How much vitamin D is too much?

[TerryTeeJay]

This year I have been having trouble with my Vit D levels (i am @ 6 should be closer to 100).  My doc tried different doses and it would not come up.  Doc's now have me taking 50,000 IU every three days and wanted me to take 2,000 on the days I am not taking the bigger dose.  I get my levels retested next month to see if they have come up.  Well the last week or two another Doc see's something wrong with my liver (Ultrasound).  I am still waiting to hear back on blood work done to check my liver function.  But mean while people are telling me not to take the Vit D and that these levels could be even more toxic to my liver.  Is this true?  I checked the internet and some sites say it's toxic and others say it's fine.
I am 31 and I work out doors and am in the sun daily.  So I am really shocked how my levels got so low.

I called and asked my Doc who has me on the Vit D and she said it's ok.  But is it?

[clarajo]

Are you taking Vitamin D Supplement? I too have vitamin D deficiency and I was planning to take Vitamin D supplements.Thanks for your information Renee *********, it is really useful for me.

[Renee Radenberg]

Vitamin D - 2000 IU is the tolerable upper intake level for adults and can be at risk for toxicity (weak muscles, weak bones, excessive bleeding, and kidney stones) with higher amounts. Insufficiency of vitamin D may cause symptoms, such as bone loss occurs and osteomalacia in adults. Impaired Calcium absorption occurs due to very low levels of the vitamin D. You did not mention your Calcium levels and suggest getting it checked.  Magnesium (Mg) works with Calcium and there are no issues unless there is Mg depletion due to disease factors or high doses of calcium intake of individuals with poor renal function. Suggest getting your Mg level checked, however, if it is normal suggest not taking supplements due to risk of toxicity. The causes of Vitamin D deficiency could be lack of sunlight, decreased food sources of vitamin D, renal or liver failure, hypoparathyroidism, gastrectomy, and medications (such as anticonvulsants, corticosteroids). Vitamin D is available through our foods - Fortified milk, breakfast cereals, egg yolks, fatty fish, fish oils, and the sun. Hoped that answered your question.

[FurballsMom]

Are you taking magnesium with vitamin D supplements?  That's the one that seems to be the most critical to synthesize vitamin D.  You can get more information on the Vitamin D Council's website.  While I do think something more is going on here and there is a good reason to be posting to the experts, I do know that taking magnesium with the vitamin D is actually critically important.  Even just the RDA seems to be sufficient to get the most use out of your vitamin D supplement.  And, too, while the vitamin D2 megadoses are clearly very important prescriptions, when I was taking it to boost mine up once a week, I was told to also take 2,000 iu vitamin D3 daily to help maintain the vitamin D.  And, too, once I got it up to where it needed to be, I have needed to still stay at 5,000 iu daily to maintain a healthy level.  The experts will tell you that this is still too much.  Well, actually it's not for me.  I did it correctly and was taking this much routinely and was tested once again.  The level was the same as it was months before.  It did not go up and it did not go down.  While I'm no expert here and I know you are paying for the expert, too, I hope this is sufficient information for you.  You definitely need to take the magnesium, too.  

For some people, the maintenance dose is 2,000 iu of vitamin D3, and this is what the Vitamin D Council says, too.  What they say to do is to take the maintenance dose at the same level for a few months, then retest.  That's what I did.  That's how I know that 5,000 iu is what I personally need.  This may not be true for you once you get to where you need to be at and can stay there.

If I were you, I would look into the possibility of vitamin D dysregulation and ask the experts about that, too, if you need more information.

Before you panic about the possibility of vitamin D dysregulation, though, I would still take the magnesium with the vitamin D (doesn't matter if it's the megadose vit D2 or the D3, take the magnesium.  And, take magnesium daily.)  Most people are also deficient in magnesium, so that might be all that is wrong here, too.  I personally need more than the minimal RDA of magnesium, but so long as you take at least the RDA of magnesium, that should help with the vitamin D issues, because that is what is needed for the body to synthecize vitamin D.

I hope this helps.  I know my post will be placed after the answer from the expert, because I'm not the expert.  But, I have experience severe vitamin D deficiency myself that almost killed me.  Mine started out not much higher than yours.  Mine was still only 8.