Vitamin D: 4 Symptoms That Should Prompt You to Stop and Seek Medical Advice
Vitamin D is essential for bone health and normal muscle and immune function, but more is not better. Excessive vitamin D—usually from taking too much in supplement form—can raise calcium levels in the blood and cause toxicity.
Four symptoms that deserve medical attention, particularly if you’re taking high-dose vitamin D, are:
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Nausea or vomiting — Excess vitamin D can lead to elevated calcium, which may cause digestive symptoms.
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Unusual thirst and frequent urination — These can occur when blood calcium becomes too high.
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Weakness or unusual fatigue — Hypercalcemia can cause significant tiredness and muscle weakness.
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Confusion or changes in mental function — Severe hypercalcemia can affect the nervous system and requires prompt medical evaluation.
These symptoms do not prove that vitamin D is the cause. They can occur with many other medical conditions.
If you suspect vitamin D toxicity, don’t take additional high-dose vitamin D while you seek medical advice, and tell your clinician exactly what dose and products you have been using. Severe vomiting, marked confusion, extreme weakness, dehydration, or an abnormal heartbeat warrants urgent medical care.
Also, don’t discontinue a medically prescribed vitamin D regimen solely because of a nonspecific symptom without discussing it with the prescribing clinician. A blood test for 25-hydroxyvitamin D and calcium, among other tests when appropriate, can help determine whether supplementation is contributing to the problem.
