Obviously I can’t offer specific medical advice for your situation, but I can make some general observations. I hope these are helpful to you.

A negative response to vitamin D is not unusual. Some people cannot take even small amounts of it. Since each person is unique, each person must adjust their dose to what works for them. And the best way to do that is by listening to their body’s symptoms. Any unwanted symptom, including nausea and pain, can be a signal.

Why is this so? It could be a variety of reasons. For one, vitamin D acts as a hormone in the body and some people are highly sensitive to external hormones. Another factor might be one’s Metabolic Type. In particular, Fast Oxidizers do not do as well with vitamin D supplements. There may be other reasons as well, but these two are the most common.

I hope that gives you some useful ideas.

Dr. Bruce

If any of my meanderings strike a chord for you I would be most grateful for your comments. Oh… not sure if it is of any use but I have never been able to stomach milk and when it has been suggested I take calcium I always feel quite ill so the only calcium I get is from a daily intake of 170grams of yoghurt and 60 grams of good cheese.

Hope you have an answer for the nausea and pains.
Kindest wishes
Sara

While I can’t make personal recommendations to you on the blog, there are a few things worth noting about your questions.

50,000 units weekly is a standard approach used by M.D.s to restore normal levels of D. However, I would mention the kidney stones to the prescribing doctor to get their input on it. Probably 8 weeks isn’t enough to cause a problem, but everyone is different, so it is hard to say in your specific case.

Being fat soluble, vitamin D gets stored in the body for longer than water soluble vitamins. A couple of days out of the sunshine wouldn’t normally reduce. So unless you were in the hospital for an extended period, that probably isn’t the issue.

The only way to know if vitamin D is potentially a problem would be to know your Metabolic Type. Since you probably don’t know what it is, I can’t offer anything more substantial. Definitely let your doctor know about your concerns.

Let me know how it turns out.

Dr. Bruce

In addition, right before my blood was taken I had spent a few days in the hospital due to an unrelated incident, could that have caused my low vitamin D levels? (I’m also allergic to milk so I can’t get any that way)

I’m glad you like the blog.

Thanks for the reference to the mouse study on vitamin D. The picture from that study is quite dramatic. I’ve taken the liberty to reproduce the picture here:

The mouse on the left had its vitamin D receptors blocked. The image comes from the web site, “Perfect Health Diet.” The article is here: The Amazing Curative Powers of High Dose Vitamin D.

There is no doubt that vitamin D supports healthy aging. But as with most nutrients, each person will require an amount unique to them. Some need much more and some almost none. That is why it is important to take studies like the one above as indicators, but not as definitive. Especially when it comes to vitamin D, sunshine is the best source for most people.

Below is a summary of research on vitamin D and its effect on aging. This information comes from the Hyperhealth Pro database:

Take care,

Dr. Bruce

===== Vitamin D & Aging Research =====

Baker, M. R. The decline of vitamin D status with age. Age Ageing. 9(4):249-252, 1980.

A cross-sectional study of plasma 25-hydroxy-vitamin D (250HD) concentrations in healthy women in the age range 20-96 years is reported. Mean values decline with increasing age while abnormally low levels of plasma 250HD are more common in the elderly. The decline in vitamin D status with age is probably the result of lack of sunlight exposure associated with social factors and physical immobility.

MacLaughlin, J., et al. Aging decreases the capacity of human skin to produce vitamin D3. J Clin Invest. 76(4):1536-1538, 1985.

An evaluation of surgically obtained skin (age range, 8-92 yr) revealed that there is an age-dependent decrease in the epidermal concentrations of provitamin D3 (7-dehydrocholesterol). To ascertain that aging indeed decreased the capacity of human skin to produce vitamin D3, some of the skin samples were exposed to ultraviolet radiation and the content of previtamin D3 was determined in the epidermis and dermis. The epidermis in the young and older subjects was the major site for the formation of previtamin D3, accounting for greater than 80% of the total previtamin D3 that was produced in the skin. A comparison of the amount of previtamin D3 produced in the skin from the 8- and 18-yr-old subjects with the amount produced in the skin from the 77- and 82-yr-old subjects revealed that aging can decrease by greater than twofold the capacity of the skin to produce previtamin D3. Recognition of this difference may be extremely important for the elderly, who infrequently expose a small area of skin to sunlight and who depend on this exposure for their vitamin D nutritional needs.

Thomas, M. K., et al. Hypovitaminosis D in medical inpatients. New England Journal of Medicine. 338(12):777-783, 1998.

Vitamin D deficiency is a major risk factor for bone loss and fracture. Although hypovitaminosis D has been detected frequently in elderly and housebound people, the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency among patients hospitalized on a general medical service is unknown. The authors assessed vitamin D intake, ultraviolet-light exposure, and risk factors for hypovitaminosis D and measured serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D, parathyroid hormone, and ionized calcium in 290 consecutive patients on a general medical ward. A total of 164 patients (57 percent) were considered vitamin D-deficient (serum concentration of 25-hydroxyvitamin D, < or = 15 ng per milliliter), of whom 65 (22%) were considered severely vitamin D-deficient (serum concentration of 25-hydroxyvitamin D, <8 ng per milliliter). Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations were related inversely to parathyroid hormone concentrations. Lower vitamin D intake, less exposure to ultraviolet light, anticonvulsant-drug therapy, renal dialysis, nephrotic syndrome, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, winter season, higher serum concentrations of parathyroid hormone and alkaline phosphatase, and lower serum concentrations of ionized calcium and albumin were significant univariate predictors of hypovitaminosis D. 69% of the patients who consumed less than the recommended daily allowance of vitamin D and 43% of the patients with vitamin D intakes above the recommended daily allowance were vitamin D-deficient. Inadequate vitamin D intake, winter season, and housebound status were independent predictors of hypovitaminosis D in a multivariate model. In a subgroup of 77 patients less than 65 years of age without known risk factors for hypovitaminosis D, the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency was 42%. Hypovitaminosis D is common in general medical inpatients, including those with vitamin D intakes exceeding the recommended daily allowance and those without apparent risk factors for vitamin D deficiency.

Russell, R. M. The aging process as a modifier of metabolism. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 72(2):529S-5632S, 2000.

Gastrointestinal function is well preserved with aging regarding the digestion and absorption of macronutrients, but the aging gastrointestinal tract becomes less efficient in absorbing vitamin D. The new dietary reference intake for elderly adults (aged 70 years and over) is 15 mcg per day.

I read a article on a mouse who had their vitamin d receptors taken out of them, and this resulted in the mouse aging much faster then the mouse with adequately high vitamin d levels. It was truly horrifying at how old the vitamin d deficient mouse looked. I was wondering whether this happens to humans as well, does being vitamin d deficient have an impact on the physical appearance? If you do know, tell me what impact vitamin d has on people’s appearance.

Alison

Low vitamin D levels are often associated with impaired immune function, which would be consistent with the sarcoidosis. Sarcoidosis, in turn can be triggered by many things, including lyme. In any case, there is typically a great deal of inflammation present related to all of these conditions.

Treating lyme disease is always multi-faceted and somewhat tricky. Each situation is different. And since it is impossible to do justice to your unique situation by way of an online comment, I can’t address particulars in your case. I will suggest you look at Dr. Kenneth Singleton’s site, http://www.lymedoctor.com/. He’s an expert in the field and has written a book on the subject called “The Lyme Disease Solution.”

All the best,

Dr. Bruce

Regards,
Dinah

You make a good point about the calcium. There are more variables than just vitamin D to consider.

In addition to supplements, there is also our own individual response to taking them. As you’ve seen, that can be dramatically different, as in your situation.

The key to Sarcoidosis in my experience is the inflammatory nature of the problem. Any time there is an inflammatory response in the body it’s an alert that the body is responding to something it considers abnormal.

What most Western MDs don’t consider is that the denatured quality of our modern diet. When you think about it, we aren’t getting the nutrition that our ancestors did even 100 years ago.

Add to that the fact that each of us has an ideal ‘fuel mix’ when it comes to food, and the kind of response you describe to a general recommendation isn’t all that surprising.

I’m delighted you listened to your body’s signals and not the medical advice you originally received.

All the best for turning your health back around.

Dr. Bruce