A Curious Case of Hypervitaminosis D

• Published in: Curēus (Palo Alto, CA) Vol. 12; no. 6
• Main Authors: Sharma, Neha, Landsberg, Eric, Kumar, Vishnu, Gambhir, Harvir Singh S
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Palo Alto Cureus Inc 08-06-2020; Cureus
• Subjects: Case reports; Creatinine; Dietary supplements; Family/General Practice; Homeostasis; Hospitals; Internal Medicine; Kidney diseases; Laboratories; Nephrology; Pain; Patients; Physicians; Potassium; Proteins; Self-medication; Toxicity; Urine; Vitamin D; Vitamin deficiency; United States > US
• ISSN: 2168-8184; 2168-8184
• DOI: 10.7759/cureus.8515

The growing awareness of the beneficial health effects of vitamin D supplementation, the commonality of vitamin D deficiency, and the over-the-counter availability of vitamin D supplements has resulted in a renewed interest in vitamin D supplementation among patients as well as health care providers. We present a case of vitamin D toxicity (VDT) in a patient following self-medication with mega doses that far exceeded the prescribed dosage. He presented to us with acute kidney injury (AKI) and elevated serum 25(OH)-vitamin D levels. He was treated with intravenous hydration, loop diuretics, and prednisone and had a clinical and biochemical improvement as reflected in his labs. We suggest that physicians and health care providers be made aware of this commonly overlooked side-effect of vitamin D supplementation and the importance of regular blood levels to titrate the dose accordingly. At the same time, it is important that the public is made aware of the ill-effects of self-medicating on large doses of vitamins.