Man hospitalized in England for an overdose of vitamin D; know the risks

A man in England was hospitalized for eight days after suffering a vitamin D overdose. The unnamed patient took the supplement at doses hundreds of times higher than recommended.

Diagnosed with hypervitaminosis D, the patient also experienced an increase in the concentration of calcium in the body. Doctors draw attention to the importance of using supplements within recommended limits.

On a radio show, the man heard about supplements and then made an appointment with a private nutritionist. That’s when she started taking 50,000 international units (IU) of vitamin D three times a day.

This value is 375 times the recommended dose. In our body, this substance is stored in the liver and fat cells as a way to keep reserves for when it is needed.

Thus, high consumption increases the concentration until it reaches toxic levels. In less than a month, the British began to experience nausea, abdominal pain, diarrhea, bouts of vomiting, cramps, and ringing in the ears.

Suspending the supplement wasn’t enough to fix the problem, so the man called medical services. He was hospitalized for 8 days, where he received saline and medication to regulate blood calcium levels.

Because this compound plays a role in the absorption of calcium by the gut, the condition is also accompanied by what’s called hypercalcemia – too much of this mineral to be exact.

The treating physicians published the case study in the scientific journal BMJ Case Reports. They point out that it’s important to keep the use of supplements, including over-the-counter, at adequate levels.

ARTICLE BMJ Case Reports: doi.org//10.1136/bcr-2022-250553