Yes, getting too much vitamin D can be harmful. Very high levels of vitamin D in your blood (greater than 375 nmol/L or 150 ng/mL) can cause nausea, vomiting, muscle weakness, confusion, pain, loss of appetite, dehydration, excessive urination and thirst, and kidney stones.
The main consequence of vitamin D toxicity is a buildup of calcium in your blood (hypercalcemia), which can cause nausea and vomiting, weakness, and frequent urination. Vitamin D toxicity might progress to bone pain and kidney problems, such as the formation of calcium stones.
But how do you flush vitamin D out of your system – and can you even do that? Yes, by ensuring you consume plenty of water. This will encourage urination, allowing your body to shed the excess vitamin D and calcium more quickly. Prescription diuretics like furosemide can also be helpful.
There's no quick fix to flush vitamin D out of your system, but staying hydrated and staying away from more vitamin D and calcium can help lower your levels. Call your doctor right away if you experience confusion, vomiting, dizziness, or other symptoms of a vitamin D overdose.
Some people may need a higher dose, however, including those with a bone health disorder and those with a condition that interferes with the absorption of vitamin D or calcium, says Dr. Manson. Unless your doctor recommends it, avoid taking more than 4,000 IU per day, which is considered the safe upper limit.
Vitamin D toxicity is a known cause of hypercalcemia and renal failure.
There is no evidence that taking vitamin D alongside other vitamins can cause any adverse effects or hinder absorption. Vitamin D is naturally non-drowsy (although, as mentioned above, it may help support healthy sleep).
“Adding an over-the-counter vitamin D supplement can make improvements in just three to four months time. Vitamin D with a strength of 1000-2000 international units daily is the recommended dose for most adults,” Dr.
Because vitamin D toxicity can cause side effects like rapid heartbeat, confusion, restlessness and chest pains, it can potentially cause feelings associated with anxiety.
If you have too much vitamin D in your blood, it will cause extra calcium absorption. This, in turn, can lead to symptoms like muscle pain, mood disorders, abdominal pain, frequent urination and kidney stones.
Most people with vitamin D deficiency are asymptomatic. However, if you're exhausted, your bones hurt, you have muscle weakness or mood changes, that's an indication that something may be abnormal with your body.
For less frequent dosage, a higher amount is recommended. Overall, though, studies show that the best results come from taking vitamin D as part of a daily regimen, with dosage at the recommended level.
A vitamin D level greater than 50 nanograms per milliliter is considered high. Vitamin D levels are determined by a blood test called a serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D blood test. A normal level is 20-50 ng/mL, and deficiency is considered anything less than 20 ng/mL, according the Institute of Medicine (IOM).
If you are taking a supplement for a true deficiency, such as a low iron, B12, folic acid or vitamin D, then you should consult your doctor before making any changes. But Dr Fenton added: “If however, you have been taking general vitamin supplements, it is absolutely fine to just stop.
Vitamin D undergoes two hydroxylations in the body for activation. Calcitriol (1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3), the active form of vitamin D, has a half-life of about 15 h, while calcidiol (25-hydroxyvitamin D3) has a half-life of about 15 days.
Acute toxicity would be caused by doses of vitamin D probably in excess of 10,000 IU/day, which result in serum 25(OH)D concentrations >150 ng/ml (>375 nmol/l). That level is clearly more than the IOM-recommended UL of 4,000 IU/day.
While vitamin D itself is unlikely to be causing your anxiety, that doesn't mean it can't, and the activities that you do to help increase vitamin D are valuable for your anxiety anyway. Getting outside will help you get what vitamin D you can, although there are also nutritional supplements available.
A study found that higher serum vitamin D levels were associated with a reduced risk of weight gain in normal weight adults [10]. Another study reported that subjects who gained ≥5% weight had lower vitamin D levels than subjects who lost >5% weight [11].
Vitamin D can affect the liver function through the vitamin D receptor (VDR). VDR is naturally present in the liver cells and its higher expression can reduce inflammation in chronic liver diseases (Benetti et al., 2018). Vitamin D also has anti−fibrotic, proliferative, and inflammatory effects on the liver.