Hello everyone , when I was in hospital last April they put me on 6weeks course of 20000 international units of vitamin D to be taken once a week .
On leaving hospital my Doctor put me on 1,000 IU vitamin D which I forgot to take as they changed most of my medication .
I started on Digoxin in May and read on one of the leaflets doesn’t go well with vitamin D .
Spoke to Doctor and she said will be fine as the vitamin D is low dose .
I took the first vitamin D this morning after breakfast as instructed and the Digoxin 2 hours later .
About lunch time I felt very weak slightly breathless and unsteady ( later discovered I was in Afib , I don’t really notice it as much now I’m taking Digoxin )
I am also on Bisoporol, Furosemide, Apixaban,Spironolactone and Thyroxin
I am now thinking did the vitamin D cause this as reluctant to take again but am aware it is needed , really don’t want this to happen again .
Would be grateful for any thoughts on this
Thank you
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Bekiebexs
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It’s always impossible to know for sure but I don’t think it’s likely. If you have paroxysmal afib, it’s going to happen anyway and it will always be just after eating or drinking something, or taking medication, or supplements, or stress, or something or another. It’s so easy to wrongly attribute symptoms to something quite arbitrary. But on the other hand, people can have specific triggers, like coffee or alcohol. It’s difficult to reach your RDA of vitamin D by diet alone and at this time of year you aren’t going to get adequate sun exposure. Perhaps fortified foods might help get your levels up, and that way you won’t be taking in a large dose in one hit. The other alternative is vitamin D drops rather than tablets. I take 1000 IU daily and I’m OK on it but that’s me. Your biochemistry and metabolism may be different. I’m not crazy about supplements unless they’re necessary, and they’re only necessary for deficiencies. I’ve been deficient in Vitamin D and I need to look after my bones, but I am wary of taking in large amounts of unnecessary vitamins and minerals that are chemically synthesised in a factory. So by all means proceed with caution.
Taking vitamin D alone, without also taking Vit K2 can cause blood levels of calcium to rise (Vit K2 helps to move that excess calcium out of the blood and into the bones for storage) . There does seem to be an interaction between higher blood levels of calcium, known as hypercalcaemia,, and digoxin, where , in the presence of excess calcium, the digoxin can cause arrhythmias to develop.
I would suggest it’s worth getting your calcium level checked, if you haven’t already and have a look at adding vit K2 into the mix if you continue with the vitamin D
This is where it becomes confusing! I have osteoporosis so I’ve done some deep dives on the subject for self-help reasons. As always, my situation isn’t necessarily the same as everyone else’s.
Serum calcium levels in the blood won’t tell you anything about whether or not you have a dietary deficiency. Calcium levels in the blood are quite tightly controlled by the body as it functions as an electrolyte and needs to stay at a fairly constant level, like sodium or potassium. The Royal Osteoporosis Society has some useful info about getting enough calcium in the diet and adding up how much you consume in a day. If you are a post menopausal woman, you’ll need a bit more than the RDA but not hugely more. Calcium supplements are only necessary if you have a low calcium intake
I’ve read conflicting information about taking K2 with vitamin D, but my understanding is that if you’re taking 4000 IU or more per day it is probably a good idea to take K2. Some say it’s not necessary when taking lower doses of vitamin D. I take a K2 capsule a couple of times a week. It’s fat soluble so the body can store it. Whether or not it prevents build up of calcium where you don’t want it, the evidence so far is mixed but some people will want to err on the side of caution and take it anyway.
If you are concerned about your bone health, the only way to know what’s going on is to have a DEXA scan. The best sources of calcium are food sources. Dairy gets a bad rap but unless you’re lactose intolerant it’s fine. I am lactose intolerant but I can tolerate fermented milk products up to certain amounts. I also have fortified plant milks and yogurts. I’m very anti-food fads and don’t believe in cutting out food groups, nor do I believe that supplements are some kind of “natural” medicines. The ROS has an excellent helpline where you can talk to a specialist nurse about anything relating to bone health, including diet and supplements. The website is quite informative too.
Very good point about Ca, arrhythmias, calcium channel blockers etc. The picture can become very complicated, especially with medication to consider. We’re all individuals and we’re not all the same. In an ideal world our health professionals would be able to answer our questions but that’s not always possible. Very difficult to know what to do for the best.
You’re absolutely right, it is a complex picture and we are all so different in how we metabolise drugs, supplements etc. I was prescribed Vit D at 2000iu daily a few years back when I was found to be at a very low level. Retested after three months and was then told my blood calcium levels were too high and if it remained so on a retest I had a problem with my parathyroid glands! I did some research, discovered the Vit D link, so left it off for a month and calcium levels returned to normal. When I told the doctor she’d never heard of the link. Can’t help wondering how many people are being treated for parathyroid problems when vitamin D is actually the cause of the hypercalcaemia!
My concern with supplements is that the amount in a tablet never occurs naturally in any food and suddenly the body has a high level of whatever it is and then has to try and restore its equilibrium somehow. Also, the tablet contains just one component whereas in food there are other substances that could have a synergistic effect such as polyphenols and phytonutrients. It’s difficult to overdose on a whole food but very easy to chug back synthetic vitamins in megadoses. Also, vitamins aren’t regulated like medicines, so what you buy might contain more of the active ingredient than the amount stated, or it may contain much less. Yet they have this aura of being treatments for all manner of conditions.
I believe we have to be careful with supplements, and your experience shows how one person differs from another’s. My serum calcium dipped slightly too low a couple of months ago but I’m taking 1000IU of vitamin D. I don’t think the vitamin D was relevant in my situation but we have to be wise to supplements and stop seeing them as harmless and “natural”. Seriously, there’s nothing natural about synthetic vitamins produced in a lab and churned out on an industrial scale. Supplements have their place but we should always ask ourselves do we really need them?
You make some valid points. Supplements need to be treated with respect and we shouldn’t, as you put it, “chug them back” without regard. However, I have personally obtained great benefit from consuming carefully selected supplements, including, most recently, a marked reduction in my ectopic burden, so in answer to your question I would say they have their place.
If you’ve found something that helps your ectopics, that’s excellent. I haven’t found any relief at all through taking supplements like magnesium. I’m certainly not against trying things that might help. We’re all desperate to feel better. I think it’s a case of weighing up the risks and there’s probably not much harm if we’re being sensible about these things.
I think I got my AFib from vitamen D toxicity. My wife got some strong Vitamen D supplements meant to be taken weekly and I unknowingly took them daily. I also got natural Vit D when California spring came along.
I started getting rapid HR and high BP that would last for 3 days. It happened frequently and it wasn't until I finally starting checking the side effects of the suppliments I was taking that I came across:
"Symptoms of vitamin D toxicity (a.k.a. hypervitaminosis D) can include a loss of appetite, weight loss, excessive urination, and heart arrhythmia..."
I also read it was fat soluble and would takes weeks to work it's way out of my system which it eventually did and the incidences stopped. During that time I suffered a mini stroke that wasn't determined to because by Lone P afib until a year later.
It could have been something else but the fact that the incidences stopped after I stopped Vitamen D is good enough for me.
I assume you have been prescribed the Vit D as you are deficient in it?
If so I would carry on taking it as it may be beneficial for your other issues.
Also one dose is not statistically significant.
Afib itself can be quite random as you probaly know. It always was for me.
If you continue to have afib attacks I would go back to your doctor.
Not medically trained.
I do take 1000 iu per day vit D in winter , along with 200mg of vit K.
However I have not been diagnosed with Vit D deficiency by a health professional.
If you have then you maybe dont need the additional vit K.
I just assumed I would be deficient with Vit D in winter as I was on the North.
NICE in the UK ( HEALTH BODY) recommend a 400iu supplement to be taken in winter for all, and that if you are primarily indoors during summer to take it then also.
Hello KMRobbo, I was prescribed vitamin D while I was in hospital in April ,6 weeks course taken once week . When I came out hospital my Doctor prescribed 1000 IU per day .
Forgot to take as they changed all my medication ,since then I take Digoxin and have read doesn’t go well with vitamin D but Doctor said should be fine as vitamin D is low dose .
Just reluctant to try again as felt so unwell yesterday but suppose won’t know till I try !
I've taken 1000 IU of Vitamin D daily for several years since a blood test revealed low levels. When I started taking digoxin about 1-1/2 years ago, I read about the interaction so I make sure to take my digoxin around 10 am, then take my Vitamin D at dinnertime and haven't noticed any ill effects by doing that. Also, I eat a fairly high fiber diet and need to take digoxin 2 hours before or 2 hours after eating fruit, vegetables, etc.
Hi Bekiebexs - My dinnertime is anywhere between 5-6 pm so I feel that I've left enough of a gap between my 10 am dose of digoxin and my Vitamin D. The reason I take the digoxin at 10 am is so that I can avoid any fiber such as oatmeal and fruit that I might have for breakfast before 8 am and I have lunch around noon and can then have a lunch with some fiber. I take the Vitamin D right after dinner along with my daily dose of Xarelto. I hope that clarifies things. If not, let me know. My cardiologist checks my digoxin levels yearly at my request. I was apprehensive about taking it also but it seems to be working well for me since I am now in permanent afib but not feeling it as I did in the past. Good luck!
Hi Joy, I take thyroxine as I had my thyroid removed 23 years ago ,
Unfortunately have to take Furosemide as I have heart failure and been in hospital couple times with fluid on lungs and heart which made me so breathless .
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