Can you reverse damage from vitamin D deficiency?
The good news is that vitamin D deficiency is treatable — under the guidance of your doctor, that is. "The goal is to restore your vitamin D levels back to normal and maintain them there," says Dr.
How Long Does It Take To Recover From Vitamin D Deficiency? It can take a few weeks for your vitamin D levels to rise once you start taking supplements. Expect a 4-6 week recovery time if you don't have any underlying health issues that could slow down the recovery phase.
The outlook (prognosis) of vitamin D deficiency is usually excellent. Both the vitamin levels and the symptoms usually respond well to treatment. However, it can take time (months) for bones to recover and for symptoms such as pain to improve.
What problems does vitamin D deficiency cause? Vitamin D deficiency can lead to a loss of bone density, which can contribute to osteoporosis and fractures (broken bones). Severe vitamin D deficiency can also lead to other diseases: In children, it can cause rickets.
You can reverse vitamin D deficiency over time by getting enough vitamin D. Take your prescribed dose of vitamin D and keep appointments with your doctor, to ensure the success of your treatment and healthy bones.
When vitamin D levels are low and the body isn't able to properly absorb calcium and phosphorus, there is an increased risk of bone pain, bone fractures, muscle pain and muscle weakness. In older adults, severe vitamin D deficiency (levels less than 10 ng/mL) may also contribute to an increased risk of falls.
Because vitamin D is fat soluble, its absorption depends on the gut's ability to absorb dietary fat [4]. Fat malabsorption is associated with medical conditions that include some forms of liver disease, cystic fibrosis, celiac disease, Crohn's disease, and ulcerative colitis [1,63].
If the amount in your blood is below 20 ng/mL, your levels are inadequate; if it's below 12 ng/mL, that means you're deficient in the nutrient. If that's the case, your doctor may prescribe a megadose of 50,000 IUs to take once a week for six to 12 weeks to raise the level of vitamin D circulating in your body.
Too much vitamin D can cause harmful high calcium levels. Tell your doctor right away if any of these signs of high vitamin D/calcium levels occur: nausea/vomiting, constipation, loss of appetite, increased thirst, increased urination, mental/mood changes, unusual tiredness.
Vitamin D deficiency is most commonly caused by a lack of exposure to sunlight. Some disorders can also cause the deficiency. The most common cause is lack of exposure to sunlight, usually when the diet is deficient in vitamin D, but certain disorders can also cause the deficiency.
What happens to the brain when vitamin D is low?
In particular, developmental vitamin D (DVD) deficiency has been linked with schizophrenia ( 8 , 9 ) and more recently autism.( 10 , 11 , 12 ) Adult vitamin D (AVD) deficiency has also been linked with schizophrenia, Alzheimer disease (AD), dementias, and adult disorders of cognition (for a review, see Groves et al( 13 ...
Most cases of vitamin D toxicity resolve without serious complications or sequelae. However, in some instances, severe hypercalcemia can lead to acute renal failure requiring hemodialysis. Cases of permanent renal damage due to vitamin D toxicity are rare.
- Decrease in appetite.
- Nausea and vomiting.
- Constipation.
- Dehydration.
- Increased thirst (polydipsia).
- Frequent urination.
- Confusion, lethargy and fatigue.
- Muscle weakness and difficulty walking.
When vitamin D is taken orally, it is incorporated into the chylomicron fraction, and about 80% of the dose is absorbed into the lymphatics. The blood level of 25(OH)D will peak about 12 hours after a single dose of 50,000 IU.
Having inadequate levels of vitamin D may correlate with unintentional weight gain. A study on women over the age of 65 found that participants with a lower vitamin D level experienced more weight gain. A systematic review of 23 different studies found similar associations between vitamin D deficiency and obesity.
Official answer. Generally, it takes a few weeks of taking daily vitamin D supplements for vitamin D levels in the body to rise.
- Spend time in sunlight. Vitamin D is often referred to as “the sunshine vitamin” because the sun is one of the best sources of this nutrient. ...
- Consume fatty fish and seafood. ...
- Eat more mushrooms. ...
- Include egg yolks in your diet. ...
- Eat fortified foods. ...
- Take a supplement. ...
- Try a UV lamp.
Vitamin expert Arielle Levitan, MD, co-founder of Vous Vitamin, agreed: “Absorption is better and more constant, and taking a daily dose gives you more flexibility with regard to actual dosing." Dr. Levitan also explained the variety of factors that goes into finding proper vitamin D dosage.
Caffeine inhibits vitamin D receptors, which limit the amount that will be absorbed. Because vitamin D is important in the absorption and use of calcium in building bone, this could also decrease bone mineral density, resulting in an increased risk for osteoporosis.
Mg is essential in the metabolism of vitamin D, and taking large doses of vitamin D can induce severe depletion of Mg. Adequate magnesium supplementation should be considered as an important aspect of vitamin D therapy.
What does low vitamin D feel like?
"Most patients with vitamin D deficiency are asymptomatic, however if you're exhausted, your bones hurt, you have muscle weakness or mood changes, that's an indication that something may be abnormal with your body," says Dr. Lacey. Symptoms of vitamin D deficiency may include: Fatigue. Not sleeping well.
If you take large doses of vitamin D, you may experience stomach pain, loss of appetite, constipation, or diarrhea as a result of elevated calcium levels.
The UL (The Tolerable Upper Intake Level) for vitamin D for adults and children ages over 9 years is 4,000 IU. However, 50,000 IU weekly dose of vitamin D for three months is the standard treatment by physicians who are deficient in it.
Vitamin D supplementation doesn't offer an overnight change. In fact, the one study showed that the largest increase in vitamin D levels came between three to nine months after beginning supplementation.
The main consequence of vitamin D toxicity is a buildup of calcium in your blood (hypercalcemia), which can cause nausea and vomiting, weakness, and frequent urination. Vitamin D toxicity might progress to bone pain and kidney problems, such as the formation of calcium stones.
References
- https://www.quora.com/Is-it-okay-to-take-vitamin-D3-50-000-IU-twice-a-week-My-doctor-recommended-it-and-I-am-skeptical
- https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminD-HealthProfessional/
- https://www.health.com/vitamin-d-once-a-week-vs-daily-7484244
- https://www.visionpersonaltraining.com/expert-hub/expert-articles/health-and-nutrition/the-effect-of-caffeine-on-vitamin-absorption
- https://www.everlywell.com/blog/vitamin-d/vitamin-d-deficiency-and-weight-gain/
- https://www.takecareof.com/articles/how-long-does-it-take-for-vitamin-d-to-work
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- https://patient.info/bones-joints-muscles/osteoporosis-leaflet/vitamin-d-deficiency
- https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/vitamin-d-side-effects
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7839822/
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- https://medlineplus.gov/vitaminddeficiency.html
- https://academic.oup.com/jcem/article/96/7/1/2833362
- https://www.yalemedicine.org/conditions/vitamin-d-deficiency
- https://www.drugs.com/medical-answers/long-vitamin-work-3555995/
- https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/how-to-increase-vitamin-d
- https://www.healthcentral.com/article/international-units-iu-vitamin-d-once-week-harmful
- https://www.merckmanuals.com/home/disorders-of-nutrition/vitamins/vitamin-d-deficiency
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK557876/
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- https://www.ccjm.org/content/89/3/154
- https://getmorevits.com/blogs/news/recovery-from-vitamin-d-deficiency