I've been working with a Natural Medicine/Chinese medicine person on my health this year. I started off taking 4000 units of vit D3 a day (top quality stuff). As we moved into fall the suggestion I got and took was to up the dose to 6000 per day, which I did. Then I got a cold and it was suggested I up it to 10,000 units a day. After that I dropped back to 8000 units. During this time frame I began to feel lots of soreness/achy. Also I had alot of discomfort in my abdomine. Not constant, but alot. I lost my stamina. Even simple tasks made me sore and achy and I had to rest. I (Very unusual for me). I had suspected several other possible causes, but none really seemed to make sense to me. I went to the Dr. and got blood tests. Turns out my Vit D levels in my blood were at 128 when the normal high range is supposed to be around 85 (sorry I forgot the units). My nurse told me these were toxic levels. Temporarily I've stopped taking all vits & supplements except for probiotics. Anybody have any comments/knowledge in this area? Thanks.

My mom's levels went from low to normal on 4,000 units a day. In spite of everything we hear on this board, I would say 4000 units a day is sufficient. If your levels are that high, I would say zero for a month and then take 2000 a day. Your levels were extremely high at 8000 and 10000 units, so your body utilizes it pretty easily.

　
I am surprised you reached a toxic level at that dose but it depends on allot of other things, and you may have a very bioavailable form of Vit D3 there!

How much Vitamin A do you get? Make sure you are balancing A & D. and although I know people that take frequent doses of 10,000 iu I would say 5,000 should be enough. As above leave it out for a while and then when you start taking it again take it easy and maybe get tested after 6 months.

I would make sure to be getting enough Magnesium and calcium, but also check for any obvious calcium deposits.

Since April I've been getting 10,000 IU of Vit A, Mag 100mg, calcuim 200 mg. Two weeks ago we ran out of our multivitamin (source of Life) and were waiting for a new shipment (or order was out of supply). So for 2 weeks I was just taking the D3 (Doctors best).
Magnesium (as aminoate complex)100 mg

PS. How would I notice or check for calcium deposits? Thanks

Well is doesn't sound like you were taking much calcium (although I do not know your diet) and as I say, I know people that take allot bigger doses for allot longer with no signs of ill effects so I would not be worrying too much but as with any supplement I would always stick with being a little cautious.

High blood levels of Vit D can cause a kind of miss absorption or ultra absorption (might not be the best description) of Calcium and you can end up with calcium deposits in soft tissue and joints. (pseudo gout)

I have had people tell me (so not exactly science here) that they have seen people with lumps on or near the wrist and finger joints in people with toxic levels of vitamin D, comparable to the types of lumps you see with people taking certain Osteoporosis medication.

Signs can be fatigue, thirst, excreting excess protein and calcium (would need to test for this) can all point to this.

I think you are doing the right thing in being a little cautious when you return to supplementing.

I think Vit D can be a great help in staying healthy but like anything the natural source is always the best (when available) and don't mistake vitamins as being 100% safe.

It might be worth being tested for kidney stones if you wasn't already.

Well for me it took a blood level of 130 to cure my psoriasis. I did not maintain this blood level long term though but repeated my high dosages several times over the course perhaps 1.5 years till I achieved full cure. I had no adverse symptoms when I did this.

One should not supplement with high dosages unless they test their blood. Everyone is different. clearly the older you are the more vitamin D3 you will need, also if you have minimal sun exposure.

If you do retest blood levels, 6 months is too long to wait. Supplement for 6 weeks then retest. You will be fully saturated at 6 weeks at your new dosages.

I doubt you developed any calcium issues. Have your symptoms resolved since lowering your blood levels? You might need to consider that the cause was not your vitamin D supplementation but something else. Contrary to popular belief vitamin D does not prevent everything.

There are reliable home test kits available so that you can avoid the doctors office and doctor and lab fees if you are inclined.

any potential kidney stone development from calcium imbalance can be treated with vitamin c. A simple lab test will tell you if your kidney function is normal.

__________________

you should also be taking Vitamin K2.

I presume you are in the USA and the units are ng/ml and not nmol/l as used in the UK.
However 128ng/ml is extremetly high for the intake you claim to be taking.

If you look at typical responses to up to 10,000iu daily you find very few people getting above 128ng/ml.
If you are talking nmol/l then 128nmol/l is NOT a toxic amount I try to keep may 25(OH)D around 150nmol/l with 5000iu/daily from supplement and regularly sun (summer) and UVB winter full body non burning exposure.

I think you need to check the units as I'm sure you simply have a typically ignorant health professional.
It's equally ignorant to suggest the 8000iu ~ 10,000iu that your skin would naturally make given regular UVB exposure from sun or lamp is extremely high Humans evolved to live outdoors wearing little if any clothing so those are the amounts our DNA is set to create and use. We have to understand NATURAL in this context is what our human NATURE actually determines is appropriate.

I agree with the Vitamin K2 SEE Osteoporosis and Atherosclerosis May be Linked: Vitamin K2
Personally I doubt anyone consuming a reasonably healthy diet actually requires calcium supplements once vitamin D status is over 80nmol/l ~ 32ng/ml although some may need to be above 40ng/ml 100nmol/l to maximise BMD.
I think it's generally a lack of magnesium that is required to counterbalance the actions of calcium that's generally missing although Vitamin K2 is often absent from modern diets (we don't make our own bone marrow stock sufficiently regularly nor eat enough aged cheeses)

Here is an update of what is/may be going on with me.
My Natural medicine person has also viewed my lab results. Initially she thought my doctor may have ordered the wrong tests. After seeing the results she agrees I have too much Vit D in my blood stream. However, rather than just concluding that I should stop taking it (as my doctor implied) she is interested in discovering what else is going on that is causing me to absorb the Vit D3 I was taking so much. As I mentioned in one of my other posts, I'm awaiting a surgery for a hernia. Trying to summarize what she said (poorly I'm sure) is that I may have something going on in my intestines as a result of the hernia which is causing me to absorb the D3 directly into the blood stream rather than going through the normal filtering process. (she did explain it alot better).
Since stopping taking the D3 my organs do not seem to be screaming at me so much. But I still have discomfort in the ab area when I do much of anything twisting or bending my spine forward. I'm really hoping the hernia surgery will help clear this up. I don't really feel anything where the hernia is.
Some other things that I did not mention: I'm 47 years old. Weighed 155lbs for over 20 years. In April I started eating better, more alkaline, eliminated HFCS from my diet, etc. I'm eating quite alot (as much or more quantity than before), but all healthy stuff and now weigh 131lbs. I was not trying to lose any weight, just eat heather, many of the tips and things learned from here. Example of change in habits. Instead of turkey & ham/cheese sandwich on Italian bread at lunch, I now eat an avocado mix with flax and hemp seed, and cinnamon, on Ezekiel bread topped with arugula. Still I'm a little concerned that I'm losing too much weight. I had also been doing high intensity weights and aerobics since April specifically the Power factor workout and HIIT, I have not been able to workout in the last month.

Can you recommend a particular home test kit? Tks.

Grassrootshealth is a charity that does them for $60 You can just have a single test or sign up to have them every six months.
Or you can sign up and then cancel after first test.
I think it's a good idea to keep have twice yearly tests until you get to the point you are absolutely certain you can predict the result. When you are absolutely sure you understand what your body requires, given your current diet/lifestyle then once a year should be sufficient.

the Vitamin D Council another charity does a 4 pack (for a family or just four single tests) for $22O so that's $55 each test.

If you live in USA then Direct labs charge $59

Thank you very much indeed for your information about home Vit D tests! I appreciate your trouble.