Former CDC Dr. FRIEDEN RECOMMENDS VITAMIN D

It's extraordinarily imperative that people use caution when taking vitamin D supplements because "the dose makes the poison." Overdoing it can cause severe and irreversible kidney damage. Ironically, an alternative health guru sued company over his own product because of excessive vitamin D causing extreme harm to his health.

From Harvard Medical School:
Taking too much vitamin D can cloud its benefits and create health risks - Harvard Health

My stepmom is a pediatrician and she treated children who had kidney stones, an excruciatingly painful affliction, due to their parents panicking about the Ebola outbreak at that time and following the misinformation of online influencers who promoted vitamin D as a preventative measure. The formation of kidney stones is frequently elevated by hypercalciuria, which can be caused by excessive vitamin D supplementation.

Ideally, anyone wanting to take Vitamin D would first have their physician administer a blood test to check current levels. If there's a worrisome deficiency their physician can prescribe a higher dosage of Vitamin D to be taken in careful dosages, generally one per week for a duration of a few months to gradually correct the insufficiency.

Edit to add:
This part of the article should have been featured in the OP:

Most daily multivitamin supplements contain enough Vitamin D – though it’s possible to take too much, so it’s important not to overdose. How much is enough? Doses between 800 IU and 2000 IU are probably safe; a reasonable and commonly used dose is 1000 IU a day. Too much Vitamin D can cause nausea and vomiting, weakness, and frequent urination, and lead to bone pain and kidney stones. Vitamin D can also interact with certain medications, so you should check for interactions before taking supplements.

For now, go outside and get some sun – but make sure you follow social distancing guidelines to avoid close contact with other people, and don’t go out if you’re ill or can’t go out safely. Taking a walk will also help you get physical activity and alleviate cabin fever. Eat healthy foods that contain or are supplemented with Vitamin D. Take a daily multivitamin supplement (but don’t double the daily dose just because you’re worried).

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Does anyone know the difference between D2 and D3? I was just prescribed 50,000 units of D2, one pill a week a month ago.
It's prescribed by my dr. so, I assume it's medically safe. I was given it because my bloodwork showed I was low. But, great timing! Lol.

Stanfordella said:

This part of the article should have been featured in the OP:

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OP has a history of spreading health misinformation in this forum.

Nancy Hale said:

Does anyone know the difference between D2 and D3? I was just prescribed 50,000 units of D2, one pill a week a month ago.
It's prescribed by my dr. so, I assume it's medically safe. I was given it because my bloodwork showed I was low. But, great timing! Lol.

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My recollection is that D3 is the form in which overdoses can be toxic. Anything over 10000 IU could be dangerous, under 2000 probably not.

I'm pretty sure the doctor gave you D2 because of the potential overdose risk. However, for your own peace of mind, please do check webmd or somewhere else reliable, or verify with your doctor.

The dose prescribed for you is under 100000 per day. If you are deficient enough to be prescribed that much, it would probably not harm you even if it were the kind you can overdose more easily on. But you should verify that the pills you take have a greater margin of safety.

pitabread said:

OP has a history of spreading health misinformation in this forum.

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It's especially pernicious in this case because the OP has presented someone with the appropriate credentials to be providing medical guidance during this pandemic, but has given advice that Dr. Frieden did not and omits crucially relevant details. Dr. Frieden did not advise people to take 5,000 IU of D3 as the OP does, and the article makes the point of stressing that people can overdose, which is precisely what they risk doing by following that excessive recommendation. In the article it states: "doses between 800 IU and 2000 IU are probably safe; a reasonable and commonly used dose is 1000 IU a day." The article also states "right now, we don’t know if Vitamin D deficiency plays any role in the severity of COVID-19." Yes, a deficiency is definitely problematic but so is overdosing.

The most malignant misinformation is that which contains just enough truth to be reasonably accepted as accurate and therefore mislead because it distorts the full facts and excludes context.

Nancy Hale said:

Does anyone know the difference between D2 and D3? I was just prescribed 50,000 units of D2, one pill a week a month ago.
It's prescribed by my dr. so, I assume it's medically safe. I was given it because my bloodwork showed I was low. But, great timing! Lol.

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You're doing things precisely as you should, having your doctor confirm your levels and prescribe the dosage you need.

The Cleveland Clinic explains the differences between vitamin D2 and D3. This article is specifically for bone health, but the information is correct and generally useful.

Q: What is the difference between vitamin D2 and D3, and which one should I take for bone health?

A: There are two types of vitamin D: There’s D2, and that’s usually the prescription that doctors write. It’s plant-based and comes in a 50,000 unit D2 capsule. Vitamin D3 is over-the-counter, so you can just pick it up off the shelf. That’s an animal-derived product.

D3 may be a little more potent than D2, but there’s not a huge difference, so either is fine. Consistency is the key.

We should probably mention the optimal vitamin D blood level, because that’s also an area of confusion. The National Institute of Medicine guidelines say anything over 20 ng/mL is adequate for the general population. But for people who are having a lot of achiness, or those with osteoporosis, many of us would feel that that’s sub-optimal. We would try to strive for over 30 ng/mL – ideally 40 to 50 ng/mL.

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Stanfordella said:

You're doing things precisely as you should, having your doctor confirm your levels and prescribe the dosage you need.

The Cleveland Clinic explains the differences between vitamin D2 and D3. This article is specifically for bone health, but the information is correct and generally useful.

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Thank you! I was completely clueless.

Nancy Hale said:

Thank you! I was completely clueless.

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@Nancy Hale
Vitamins are important; I am more aware of them now than I was before some serious illness, after which my wife and I attended nutrition info classes.

(I believe calcium is also important to combat osteoporosis.)