How bad of an idea would it be to continue taking 50,000 IU of Vit D3/week?

35 comments

Ask a doctor not the internet.
- I want a second opinion.
  Ok, that's an ugly shirt.
  
  Bruh 🥺

This would be you:
(Extra Fabulous Comics)
- Lmao excellent reference

Why the hell would you do that?
Looks like ~4000IU a week is plenty, even with no sunlight exposure.
You're looking at like 13x the recommended intake; that's going to screw up your calcium levels eventually. And the stuff is cumulative, it's not like eg. vitamin C, which is gone from your system a day later.
My very strong advice would be don't.
If you've got a massive deficiency, follow medical advice.
If you haven't, then quit fucking with it.
- Why the hell would you do that?
  I had to do exactly this after a blood test showed my vit D was so low they couldn't accurately test it. It was to bring it back up to level, and now I just take a normal amount every day to keep it that way.
  
  Oh yeah, Stoss therapy - german for 'hammer' :D
  I just wonder why someone would continue to do it...
  
  Had to do the same a few years ago
  It was quite the trip suddenly having my vitamin D levels go from dangerously low to normal in such a short span
  Especially after mine had been so low for so long
- Sweden's recommendations are 100 µg/day for adult, which is 4000 IU (IE) per day. Times 7, is 28000 per week. So you're off by a factor of 7.
  Some tests have shown even up to 10000 per day is fine. But why risk it? While I'd not take OPs 50000 per week, because it's too much in my eyes, it could still be save, but I'd personally not risk it. There's no point in overdoing it.
  I take 5000 UI every other day,, because I barely get any sunlight. Probably a bit too low but I'd rather not risk it.
  
  Might just copy your scheme here
- It is for some people. I currently need to take 100k iu/week in order to be on the low end of normal.
  I was on 150k iu, but I had to switch doctors. The new idiot didn't believe me and just told me take an OTC pill a day.
  I left that guy. The next time I got checked, I was in the single digits. The new one didn't really believe me either. Each winter visit I've been low and she just keeps adding another pill. I suspect I'll be back up to 150k then.

Get a blood test. Excess of vitamin D may end up causing stones in your kidneys. If your levels aren't low, there is no point in adding a supplement.

That seems a bit too much. Why were you taking that much anyways?
https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/expert-answers/vitamin-d-toxicity/faq-20058108#:~:text=The%20main%20consequence%20of%20vitamin,the%20formation%20of%20calcium%20stones.
60,000 IU daily for a few months was shown to cause toxicity.
Edit - misread post, thought OP said daily intake, not weekly.
- Ya no its per week, not day.
  
  Ah yes. I misread that. Ignore me then.

When my vitamin D levels were tested low, the doc told me to take 2,000 IBU daily.
~7000/day seems quite high to me. But I'm not a doctor.
I would consider if the cost of purchasing all this vitamin D - a lot of of which your body may be excreting rather than absorbing - is a worthwhile financial investment in your health. I don't know anything about you, maybe it is.
- Unlike e.g. vitamin C, excess vitamin D isn't really excreted. It's stored long term and eventually causes hypercalcemia and kidney stones if persistently supplemented at high doses over a long time. OP's dosage is above the "sensible if you never see the sun" range but not quite in the "dangerously excessive" range.
  
  Can you clarify if you think this could work or do you legit perceive it as harmful. I also supplement with K2

Probably more wasteful than anything. Vitamin D3 is pretty safe, and that's not a crazy dose for a serious deficiency. It's probably worth getting tested for your level and dropping to about half that if you aren't low.
- Excess of vD for a prolonged time can get you stones in your kidneys. Hypercalcaemia
  
  Hopefully I didn't damage the 'kids too much.

That is a perfectly reasonable amount of vitamin D to take weekly. If taken orally not all of it will be absorbed anyway.
- I was of the understanding that D3 is lipophillic to the extent that it would likely just be absorbed into and leeched from fat over time. I'm not well read on the literature
  
  Before vitamin D can be stored in fat it must first be absorbed from the digestive system into the bloodstream. The absorbtion efficiency varies by individual but no one absorbs 100%. After making it into the blood some excess vitamin D can be stored in fat cells for later use.

what?

35 comments