Osteoporosis affects over 50 million Americans and qualifies as a public health burden, according to a review of the economic impact of osteoporosis in the May 2010 issue of "Radiologic Clinics of North America." The pediatric bone disease, rickets, reappeared in the late 1990s after almost five decades of decline, explains "The American Journal of Nutrition" in its December 2004 edition. With this increase in bone disorders, more doctors prescribe calcium and vitamin D to at-risk patients. Even natural substances such as minerals and vitamins, though, pose a risk of side effects and even toxicity when given in high doses.
Nausea and Vomiting
Normal adequate intake is around 200 IU per day, if you are under age 50, and 400 IU for most people over age 50. Usually, supplementation with vitamin D should not exceed 2,000 IU per day due to the risk of side effects, notes the Office of Dietary Supplements. If you suffer from a bone disease attributed to vitamin D deficiency, however, you may receive a prescription for 10 times that amount, per day, for a short time. If you take mega-dose vitamin D, you have an increased risk of side effects or toxic complications. Nausea and vomiting present as early indicators of vitamin D toxicity, according to the Merck Manuals Online Medical Library. If you take high doses of vitamin D and experience nausea and vomiting, contact your doctor for evaluation since many possible causes exist for these non-specific symptoms, including underlying disease and other medications.
Bone Pain
Levels of calcium in the body parallel the availability of vitamin D. Without vitamin D, your small intestine cannot absorb calcium. Bone diseases like osteoporosis and rickets result from vitamin D deficiency and subsequent failure of the gut to obtain calcium from the diet. When dietary calcium becomes unavailable, your body breaks down bone to maintain its supply of calcium. Conversely, when you take high-dose supplements, you provide excess vitamin D, so the body absorbs more calcium and then stores the extra calcium in the bones. Bone pain results as a side effect of high dose vitamin D supplementation as more mineralization of bone with calcium occurs.
Kidney Damage
In addition to storing extra calcium gained through elevated vitamin D levels, your body also tries to eliminate any excess, mostly through in your urine. Calcification, or hardening, of kidney tissue can occur, especially in children and interfere with the organ's function. As an adult, if your vitamin D level becomes very high, you may notice frequent urination as your body tries to remove extra calcium. Because fluid accompanies elimination of calcium through the kidneys, excessive thirst and dehydration become additional indicators of excess vitamin D, explains the medical text, "Robbins and Cotran: Pathologic Basis of Disease."
References
- "Radiologic Clinics of North America"; Osteoporosis: Social and Economic Impact; Juliet Compston, M.D.; May 2010
- "American Journal of Nutrition"; Nutritional Rickets among Children in the United States: Review of Cases Reported between 1986 and 2003; Pamela Weisberg, Kelley S Scanlon, et al.; Dec. 2004
- "Robbins and Cotran: Pathologic Basis of Disease"; Vinay Kumar, M.D., editor; 2010
- "The Merck Manuals Online Medical Library"; Vitamin Deficiency, Dependency, and Toxicity: Vitamin D
- National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements: Dietary Supplement Fact Sheet: Vitamin D
Member Comments