Vitamin D - Safe to supplement a hormone?

[mhusername]

I recently found out my Vit D levels were quite low (22 mg/dl), and this is after a month of supplementing 2000iu daily and getting 10-15min of full body midday sun exposure. So a couple questions...

What dosage would you recommend? I was considering slowly increasing from 2000 to 4000 over the next few weeks. How long will it take before my levels reach 60+ (my goal, since I have heard 60-80 is ideal for my condition of fatigue and sleep apnea).

And this brings me to my next question - if it is so dangerous to supplement hormones like testosterone, since it causes the body to stop producing it naturally on its own, isnt there the same danger with VitD? If I am pumping large amounts of artificial VitD (how the heck is this stuff made anyway?) into my body, wont it mess with my ability to make the stuff naturally?

Thanks

[Renee Radenberg]

Our body needs Vitamin D from our food sources and from the sun (this is where the vitamin D is produced from sun on our skin). Take away either of the 2 sources and the levels of vitamin D will decrease.

[mhusername]

But with testosterone for example, regardless of your levels, when you start introducing external sources into the body, the body stops producing it naturally correct? This is why there is such a risk of shrinking testicles (because the body stops producing on its own)?

Isn't there a similar risk with vitamin d, since it is actually a hormone? I am sure I can take 4000iu a day and it will be MONTHS before I go from 20mg/dl to 60-80mg/dl. The question is - am I hurting my bodies ability to produce vit d NATURALLY by relying so heavily on external supplementation? When I go off the supplements, will I still be able to produce naturally?

[Renee Radenberg]

With hormones or vitamins/mineral you need to  know your levels first before you take supplements so you do not increase to amounts that would do harm to the body. If your hormones have decreased, then hormone supplements will not harm. All supplements need routine monitoring to continue, decrease/increase or stop supplementation.

[mhusername]

Thanks for the info, I know there could be many things that cause the low levels, I am more concerned with getting them back to where they should be. So as to my original question - is there any danger in supplimenting this hormone? I dont see how its different than other hormones (testosterone, melatonin, both of which can cause your body to stop producing if you inject too much).

Can anyone point me to some info that shows this is not anything to worry about?

[Renee Radenberg]

Vitamin D may decrease from certain medications such as certain anti-seizure, corticosteroids, heparin, certain antibiotics, mineral oil, and antacids; or certain disease states such as celiac disease, Crohn’s disease and Whipple’s disease. Insufficiency may cause symptoms such as bone loss, osteomalacia (in adults), and impaired Calcium absorption occurs due to very low levels of the vitamin. You did not mention your Calcium levels and suggest getting it checked. An intake of Vitamin D 400 IU is sufficient for your age. You should not go over that amount in supplementation. 2000 IU is the tolerable upper intake level for adults; however, you can be at risk for toxicity (weak muscles, weak bones, excessive bleeding, and kidney stones) if you consume supplementation plus large amounts of fortified milk / dairy products and fish. Vitamin D is available through our foods - Fortified milk, breakfast cereals, egg yolks, fatty fish, fish oils, and the sun. It is good you are in the sun for vitamin. Suggest finding out the cause of the deficiency to treat it. Hoped this helped you.