Vitamin D3 and Erectile Dysfunction

by Jeff
(Pennsylvania)

I have been taking 5,000 iu of D3 daily for about 4 months, but since taking that much, have had a general feeling of fatigue, depression, muscle and bone pain, weakness, and erectile dysfunction. I didn't take it the past 3 days and while not entirely back to normal, the erectile dysfunction is much less. Has anyone had similar reactions to higher doses of D3?

It's the one thing I've been able to pinpoint as the problem.

Jeff

Comments for Vitamin D3 and Erectile Dysfunction

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Hmmm. I have no idea...
by: Kerri Knox, RN- The Immune Queen!

Hi Jeff,

I'm sorry to hear that you are feeling so poorly since starting to take Vitamin D. Take a look at the Side Effects of Vitamin D page and you'll see that many vitamin d side effects are really due to the extra need for magnesium when you start taking vitamin d and your symptoms MAY be some Signs of Magnesium Deficiency that can be eliminated by taking some magnesium as outlined on the Magnesium Dosage page.

Whether your erectile dysfunction is from magnesium deficiency, I have no idea.

But what concerns me is your bone pain. People who get bone pain are likely to have more demineralized bones than other people, and so it's very likely that you REALLY need to be taking the vitamin d. The pain is from calcium going back into your bones and causing them to 'swell' a little bit.

So, because of this, I would urge you to take some magnesium and some pain relievers and some hot baths- maybe check out why one of the Uses of Epsom Salts could be of great benefit to you- and see if you can 'get through it' and out to the other side of these symptoms.

Only you can decide whether it's worth it or not, but if you take a look at the Vitamin D Facts page, you'll see that there are so many good reasons to have adequate vitamin d levels, that you might think that its worth it and give it a try again.

Kerri Knox RN Immune Health Queen

Kerri Knox, RN- The Immune System Queen
Functional Medicine Practitioner
Immune System

vitamin D
by: Anonymous

I have been taking 2000mg of vitamin D for only four days and WOW!!!!

Joint pains have all but disappeared, fatigue has taken a back seat and overall I feel a lot better than I did before taking the vitamin.

Me too
by: Anonymous

I too have experienced erectile dysfunction from taking Vitamin Ds capsues.

I was taking them for I'd say about 8 months with no problems, I didn't feel much different but hadn't had a cold since taking them, but one week I started having trouble maintaining an erection.

I stopped taking the capsules and within about a week I was back to normal.

So I started them again to test and the problem came up again, stopped taking them and it went away again, so certainly the D3 capsules were creating problems.

I've seen a few people report this now, and it needs investigating IMO.

My personal point of view is that supplementation all year round can cause problems, almost an overdose which has this effect.

From sun exposure, the body will stop producing Vitamin D3 and store it naturally, by popping 5,000IU capsules every day, perhaps it is too much and it creates problems.

I'm thinking of maybe just taking one 2,500 IU capsule every 5 days for 500IU per day average, we know the body stores it, I think 5,000IU every day all year round may be too much.

Vitamin D and erection problems
by: mikedavid1987@hotmail.com

I have been taking Vitamin D 5000IU caps for a little more than a month, and I noticed this week that some erction problems have occurred. NOT every time, but here and there. It also seems as though my "timing" with the orgasm is a bit off. I get the pleasure of the orgasm, however it seemed that the ejaculation was a bit AFTER that. Im going to lower my dosage of the D5000 and see if that helps. Im like any man, Ive suffered OCCASIONALLY from E.D. in the past, but I noticed a difference this week, as I said with the "timing" and the only REAL difference in my lifestyle is the 2 D5000 Ive been taking daily. Im almost CERTAIN that lowering my dosage will solve the problem, having read a few articles on the subject. I guess its true, too much of ANYTHING can be bad for you.

D causes ed
by: Anonymous

I was taking 10000 iu for a couple years Viagra didnt even help. I noticed when I went on vacation and didnt supplement with any vitamins I would start having morning erections. I stopped the vitamin d and within a week my erections were back! I only supplement in the winter months now and only with 500 iu per day

Additional information
by: Anonymous

I should also add that I was taking 400 mg of elemental magnesium during this time so I don't think it was a magnesium sufficiency symptom. When I increase my d3 the ED returns. It's prett clear to me... At some higher dosage of d3 men can induce ED

Same Here
by: Anonymous

I too experienced the exact same symptoms. I was taking two different types of vitamin pills but some vitamins overlapped-D3 was one of them. I could hardly get an erection alone and with a girl, ;it would take much time and patience. When I ran out of pills i didn't take any for a couple of days and my erection was back and normal. I tried the pills again ---> nomore erection. I started taking only one type of pills containing 25 Micro-grams of D3 and I'm way better...

Vit D3 acts like a HORMONE!
by: Kevin

I have had similar experiences with Vitamin D3. If you keep it under 500IU daily with a good Multi for Men, it works fine. As soon as start taking over 500IUs in total, I experience a loss in libido, sex drive and hardness of erection. I found out that D works as a hormone in your body and just like if you take too much IGF-1 or HGH, that can suppress other neuro-hormones, testosterone and nor-epinephrine. Its not how much hormone we have, its the delicate balance of different hormones that make us play the right tune so to speak.

One more thing I have found and experienced as well is that saturated fat plays a crucial role in production of most hormones and not all saturated fat is bad (its the oxidation or rusting of saturated fat that causes pathology - hence take more anti-oxidants), actually again its the delicate balance of saturated and poly-unsaturated fat that propagates continous balanced and proper hormones production.

So make sure you take fats properly, take natural anti-oxidants and also stay away from high doses of anything even if its good. Body's eco-system runs on a very delicate balance hormones fats carbs amino acids vitamins and nutrients to keep itself in balance, if you tilt that balance there are consequences!

I am not a doctor but I come from the family of researchers in physiology, biology and nutrional sciences. I hope my ranting make sense to people who are having problems with Vit D3 and now you know what to do to achieve balance, meaning hard erections... lol

Should not have such a problem
by: Kerri Knox, RN- The Immune System Queen

If you have such significant problems on such a tiny dose of vitamin d, then I suspect that you have some serious undiagnosed nutritional deficiencies or other hormonal related issues.

500 IU's of vitamin d is a dose recommended for newborn infants. It's not 'too much' vitamin d. Most adult males need around 5000 IU's a day to replenish what they have used.

So, if you are having such a severe, noticeable reaction to such a tiny insignificant dose, it's likely that you have some serious hormonal or nutritional imbalances: particularly of vitamin A, Vitamin K and/or magnesium.

Kerri Knox, RN

mis understood
by: Anonymous

I did not say I was having issues with 500iu of vitamin D3 I wrote that that is wwhat I am taking now and have no issues with ED

cured my ED
by: Anonymous

Vitamin D3 cured my ED...so i dunno how people saying they got ED with it hmm

Same thing
by: Depressed

I've been taking 10,000 of vitamin d for about a month.. I got horny today and went to masturbate. To my surprise, I could not get an erection. This has NEVER happen to me. I love the energy it gives me but my dick functioning properly is more important. I'll reduce my dosage from 10,000 to 500 a day and see if my erection return to normal. If not i'll completely stop using vitamin d

Morning erection have returned like when I was a teen after taking extra Vitamin D3
by: Ben Robinson

Morning erections have returned after taking around 5,000 units of Vitamin D just like when I was a teen. Just stays up there even when I check ten minutes later with no coaxing. Will be 56 this month so this is great news. This vitamin is great and I also saw on you tube where the doc....well here it is as this is so exciting against cancer,good for erections,boosts the immune system 3-5 times higher. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdLNMEXWTL8 Please note some have said their erections decreased but another doc said most likely because of the extra needed magnesium if taking Vitamin D3.

Vitamin D Co-Factors
by: Jon T

Can confirm that if you do not take the co-factors you will have troubles. Men need to try to take ZMA along with Vitamin D and then Vitamin K every 3 days. This will allow you to take up to 10,000iu daily with no problems and possibly even more if necessary.

You should be taking a multi period and most guys take isolated vitamins without their co-factors and wonder why they are having problems.

DO YOUR RESEARCH. There are only two minerals a Man does not need daily to my knowledge and that's Calcium and Iron. The rest you need to make sure you are getting from somewhere whether diet supplementation.

More to add...
by: Johnny

I agree - taking ZMA is a good addition. It was mentioned vitamin K, but more specifically, vitamin K2 is what you should take. K1 is from leafy greens and such which some may convert to K2 in the body - so you might as well spend your money on K2 - which is from organ meats and nutrient dense animal parts or get K2 from natural sources like grass fed meat and milk.

Additionally, anytime you are looking to take a supplement, before spending (or wasting) your money on them, research more in depth as to what imbalances you could be creating or what that supplement needs to further enhance it.

Just my 2 cents.

D3 is great for ed
by: Rob

I started taking 5000 IU's for energy. I am 64 years old and had Ed problems. Had hard times staying hard and sometimes ejaculated too early.

After taking d3 for two days, I was pleasantly surprised. Started getting hard for no reason. Have been having sex twice a week. My erection lasted longer than my wife expected, which I loved. I take one pill at night before going to bed. I am getting concerned reading the other comments about losing my sex drive. So far, I am sticking to it

Vitamin D does cause ED
by: Anonymous

I started taking 4,000 IU every day because my blood tests showed I was low in Vitamin D. What a mistake. After a week or so I noticed I could not keep an erection and I have NEVER had that problem before. So I stopped taking it and after a week BOOM, I was back to normal. Vitamin D can absolutely cause erection problems.

ED issues while taking Vitamin D3
by: Anonymous

I am 53 years old and in good health. Roughly 7 months ago I went to my doctor for my yearly physical… Everything checked out, clean bill of health. At the end of the appointment my Doctor wanted me to start taking 2000 Iu’s daily of Vitamin D3. I asked why? … Her response was that there are number of positive effects from taking Vitamin D3 and its being recommended by a number of Doctors in the medical community….

I started taking the Vitamin D and did feel some of the positive effects. But after a number of months I started having problems getting and maintaining an erection. The ED would occur occasionally, but none the less I was concerned. I couldn’t understand why, just out of the blue I started having ED issues. After thinking and trying to piece together why this was occurring I could only think of one thing that was not what I normally do.

I started looking at the Vitamin D3 I was taking. I take no prescription medication, the only thing I was taking was the Vitamin D3, so I decided to stop taking the Vitamin D3. Within two weeks I was back to normal, the ED issues were gone.

Thinking that maybe my ED is stress driven… as my girlfriend has MS and has been experiencing some difficulties with the progression of her MS.. I started taking the Vitamin D3 again. Same problems again; the ED returned… So I looked on line and there have been a number of men experiencing the same problems while taking Vitamin D3… I believe that Vitamin D3 does cause Ed issues in some men. I think this should be looked into by the medical community and just not dismissed.

d3's ???
by: Anonymous

i had been suffering from fatigue, real bad migraines and muscle twitching, and after getting blood work done i was told i was very deficient in my vitamin d, so started taking 2000iu of d3's daily for about 4 months and then out of the blue i started noticing a decline in my libido and sex drive along with problems getting and maintaining an erection, something very uncommon for me, i'm only 35 and my wife and i had been having the best and most intense sex life we'd experienced.

my initial symptoms are bad but not functioning properly in bed is depressing so i don't know what to do. any advice?

Vit D 800 IU a day CAN CAUSE ED.. YES
by: Anonymous

Man I'm 23 and I have a moderate acne.. I researched about Vitamin D that could help in my acne problems... It did give me positive results for my skin but contrary to my Erectile function...

I was nervous and researched online..hopefully my sex drive will come back soon.. I advice take vitamind D3 one a week only or you will suffer intestinal cramps, depression or worst... erectile dysfunction forever...

As I've said
by: Kerri Knox, The Immune Queen

As I've said before, if you cannot take a small child's dose of a necessary vitamin that you are almost certainly deficient in, then you almost certainly have some serious underlying issues that you should be concerned about.

You are probably seriously deficient in many of the vitamin D cofactors, or have vascular issues where the slightest change in your physiology gives you difficulties 'down there'.

ED is widely recognized as an early warning sign for cardiac problems. If such a tiny dose of a necessary vitamin causes this degree of problems, I'd suggest getting down to the reason why this is the case.

Simply chalking it up to the vitamin d is wrongheaded and could be extremely problematic down the line by ignoring the reasons why Vitamin D is causing you these issues.

nature
by: kev

then a lot of shirtless roofers and lifeguards would have ed problems? and what about many other people outside in animals in nature but I agree it should be tested I hear the opposite on the other end that deficiency in vitamin D(3) may contribute to ed problems? Also what about other forms like D2?

The cure for Vitamin D-induced ED?
by: Dr. K

I can absolutely confirm that vitamin D gave me severe ED. A few years ago, I started taking vitamin D on a daily basis. I felt better in every way, and had no problem maintaining an erection. I felt energized and less moody.

After a while, the effects seemed to wane, so I increased the dose to see if I could regain that sense of well being. A few weeks later, I developed ED for the first time in my life (I'm 50). I couldn't figure out what it was until I finally ran out of vitamin D and my erections returned. I've since tested my sensitity to vitamin D three more times, and quickly developed ED each and every time.
After reading comments on this and other message boards, I decided to start taking vitamin K. I'm using a combination of K1, MK4, and MK7 . Now while I don't have ED, I'm not exactly superman either.

A few days after taking large doses of vitamin K, I noticed that my erections were firmer and longer lasting. After 2 weeks of this, I decided to go back to my arch nemesis, vitamin D. (There's no doubt I'm vitamin D deficient--I live in the PNW, work nights, sleep during the day and don't supplement D).

Unbelievably, Supplementing vitamin D, first at 1000iu and eventually10,000iu no longer produced ED! This has lasted 6 weeks (at 5000iu) now, and I hope it continues. I have read that megadosing vitamin D can actually cause vitamin K deficiency.

Also, some people with the ApoE4 gene-(14% of the population) have difficulty absorbing/maintaining healthy levels of vitamin K. I believe I am one of these.

Vit. D seems to have helped my ED
by: Anonymous

I've had ED for ages it seems. I have low T, and that's been addressed, but didn't do anything for the ED. My nephrologist recently tested me for Vit. D and said the reading was almost "undetectable."

He put me on 50,000 units of D, once a week for 12 weeks and a maintenance dose of 5,000 units a day following. Since last week I've been waking up to morning wood! that has not happened in over 10 years! The only change in my meds/supplements is the Vit. D.

I am a Woman I have the same problem
by: Anonymous

I am in my 60's & recently had to go on Vitamin D1000ui daily
I have only been taking them for just over a week. Not only has my libido left me but nothing is functioning that should. At one stage I couldn't find my clitoris!
So not solely a man's problem.

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