I am on calchichew calcium tabs prescribed by my GP. It has added vitamin D 800ius i take 2 a day. I also take extra vitamin D 2000ius once oer day, this is as much as i can tolerate. Parathyroid glands are normal so my question is why is my calcium in the low range every time i am tested. Doc thinks its just dietary.
Low Calcium and Vitamin D. Wondering if anyone ... - Thyroid UK
Low Calcium and Vitamin D. Wondering if anyone can shed some light On this.
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annette12
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Have you had thyroid problems or surgery ? Low Vit D & calcium can make you feel very poorly' I know due to having hypoparathyroidism.
Would you say you have a good balanced diet.or are you a picky eater ?
I take a D supplement ( calcitriol ) I couldn't get on with the calchichew, you didn't say if the extra calcium was prescribed by your Gp.
Be careful if your self medicating the calcium because you can feel just as ill with to little as you can having to much........as I found out by my calcium going sky high.
It is a very careful balancing act to get it right.
May I ask how long you have been on this medication ? If you have an endocrine consultant
I would be inclined to mention your low Vit D results & it would be interesting to know your calcium levels.
Be careful of 'long term' use of these meds as they can damage your liver with prolonged
use. Jillymo
Hi jillyma thanks for replying. I have hashimotos have not had surgery for anything, parathyroids were checked at hospital. I have a very good appetite. Doc has prescribed the calchichew i take twice a day 500mg in each tab. My last result for calcium was yester and it was 2.11. Vitamin d 48. I have seen an endrocologisr once but im gona see my doc to get referred again as this prob has been going on a yr.i feel sick all the time. Thank you
Interesting because your calcium results were within the correct level.
It could be due to the hashimoto's as other's have suggested.......i'm not familiar with hashimoto's i have graves.
I am surprised we are not all suffering from Vitamin D3 deficiency what with the lack of sun we are having, that's assuming your in the uk. >Try to remember to ' drink plenty of water ' whilst on these meds this is important, I keep a glass of water by my sink to remind me to drink more.
I wonder why you feel sick , the body is a strange thing to say the least we expect other's to understand what is going on when we dont know our selves. I do hope you get some answer's soon. 
Yes jillma the body is very strange. Think i wil supplement with the k2 to see if it makes a diff. Fed up feeling like this and some people just dnt know what it feels like, so annoying!!
Keep an eye on your Vit D to much can make you feel not only sick but also very weak.
I will read up on K2 might take it myself !
Will do thank you.
P.s forgot to tell you do not take your calcium med near your thyroxine....I leave a couple of hours between or at a push an hour.
I was told by another on here it stops the absorption of the thyroxine !
Nice talking to you. Jillymo
I read that you cannot overdose on Vit D and that the body gets rid of unecessary amounts. Also that you would have to be taking very large amounts.
You can take too much VitD, gpnotebook.co.uk/simplepage...
Hypohen with the amount i am suplementing with would it still be poss to overdose? My vit d is still coming back low
If you're vitD is low you aren't ODing on vitD3 supplements. I was deficient <10 and prescribed 40,000iu daily x 7 followed by 2,000iu daily for 8 weeks and retested replete. 6 weeks after I stopped supplementing joint pains resumed so I self-medicate with 5,000iu daily. If I can get a lot of sun I'll probably reduce supplements during the summer and increase again throughout the winter.
In December 2012, prior to my endo appointment in January, I took about 50,000 IU per week during that month. Also 10 - 20 mg K2 per week. The vitamin D3 gelcaps contain Cod Liver oil, so I had vitamin A tested as well.
Vitamin D blood level was 93 ng/ml (247 nmol/ml). Calcium was totally normal (2.34 whatever the units), Vitamin A high normal.
I bolus dosed because I had not been taking this vitamin on a regular basis and I wanted to check if Carlson 4000 IU gelcaps actually contained what is printed on the label. Yes, it appears so. (Doctor was not too happy but I explained what I'd done and why. She 'revisited' the topic 6 months later....)
I drink 500 ml of milk per day. Some days I consume 1/2 to 1 cup of yoghurt. I also chew the cartilage off bones when available. I think if someone's vitamin D level is good, calcium absorption from the gut is excellent.
My understanding is that vitamin D supplements should be taken with a meal that contains fat. Taking vitamin D with the morning cup of coffee or tea will not result in absorption.
This morning I took 16,000 IU D3 and 10 mg K2 right after three eggs gently 'fried' in ghee. More like poached than fried. I don't take vitamin D3 regularly, or not on a daily basis because I want to optimize absorption when I do take it. So if I don't take it more than twice per month, it's fine.
Hi marmaris I am starting to think its the calcium thats causing all my problems it really is so annoying as im having a lot of symptons.
If it is calcium carbonate, you might as well such some chalk - it's very hard to absorb. Try a different type and you may also need zinc and magnesium - the body tries very hard to keep the ratios correct and, if it can, it will dump the ones that are too high, or drag the low ones out of your bones.
Vit D3 in large amounts is very toxic & to much can lead to hypercalcemia.......I am hypocalcemic & the lady in question would be the same.
The damage is caused by not only the toxicity but due to sometimes taking to much vitamin D3, this can lead to hypervitaminosis.
The toxicity can damage the liver & kidneys........being hypoparathyroid myself I have to have regular checks on those particular organ's.
Hi Jillymo I was taking 2 times colicalciferol tablets of 800 unit capsules daily what the doctor prescribed me. Vit D was low at 23 and now just retested at 78 (that was before I went to Turkey a week ago so may be higher). She has continued to prescribe me 800 unit capsules but one per day. Would you say that is sufficient. I would like to get my Vit D above 100 if possible.
With the heat in Turkey I should think you absorbed plenty of Vit D3, but that is a big jump from 23 to 78.
I am on calcitriol 250 nanograms 2 x 1 daily..
I am not sure what the level should be now with out digging deep into my sideboard for an old blood result
It seems to me margins get moved depending on what
hospital you go to.
If I were you I would leave it to the medics, take it from me I have been high & low my calcium has been rock bottom but it has also gone the other way to high......what ever way it went I still felt like crap I just couldn't win no matter what.
You dont want to over do it & then store to much calcium so that it puts down deposits in other parts of your body.....kidneys / liver or other part's thats why you need to drink plenty.
Do not take it near your thyroxine if on that sort of med for thyroid.
Yes Vit D3 can do good but it is toxic in large dosage.
Take care X
Jillymo, yes in situations like yours. But this is not true for people who do not have problems with parathyroids. In Germany, Turkish women with back pain are prescribed 50,000 IU per day!
Dr. Paul O'Connor at St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Canada MS clinic did a study back when there was a hypothesis about MS and vitamin D. These people were taking up to 40,000 IU per day for months and months without adverse effect. No positive effect either. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/215...
Yes I am aware of this & it Is also given to some people with MS.
But as I have said before to much will do more harm than good in the long run.
I have a curvature of my spine due to lack of calcium & vit D3 in my younger years........it has not helped my back pain or my son's whom is also hypoparathyroid.
In fact it can cause chronic bone pain.
Months & months in a study is a bit different from taking it for life. Jillymo
Jillymo, I have never suggested that anyone take huge doses of Vitamin D3 indefinitely. The NHS recommendation is for bolus dosing initially. 300,000 IU if I remember correctly. However, claiming that high doses of vitamin D are toxic is not supported by the research literature. If you can provide me with anything to prove your assertion I would welcome it.
To optimize benefit, this vitamin needs to be taken in balance with K2 and A.
The German protocol for Turkish women with back pain is not for women with scoliosis. It is for women who have severe long term vitamin D deficiency.
I wouldn't expect Vitamin D supps to help with curvature of the spine. There is no evidence that it will change the shape of bones.
I did not suggest in any shape or form that vit D3 would change the shape of bones, we were talking about pain.
The debate was raised by a lady suffering from a low vit D3 level.
Somewhere among the messages I sent a link relating to the fact that taking to much Vit D3 can lead to toxicity.
Look it up the Mayo clinic explains it in full. Jillymo
SCIENTIFIC OPINION
Scientific Opinion on the Tolerable Upper Intake Level of vitamin D
EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies (NDA)2, 3
European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), Parma, Italy
ABSTRACT Following a request from the European Commission, the Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies was asked to re-evaluate the safety in use of vitamin D and to provide, if necessary, revised Tolerable Upper Intake Levels (ULs) of vitamin D for all relevant population groups. The ULs for adults including pregnant and lactating women, children and adolescents were revised. For adults, hypercalcaemia was selected as the indicator of toxicity. In two studies in men, intakes between 234 and 275 µg/day were not associated with hypercalcaemia, and a no observed adverse effect level (NOAEL) of 250 µg/day was established. Taking into account uncertainties associated with these studies, the UL for adults including pregnant and lactating women was set at 100 µg/day. Despite a continuing paucity of data for high vitamin D intakes in children and adolescents, the UL was adapted to 100 µg/day for ages 11-17 years, considering that owing to phases of rapid bone formation and growth this age group is unlikely to have a lower tolerance for vitamin D compared to adults. The same applies also to children aged 1-10 years, but taking into account their smaller body size, a UL of 50 µg/day is proposed. For infants, the UL of 25 µg/day based on previously available data relating high vitamin D intakes to impaired growth and hypercalcaemia was retained as limited additional evidence has emerged since the previous risk assessment. Data on vitamin D intakes from surveys in 14 European countries indicate that intakes in high consumers are below the revised ULs for vitamin D for all population groups. © European Food Safety Authority, 2012
According to the conversion table, 1 microgram D3 = 40 IU. So 250 micrograms = 10,000 IU.
Since even at higher doses, per day, hypercalcemia was not observed, if someone wants to take 800 IU per day, there is certainly no likelihood of overdose.
The Mayo clinic article refered to a paper that I cannot open nor access.
The NHS protocol for severe Vitamin D deficiency (which someone posted on this forum) is 300,000 IU over a short period of time.
Do you have Hashimotos ? Rod posted back in March some research being done here in Crete - about Hashimotos and VitD. The VDR's are affected ( Vitamin D Receptors ) The paper is on Pub Med.
Hubby and I both have Hashimotos and in spite of living here since 2004 we had low VitD....
Food for thought
Yes Marz i have hashimotos thats very interesting.
Marz, there are some hypotheses that Hashimoto's and other auto-immune problems originate in the gut. The gut microbiome is the BIG thing these days. Leaky gut, dysbiosis, small intestinal bacterial overgrowth etc. One would assume that the two of you are consuming the same foods and probably develop the same infections, get treated by the same antibiotics etc.
Am very aware of the gut and its many connections. Take a look at my posts and my profile. My gut issues started long before I met my husband - so we weren't eating the same foods....neither do we now We do not take anti-biotics either....
In fact in spite of my medical history I am doing really well....it may have taken 50 years or so but the journey has been interesting Thank you for your post....
Marz, I am still wondering if the information is correct but I've read that vitamin D is produced ON the skin and then absorbed. Have you read anything about this?
It makes sense when I consider that lanolin from sheep wool is used to make vitamin D supps. (Which is why lanolin liquid got so expensive in the past number of years.)
All I know is when I lived in the tropics and exposed to a lot of sunlight, my goitre went away in a matter of weeks. It wasn't an increase in iodine or a decrease in stress (I was working). It was quite shocking to see the difference, in retrospect, in photographs. My face changed entirely. I was not using sunscreen. Apparently sunscreen interferes in the body's ability to absorb the vitamin.
Apparently.
I never read anything about this until recently.
Yep - sunscreen blocks out the UVB rays that you need on the skin - which works with cholesterol to create VitD....simply put
Dr Michael Holick wrote an excellent book - The vitamin D Solution - a good read. There are videos of him on YouTube - one was posted on this forum the other day.
Also vitamindcouncil.org may also give you lots of information....
Try adding in K2! This takes your calcium to your bones
I take Addcal which had vit D added but need extra as well since TT. Despite a eating a calcium rich diet it has been hard to increase my levels but once my vit D climbed above mid range my calcium seemed to increase as well. As has been said seems to be quite a balancing act.
You also need vitamin K! Vitamin D will help you absorb the calcium but without vitamin K you won't fully utilise it (so it could build up over time and form stones).
I wasted a lot of money on calcium/vitamin D supplements, and then found a supplement with all three in it plus magnesium. Since taking these, the ridges on my nails have gone after many years, and my teeth appear to be stronger too. I took one of the tablets twice a day for a month or so to bring my levels up, and am now on one a day to keep me 'topped up'.
It's called Neo4
ebay.co.uk/itm/Osteo4-240-V...
and of course I have no connection with the supplier other than as a customer.
Thanks hypopotamus i will look into this now i think it would be better having everything combined in in tablet. Thanks for the info.
There's very little vitD in those tabs, Annette. You will need more to raise your levels.
I also take an extra 2000ius myself any more than that and i feel awful but dont know if maybe its the calcium that goes high then
Our bodies can't take in too much at one time. It's better to take something with a lower dose but more times per day.
medscape.com/viewarticle/76... take a look at this article.
Lots on the net about Vit D3. Jillymo x
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