Thursday, September 02, 2010
Vitamin D: how high can you go?
January 2010
How effective is oral vitamin D supplementation in individuals with low 25-hydroxy-vitamin D? How high can the dose be increased when levels fail to normalize with 800-1,200 IU of vitamin D? D.W. Conley, MD, Whitby, ON
Oral vitamin D supplementation (cholecalciferol vitamin D3) is effective for vitamin D supplementation in individuals with low vitamin D, as long as they have normal absorption. Severe nutritional deficiency (25-OH-D < 50 nmol/L) requires initial treatment with 50,000 international units of D3 orally once per week for six to eight weeks, and then 800 to 1,000 units of vitamin D3 daily thereafter. If the vitamin D level is not improving, workup for malabsorption — such as screening for celiac disease — should be considered.
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