Vitamin D Overdose -The Dangers and Side Effects of Vitamin D Toxicity

vitamin d overdose

Overdosing on vitamin D, otherwise known as hypervitaminosis D is a fairly rare but serious condition of abnormally high storage levels of vitamin D in your system.

You won’t find it happening from eating foods that contain the vitamin, or too much exposure to sunshine, it is usually the result from taking high a dosage of vitamin D supplements.

Basically taking much more than the maximum recommended daily value of 4000 IU.

Having too much vitamin D in your body can cause you to have unusually high build-up of calcium in the blood, known as hypercalcemia.

Toxicity Symptoms and Side Effects:

Symptoms of Hypercalcemia Can Include:

Calcification which is an accumulation of calcium salts, in the blood vessels, tissues of the heart as well as other organs such as the kidneys.

Nausea and Vomiting

Dehydration

Fatigue

Headaches

Bone Pain

Aching Muscles and Weakness

Cramping

Loss of Appetite

Constipation

Loss of Memory

Increased Thirst and Frequent Urination

Other long term problems that can arise due to untreated hypervitaminosis D can include:

Excess Bone Loss

Kidney Failure

Kidney Damage

Kidney Stones

Hypertension

When Will I See the Signs?

These effects won’t always show immediately after you have taken a high dose of vitamin D.

In fact any symptoms of vitamin D toxicity probably won’t appear until about several months after the excessive doses have been administered.

Treatment of Vitamin D Toxicity

The treatment will involve stopping the intake of all forms of vitamin D, restricting calcium and phosphorus in the diet, and maybe some intravenous hydration with a non-calcium containing saline infusion.

But in most cases, a low-calcium and phosphorus diet combined with corticosteroid drugs should allow for a full recovery within about a month.

In Conclusion:

There can be acceptable occasions where doses higher than the recommended daily allowance are exceeded, but they are only to treat medical issues such as a vitamin D deficiency.

And these should only be administered under the medical supervision of a doctor, for a specified period of time.

In those circumstances the blood levels should be regularly monitored.

So the message of the day is, if you’re taking vitamin D supplements, take them in moderation and make sure you stick to the guidelines.

And if you are at all concerned that you may have overdosed on vitamin D, consult immediately with your doctor.

You can read more about vitamin D, the benefits and the dangers at: https://www.epigennutrition.com/category/nutrition/vitamins-and-minerals/