Long-term vitamin D3 in doses ranging from 5000 to 50,000 IUs/day deemed safe.

GaleHawkins
GaleHawkins Posts: 8,159 Member
https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30611908

Daily oral dosing of vitamin D3 using 5000 TO 50,000 international units a day in long-term hospitalized patients: Insights from a seven year experience.

" In summary, long-term supplementation with vitamin D3 in doses ranging from 5000 to 50,000 IUs/day appears to be safe."

This is the first time I have seen published research on the subject of high level of D3 safe usage levels. For years I have read anecdotal reports where MS patients finding success at using 200+ international units daily for years without side effects but anecdotal reports does not give me total peace of mind in these kinds of medical matters.

Friday I had my annual fasting labs and have my physical by video conference this week. Over the summer I only did one 50K units capsules once a week but was in the sun a lot especially after my wife broke her hip in the horse lot and my daughter is out of town until Christmas for the fall semester only.

While there does not seem to be data backed danger levels there much be a danger range for humans. There are lab values at need to be monitored for sure.

If we have 3000 Vitamin D receptors in our body I do wonder if they are not filled with Vit D what else might park in them? :)

Replies

  • canadjineh
    canadjineh Posts: 5,396 Member
    Didn't seem to be anything in this study about co-supplementation with Vit K.... and yet in a 2017 study it was shown to be important for bone & cardiovascular heath. https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5613455/
  • canadjineh
    canadjineh Posts: 5,396 Member
    I wonder why the study authors are from the Department of Psychiatry? That seems weird; are they back to finding 'guinea pigs' in the psych wards like the 'good old days' in the 40's and 50's?
    Department of Psychiatry, Wright State University School of Medicine, Dayton, OH, 45435, United States; Summit Behavioral Healthcare, Cincinnati, OH, 45237, United States. Electronic address: pmccullough1@cinci.rr.com.
    2
    Department of Psychiatry, Wright State University School of Medicine, Dayton, OH, 45435, United States; Summit Behavioral Healthcare, Cincinnati, OH, 45237, United States.
    3
    Summit Behavioral Healthcare, Cincinnati, OH, 45237, United States.
  • GaleHawkins
    GaleHawkins Posts: 8,159 Member
    Low levels of vitamin D is associated with poor physical and mental health outcomes.

    This data doesn't speak as to the value of Vit D for health issues but is awesome information for those doing n=1 experiments with Vitamin D3.

    It only shows published medical data up to 50,000 units of Vitamin D was given in a controlled medical environment appeared to be safe. This is the first published vitamin D3 safety data that I have found in 5 years of searching.

    While I have been dropping back to 50K units weekly in the summertime. I have restarted my n=1 experiment after giving the blood samples last week.

    Medically speaking today we don't know the best levels of vitamin D3 for humans. This kind of published info is good to have at my annual physical since I will have a different MD. After 2 years the last MD was just tracking my Lab results that Vitamin D3 may impact in a negative way.

    It's believed by some in the medical community today finding the optimal Vit D levels will reduce medical costs.
  • GaleHawkins
    GaleHawkins Posts: 8,159 Member
    canadjineh wrote: »
    Didn't seem to be anything in this study about co-supplementation with Vit K.... and yet in a 2017 study it was shown to be important for bone & cardiovascular heath. https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5613455/

    Awesome find. Thanks

    The first thing I take each and every morning is both MK4 and MK7 forms of Vitamin K2.. I consider Vit D3 to be very dangerous without a boat load of K2 due to heart calcium deposit formations risks vit D3 may trigger.
  • GaleHawkins
    GaleHawkins Posts: 8,159 Member
    https://spring.org.uk/2019/09/sign-vit-d-deficiency.php

    @canadjineh this is some research that popped up this morning about the relationship of Vit D and mental health.

    "
    Depression can be a sign of vitamin D deficiency, recent research suggests.

    Vitamin D deficiency is linked to a 75 percent higher risk of depression....."

    Dr Robert Briggs, the study’s first author, said:

    “This is the largest representative and most comprehensive study of depression risk and vitamin D status in older adults ever conducted in Ireland.

    Our findings will provide useful information to help inform public health policy – particularly regarding the proposition of the usefulness of vitamin D treatment/supplementation for depression.”

    Personally my interest is in the possibility to drive calcium out of the heart arteries, tendons and other places where it can cause health issues and back into the bones and teeth. I do not know about the heart yet but I do now have joints that move a few degrees for the first time in 20-30 years. It is not major movement but it helps when driving and reaching for things on the ground.

    When I had my coronary artery calcium scoring done 18 months ago I had been using Vit D3 and K2 for several years at one level or another so I do not know its impact if any on my score of 9.8. It did mess with the minds of the techs that thought their equipment was not working right because I was 66 and basically free of calcium in the heart arteries. They stopped and quizzed me for a long time about my health life style. I plan to have the test run again and see if I am over 10 now which would normally be expected.

  • Malimalai
    Malimalai Posts: 276 Member
    I don't like going out in the sunshine if I think it's too hot . After my check up,my doctor recommended I take 1000IU Vitamin D3 daily because I was low on Vitamin D3.🌞⛅
  • retirehappy
    retirehappy Posts: 4,756 Member
    Seniors in general seem to not get enough Vitamin D. I use it along with the vitamin Ks. I'm taking it for my CAC score (325), which placed me in the midrange health risk for CAD. Taking a few other things too, will retest in the spring at the same facility and see if I have reversed or halted the growth. I need the calcium in my bones, not my heart, so not taking calcium anymore either.

    That score was high enough to get my attention, but I was instructed to talk with my regular dr. if I had further concerns. I'm holding off til the rescan. I think mine is so high because of all the years of my life I have been mostly a grainarian, eating grains with little condiments of veg and proteins.

    My husband has a higher score (1000ish), but the reason he has it is the stuff was doing its job. He had a horrid car accident at 21, the cardiologist told him, basically the calcium is holding your heart together. He was the head of the cardiology dept at the medical university where DH worked and no stranger to CAC scanning. DH has had one retest and growth was well below the 15% growth amount they expect to see in older patients at only 5%. Since he has also gone lchf/lazy keto with me, I hope to see both our numbers shrinking instead of increasing. We will be testing together come spring.
  • macchiatto
    macchiatto Posts: 2,890 Member
    My MS specialist recommended all his patients take 3000-5000IU/day. They also check my D levels once or twice a year. They've never mentioned adding the K2 though; I just heard about that recently but am not sure where to start (good brands, how much, etc.).
  • TheDevastator
    TheDevastator Posts: 1,626 Member
    edited September 2019
    I take doctor's best d3 5000 iu and k2 100 mcg daily when I remember. If I missed some days I take 10,000 iu. I also take 800 iu vitamin e occasionally. Vitamin A is from cod liver oil and liver and a few veggies. Those are all your fat soluble vitamins.
  • GaleHawkins
    GaleHawkins Posts: 8,159 Member
    macchiatto wrote: »
    My MS specialist recommended all his patients take 3000-5000IU/day. They also check my D levels once or twice a year. They've never mentioned adding the K2 though; I just heard about that recently but am not sure where to start (good brands, how much, etc.).


    https://truevantagenutrition.com/products/vitamin-k2-mk7-d3

    @macchiatto the above was what I selected for my wife to keep it simple and hopefully safe from calcium deposits in the heart and other arteries. Typically I use Amazon as my source and the prices are about the same.

    To reduce cost of my n=1 trials I use Bio-Tech Pharmacal - D3-50 - 100 Count. I take with with both K2 MK4 (half life 3 hours) and K2 MK7 (half life of three days). I have been taking high amounts of Magnesium for year so I was OK there. Without enough Magnesium Vit D does not work as well. The K2 is to protect against artery calcium blockage as you know.

    18 months ago I had my CAC scoring and it came out 9.8 grade. While I am happy I wish I had ran a baseline long ago but I just learned about the test a couple years ago right here in this MFP group. The scoring test was $100 in Paris TN and I got a CD and typed review results.

    I had been doing the calcium artery removal protocol mega D3/K2 trial for a while before this test and working to get my Vit D levels up to high normal for several years before that.

    Because of no base line data I do not know if the protocols I devised works or not personally. If the next CAC score is higher or lower then that may be my answer. It seems anything below 10 is golden risk wise. One web doctor claims good results but he requires to see one in person so he does not post how to do one's on n=1 naturally. He talks about dropping 1600 scores in relative short order but no specific data with case files.

    Due to a friend with MS I started to reading about Dr. Cormbra and his work with MS patients link below about 10 years ago. I have no thoughts about his work and my interest was to help determine D3 safety in long term mega usage of D3. While I have read his thoughts and one book by a patient who was a nurse in the USA there just really is no clinical trials. The link in the OP is the best data I have found and it is not really about mega usage like Dr. Cormbra mentions.

    Again this link below is just a starting point on the subject of Vit D3 research and should not be acted on for health issues. I have been digging for a long time on the subject of Vit D3 and still have more questions than answers.

    https://vitamindwiki.com/MS+and+vitamin+D+consensus+from+Brazil+-+40-100+ng%2C+not+monotherapy+%E2%80%93+Feb+2014

    Best of success with your health.

  • Makaiookami
    Makaiookami Posts: 32 Member
    In my opinion if you are low on Vitamin D and don't want more sun exposure, try liver or get some frozen salmon cheap, take the scales off, and eat the skin with the rest of it.
  • Emmapatterson1729
    Emmapatterson1729 Posts: 1,296 Member
    edited September 2019
    Malimalai wrote: »
    I don't like going out in the sunshine if I think it's too hot . After my check up,my doctor recommended I take 1000IU Vitamin D3 daily because I was low on Vitamin D3.🌞⛅

    I'm with you, I avoid the sun like the plague.

    I take a lower dose, I think 1000IU-3000IU, sublingual tablets daily. I buy different brands, whatever is on sale at the natural markets.
  • Sunny_Bunny_
    Sunny_Bunny_ Posts: 7,140 Member
    I really like the Pure Vitamin Club brand Vitamin D3 because it has the Vitamin K and olive oil (since its fat soluble) already in it.
    They are only 2000mg though but as a maintenance I think it’s good. Price isn’t bad either.
    If anyone know of another that bundles the K I’d be interested in comparing.
  • GaleHawkins
    GaleHawkins Posts: 8,159 Member
    @Sunny_Bunny_ that sounds like a good option because it is combined with a fat. It seems K2 MK7 is the most common form of K2 added to D3 and the best choice of MK4 and MK7 just because K2 MK4 half life it 3 hours versa 72 hours for MK7. I use both since some research did the same. The wife only does the 5000 unit D3 with 180 mcg of MK7 in a capsule and she has health bones based on the way the broken hip bone healed and that was not the case 22 years ago when she was carrying the twins.

    I take my D3 with my coconut laced first cup of coffee.

    Maybe someday there will be some solid data on D3 and K usage.

    Life Extension has an K option containing K1 and K2 MK4 and MK7 which is the first one I used and I think it is a good option. I do MK4 3-4 times daily and MK7 once. The amount of the MK7 depends on the amount of D3 I am taking. I am getting a lot of sunshine this summer out working with the animals without a shirt and came in at 155+ ng last week because I did not factor in what my body was making.

    It has been 18 months since my first Coronary Artery Calcium Scoring test so I need to retest to seek if high D3 and K2 is helpful or harmful in my case.

  • GaleHawkins
    GaleHawkins Posts: 8,159 Member
    https://nutritionfacts.org/2019/09/10/vitamin-d-supplements-for-reducing-cancer-mortality/

    Vitamin D Supplements for Reducing Cancer Mortality

    I found the Premarin case study sad. Validity of medical advice based to the SWAG (Simple Wild *kitten* Guess) can be deadly.
  • Malimalai
    Malimalai Posts: 276 Member
    In my opinion if you are low on Vitamin D and don't want more sun exposure, try liver or get some frozen salmon cheap, take the scales off, and eat the skin with the rest of it.

    I eat liver and salmon once or twice a week. My doctor told me I have high level of Iron and I 'm low on Vitamin D. So, I'm taking 1000 IU Vitamin D3 as she reccommended.🐟💊
  • GaleHawkins
    GaleHawkins Posts: 8,159 Member
    It boggles my mind that Vitamin D is not only used by our human cells but also can impact the gut microbiome that lives inside of us.

    Dysbiotic gut microbes may contribute to hypertension by limiting vitamin D production
    https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6672427/

    Dietary Vitamin D, Vitamin D Receptor, and Microbiome
    https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6168421/

    Vitamin D improves gut flora and metabolic syndrome
    Extra vitamin D can restore good bacteria in the gut, according to a study in mice, giving hope in the fight against risk factors for diabetes and heart disease
    https://sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/12/161221125439.htm

    Amid the Murk of ‘Gut Flora,’ Vitamin D Receptor Emerges as a Key Player
    https://urmc.rochester.edu/news/story/2923/amid-the-murk-of-gut-flora-vitamin-d-receptor-emerges-as-a-key-player.aspx
    Notice the date on this article.

    Time is the only limit on what one can read concerning Vitamin D and its relationships to sickness and health.

    It would be great to get some research as to the best level of Vit D in humans when it comes health. I expect we are only going to have observational data to work with when it comes to humans since there is no known number for D3 toxicity since we do not do LD50 studies on humans. If the LD50 Vit D levels in dogs relates to humans then we know humans are going to have a hard time reaching the LD50 levels.
  • canadjineh
    canadjineh Posts: 5,396 Member
    I take Natural Factors K2 (MK7 from natto bean) + D3. One tiny pill = 125 mcg + 1000 IU. My BIL used to work for the company for many years before retirement so I know they are a reliable source lab tested ISURA. non GMO & mass spectrometry tested