Vitamin D works in conjunction with calcium to keep your teeth and bones strong and healthy. Your doctor may recommend supplementing your diet with a vitamin D if your blood levels of this nutrient are low. Despite the beneficial aspects of vitamin D supplementation, taking too much vitamin D may induce overdose symptoms. Consult your doctor if you have questions or concerns regarding treatment with vitamin D supplements.
Dosing
Each day, healthy adults should receive between 600 and 800 international units (IU) of vitamin D, according to the National Institute of Health's Office of Dietary Supplements. As an adult, you may take up to 4,000 IU vitamin D without developing unpleasant side effects, the Office of Dietary Supplements explains. Long-term or excessive treatment with vitamin D supplements that exceed 4,000 IU may significantly elevate your blood levels of this nutrient.
Initial Overdose Symptoms
Vitamin D promotes calcium absorption along your digestive tract. When you take an overdose of vitamin D, both your vitamin D and calcium levels increase to dangerous levels. The initial symptoms associated with a vitamin D overdose actually occur because you have too much calcium in your blood -- a condition called hypercalcemia. Initial hypercalcemia symptoms include nausea, vomiting, constipation, loss of appetite and unintended weight loss. You may also feel unusually fatigued, weak or confused, which may make it difficult for you to participate in your normal daily activities.
Severe Overdose Symptoms
If the initial symptoms of vitamin D toxicity are left undetected or untreated, you may develop more severe medical complications. Persistently high levels of vitamin D and calcium may cause heart rate abnormalities, bone loss or kidney stones. Your vital organs, including your heart and kidneys, may harden and stop functioning normally due to calcification, the Linus Pauling Institute warns. In the absence of appropriate treatment, severe vitamin D toxicity symptoms may be fatal.
Treatment
The most obvious treatment for vitamin D overdose is stopping treatment with this supplement. Your doctor may also recommend saline intravenous (IV) treatment along with orally administered corticosteroids and bisphosphonates, which help prevent your body from absorbing calcium, the Merck Manuals Online Medical Library reports. Your medical provider will likely repeat these IV treatments until your blood levels of vitamin D and calcium return to normal. Unfortunately, organ damage sustained following vitamin D overdose may be permanent and can cause chronic medical problems.
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