High Doses of Vitamins

Lead to Vitamin Toxicity

DEAR DR. ROACH: I have been diagnosed with vitamin D toxicity, according to the blood work from a month ago -- my result was 122 ng/mL. I was taking high doses of vitamin D3 in pill form (15,000 IU a day for three years) bought from a drugstore. I have stopped taking it, but I need to know how long it will take to have a normal amount in my body. (Weeks, months?) Can you shed any light on this question? I would like to take it again when my level comes down, but in a lower amount. Also, by any chance, would the high amount of D3 in my system have any correlation to a diagnosis of stenosis of the aortic valve? -- C.I.

ANSWER: Vitamin D toxicity is not common. I have seen one case in my career requiring hospitalization, due to a very high elevation of the blood calcium level. Vitamin D increases absorption of calcium from food through the intestines.

In addition, calcium can come out of bones in people with very high levels of vitamin D. With high vitamin D levels, calcium levels can also become dangerously high. Common symptoms of very high calcium levels include constipation, nausea and vomiting, muscle weakness, kidney stones, and neurological symptoms, including poor concentration and fatigue. These symptoms tend to happen at levels higher than yours, above 150 ng/mL. Years of high calcium levels can absolutely cause existing heart valve disease to worsen quickly.

In cases of acute intoxication from vitamin D, available treatments include steroids and pamidronate (an injectable medicine similar to alendronate and other drugs used to treat osteoporosis), which can quickly bring the calcium levels back down to normal.

Without this kind of intervention, a vitamin D level will still come down on its own, only more gradually. Vitamin D3 is removed slowly from the body, because it can go into fat tissue. It takes about two months for half the excess to be removed from the body, but because the active forms are removed more quickly, toxicity from excess vitamin D3 usually only lasts for weeks, not months. Still, you are likely not to need any vitamin D for many months, and if you do take it again, do not exceed the safe dose of 5,000 IU a day. I recommend you also get your blood levels tested. Recent studies have questioned the benefit of supplemental vitamin D for most people, although some people, such as those with osteoporosis and low vitamin D levels, probably still benefit.

I’m very glad you wrote. Many people still don’t know that excess of some vitamins can occasionally be dangerous. Vitamin A is the other vitamin where high levels can be very dangerous.

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Dr. Roach regrets that he is unable to answer individual questions, but will incorporate them in the column whenever possible. Readers may email questions to ToYourGoodHealth@med.cornell.edu.

© 2023 North America Synd., Inc. All Rights Reserved

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Four Ideas For Health Care Planning In Retirement

(NAPSI)—The Employee Benefit Research Institute estimates that a typical 65-year-old couple will spend a total of $265,000 in health care costs over the remainder of their lives. This staggering amount of money has the potential to derail even the best-laid retirement plans.

Vanguard and Mercer recently developed a new framework, “Planning for Health Care Costs in Retirement,” that identifies practical tips for forecasting your health care expenses. Here are four top ideas:

1. Personalize health care costs. Start by understanding how your health history and current health status will influence expenses. Even your geographic location, marital status and age at retirement will impact your forecasts.

2. Plan for long-term care. This is a tough one to assess because half of retirees won’t even incur these costs, but on the other end of the spectrum, 15 percent of retirees will spend more than $250,000. Consider potential long-term care options, such as unpaid care from family and less-expensive available facilities.

3. Create a hedge in your budget for other expenses. Research shows that retirement spending in virtually all categories other than health care tends to decline with age. By forecasting steady spending in other expense areas, you may create a buffer in your budget to deal with rising health care expenses.

4. Forecast costs in annual spending. There are so many variables involved in estimating health care costs in retirement that trying to plan around a total lifetime budget can be overwhelming. Experts recommend that you focus on annual spending plans instead, provided that you understand costs will rise as you age.

For seniors who are struggling to find cash in their retirement budgets to offset unexpected health care expenses, it may be a good idea to take stock right now of all your assets. Many seniors are surprised to learn that one potential asset for generating immediate cash is a life insurance policy. You should review your life insurance policy from time to time and determine whether or not it’s still needed. A life insurance policy is considered your personal property, so you have the right to sell it anytime you like. When a consumer sells a policy—something called a “life settlement” transaction—the policy owner receives a cash payment and the purchaser of the policy assumes all future premium payments, then receives the death benefit upon the death of the insured. Candidates for life settlements are typically aged 70 years or older, with a life insurance policy that has a death benefit of at least $100,000.

If you own a life insurance policy you no longer need or can afford, you may be able to generate immediate cash to pay your health care expenses by selling that policy for immediate cash.

To learn more about life settlements, visit www.LISA.org or call the LISA office today at 888-921-3793.