyllis2010]

I'm 61. I was intolerant to the high dose regimen. I've seen a new endocrinologist. I'm now taking 3400 IUs vitamin D without problems. However, I won't know if it's raising my vitamin D levels until I see my endo again at the end of October. I also believe by Mother and Grandmother were both vitamin D deficient....

[MsWobbles]

Thanks for the input about the parathyroid.  I have an appointment with an endocrinologist in a couple of weeks and will discuss those ideas with him.

I tried taking my 50,000 units of vitamin D yesterday with dinner but last night while trying to sleep I had very scary heart symptoms and a headache.  Had palpitations, runs of fast heartbeat.  Scary nightmare of someone aiming a gun at me.  Felt bad.  Am NOT taking it again!!

Sometimes I think doctors don't consider that we older patients usually need lower doses.  We are kind of like kids in that we often can't tolerate the dosage size that someone in their 20s, 30s, or 40s could handle without any problem.

I have read up on vitamin D and am amazed at how important it is and that no doctor every considered it in my case or even ever mentioned it to me before!!  Shame on them!!!  More and more I believe that my poor mother, who lost 5 inches in height from osteoporosis and who had colon cancer, was also likely extremely vitamin D deficient because she obediently never went out in the sun (doctor's instructions to avoid skin cancer) and I'm sure she was never told about the necessity of vitamin D by any of her many doctors.  

Today my lips are a little swollen too but maybe that is because I just had some minor surgery and am still recovering.  Or could it be caused by the 50,000 units of D?

I'm going to try more natural D supplementation - like sunshine and cod liver oil.  Any suggestions from you about this?  Thanks for stating the need not to shower for 48 hours after sunbathing to retain the oil necessary for D production.  And thanks for this website!!!

WAF

[bisan]

If you have high parathyroid,What you should do:
1-An ultrasound, looking for a parathyroid tumor,or nodular.
2-Get tested for Hashimoto's,Many people with Hashimoto's have normal TSH.
3-Testing antibodies for Hashimoto's (TGab and TPO).
also asked your endo to run the FreeT3 and FreeT4 tests to determine your thyroid levels,Many people with Hashimoto's suffer from low vitamin D.
If you want my advice start with 50,000 IU's once a week,some of us find it hard to tolerate large amount of vitamin D,So I don't want you to be disappointed at the beggining of your treatment.

Hope this helps
Bisan

[MsWobbles]

Continuing my post, I do know that high parathyroid hormone levels can be a response to low vitamin D levels so my guess is that if I increase my vitamin D, my parathyroid level will drop back down - is that right?

Thanks for your insights!

WAF

[MsWobbles]

Bisan, you say that dosage is safe unless I have other issues.  Well I do have symptoms of anything ranging from MS, ALS, to inclusion body myositis.  I have lost muscle mass and the bones of my forearms are quite prominent.  I just had a muscle biopsy from the thigh and the surgeon said there was not much muscle there either. Would any of the above conditions be problematic for high-dose D supplementation?  

Phyllis2010, currently my parathyroid hormone levels are elevated off the chart, but my blood calcium levels are normal.

I would ask both of you, how would my elevated parathyroid hormone levels affect or be effected by my 50,000 units of D dosages twice weekly?  What does elevated PTH mean to high-dose vitamin D supplementation in terms of needing or not needing to supplement with calcium or another mineral?

WAF

[Phyllis2010]

The dose is safe and commonly prescribed for D deficiency -- if you have a problem it's a tolerance NOT a toxicity issue and you should just play around with the dosage levels (they try to bring you up to normal levels then prescribe a maintenance dose)...I noticed that you, like me, are in your 60's; therefore it is essential that in addition to your calcium level your parathyroid hormone levels also be measured ideally before therapy and after 8 weeks.

Don't worry and good luck,
Phyllis

[bisan]

Hi

First of all vitamin D is safe, unless you have another issue to deal with, Taking vitamin D make other dieses worse.
Second yes 100,000 IU's is safe unless you're sensitive to vitamin D, if you're sensitive that another issue, you might experience some side effects.
When experiencing any side effects just talk with your Dr to lower the dosage.
Testing your liver function is not necessary; you should test your calcium level before and after the 8 weeks, plus urine calcium.

Hope this helps

Bisan