Vitamin D side effects?

@tylerk

You are taking way too much vitamin D…..I believe the upper limit is 4000 to 5000 units and you may not need that much. Consider the vitamin d you receive from the sun and from foods. While vitamin D is good for your immune system, it does not prevent viral infections or getting Covid or being hospitalized.

I take Vitamin K2 and d3 specifically for bone health and because I have osteoporosis, and on the advice of a doctor. . Have done so for years without side effects. It may be that your ocular migraines are from the vaccine.
There are so many people reporting physical problems after the vaccines and I have heard that ocular migraines is a common one.

I would have a blood panel done and a specific one for Vitamin D to check your levels. Also include a test for UTI to rule out lightheadedness and foggy feeling. I know you will get more information from having a complete blood work up.

Toxicity from too much vitamin D can happen but I think someone would have to ingest an awful lot for that to happen. You might want to check with an eye doctor for the flashes of light.

So, I doubt vitamin D is the culprit. I don’t know anything about your personal medical history and what medications, if any , you are taking. The problem with taking vitamins on our own is that we often take too many for many different reasons without consulting a doctor. Not all vitamins are created equal and they are not regulated by the FDA nor are they a substitute or panacea for what ails us.

Didn’t mean to “soapbox” you but this addressed to everyone else too. All of us should generally be aware of the pitfalls of using vitamins indiscriminately.

Wishing you good health and if you do decide to go the route of blood tests, I would love to hear what the results are. This is such a great forum to ask questions and share information and read postings from some very knowledgeable people out there.

FL Mary

Thank you for the response! I did stop taking the vitamin D, and don’t plan on resuming it. I have a general blood panel and urinalysis done about two weeks ago. At that point, I hadn’t taken vitamin D for maybe 6 weeks. I also didn’t ask for the levels to be checked. But everything else came back great.

I agree though, I should have had levels checked and take an appropriate amount, if any was needed at all.

I’m assuming some of the symptoms will settle down. I’m drinking plenty of water and eating healthy, and am otherwise in great health. And the mri came back normal.

Thanks for the input on the ocular issues and the vaccine. I have seen an eye doctor and eyes are totally okay. I never really put the dates together with when I got the vaccine and when it all started, so I wasn’t even asking doctors if that’s a possibility.
Thanks

@tylerk
I agree with Mary (@imallears). I'm curious why you started taking vitamin D and how you decided to take 7,000 IU’s? Do you have a medical condition or take medication that depletes your vitamin D?
I only take vitamins or minerals that have been recommended and at the dosage suggested by my physician that I am lacking in. My doctor ordered a vitamin profile including vitamin D (which isn’t actually a vitamin but a hormone) because I was on anti-seizure medications, all of which were enzyme inducers that interfere with how vitamin D is processed in the body.
The seizure medications I was on increased vitamin D metabolism lowering the vitamin D level. My blood level was found to be nearly nonexistent so my doctor ordered 6,000 IU’s daily. I have since decreased the number of seizure medications and now take 3,000 units. Anything less and my level falls.
Vitamin D aids in the absorption of calcium but one also needs vitamin K to help the calcium go into your bones instead of blood vessels or other tissues that may lead to heart & other serious illnesses.
Vitamins and minerals are all too often taken indiscriminately. You hit the nail on the head Mary, plus you stole my line but I'll forgive you this time.
I often wonder if correcting my vitamin D deficiency is why my seizures stopped. I'll never know but it has been proven vitamin D can decrease seizure activity.
Take care,
Jake

I didn’t have any health reasons. I heard quite a bit earlier on in covid that vitamin D could help quite a bit, so I took some. It didn’t seem like a lot, or too little. I went about 6 to 8 months (not sure exactly) and had zero side effects of it.

I stopped taking it towards the end of September, when I started feeling off. I ended up not taking it for about two months. I had several test done, including a blood panel. My calcium level was completely normal, but still all the side effects.

As of now, I have an appointment with a neurologist in February, but all tests have been completely normal, so the only difference is all of this began 19 days after the second vaccine. And it took over a month for me to even realize that.

I questioned vitamin D because I’m attempting to eliminate and question anything I’ve been doing differently at all, and this seemed like a possibility.

@tylerk

Hi,

You are doing the right thing in having these tests done and trying to figure out what could be causing any out of the ordinary symptoms. It’s so hard to figure out especially when the vaccine is involved. So, continue to listen to your body and eat the right foods. I happen to believe that the right nutritious whole foods are medicine for the body and the brain. And that is another whole discussion!

Happy healthy New Year to you and all the Mayos
FL Mary

You're asking all the right questions, Tyler. I'm glad to hear that you've scheduled an appointment with a neurologist.

Headaches are a common side effect of the COVID-19 vaccination. However the typical onset days after the vaccine not 2.5 weeks as in your case. Other symptoms can also occur, including nausea and sensitivity to light. You can read more in this article:
- Migraine after COVID-19 vaccine https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/migraine-after-covid-vaccine

According to Mayo Clinic, taken in appropriate doses, vitamin D is generally considered safe. However, taking too much vitamin D in the form of supplements can be harmful. Children age 9 years and older, adults, and pregnant and breastfeeding women who take more than 4,000 IU a day of vitamin D might experience:
- Nausea and vomiting
- Poor appetite and weight loss
- Constipation
- Weakness
- Confusion and disorientation
- Heart rhythm problems
- Kidney stones and kidney damage

The article also lists several medications that interact with Vitamin D. See the list here: https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements-vitamin-d/art-20363792

Tyler, you were wise to stop vitamin D until speaking with a health professional. I'll be interested to hear what you learn from the neurologist.

@tylerk
Thank you for replying, follow up is appreciated. Like you, I heard that vit D may help Covid so I was glad my doctor had me on it. Best of luck at the Neuros and like Colleen, I'd be interested in hearing what s/he has to say.
Take care,
Jake

Hola que interesante¡¡ tomo vitamina D 5000 por recomendación de mi ginecólogo y porque mis laboratorios indicaban que tenía deficiencia específica. Experimento en mi cuerpo que esta vitamina cae bien y no tengo ninguna molestia.
En todo caso siempre es recomendable que sea respaldada por el médico.
Saludos

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I am taking short term of vitamin D3 on advice of Hematologist. Trying to see if even a month of that plus an Rx of Folee (?) don’t have my bottle handy to put exact RX down will change the numbers of my blood counts. If it makes no difference, and he really does not not expect to see any but has to try due to insurance Regulations, then I will have to have a bone marrow biopsy. It is already scheduled so it can be done in a timely manner. My question is, I’m taking 2000 iu a week, I wear dentures ((I’m 81) and my gums are getting sore underneath my plates. Any suggestions. I definitely will contact my Dr on Mon he is awesome and I trust him, just wondered if anyone else had a reaction similar cjhover6342 Thanks

A friend was taking vitamin D to ward off osteoporosis. She proudly told me how her levels were climbing and I asked what the limit was for how much is too much. Her answer was that there is no too much-- but then a few weeks later she began to suspect that the high vitamin d levels might be exacerbating her insomnia. My feeling with all these nutrients (and other things like exercise too) is that it is (very often) as harmful to have too much as it is to have too little. Maybe not immediately, but eventually the overload will throw things off in some way.