Vitamin D loading doses quickly and safely raise levels – meta-analysis Dec 2021

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Safety and effectiveness of vitamin D mega-dose: A systematic review

Clin Nutr ESPEN. 2021 Dec;46:115-120. doi: 10.1016/j.clnesp.2021.09.010
Fernanda Lauar Ataide 1, Larissa Matos Carvalho Bastos 2, Matheus Franklin Vicente Matias 2, Thelma Larocca Skare 3, Jozélio Freire de Carvalho 4

Hyper: calcemia, calciuria

Introduction: Supplementation with high doses of vitamin D, known as mega-dose or "stoss therapy," refers to administering high doses of vitamin D by oral or intramuscular route in short periods of time. In this sense, conducting a review to organize this knowledge in a single article will generate a helpful instrument for researchers working in this area and for health professionals who use this therapeutic tool.

Objective: To carry out a literature review on safety and efficacy (normalization of serum vitamin D level, and changes in the clinical picture) of vitamin D mega-dose use.

Methodology: This is a systematic review of the literature searching data through the electronic banks of PubMed, Scielo, and LILACS, using the following keywords: "vitamin D," "mega-dose," "stoss therapy," "cholecalciferol," in different combinations. CONSORT questionnaire was used to assess the quality of the included studies.

Results: Of the 59 articles screened for this review, 10 were included in the review, studying patients with rickets, osteoporosis, and critically ill patients. Two studies compared the exact dosage of vitamin D by different routes of administration, and three studies compared different doses by the same route. All others studied vitamin D mega-dose versus placebo. Adverse effects were observed through the presence of hypercalcemia/hypercalciuria. Serum vitamin D levels were normalized between 70 and 100% of patients, and adverse effects ranged between 1.9 and 18.5%.

Conclusion: The study demonstrated that vitamin D mega-dose therapy is effective in normalizing serum vitamin levels, and the toxicity assessed through adverse effects was low, with no expressive clinical significance. Despite this, there is still a need for further studies in the area to confirm the results found.

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VitaminDWiki observations

• Vitamin d is perhaps the only nutrient that can be restored via a loading dose
• Loading doses have beenin use around the world for >50 years
• Loading doses can quickly raise Vitamin D Levels
• Injection loading provides the slowest rise - many weeks
• Oral loading is most frequently used - response peaks in 3-10 days
• Sublingual loading may have the fastest response time - 1 day not delayed by gut)
• Loading doses can be made in a single session, or across many days
  • France, for example, has >200 loading dose protocols
• Many groups have found that the loading doses should be smaller for humans with lower weight
• People with poor guts should use gut-friendly forms of Vitamin D

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VitaminDWiki - Loading Dose of Vitamin D category

206 items in category
see also Overview Loading of vitamin D   Overview Toxicity of vitamin D
Better than Daily 1: Fewer chances to forget, 2) Gets past receptor barrier
Injection category has 64 items
 
It appears that over 1 million Vitamin D loading doses have been taken
Doses ranged from 100,000 to 600,000 IU over a period of a day to a month
No reports of serious adverse reactions
Many studies report on the benefits resulting from loading doses

TOP articles in Loading Dose of Vitamin D

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VitaminDWiki - Injection category contains

64 items in Vitamin D Injection category

• Vitamin D injections last longer (3 month vs 2 month) than loading doses
• Getting Vitamin D into your body shows the many ways of getting Vitamin D

• Injections are currently made by medical professionals into muscle
• Home injection of Vitamin D appears to be possible in the future
• Injections are useful for people who might forget to take their periodic supplement (children, elderly, etc) and those who cannot swallow or have poor digestion
• While Vitamin D2 is historically the common form, Vitamin D3 is far better
• Should check (if there is time) for possible allergic reaction to Vitamin D or lack of Magnesium for both for loading dose and injection
• Note 600,000 IU Vitamin D loading dose via capsules is 1/20th the cost($2.40) of an injection, and does not require a prescription
• 100,000 IU single dose of vitamin D - 2010 has the following
  
• Vitamin D injection lasts longer and has bigger response than weekly oral – Jan 2017 has the following
  
• Non-oral Vitamin D should be a better form for MS, food allergy, PTSD, etc. – many studies might include injection

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VitaminDWiki - Children and Loading dose studies

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VitaminDWiki pages with HIGH-DOSE in title (65 as of Nov 2022)

This list is automatically updated

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VitaminDWiki - Calcium and Vitamin D category contains

Calcium often causes major health problems

• Many studies have identified many health problems with Calcium supplementation
• Less than 750 mg of Calcium supplement daily - VitaminDWiki has recommended for 7 years
• Some believe that the health problems are due to the spike in blood Calcium from taking the Calcium only once per day - Dr. Greger - March 2018 text and short video
• Perhaps there would be a shorter Calcium spike (and less of a problem) if take Calcium multiple times a day
• Perhaps also less of a problem if the Calcium is plant-based
• Calcium from milk also causes 5+ major health problems 2015 Dr. Greger
  • No apparent health problems from processed dairy products (cheese, yogurt, etc)
• Calcium supplements are less of a problem if have adequate Vitamin K
  • which keeps Calcium from forming blood-system plaque
• 2.7X increase in rate of Colon polyps in 6-10 years RCT March 2018
• Calcium from food or supplements associated with more deaths (US Cohort of 31,000 people) – April 2019