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  #1   ^
Old Mon, Sep-19-11, 14:31
susan55 susan55 is offline
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Posts: 37
 
Plan: not sure
Stats: 145/145/120 Female 5'6"
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Default Vit D makes me ill

I have never taken a large dose I do have low vit D on blood tests but I cannot take it. I tried even the low dose of 400mg a day and can't take it more than a couple of days without bad effects.
I don't know how other people can stand it or why I can't but I do know I will not take it again.
I took one dose of 1000 mg to start with that caused a severe reaction of pounding heart blinding circles of light around both my eyes and a horrid stay in bed head ache. If the headache had not been so bad I may have taken my pounding heart to emerg.
I went to bed and reported this to my doc who sent me to an endo doc who tested me by blood and urine tests ordered to take 400mg for a month and retest. Except I could not stand the 400mg for more than a couple of days in a row I was agitated mean could not sit still had bad insomnia. I could not reach the doc to tell her as she was on vacation for the month. So I did the best I could with what was expected of me. I took the 400mg of vit D3 as many days in a row as I could stand and then quit a couple of days to get some sleep and bring my nerves back inline then started again I continued like this till the next apt forcing myself to endure symptoms the last 7 days in a row and taking the Vit D so she could get a good test result. I was hoping she would have some answers for me at the end of this mess that would make it worth the bother.

This is the result of my testing Vit D levels before any supplements was the highest recorded during all this.
After 1000mg reaction and further test Vit D was at the second highest tested during this period.
After taking Vit D3 for most of the month test of Vit D was the lowest it had ever been all these tests were deficient.

I am not sure what is causing this the doc who did these tests said the dose of Vit D3 must not have been high enough to change my D status??? The doctor said Dit D3 cannot cause the symptoms I had. End of conversation.

That is sad as I know it did causes these symptoms. I stopped it 3-4 times and the symptoms stopped or lessened and came back when I took it again. I have not idea what is going on with me and no further follow up has been suggested. I have been told to take Vit D3 every day but I don't take it and will not take it until somebody figures out what is going on so far they obviously don't know in my case anyway.

Personally I don't think they know the entire story yet and would not suggest anyone take vit D if it causes them negative symptoms as I think our bodies know something. I would appear at first glance my body does not like Vit D3 and the more I take the harder my body has to work to get rid of it. I have had a CBC and it was fine.

I am looking for ideas as to what the cause may be and where to go from here.
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  #2   ^
Old Mon, Sep-19-11, 15:07
Angeline's Avatar
Angeline Angeline is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 3,423
 
Plan: Atkins (loosely)
Stats: -/-/- Female 60
BF:
Progress: 40%
Location: Ottawa, Ontario
Default

I was listening to a podcast interview of Chris Masterjohn and he mentioned, almost in passing, studies that were conducted, in the 40's, I think. TO make a long story short they found that high doses of vitamin D could be toxic, and that high doses of vitamin A could be toxic, but when you combine them together, the toxicity goes away. There was also a role to play for K2 in this scenario. He said that he wasn't sure what the ratio should be, or it could be just that a certain amount of each is required to nullify the toxicity.

Anyway, if vitamin D3 causes this reaction, there is obviously something wrong. Could it be an allergy to something the Vitamin D3 comes in ? I think they typically use soy oil, lecithin. Try a different brand?

Or consider getting your vitamin D from the most natural source... sunlight.
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  #3   ^
Old Mon, Oct-10-11, 12:15
cello cello is offline
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Posts: 4
 
Plan: Atkins
Stats: 142/142/125 Female 66 inches
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I get these exact same symptoms from Vitamin D supplements. I am okay if I stay at or below 400IU but anything higher....same headaches and insomnia. I try to get as much sunlight as I can - that makes me feel great. Different brands don't matter. If there is too much D in a multi, I have to change. Last time I changed my multi, I got the headaches and knew it must have higher amounts of D. It did, so I had to find one with the standard 400IU.
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  #4   ^
Old Mon, Oct-10-11, 12:59
weezerchic's Avatar
weezerchic weezerchic is offline
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Posts: 611
 
Plan: zero carb
Stats: 275/273/135 Female 66 inches
BF:
Progress: 1%
Location: Diamondhead, Ms
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damn i read on a post someone took like 6000 iu of vita d a day and they never get sick i have also heard vita d helps with weight loss but i dont wanna get crazy sick i just got some vita d yesterday hope i didnt waste my money
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  #5   ^
Old Mon, Oct-10-11, 13:55
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Dodger Dodger is offline
Posts: 8,758
 
Plan: Paleoish/Keto
Stats: 225/167/175 Male 71.5 inches
BF:18%
Progress: 116%
Location: Longmont, Colorado
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Quote:
Originally Posted by weezerchic
damn i read on a post someone took like 6000 iu of vita d a day and they never get sick i have also heard vita d helps with weight loss but i dont wanna get crazy sick i just got some vita d yesterday hope i didnt waste my money
I take 50,000 IU once a week. I've been doing it for over a year and feel better for it.
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  #6   ^
Old Mon, Oct-10-11, 14:15
cello cello is offline
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Posts: 4
 
Plan: Atkins
Stats: 142/142/125 Female 66 inches
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Well reading through other threads, maybe it is the whole Vitamin D unmasks Magnesium deficiencies. I will add that in and then try the Vit D again and see if it makes a difference.
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  #7   ^
Old Tue, Oct-11-11, 10:04
weezerchic's Avatar
weezerchic weezerchic is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 611
 
Plan: zero carb
Stats: 275/273/135 Female 66 inches
BF:
Progress: 1%
Location: Diamondhead, Ms
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dodger
I take 50,000 IU once a week. I've been doing it for over a year and feel better for it.

50,000 woah thats a lot whew well i think i took like 5 or 6000 iu ysterday and had no adverse effects soo today i think i will take the full 8000 i think i need acocording to the 1000 iu per 25 lbs rule
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  #8   ^
Old Mon, Jan-30-12, 15:32
JennSkees JennSkees is offline
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Posts: 6
 
Plan: South Beach diet
Stats: 145/142/125 Female 64
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If you can't take a vitamin D supplement then what about spending time out in the midday sun or going to a tanning bed? I know I've read where doctors say that standing out in the midday sun with no sunscreen and shorts and t-shirt on will give you 10,000 IUs of vitamin D. I know in many places in the winter, the sun doesn't raise high enough for the UVB rays to enter the atmosphere. Also besides vitamins, would dairy or fish in your diet be enough to provide vitamin D?
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  #9   ^
Old Tue, Jan-31-12, 20:32
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NewRuth NewRuth is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 2,685
 
Plan: LC gut healing
Stats: 302/285/165 Female 5'3"
BF:Irrelevant
Progress: 12%
Location: Heartland of the USA
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The Vitamin D Council says that feeling unwell when taking Vitamin D (or getting lots of sun) means that you're probably deficient in magnesium.

http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/abou...tors/magnesium/

Quote:
...Vitamin D has no known side effects. If one experiences any of the following symptoms due to supplementing with vitamin D - or with sun exposure - a magnesium deficiency is most likely the reason why:

* irritability or anxiety
* nausea
* headaches
* insomnia
* fatigue
* muscle cramps/twitching
* weakness
* constipation
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  #10   ^
Old Wed, Mar-14-12, 03:15
ShesGG ShesGG is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 296
 
Plan: Atkins Carb Counter
Stats: 000/000/130 Female 5'-7
BF:
Progress: 0%
Location: NW Ohio
Default

I take 10,000 a day in the winter. I drop down to 5000 in the summer, feel ok and I've been doing this for about 3 yrs. I take it with calcium and magnesium. Not too much Magnesium as your kidneys can't process too much. No more than 300 mg.

You seem pretty aware of reactions to what you are taking though, if it makes you sick, stop.
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  #11   ^
Old Wed, Mar-14-12, 10:16
Nancy LC's Avatar
Nancy LC Nancy LC is offline
Experimenter
Posts: 25,843
 
Plan: DDF
Stats: 202/185.4/179 Female 67
BF:
Progress: 72%
Location: San Diego, CA
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I was just reading that taking vit d3 along with calcium can cause hypercalcimia. I think it was in Dr. Davis's blog "Wheat Belly Blog".

Ah here it is: http://www.trackyourplaque.com/blog...-vitamin-d.html
Quote:
Here’s a curious observation I’ve now witnessed a number of times: Some people who supplement this dose of calcium while also supplementing vitamin D sufficient to increase 25-hydroxy vitamin D blood levels to 60-70 ng/ml develop abnormally high levels of blood calcium, hypercalcemia.
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  #12   ^
Old Wed, Mar-14-12, 12:00
Zuleikaa Zuleikaa is offline
Finding the Pieces
Posts: 17,049
 
Plan: Mishmash
Stats: 365/308.0/185 Female 66
BF:
Progress: 32%
Location: Maryland, US
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nancy LC
I was just reading that taking vit d3 along with calcium can cause hypercalcimia. I think it was in Dr. Davis's blog "Wheat Belly Blog".

Ah here it is: http://www.trackyourplaque.com/blog...-vitamin-d.html

Nancy,
That's because they don't take the cofactors of vitamin D3 at the same time, i.e., magnesium and vitamin k but especially magnesium. Many people will take calcium with vitamin D but don't know they need magnesium as well. The ratio of mag/cal is also important.
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  #13   ^
Old Wed, Mar-14-12, 14:27
dmarie328 dmarie328 is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 281
 
Plan: adkins
Stats: 140/122/110 Female 5'0''
BF:
Progress: 60%
Default

How bout 20 min. in the sun everyday or a safe tanning booth.
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  #14   ^
Old Wed, Mar-14-12, 15:01
big_man's Avatar
big_man big_man is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 1,431
 
Plan: Atkins/ carnivore
Stats: 302/270/190 Male 72
BF:
Progress: 29%
Default

You might check what your D3 is made from. There is the type derived from soy, another from lanolin with olive oil, another from fish oil like cod. It may be that you can not tolerate the particular type. I personally stay away from the soy type. I hope this helps. Your own vitamin d is best but where you work inside all day it can be hard to generate enough.
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  #15   ^
Old Wed, Oct-09-13, 19:58
missysw missysw is offline
New Member
Posts: 1
 
Plan: don't
Stats: 150/150/150 Female 5.7
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Default Vit D makes me very sick as well.

You're not alone on Vitamin D supplements making you sick. I had very similar symptoms when I tried supplementing. Tested it on 3 different occassions, but each time I had a bad reaction.

Terrible insomnia
Flu like symptoms
Upset stomach that sent me to the bathroom
Anxiety - major
These symptoms took a few days to subside.

I just wanted to make my post to let you know that you are not alone, as I think a few others have reported as well that vitamin d makes them sick. I have since started taking fermented cod liver oil. Just started it three days ago so too early to report what it is doing, but it has not made me sick so far. I do not believe that vitamin d can be made in a lab, and that the vitamin d in supplements is somehow toxic, or can be to some people. We are all different you know? I am even considering looking for a milk that has no vitamin d added into it, because my reaction to vitamin d supplements were that severe. I too only took about 400 iu, or mgs. Very low dose, but again, I reacted severely.

I also told my Dr. about my reaction. She did not try to force the matter onto me after that, as I am the only person that can gauge my reaction, and what caused it. I tried two different forms of vitamin D supplements several times, and documented my reaction in a journal each time. I'm going for more natural routes to see if that gets my D levels up. Currently started the fermented cod liver oil, but also plan on trying chlorella. Praying that these sources work on getting my D levels up in a more natural way.
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