High Blood Pressure & Vitamin D

[ColwynsMommy]

At my prenatal appointment yesterday, my blood pressure was pretty high. I've been (unsuccessfully) trying not to freak out, because I really don't want to lose my homebirth. I've been reading up on things that can help, started taking cal/mag again, made sure I got 100g of protein today, etc.

I had a few minutes of backache that was located around my kidneys this evening, but it went away pretty fast, but got me worrying again.

To take my mind off it, I went to look up information on why vitamin D is so great (I've been telling my husband to take it 'cause our kids are sick right now). I started reading about vitamin D toxicity, and now I'm freaking out about that. Apparently, vitamin D toxicity can cause, among other things, high blood pressure, excessive urination, itchiness, and renal failure. Now, I'm pretty sure my constant peeing and itchy belly has more to do with pregnancy in general.. but I'm worried that I'm taking too much vitamin D.

I take a vitamin D supplement that's 1000 IU, 2000mg of fish oil (which has vitamin D in it, right? I started taking it to help my mood pre-pregnancy), and my prenatal has 400 IU of vitamin D. Is that too much? Should I cut way back?

Thanks!

[BeeBliss]

Na and K

Also investigate Potassium.

Sodium and Potassium have an inverse relationship because they are both involved in the sodium-pump which regulates those two electrolytes in your body.

I had high blood pressure too and managed to get it down by reducing sodium and taking potassium supplements and eating foods high in potassium. There is some proof that potassium can reduce your systolic BP if taken in the same amounts that you are consuming sodium.

Also, be careful of diuretics like caffeine that can flush out your potassium. If you are a heavy coffee or soda drinker, you may reconsider cutting that out of your diet.

[ColwynsMommy]

I'm definitely dropping the caffeine I was drinking (I had been using a regular tea to offset the nasty taste of alfalfa/nettle/RRL/red clover tea I have to drink--just discovered cutting it with juice works just as well).

Doesn't potassium help with leg cramps, too? Maybe I should go buy some bananas..

I'm confused about the sodium recommendations.. I've read in some places that cutting back on sodium is dangerous, and my midwife suggested using Baltic (?) sea salt on my food. But then, I've also heard to reduce sodium as much as possible. I don't really use much salt, though I do rely on some processed foods when I don't have enough time to cook properly.

Thanks for the input!

[tanyalynn]

The only way that could be too much vitamin D is if you've got something else serious going on. For most people, that amount of vitamin D won't even raise their blood level. You could ask your doc for a test to make sure, but if it came back high, you'd want to figure out why your body was dealing with it so very differently.

For perspective, a white person in a swimsuit in Texas in July can make 20,000 IU or more in a day, and could conceivably do that all summer without issue.

You may want to consider magnesium only instead of a cal/mag combo. They work together, and a higher calcium intake would make your body want/need more magnesium, so you wouldn't do anything for a deficiency.

Different people respond to sodium and potassium in different ways. Strangely, more sodium makes my BP go down slightly, but my BP is already quite low (too low to be healthy).

eta: if the fish oil had appreciable amounts of D in it, it would be listed. It's likely just omega-3s if that's all that's listed.

[Juvysen]

Originally Posted by TanyaLopez

The only way that could be too much vitamin D is if you've got something else serious going on. For most people, that amount of vitamin D won't even raise their blood level. You could ask your doc for a test to make sure, but if it came back high, you'd want to figure out why your body was dealing with it so very differently.

For perspective, a white person in a swimsuit in Texas in July can make 20,000 IU or more in a day, and could conceivably do that all summer without issue.

You may want to consider magnesium only instead of a cal/mag combo. They work together, and a higher calcium intake would make your body want/need more magnesium, so you wouldn't do anything for a deficiency.

Different people respond to sodium and potassium in different ways. Strangely, more sodium makes my BP go down slightly, but my BP is already quite low (too low to be healthy).

eta: if the fish oil had appreciable amounts of D in it, it would be listed. It's likely just omega-3s if that's all that's listed.

I thought it was easier to OD on D-2 (synthetic vitamin D) than on D-3? I thought that was why it was important to look for D-3 ... Maybe I'm confusing it with something else...

[tanyalynn]

Originally Posted by Juvysen

I thought it was easier to OD on D-2 (synthetic vitamin D) than on D-3? I thought that was why it was important to look for D-3 ... Maybe I'm confusing it with something else...

Is the OP taking D2, the vegan D? I always assume D3 unless someone says otherwise, most supps are D3, lanolin or fish sourced.

D2 seems odd, I'd test quicker in that case.

[Juvysen]

Originally Posted by TanyaLopez

Is the OP taking D2, the vegan D? I always assume D3 unless someone says otherwise, most supps are D3, lanolin or fish sourced.

D2 seems odd, I'd test quicker in that case.

No clue, but since I thought I remembered something about that, I thought I should mention it, in case that was what she was taking. Some vitamins have D2 in it instead, occasionally...

[tanyalynn]

Originally Posted by Juvysen

No clue, but since I thought I remembered something about that, I thought I should mention it, in case that was what she was taking. Some vitamins have D2 in it instead, occasionally...

I should keep that in mind, I always assume D3.

[umsami]

You are nowhere near the toxicity level. I had very low D and was on 100,000 IU per week (50,000 IU D3 two times per week...ordered by my physician). Many people take 5000 IU per day--and that dose is easily available OTC, so thus, I highly doubt it is anywhere near a toxic level.

I honestly don't think your vitamin D intake is the culprit.

[ColwynsMommy]

Thanks guys. For the record, it is D3. I don't usually freak out without good cause, but I'm more susceptible when pregnant.. I emailed my midwife today and she said the same thing. I feel much better!

[olive&pimiento]

Here is a link to a study on vitamin D and pregnancy that helped me decide how much to supplement. I had clinically low vitamin D right before getting pregnant and did not it to get worse. I am taking 1000iu plus what ever is in my prenatal (400 iu I think).
http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/full/79/5/717#SEC12

[megan sacha]

I don't think D3 is the problem for you either at such a low dose. Most people can safely take up to 10,000iu. I take 6,400 and my blood levels are still not as high as my ND would like. If you're worried, have a blood test, which will give you a definitive answer.

[naturalmom08]

Your vitamin D levels are probably ok, but definitely speak with your midwife or a naturopath about them just in case. You might want to just cut out the extra vitamin D supplement...especially since D is also found in your fish oil, and is usually found in a good cal-mag supplement as well. Take a good liquid cal-mag, since those are so easily digested. And maybe even look into a little extra magnesium as well? I don't know much about magnesium levels and how much is safe to take, but it seems worth looking into and asking about. If you do take some additional magnesium, take it apart from the cal-mag supplement, since the calcium can compete a little with it. And maybe in your case it's best to take the magnesium only?