Vitamin D and Hypercalcemia by: Kerri Knox, RN- The Immune Queen!
Hi Nathji,
As always, an excellent question. Really, a calcium level should almost always be done before starting Vitamin D Therapy because, when you read my Vitamin D Contraindications page, you'll see that high calcium levels are a (relative) contraindication to Vitamin D therapy - at least in the sense that if the doctor should choose to give vitamin d at all, he should be very very cautious and should be attempting to find out WHY there is a high calcium level.
It is INAPPROPRIATE for a doctor to give high doses of vitamin d in order to bring down a high calcium level because that COULD cause calcifications. It DOES happen that doctors attempt to use high doses of Vitamin d to bring down Parathyroid Hormone levels. This IS appropriate ONLY in the cases that do NOT have high calcium levels.
If there is a high parathyroid hormone AND high calcium, then 'conservative' treatment (using Vitmain D or any other drugs) is inappropriate as the patient almost for sure has a parathyroid tumor that needs surgery. See the chart about halfway down the page on Parathyroid.com. That website also talks extensively about high calcium levels and the inappropriate use of vitamin d for attempting to bring down high parathyroid levels when there is a high calcium.
But if you have a normal or low calcium level at the start of therapy, there is no reason to take repeat calcium levels because vitamin d will ONLY 'Shoot Up' your calcium if you have Vitamin D Toxicity. So, repeat Vitamin D levels are what is needed to ensure 'optimal' Vitamin D Levels.
And remember, there have been ZERO documented cases of toxicity - ZERO- on 10,000 IU's a day or less- and the DEFINITION of Vitamin d toxicity is when the calcium levels 'shoot up' while giving vitamin d. So, there is ZERO risk of anyone getting high calcium levels when taking 10,000 IU's per day or less- as long as they START with normal calcium levels!!
Kerri Knox, RN- The Immune System Queen Functional Medicine Practitioner Immune System
Thank you by: nathji
Thank you Kerri, your answers are perfect and the best I have ever received on these complex topics! Thank you for giving so much of your valuable time! I wish I had known about your site earlier! It is so good.
Since no doctor here recommends getting the calcium levels checked before starting Vit D, I started my large doses of 60,000 IU per week without knowing what the calcium levels were.
By three months I was feeling better and better, therefore I would say that there was no hypercalcemia and the calcium levels had not risen.
Which brings us to the important question -- in the absence of lab testing for calcium, are good symptoms alone an indication that there is no hypercalcemia?
If a person is feeling well I should imagine the calcium would be OK in the blood, even after mega doses of Vit D.
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