Vitamin Edema

[billroper]

And now another report from the Department of Idiosyncratic Reactions:

Two weeks ago, I noticed that the edema in my legs was markedly worse. The right leg is usually not too bad, but the left leg took damage from the ligament replacement surgery and subsequent infection which has caused it to hold more water than it should. Normally, when I go to bed, the swelling subsides, then picks up again when the leg is no longer horizontal.

The left leg was really swollen last week. And the top of the foot was swelling as well. This was bad. I figured I'd order a compression stocking and see if that helped. It arrived in time for me to wear it for the drive down to Marcon and really didn't help that much.

But after putting on the compression stocking, I was running through a mental list of Things That I Might Have Changed That Would Cause A Problem.

And I realized that on Monday of the week before, I had started taking a fish oil supplement with a large dollop of Vitamin D in it. Hmm.

I had been taking a Vitamin D supplement before, but that amounted to only about 3500 units a week. The new supplement added another 14,000 units.

Well, I could stop taking it. And I did. And the other Vitamin D supplement as well.

Vitamin D is fat soluble, so it takes a while to clear out of the system. But the edema in my legs is now markedly reduced after about a week and a half of cold turkey and starting to approach normalcy again.

Supposedly, Vitamin D should reduce edema. A web search found one poor soul who was taking 50,000 units of D a week and was noticing edema in his legs, so asked one of the on-line doctor sites about it. They naturally replied that they'd never heard of that.

I'm thinking this is Yet Another Idiosyncratic Reaction.

*sigh*

Another week or so and things should be back to normal, I think... :)

Comments

[ladypoetess.livejournal.com]

I was on a course of 50,000 U, once per week for 8 weeks, when I was severely deficient in D. It's a common treatment course to get out of the acute deficiency, but it wouldn't be an on-going method of treatment.

[qnofhrt.livejournal.com]

Actually it is used fairly commonly as an on-going method of treatment. It usually takes 6-12 months to get Vitamin D levels up, especially in post-menopausal women.

BTDT

[capplor.livejournal.com]

In my case it was a totally undocumented side-effect of an allergy drug. 10 years later, it was documented.

[joecoustic.livejournal.com]

Interesting. I seem to do well with some extra vitamin D but too much or certain formulations give me some unpleasant side-effects. I often get strange undocumented side-effects from things not known to cause them so I've had to learn to listen very carefully to my body. I suppose after giving your body a rest you could go back to your original dose and formula or just decide to go without for awhile and see how you do. So glad you caught it! *hugs*

[starmalachite.livejournal.com]

You might want t try flax seed oil capsules instead for many of the same benefits. S takes them as he is *severely* seafood-allergic.