A routine blood test indicates that I am deficient in Vitamin D-- Otherwise, my tests are normal -

  My doctor prescribedd 50,000 IU tablets--One tablet a week for 10 weeks and then 1000 IU per day --

 Yes, I said 50,000 IU !              Yikes-- This scares me-

Doctor said that most of her patients are Vitamin D deficient -- Many avoid too much sun exposure -

I am reluctant to take a 50,000 IU tablet --  Have you had any experience with this ?

For now- I am not taking that much vitamin D until I know more about it--

I wrote you a note a few days go-the one just above; my AOL did a dance & obviously the rest of what I wrote diisappeared.

I will  try again tonight.. I have just been prescribed the same huge dose of vitamin D by my endocrinologist [thyroid & bone specialist] I need to take a blood test before starting & then again in 4  weeks-the # of pills she had prescribed.

This is an all out attack to try & improve  my developing ostoporosis. There are several bone loss meds eg.

Fosamax, but they can have severe side effects & they are often stimulate stomach problems. So I decided not to take them.Consequently, I for several years I have been losing bone mass, it is now approaching osteoporosis.

II just found a scholarly & hands on endo MD- who is advising the D.

What are your concerns? I really trust this Dr, & she did not feel there is any danger in the "HI D".

Can let you know more next week.

When we realized the extent of the bone loss, I was advised to take high does of CALCIUM CITRATE,

VITAMIN D-3, & extra Magnesium. The next step is the high powered D.

My dad, who is a retired physician and likes to keep up on things! told me last year that new research has shown that  lots of vitamin D is important to us. Especially if we live in the north. We need 1/2 exposure to the sun every day to get enough natural vitamin D. So, I said okay, well most days  I am outside for at least that long. But then he told me that that means, exposure in a bathing suit, if your bare skin is not exposed it is not getting the D.

Also, lack of vitamin D is leading to illnesses, colds flu, etc. and depression.

I started taking D this year as a supplement.

Oh, yes, Sue and that's what my dad said that people avoid sun exposure, because to get the full benefits of natural vitamin D, you shouldn't be wearing sun screen!

Thanks for the replies-- I'm the original poster (OP)

I do live in sunny California- but, I don't go outside in a bathing suit ! LOL

I was really shocked that my vitamin D was so low-- My new doctor said that most of her patients test low on Vitamin D and she recommends a supplement--

But, yikes-- 50,000 units in a pill seems so extreme - There all these warnings about side effects like rash, constipation,etc.   I must confess that I filled the perscription, but I haven't taken the 50,000 units tablets- I am taking a supplement with 400 IU-

I do drink low-fat milk,eat yogurt and other foods with calcium and Vit D

My doctor at first wanted me to take that much Vitamin D, then we decided to try 1,000 UB twice a day.  So far it has raised my Vitamin D up to acceptable levels.  One of the big concerns with having a low VD count is that your calcium works much better with lots of VD.

I have osterporsis and have been taking Fosamax for several years with NO side effects at all.   That and higher amounts of calcium and VD has even reversed some of my osterporsis. 

I had the same thing happen to me.  I took 50,000 units/week for 6 weeks.  I was surprised when the doctor told me such a large quantity, but I googled it and it was appropriate.

The doctor put my husband on the 50,000 units 2 times a week and he had constant diarreah from it. After 3 doses he said no more and just switched to a strong multivitamin with added vitamin D in it. And it works fine for him.

In my non-professional opinion, 50,000 IU per week doesn't seem unreasonable for people who have been diagnosed as having a vitamin D deficiency. The liver stores up any excess, and you need to build up liver reserves. I read somewhere that they did a study on submariners, and found that vitamin D has a long half-life in their bodies. I think they needed to take vitamin D supplement only about once every 6 weeks. Since they don't get much sunlight, they obviously need the supplement. Of course, it's not advisable to wait 6 weeks between supplements. Neither is it advisable not to supplement since virtually everyone is otherwise deficient in vitamin D.

Your doctor surely told you to monitor for any signs of overdose and, in such a case, to stop taking the pills and let him or her know. If your doctor's first name is Shirley, then Doctor Shirley told you. Sorry, that was incredibly lame but I had to say it.

Wow, I just noticed this post is from 2008?