Vitamin D warning: Five warning signs you’ve had too much ‘sunshine vitamin’

Vitamin D is an extremely important vitamin as it regulates the amount of calcium and phosphate in the body. These are essential nutrients for keeping bones, teeth and muscles healthy. Its strongly advised that from October onwards everyone should take vitamin D supplements due to the lack of sunshine. If a person has consumed too much vitamin D supplements, however, they may experience a condition known as hypercalcemia.

This condition is when the calcium level in the blood is above normal.

Mayo Clinic said: “Too much calcium in your blood can weaken your bones, create kidney stones and interfere with how your heart and brain work.

Hypercalcemia is usually a result of overactive parathyroid glands. These four tiny glands are situated behind the thyroid gland.

Other causes of hypercalcemia include cancer, certain other medical disorders, some medications and taking too much of calcium and vitamin D supplements.

You might not have signs or symptoms if your hypercalcemia is mild.”

More-severe cases produces signs and symptoms related to the parts of your body affected by the high calcium levels in your blood. Examples include:

Kidneys

Excess calcium in your blood means your kidneys have to work harder to filter it.

This can cause excessive thirst and frequent urination.

Digestive system

Hypercalcemia can cause stomach upset, nausea, vomiting and constipation.

Bones and muscles

In most cases, the excess calcium in your blood was leached from your bones, which weakens them.

This can cause bone pain, muscle weakness and depression.

Brain

Hypercalcemia can interfere with the way your brain works, resulting in confusion, lethargy and fatigue.

It can also cause depression.

Heart

Rarely, severe hypercalcemia can interfere with your heart function, causing palpitations and fainting, indications of cardiac arrhythmia and other heart problems.

The delicate balance between too little calcium in your blood and hypercalcemia can be be disrupted by a variety of factors

Mayo Clinic

Mayo Clinic added: “The delicate balance between too little calcium in your blood and hypercalcemia can be be disrupted by a variety of factors.

Hypercalcemia is caused by overactive parathyroid glands, cancer, other diseases, hereditary factors, immobility, severe dehydration, medications and supplements.

Taking excessive amounts of calcium or vitamin D supplements over time can raise calcium levels in your blood above normal.”

As hypercalcemia causes few symptoms which tend to be mild, a person might not know they have the disorder until routine blood tests show a high level of blood calcium.

Blood tests also can reveal whether your parathyroid hormone level is high, indicating a hyperaparathyroidism.

For an accurate determination of whether a person has hypercalcemia, a GP might recommend imaging tests of the bones or lungs.

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