i had a fracture of the tibia bone 5 months ago. Since the one month i was experiencing pain in the Bones and the muscles. My doctor advised me to take 60,000IU of vitamin d3 daily for two months. I am not sure if its safe??
i had a fracture of the tibia bone 5 months ago. Since the one month i was experiencing pain in the Bones and the muscles. My doctor advised me to take 60,000IU of vitamin d3 daily for two months. I am not sure if its safe??
its daily 60,000IU of vitamin d3
Dear sid1988
I am not sure that 60,000 IU is prescribed daily. It is prescribed per week and then per month.
I believe that the present day recommendations advise up to 2000 IU daily, while the FDA dose is about 600 IU daily.
Are you sure the prescription does not say 600 IU daily?
I believe that research had showed that up to 10,000 IU daily was safe.
I havent heard of anyone taking 60,000 IU per day.
But this may be a very special case where your doctor sees the urgency
of healing the fracture quickly. And to reduce the pain.
I do hope this big a dose is safe for the kidneys.
And the question would arise -- how much calcium has he advised side by side?
If the dose is safe for the kidneys then maybe it is OK to take this large dose daily and the doctor probably knows what he is doing.
Please meet your doctor again and ask him whether he meant per day or per week and whether he meant 60,000 IU or less per day, and whether 60,000 IU a day is safe for the kidneys if taken for two months. He must have treated many patients with similar conditions and must be knowing what he is doing.
I am merely a layman so please dont go on my advice. I had taken Vit D cholecalciferol 60,000 per week for some months and my Vit D levels in the blood had gone up to 100 ng so I had to reduce it to once every month or once every two months. I was taking it for osteoporosis and I think it helped marginally over a period of one year. As I said please dont do anything without double checking with your doctor who seems to know what he is doing.
Best wishes and warm regards,
Yours,
Priya
(nathji)
Dr Joe Prendergast has been using high dose 50,000iu/daily with some of his patients without experiencing any problems
He doesn't allow his patients to take extra calcium though.
I'd want to be checking 25(OH)D regularly at that daily intake and boosting magnesium and Vitamin K2 at the same time to ensure any excess calcium was counterbalanced.
As vitamin D levels rise it becomes increasing hard to raise it further so each extra 1000iu /daily has progressively less benefit and more will be wasted. Do remember that living near naked outdoors as humans evolved our skin produced 10~20,000iu very quickly and over a day of careful, non burning sun exposure it's theoretically possible to generate 50,000iu/daily so a fortnights holiday at a tropical nudist resort may generate these kinds of daily intakes naturally.
I used to experience high levels of chronic nerve pain and it was only when I got my Vitamin D levels above 50ng/ml that my quality of life improved. Remember that we evolved to produce vitamin D from dawn to dusk over every inch of our skin surface and from DUSK to DAWN we should be creating MELATONIN. Both vitamin D and melatonin are antinociceptive (as well as being anti oxidants, antiobiotics etc) so trying to improve melatonin secretion is as important an ensuring a good vitamin d level.
Thanks Ted for clearing that up. Someone with extremely low Vit D stores will need a huge boost in daily intake for several months, assuming that it's even being abosrbed, to saturate the fat stores and raise blood levels back to normal, and these daily intake levels, IF the phsycian has already determined an extremely low Vit D state, are probably appropriate and safe.
hi nathji,
thanks for your advice..
The prescription says 60,000IU of cholecalciferol Daily for 2 months..
the tablet name for vit d3 is VITANOVA SG..
along with it calcium carbonate equivalent to 200mg elemental calcium daily.. and vitamin b (pyridoxine, methylcobalamin and folic acid)
even i havent heard anyone of taking such large dose daily.. yeah you are right, i should check with my doctor once again..
Thanks
Sid
Hi Ted,
i did have a look at the link you posted.. sounds interesting.. but it still freaks me out to consume such a large dose daily..
sid
Dear Sid1988
Thanks for your reply. I have gone through Dr. Joe Prendergast's site, which Ted has so ably presented with his vast knowledge.
But I believe you should see that the kidneys are all right before you start on the dose as the site itself states in its last paras:
"Dr. Prendergast warns that patients taking 50,000 units of vitamin D3 SHOULD NOT TAKE ANY CALCIUM SUPPLEMENTS! It is fine to have some milk products and the small dose of calcium in most multivitamins (400 mg) will not be a problem. Since most adults seem to have deposits of calcium outside bones, in arteries, around joints, etc, perhaps the vitamin D assists in retrieving calcium from these undesirable deposits! The OTHER EXCEPTION TO THE 50,000 UNITS WOULD BE INDIVIDUALS WITH KIDNEY FAILURE—THOSE ON DIALYSIS. Although there is great evidence that D is needed and that D deficiency is related to kidney failure, the dose in these individuals should be monitored by blood levels!"
Your doctor would be the best judge. I know from personal experience that taking 60,000 IU per week rapidly brought my Vitamin D blood levels to the maximum 100 ng so that I stopped and reduced the dose.
It would be wonderful if someone who is already taking 60,000 IU per day would give his or her feedback here. The sooner the fracture is healed and the sooner you get freed of pain the better it will be. If all that is required is a large dose of 60,000 IU per day which others have also tried daily, it may be worth the risk. The kidneys are the main things you should check with your doctor though. I am sure a kidney - creatinine- blood test would be worth it.
Best wishes,
Yours, Priya
I hadn't heard of these before but they are available.
VITANOVA
Drives Away D3 DeficiencyVitamin D deficiency is an major concern in India affecting all age groups. VITANOVA, a brand of vitamin D3 containing 60,000 IU of Cholecalciferol has been introduced to address this health concern. Increasing awareness on Vitamin D deficiency and its implications is widening the market of Vitamin – D. The total market of Vitamin D & Combinations is 500Cr and growing by 35%. We are confident that VITANOVA will make a strong hold in this market."
While I think there are circumstances where a bolus dose is required to raise 25(OH)D quickly however I think this should only be done with the oversight of a health professional and together with regular 25(OH)D checking.
As some people respond very efficiently to normal intakes of Vitamin D3 I think it's more sensible to start with a dose that you know is generally effective and then after 3~6 months check that response and only then will you have some evidence on which to base your judgement of how that particular body is responding.
If you then know what response 6000iu/daily produces you can have a rough guess at what 60,000iu/daily would produce bearing in mind that as you get above 40ng/ml the rise in ng/ml per 1000iu/daily tends to decline.
Dear Ted!
Thanks for the information on VITANOVA! You are the best!
You are right we have to be careful about large doses ( bolus doses) as we dont know how the levels of Vit D rise in the blood for each individual! I was surprised when mine went sky high on 60,000 IU per week in one year, to 100 ng and then I wrote to some Vit D experts including Dr. Veith himself, and they asked me to tone it down to once in every two weeks or else stop it for some time and then start it again. It then came down to a comfortable 50 ng and I have been taking Vit D 60,000 IU only off and on, say once or twice a month since then, sometimes not at all.
Best wishes and warm regards,
Yours,
Priya
hii,
I did consult my doctor again. And he said to continue with 60,000IU daily for two months. He told me not to worry and its safe.
sid
Dear Sid,
It is great you consulted your doctor and asked him a second time. He must be knowing what he is doing. If this big a dose brings relief from the pain of the fracture it is wonderful. Just watch for symptoms as you take the daily large doses, and if you find any unusual symptom, don't wait - just go to the doctor and tell him. He may ask for tests for kidney function or the level of Vit D in the blood. I hope that these big doses are safe and they get you out of the pain and suffering which you are enduring!
Best wishes and warm regards,
Yours,
Priya
When my doc discovered my Vitamin D levels were low, they had me on 50,000 IU to start off with to try to get my levels back up to normal. I now take 10,000IU daily to maintain the level. I have had no problems with side effects.
My Vit D level 23 and I was prescribed 20,000 IU daily for 1 week and then one 20,000 tablet once per month for 3 months and then another blood test. Does that sound right, or should I have a blood test after 1 month or so ?
Thanks
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