dr. lupo, i have complained mainly of fatigue, weight gain/extreme difficulty losing weight for at least four years. my dr. has checked my thyroid levels and they have been consistently normal. i continued to pursue a reason for my symptoms and in march, was diagnosed with low vitamin D by an endo. i started taking 3,000iu of a vitamin D supplement daily. two months later, i was retested and my vitamin D level had increased to about 28. my endo suggested i also start taking calcium to increase absorption. i started taking a calcium with vitamin D supplement - this increased my daily vitamin D supplementation to about 4,000iu and my calcium to about 1,000mg (includes daily multivitamin).
i started to feel poorly almost immediately (though i did not make the connection right away). i went to my primary doctor, and he performed a blood test. my calcium level was 10.7. (b12 also low, don't know if this could be related.) this concerned me, so i had additional blood work done at my endo's office about 2 weeks later. in the meantime, i made the decision to decrease my vitamin D supplementation to about 2,500iu daily and my calcium supplementation to about 450mg daily. My calcium level dropped to 9.6. my pth level was only 11.8.
my endo told me that considering my low vitamin D levels, i was not taking too much vitamin D and that i should continue taking the additional calcium supplement. this doesn't make sense to me. i am afraid that i start taking the calcium supplement again, my calcium levels will increase again (over the last three years, they have been between 9 and 10.7). also worried that increasing D levels will increase calcium levels. more confused than ever and still don't have a reason for my original symptoms.
could the increased vitamin D and/or calcium supplementation have increased my calcium level? i've read "yes" and "no". should i continue with calcium supplements? should i lower the dosage of my vitamin d supplement? (i have read of others taking much more). is hyperparathyroidism still a consideration with my low pth #? should i be concerned about other reasons for the high calcium reading? any other suggestions? thank you so much for your time in answering this question. i apologize for the length of this question; i did try to keep it brief.