AboutBarbara Judge Expertise Outpatient pharmacy and general health. I have recently completed a Pharmceutical Care Certificate Program offered by Purdue University (Spring 1999 completion). I have personal experience dealing with terminally ill persons and their needs, as well as their families` needs. I graduated in 1984 from Pharmacy School and have been a Licensed Pharmacist since then. I have 18 years retail pharmacy experience. Prior to my pharmacy training I have 3 years hospital experience as a Nurse`s Aide.
Question Hi,
I am a 68-year-old man. For varying lengths of time I have been taking dailey a Multi-vitamin, vitamins C(500mg plus 60 in multi-vitamin)), D(1000mg +400 in MV), Magnesium(250mg+100mg in MV)), Selenium(200+20 in MV), and a doctor-recommended pill with magnesium/Psyillim husks 0.52.grams) to prevent reoccurence of kidney stones.
I added these at various times when reading articles in the NY Times health section claiming that they're good for older men.
I have no idea whether they do anything, but I figured they couldn't hurt. However,I just happened upon a site giving recommended daily amounts and overdose amounts. I suspect these overdose amounts are very conservative, but in some cases they are less than what I take:
Overdose Amount
C None
D 50mg
Magnesium 400mg
Selenium 200mg
Am I taking too much of any of these or is the site overly conservative?
Many thanks,
Steve
Answer Most vitamins are water soluble and your body will wash out what you do not use. Vitamins A, D, E and iron can cause overdoses. Vitamins A, D, and E are fat soluble and your body stores them which can lead to toxicity over time. Iron is more commonly seen in pediatric overdosages.
I think rather than 1400mg of vitamin D you are actually taking 1400U of vitamin D. Over the counter vitamin D supplements are not labeled in mg, but rather in international units (IU) or just units (U). The overdose amount of 50mg may very well be correct but the equivalency is 50,000U= 1.25mg on prescription so 50mg would equal 2,000,000U. Most people who require prescription vitamin D receive 50,000U once weekly, even then significantly below the overdose levels.
Magnesium is a trace element that would cause diarrhea as a side effect if you took too much. As far as I know they have not determined a specific overdose amount for either magnesium or selenium.
Vitamin C can cause acidification of the urine if taken it too high of dosages. These dosages would need to approach about 5000 to 6000mg per day at which point if you are changing the pH of blood and urine. It is not safe but it is not specifically an
overdose.
As long as you have normal liver and kidney function the dosages of vitamins you are taking should be OK.
Thanks
