Vitamin D Toxicity???

I  just got a call from the nut. at my doctor's office.  My lab work done last week shows a vitamin D level of 130.  She said that is the highest level she has ever seen and she wanted to know if I was having any symptoms of toxicity!!!!  I had a vit D deficiency prior to surgery and was taking a supplement.  After WLS, I went to Vitalady's site and bought some vit D.  I didn't understand that I shouldn't take the 50,000 dose every day - so I was taking it every day for about 2-1/2 months.  My nut says to stop it altogether and that the vit D I get from my multivit and calcium should be enough. 

So I am wondering -  How worried should I be about my level?  Is this abnormally high for a WLS patient?  Should I discontinue all vit D supplementation or just back down from taking the high dose every day? 

Help!

Prolonged toxicity of Vitamin D can cause bone and kidney problems. I would not be worried. There is vitamin D in your calcium supplement, and that is probably enough. Have your levels checked in a couple months to be sure.

A little off this subject but not really.  My DH just went in last week for his yearly appt and his doctor checked his Vit D level.  He said there has been studies on it and they are finding that not only women but men are having trouble getting enough Vit D if they live in the northern states.  His level was only 14 and should be between 30 and 80 but preferrably above 40 so he is now taking 2000 IU's daily of Vitamin D.  Let me tell you, we need another whole cupboard in our bathroom just for all the Vit's we take.  The report the dr sent home with my DH for him to read states that there is an epidemic of this deficiency especially in the winter because people don't go outside enough.

Oh, and my DH does take a multi vitamin regularly that has Vit D in it but as you see, it is not enough.

maybe these articles will help
Can I get too much vitamin D?

Too much of any good thing is a bad thing. Too much vitamin D can cause an abnormally high blood calcium level, which could result in nausea, constipation, confusion, abnormal heart rhythm, and even kidney stones.

It's nearly impossible to get too much vitamin D from sunlight or from foods (unless you take way too much cod liver oil). Nearly all vitamin D overdoses come from supplements.

The Institute of Medicine's Food and Nutrition Board's 1997 recommendations -- scheduled for a May 2010 update -- suggest that 2,000 IU per day of vitamin D is safe for adults and that 1,000 IU per day is safe for infants up to 12 months of age.

However, the relatively small doses of vitamin D in daily vitamin pills are not enough to correct serious vitamin D deficiency. A 2009 study suggested that the best regimen for treating vitamin D insufficiency is 50,000 IU of vitamin D3 taken three times a week for six weeks. This time-limited regimen did not result in vitamin D toxicity.

How much vitamin D is too much? That's controversial. According to the National Institutes of Health, the maximum upper limit for vitamin D is 25 micrograms (1,000 IU) for children up to age 12 months and 50 micrograms (2,000 IU) for everyone else.

But some recent studies suggest that healthy adults can tolerate more than 10,000 IU of vitamin D per day. John Jacob Cannell, MD, executive director of The Vitamin D Council, notes that the skin makes 10,000 IU of vitamin D after 30 minutes of full-body sun exposure. He suggests that 10,000 IU of vitamin D is not toxic.

According to the National Institutes of Health, 25-OHD levels that are consistently over 200 ng/mL are "potentially toxic."

 

What is vitamin D toxicity, and should I worry about it since I take supplements?

Answer

from Katherine Zeratsky, R.D., L.D.

 

Vitamin D toxicity, also called hypervitaminosis D, is a potentially serious but treatable medical condition that occurs when you get too much vitamin D.

Vitamin D toxicity usually results from taking an excessive amount of vitamin D supplements — not from your diet or too much sun exposure. That's because your body produces only a limited amount of vitamin D from sun exposure, and even fortified foods don't contain large amounts of vitamin D. Although vitamin D toxicity is rare even among people who take supplements, you may be at greater risk if you have health problems, such as liver or kidney conditions, or if you take thiazide-type diuretics.

The main consequence of vitamin D toxicity is a buildup of calcium in your blood (hypercalcemia), causing symptoms such as:

• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Poor appetite
• Constipation
• Weakness
• Confusion
• Heart rhythm abnormalities
• Kidney stones

Treatment of vitamin D toxicity may include:

• Stopping vitamin D supplements
• Restricting calcium intake
• Medications
• Hydration with fluids
• Hospitalization in severe cases

Vitamin D is an essential nutrient. The Institute of Medicine recommends that children and adults up to age 50 get 200 international units (IU) of vitamin D daily. The recommendation for adults over age 50 is 400 to 600 IU daily. However, many health experts consider these recommendations to be too low. The American Academy of Pediatrics, for instance, now recommends that children and adolescents get 400 IU of vitamin D daily. Many experts now "unofficially" recommend that adults get as much as 1,000 to 2,000 IU of vitamin D daily. In addition, it's likely that the vitamin D guidelines will be revised upward.

Supplements can be a reasonable way to meet recommended levels — as long as you pay attention to how much you take.  And be sure to tell your doctor about any supplements you take.

 

As Andrea said on the other forum... 130 isn't toxic.  In fact, new studies are showing that ideal levels of Vitamin D range between 80 to 125 (depending on which study you read).  Yes, back off the extra supplements for a while.  But if you can keep your levels between 80-100 that's what you need to aim for.  Have your labs drawn again in 3 months to see where you are.  

The amount of D you need depends on several factors.  What kind of WLS you had, How much intestine was bypassed and how well you absorb.  For instance, when I had my original RNY in 2001 I was only taking what was in my multi vitamin each day.  After about 2 yrs out my vitamin D went low and I had a very proximal RNY.  My PCP put me on prescription vitamin D, 50,000 iu's weekly.  This brought it back up and I backed off and adjusted according to what my labs were each time.

I have since had a revision to ERNY in 2008 which left me with a very short common channel of only about 75CM.  Now I have more trouble keeping my vitamin D up.  I take 100,000 iu's of the Dry D3 from vitalady every single day plus I take the vitamind D3 drops several times a day that my doctor recommended.

Everyone's system is different and handles vitamins differently.  Follow your Nuts recommendations or cut back to once a week.  Adjust again if necessary after your next labs.  Since I have such a short common channel I have my labs taken every 6 months.  Prior to my revision, yearly seemed to be enough for me.

Good luck to you.
MEW