Your body needs a variety of vitamins and minerals on a regular basis. Vitamins aid in certain body processes, such as digestion, red blood cell production and healing tissues. Some vitamins, such as B vitamins and vitamin D, can cause constipation--- especially when taken in supplement form. Never take supplements without talking to your health-care provider first.
Multivitamins
Multivitamins contain a variety of vitamins to help ensure that you meet all of the daily requirements your body needs. It's possible to take too much of a multivitamin and overdose, which could lead to constipation, according to Drugs.com. Other symptoms that can accompany a multivitamin overdose include loss of appetite, hair loss, stomach pain, vomiting, severe headache and peeling skin.
B Vitamins
If you take vitamin C, folic acid or B vitamin supplements, you could experience constipation as one of the side effects. All of these supplements can cause additional side effects such as stomach pain, dark or green stools, nausea and vomiting. Severe side effects include black, tarry or bloody stools, severe or persistent stomach pain and swelling of the mouth. Seek medical attention right away should you begin to experience any severe side effect.
Vitamin D
Your body can make its own vitamin D from sunlight, or you can consume it by drinking milk fortified with vitamin D and some cereals fortified with vitamin D. It's very easy to become vitamin D deficient, especially if you don't get enough exposure to sunlight or if you don't consume enough foods that contain vitamin D. For this reason, you may opt for a vitamin D supplement, but if you accidentally take too much, you can overdose on vitamin D. An overdose of vitamin D is often referred to as "vitamin D toxicity," which can cause constipation, poor appetite, vomiting, general weakness and weight loss. In extreme cases, vitamin D toxicity can increase blood calcium levels.
Considerations
If, after carefully discussing all concerns about taking supplements with your physician, you are experiencing side effects from taking a certain vitamin or multivitamin, let your doctor know. She may need to adjust your dosage or recommend a different type of supplement. Tell your doctor what type of foods you frequently include in your diet, as you may already get sufficient vitamins from diet alone.
