This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure.
Even though vitamins are viewed as a good “natural” option, this past week I experienced how dangerous they can be. As you can tell by the title of my post, this week I have been trying to recover from vitamin A toxicity due to taking too much vitamin A after my Naturopath prescribed it.
If you’ve read some of my previous posts, you know that I mostly follow a gluten free diet and take probiotics. After, my naturopath recommended taking fermented cod liver oil. I starting taking fermented cod liver (which is high in vitamin A). Over the past 3 years, I have been seeing a naturopathic doctor and go to get my blood checked by him regularly to see if I am low in any nutrients/vitamins. He is a big fan of getting blood work done to check for any vitamin deficiencies. If I’m ever low in a vitamin, he tells me that if I take that supplement then it will fix my acne.
At the beginning of last month, I got my blood checked for a variety of vitamins and a few other things, such as thyroid functioning.
According to my naturopathic doctor, the results of my blood test showed that I was low in vitamin A. My level was at 42mcg (picture of my blood test below). This number is at the lower end of the normal reference range, yet still within the normal range. My naturopath said that, that reference range is too broad and that my vitamin A level was really too low. He said that my low level of vitamin A was causing my acne and that if I take a vitamin A supplement, I won’t have acne any more.
I was surprised my vitamin A was at the lower end of the reference range because it has always been higher on every previous blood test, as I take 2 teaspoons of fermented cod liver oil (FCLO) daily, which has a good amount of vitamin A.
Why I got vitamin A toxicity
Since my vitamin A was low, my naturopath gave me a 100,000IU vitamin A supplement to add into my regimen. He said to take it once a day, everyday. I started taking it in addition to the FCLO (about 33,000IU vitamin A) he told me to take. After a few days of taking the large dose, I started to not feel good but, I just brushed it off. It wasn’t until 6 days after taking it, I started to get horrible symptoms (see my symptoms below) and I stopped taking all vitamin A.
Why did this happen to me? I thought, maybe it’s because I’m sensitive to the vitamin A and that’s why the symptoms are so bad. But, after reading about vitamin A online, I learned that he had given me a toxic dose.
When I thought back, none of this made sense to me and it was odd that my vitamin A came out so low because I was taking FCLO. One thing that happened concerned me though, I remembered that previous times I had tested my vitamin A, the person drawing the blood immediately wrapped the vial in foil and told me that it shouldn’t be exposed to the light as it could cause the test to be inaccurate.
Well, this last time I went to the blood drawing at the hospital, the phlebotomist, did not cover the vial at all and left it exposed to the bright fluorescent lights in the room. I thought that may have been the reason the test was inaccurate. Studies show that when the blood vial is exposed to light, it decreases the accuracy of the measurement.
Then, after a few more weeks of researching vitamin A toxicity, I learned that all blood tests for vitamin A are NOT ACCURATE!!!! They’re not an accurate representation of the amount in your system. The levels of retinol in your blood fluctuate all the time. You can take the test one day and have high number, take it the next day and have a low number. I found studies from the ’90’s that showed that patients experiencing severe vitamin A toxicity even had vitamin A blood test results within the normal or low range.
I now believe that my vitamin A level was most likely normal already and my naturopath prescribing the high dose of vitamin A caused me to get vitamin A toxicity.
What amount causes vitamin A toxicity?
There’s a lot of contradictory information online about how much vitamin A is safe to take. Even though, 100,000IU is a very high dose, most say that it doesn’t cause vitamin A toxicity unless you take it long term. However, for me it did!
Toxicity occurs with the following doses:
For adults– 25,000 IU per kg of body weight (acute-taken at one time)
-4,000 IU per kg of body weight (chronic-taken over several months)
For children– More than 300,000 IU (acute- taken at one time)
-More than 100,000 IU (chronic-taken over several months)
Even though these are the typical doses that can cause vitamin A toxicity that does not mean that lower doses cannot cause it or the symptoms. Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin, which means that excess of it gets stored in your liver and fatty cells for long periods of time so it can build up in the body and it does not leave the body quickly.
My symptoms- How I found out the vitamin was the cause
During the first few days of taking the Vitamin A supplement, I felt like I had a fast heart rate but, for absolutely no reason. I brushed it off for a few days. I even looked up a connection between heart rate and vitamin A, but found no information so I thought it couldn’t be connected. There isn’t much information online about vitamin A toxicity and all the symptoms.
Then, suddenly on the 6th day of taking the vitamin A, after dinner I started to feel really dizzy, I had difficulty breathing, felt pressure on my head, bright lights bothered me, and my vision seemed off. I immediately stopped taking all vitamin A.
What I did to Treat it
I went to two doctors to see if there was anything I could do to get the vitamin A out of my system faster and feel better. Their response was to just wait it out because it is a fat soluble vitamin. They said there isn’t much you can do. This was frustrating, I felt so terrible and to hear that I have to suffer with these symptoms and there was nothing I can do to get better faster made it even worse.
I researched vitamin A toxicity online to see what I could do and the only studies I found were mostly related to vitamin A toxicity in animals, but I figured the information and treatments may be worth a try. So here they are, this is what I did/am doing:
- Taking zinc (supposed to help counteract)
- Taking vitamin C and eating a lot of foods high in vitamin C (also supposed to help counteract)
- Taking Vitamin E -I just started this today, so I can’t say whether it’s helping or not yet but, this study found in rabbits that it counteracted the vitamin A toxicity effects.
- Drinking a lot of water- Not sure how much this helps but, I do feel better staying hydrated and I figure it must help to just flush everything out of my system.
- Eating good meals that have little to no vitamin A
- Trying to exercise/move around to increase my metabolism as much as possible, despite feeling bad.
- Doing a magnesium or Epsom salt foot bath 2 times a day
How I’m doing now:
Today is the 5th day since I stopped taking the vitamin A supplement. I am feeling better since the first (worst) night I realized I had vitamin A toxicity, but still not feeling back to normal. My vision is still off, I feel dizzy, and off balance. I’m hoping that with each day I will start gradually feeling back to normal as the vitamin A decreases.
I’ll keep you posted on my progress with recovering from vitamin A toxicity.
I think I may have this. I started getting head pressure that won’t go away back in June. Prior to that I had some anxiety attacks that included double and blurred vision. Stores like Walmart and Aldi have become nearly impossible to walk in.
Two years ago I was diagnosed with dry eye. I started taking an OTC eye support supplement that I though had 1,000 IU of Vitamin A. Recently I looked at the label and saw each dose was 10,000 IU! 5,000 IU was beta carotene. The other 5,000 IU is Vitamin A acetate. So, not including the food I am eating, I was getting 25,000 IU every week (I take the weekend off) of A acetate…every week for nearly 2 years!
I have stopped taking the supplement only a few days ago. I am wondering if there are not withdrawal symptoms like the condition worsening before it gets better.
That head pressure is unbearable at times. My eyes play tricks on me and the ocular migraines I get in my eyes seem to increase.
Any guidance will be of great help!
OMG yes the bright lights bothered me too. Glad to hear you stopped taking the vitamin A. Mine didn’t get worse before it got better. It slowly got better, but very slowly. The first few weeks, it didn’t seem like much of an improvement at all. It was very slow. But, it does get better. Please try to keep that in mind. I know it is extremely tough. I hope you feel better really soon!
Thank you! I’ll give it a go!
The same thing happened to me! I started becoming very sensitive to lights in the grocery store and dizzy too. It seemed like blue light would trigger the ocular migraines. When it started happening I didn’t put the two together, but around that time I’d started back on cod liver oil. I hope you feel better soon.
I have problems with sunlight, too. When I am driving, if I look off into the distance I will get dizzy.
I seem to be better if I go into a store on a cloudy day vs. a sunny day. I think there is a balance of light that stops the dizziness.
I also think there is a blood flow issue. If I go to the gym and then into a store right after, it’s really bad.
I also think that this toxicity mirrors what happens with oxalate toxicity. When you are consuming excess vitamin A, the body is desperately trying to keep free vitamin A out of the blood and away from organs like the brain. So, it sequesters as much as it can in the liver and adipose tissue. When you suddenly stop taking it, the liver begins dumping the excess because the excess is damaging the liver while it is being stored there. So, the body starts trying to get rid of what it can.
For me, I only saw minor toxicity symptoms while I was actually taking it. It wasn’t until I stopped that the real nightmare began. I think you will just have to ride it out. I made it through to the other side and am finally nearly symptom-free after 4 months.
As I type this, I have been supplement free for 5 days. Since then the pressure in my head seems to have increased. I have issues when I stand and walk…within 100 feet or so the pressure increases when I walk. I have had problems with small elevation changes causing pressure changes…walking up a hill, driving on the highway, crossing a bridge. That started to go away but now it has returned.
I had an eye disturbance in a convenient store the other day. Taking money out of the ATM my eyes got screwy, my heart started pounding and I went into a minor anxiety attack. Yesterday the same type of disturbance hit me several times on the computer — blinded for the moment by the whiteness in the screen. I’d have to look away for a moment. It felt like an ocular migraine coming on, which fortunately, it didn’t.
4 months — seems like an eternity when you consider this all started in May and it is now September.
Rick, Thank you for sharing… I am experiencing all of what you said too! Horrible and so scary. My memory and mind are playing tricks on me too.
Praying for you to feel better soon and that it does not take 4 months!
Julie
Thank you! I pray the same for you!
Hey, you’re describing symptoms of papilledema and Pseudotumor Cerebri. I hope you’re feeling better now, because if you’re still experiencing the visual disturbances you need to see an ophthalmologist ASAP – you could lose your vision permanently. I was recently diagnosed with PTC because of suspected vitamin A toxicity and it’s been a pretty miserable year.
Hello, Brian. My name is Ashley W. and I am very curious to hear how you are feeling now. I recently (3weeks ago exactly) stopped using Retin a that was causing me headaches/head pressure, dizziness, mental fog and just a general feeling of being unwell. I was taking it for 12 days. Along with it I was eating 3 eggs a day, 1500 Iu half beta carotene and the other half retinol palmitate. I am still experiencing dizziness and visual changes along with slight confusion/brain fog. This is really alarming to me. I am a mother who’s in school and working. I feel very defeated. 😔
Hello and please help.
I am so very thankful I stubbled up this so thank you for your wisdom. I too was on FCLO for 6 months (2 months pregnant) now 4 months brest feeding. I had NO idea what was going on. The last month I experienced racing heart, twitching muscles (is that normal!?) extreme fatigue, confusion, memory blurry, forgetfulness, vision cloudy! Confusion! Urg! I am still in it and need advice with my baby. She appears to be healthy baby with a good check up but so did i but was feeling horrible. Is she now vit A intoxicated?
Would you keep on breastfeeding? Thank you for your help!💗
I wish I had an answer for you. I just did a quick search about vitamin A toxicity and breast feeding. The Mayo clinic says that vitamin A is excreted in breast milk. But, I don’t see much information about how much and how it relates to vitamin A toxicity. Also, you are no longer taking it so would excess vitamin A from your liver pass through to breast milk or only if you’re actively taking excess vitamin A? I would ask your doctor or a toxicologist. Hopefully, they have an answer. The toxicologist I saw, new less about vitamin A toxicity than me 🙁
Lori,
I am so grateful to be able to reference back to all your comments and all the other people’s experience. Thank you for responding. I was able to get peace of mind about Brest feeding from our family doctor/ neighbor. He said not all vit A passes through your Brest milk. I will see if I can find more info.
Please list things I can be doing to feel better. I have several other children and I need to get rid of this headache and get my vision back.
I have stop almost all vit A and that is it and I am on no supplements.
Can I be eating or drinking things to help? Like apple cider vinegar?
Any suggestion/tips?
Remind me how long this last.
Thank you Lori.💗 Julie
So glad you got some good information about breastfeeding! Everything I listed in the post above definitely helped me. We also have a great commenter on this post named Brian. He is very knowledgeable. You might want to read his comments above about what helped him too. I felt better little by little. Hope you feel better soon mama!
I may or may not be experiencing Vit A toxicity due to over consumption of liver for a few months. Many of my symptoms match but they also match many other conditions. I believe it is, at least, playing a part.
How much salt were you guys consuming prior to, during toxicity and during recovery?
Considering the low % of vitamin A in unfortified dairy, 10% per serving, why have you found it crucial to avoid it for recovery?
Logan,
Do you know how much vitamin A you were consuming with the liver? Different brands have different concentrations.
I eat a LOT of salt. But, this is because I have postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome that causes my heart to race when I stand up. My body craves the salt and I also drink a lot of water with it. This increases blood volume so that the heart doesn’t have to work so hard. I get probably 15-20 grams of salt per day which is something on the order of 6 or more grams of sodium.
Not only have I found it important to avoid pre-formed vitamin A, I also have to avoid beta carotene at the moment. All of the science says that the body will not convert beta carotene into vitamin A if you have enough vitamin A already in the system. However, I question this, because beta carotene causes the memory loss and confusion to come back just as badly as pre-formed vitamin A.
It takes a very long time for vitamin A to leave the system. Like I stated above, the body makes a family of binding proteins that bind the various forms of vitamin A. Vitamin A bound to these proteins is harmless. Free vitamin A is extremely toxic because it leads to the uncontrolled production of retinal and eventually retinoic acid. These are quite reactive and will produce an uncontrolled amount of reactive oxygen species which go on to kill neurons in the brain (and other cells). It also increases the formation of and inhibits the clearance of beta amyloid in the brain, a biomarker for Alzheimer’s.
Also, vitamin A damages the liver when present in excess. The liver is responsible for producing the binding proteins. The more vitamin A you take, the less binding protein the liver can make because of this damage, making vitamin A exponentially more toxic, the more you take.
I went through a 2 month period of torturous detox. After that, I started to feel totally normal unless I consumed either vitamin A or beta carotene. I think what happens (this is conjecture, by the way, I can’t prove it) is that the body recognizes that the amount of vitamin A in the system has exceeded the amount of binding protein it can make when you overdose and begins dumping it out into the bloodstream for excretion in the bile and urine. This is what causes the toxicity because it is free vitamin A being dumped. After a while of dumping, the body is able to store the leftover excess in the liver away from the blood and only release the amount it can bind with the binding proteins so that all of it is protected from uncontrolled reactions.
You and I are probably at this stage now. This means that all of the available binding proteins are taken up because you have so much vitamin A in the system and so even a small amount in the diet will lead to free vitamin A in the system which is what causes the symptoms to return.
Thanks for sharing your experience! I’ve had some scary experiences supplementing with cod liver oil (visual disturbances) and think it was due to the ratio of A to D and with me having such low vitamin D levels already. That, coupled with dessicated liver tablets, retinyl palmitate in my multi, and the Fairlife milk we started drinking, seems to have set my levels too high. The only reason I even mention the milk is because I’d feel dizzy and disoriented drinking it. Lesson learned, and I’ve stopped all supplements for now.
Glad to hear you stopped all the supplements. Hope you are feeling better 🙂
Hi Lori,
I just wanted to say thank you!! I can’t even explain how reassured I feel reading your posts and everyone’s comments. I really appreciate how transparent and open everyone has been about their experiences. I feel obligated to share as well and hope my story can help too 🙂
I had been using retin-a topical cream (basically synthetic vitamin a that is absorbed thru the skin) on and off for 2 years. I started to have these weird attacks, difficult to describe but basically these moments of panic and paranoia. When they would occur, it felt like something was horribly wrong and it took everything I had not to run to the nearest ER, it felt like I was going to die. I would become super anxious, hyperventilate, sometimes I had vomiting and my sense of taste and hearing would be heightened. I couldn’t sit still, restless and unable to calm myself. It felt like I was drugged or on some weird trip in a funhouse with loud indiscernible noises. Other times I would be severely depressed and have terrible dark thoughts and not have any motivation to do things that I normally love to do. The smallest things (like making dinner or going to the grocery store) would seem like the biggest chore. I also noticed a change in my concentration and memory, basically I felt foggy here and there. It seemed to come in waves and sometimes the waves were small micro versions and other times they were so bad I questioned my sanity.
I have never had any issues with anxiety or panic in my life, maybe mild depression when I was younger but nothing like this and for no cause. Sometimes I would use retin a cream twice a week, and other times I would use it everyday. I’ll be honest, when the symptoms first started last year, I related it to alcohol. I would average 1-2 glasses of wine or beer everyday. I initially thought that I was experiencing withdrawal but then the symptoms continued to occur even when I cut out alcohol all together. I have not had an alcoholic beverage in 6 months and:
Last week, I awoke from my sleep with one of the worst attacks I have had and I really started to question everything. I had changed my diet (I’m not vegetarian but made an attempt to eat more meatless meals throughout the week) over the past few months and I had been using retin a cream every night for the previous 5 weeks (a change from using sporadically). The night of the attack I had eaten 2 servings of a raw carrot salad (it was amazing:) and I had been eating sweet potatoes nearly everyday.
I know that plant-based sources of vitamin A are metabolized differently and are not stored like synthetic or animal versions but now that I have stopped the cream (it’s only been 1 week), I notice when I eat leafy greens (still high in vitamin A) my symptoms creep back for a few hours in mild form. It’s such an awful feeling!!! My research contradicts this theory (plant based A/carotenoids/beta-carotene are not assoc with hypervitaminosis) but when I eat rice and brown food (no A) 🙁 I feel great lol. Everybody reacts differently to medications and foods. I’m sure my circumstance is super rare but if it helps one person feel better, then it’s worth the post.
Again, I cannot find any literature to support this but I personally have noticed the correlation between toxic symptoms and eating foods with >100% daily value of vitamin A and use of topical Retin-A. I also am unable to find any medical information to support side effects like I am experiencing with the use of this cream but if anyone is using it and questioning it, I recommend discontinuing it altogether. I hope this never happens to anyone ever again.
After discontinuing retin-a, I definitely feel better but not 100%. My symptoms are more subtle and nothing like the episode last week. When I do start feeling that way, I just keep telling myself to breathe through it, it is temporary and it will pass.
I was using this cream to prevent acne and for exfoliation (vanity got the best of me) but I will be trialling natural methods instead. If I find something that works, I will repost:)
Thanks for your time.
Lori, you’re a lifesaver! I wouldn’t be here, feeling better, without your candid story.
Beyond grateful.
Cole
Hi Cole, So happy you are feeling better! It takes time, but it will pass and you will get better. It was one of the toughest things I have ever been through in my life. It’s scary how powerful the topical vitamin A is, I’ve read about that happening to several people. Thank you so much for sharing your story. I know it will help many that come across this post!
I discovered something else yesterday. I tried eating a little bit of a sweet potato which is rich in beta carotene. The vitamin A toxicity symptoms came back immediately. Thankfully, they only lasted for a few hours. Since beta carotene is only converted to vitamin A as needed, one cannot develop hypervitaminosis A from consuming it. This means that I may have become intolerant to beta carotene and/or performed vitamin A even at lower concentrations. The question now is, will this intolerance reverse as the stored vitamin A leaves this system?
Certainly it will reverse right now our livers are in defense mode . The proof of that tolerance comes back is the fact that now we are able to absorb some amount of vitamin A without any issues and symptoms have gradually reversed . Same was the case with lory after 2 years of being under low vitamin A diet she is totally alright now .
I think we should also stay away from vitamin A for a year at least to let it drain out of our body completely .
and for now I think we can start to consume an avocado after a meal . I have read that avocado helps in Vitamin A absorption . This might also speed up the recovery .
And regarding the vitamin C connection I have experienced that too . For atleast a month I had IBS problems due to the overdose only. For that period I used to consume lime water with apple cider vinegar that really helped a lot.
Interesting that lime water and water with ACV helped.
I assume it would. How long have you been off the vitamin A now?
Almost 10 months I have been off vitamin A , but I still have minor symptoms .
IBS heals slowly I used to have serious IBS symptoms when I was a young I tried everything to teat it , but nothing worked out well for me. I later figured out that there is a strong connection between anxiety/stress and IBS . As I gradually let go of stress related to IBS , symptoms started disappearing as well until my IBS was completely gone . Vitamin A toxicity brought it back for some time because of that fact that Vitamin A toxicity causes pathological symptoms of anxiety . As soon as you let go of stress related to IBS symptoms would gradually start disappearing .Though I would also recommend to stay on vegetarian diet for sometime till your digestion strengthens back up again
Dan,
I have seen some studies indicating that the damaging effects of Accutane can last for up to 18 months once the treatment is stopped. I have a feeling this is probably also true of those who overdose on vitamin A since Accutane is a structural isomer of vitamin A. It takes a really long time to get it out of the system. I was feeling great until I had to move last week. I was exercising so much that I started burning through body fat. I believe this released stored vitamin A into the system and the toxicity symptoms returned.
Brain
Indeed it is evident that it takes quite a long time to completely recover . It has been 10 months , but mild symptoms do come back . I can definitely say that I am recovering my mental symptoms are mild now , memory is better , nervousness level is low , dizziness is almost gone , eyesight is getting better, heart rate is better
Symptoms come at most for an hour or so , but they are not that intense as they used to be.
I have observed that eating almonds and seeds like flax seed, sunflower seed ( both high in vitamin E) did help me reduce my symptoms and recovery time .
I hav been o Vit A, 10,000 units a day for two months and have suffered from sticky skin for th same time. None of the Drs connected it to VitA until I read it is the number two complication. The secretions are in my mouth also and are very unpleasant. I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy. We have to be our own advocates!
Hope you feel better soon!!
Dear Lori,
Thank you for your article, it was really helpful. I stumbled upon it after realizing I took the wrong dose of Vitamin A (my eye doctor prescribed 5000 IU a day and I took 10000 IU for 3 days, I wasn’t warned by the pharmacist that sold me the vitamins that it was double the dosage. I know this is 3 years after this article, but you seem to be very knowledgeable about Vit A toxicity. Would a dose of 10000 IU for 3 days (plus couple of eggs a day) enough to cause a toxicity? All I feel is a little dizzy, but that could just be my anxiety after my husband figured out my mistake. Hope you are well, and thanks again for the article.
Elle
Hi Elle, how are you feeling now? I hope your symptoms subsided. 10,000 IU isn’t that high and I’m glad to hear you only took it for 3 days. That’s a very short time, which is good.
This happened to me as well. The funny thing is, I was taking large amounts of vitamin D and K2 at the same time. I believe it was Chris Masterjohn who proposed that A and D cancel each other’s toxicity. But, I got symptoms of both hypervitaminosis a and hypervitaminosis d simultaneously. I was taking 100,000 IU of A and 20,000-30,000 IU of vitamin D daily along with a few mg of K2. I developed a very rapid heartbeat that was caused by hypercalcemia and hypokalemia due to the vitamin D. Taking a lot of potassium has reversed this as well as stopping the vitamin D.
But, I also developed what I can only label as early symptoms of Alzheimer’s. I began have severe short-term memory trouble and an inability to keep a train of thought. Then, I realized that I had some sort of pressure in my skull. It felt like the brain was swelling but I am not too sure about this. I have actually read an epidemiological study that makes the hypothesis that the chronically elevated intake of vitamin A in the western world due to vitamin fortification and people like us mistakenly taking high doses of supplements may actually be responsible for the progressively rising number of Alzheimer’s cases. Vitamin A is extremely unstable and is a highly unsaturated molecule. Unsaturated molecules are notorious for creating excessive and uncontrolled reactive oxygen species which kill cells.
Fortunately, I also discovered a few studies that demonstrated that vitamin A depletes vitamin E and that high doses of vitamin E both reverse vitamin A toxicity and deplete vitamin A stores more quickly than without. Vitamin A’s depletion of vitamin E may be the reason it could lead to Alzheimer’s. Vitamin E is required for the brain’s ability to remove amyloid beta plaques that naturally occur in all people and it blocks the oxidative damage done by them.
Brian!! Can we talk! You’re a freaking genius!!! email me at [email protected]!!
I read that too about the vitamin D canceling out the excess vitamin A. But, wasn’t sure how accurate that was. Wow, that’s interesting that vitamin A toxicity is tied to Alzheimer’s. How long were you taking the high dose of vitamin A? Hope you are feeling better now!!
I took about 100,000 IU per day for 4-5 weeks. I noticed some memory trouble a couple of weeks before stopping but wasn’t sure if it was the vitamin A. Then, I noticed that I was becoming intolerant to some foods I had regained tolerance to after inadvertently eliminating all pre-formed vitamin A from my diet before. I experienced memory trouble when I was consuming a diet high in vitamin A from ghee and butter when I introduced heavy metal supplements (thinking I was deficient). This disappeared after eliminating both the metals and the vitamin A. I didn’t realize at the time that it was the vitamin A that was the problem. But, I can take metal supplements with no problems if I am not consuming vitamin A.
I stopped taking the vitamin A as soon as I noticed the food intolerances coming back. I also began developing symptoms of Crohn’s. Perianal polyps and other disgusting symptoms. Research has shown that excess vitamin A can cause IBD. There appears to be a genetic difference between people in how much retinol binding protein they make. All vitamin A bound to this protein is non-toxic. All vitamin A free from this protein is toxic and will lead to extreme oxidative stress. Those with Alzheimer’s disease have been shown to have lower retinol binding protein levels. The problem actually reinforces itself when you overdose on vitamin A because the excess vitamin A inhibits the liver from producing retinol binding protein and so the toxicity gets exponentially worse the more you take.
Another confounder in this situation is the fact that I took a course of Accutane in 2000. Accutane is a structural isomer of vitamin A. I have seen other reports of people becoming intolerant to vitamin A after taking Accutane and I believe this has happened to me as well. Even smaller amounts from normal foods cause problems.
I believe the liver puts itself into “storage” mode when you are consuming lots of vitamin A. It is desperately trying to get the excess vitamin A out of the bloodstream. When you stop consuming vitamin A, it begins dumping it to try and get it out of the body. As soon as I stopped taking the vitamin A, I began having severe toxicity symptoms. I bounced back and forth between period of severe tachycardia/panic and periods of suicidal depression and extreme confusion and memory loss. I noticed that it came in waves and is still coming in waves. The symptoms are far better and the confusion/memory loss has mostly abated.
I have become so intolerant to certain foods again that I am currently on a beta blocker to keep my heart rate down. Many foods seem to cause severe gastric distress and fast heart rate/anxiety.
I believe the vitamin A destroyed my gastrointestinal system. The good news is that it healed the last time I eliminated the vitamin A. Maybe it will do the same this time.
hey man thats a perfect diagnosis . I am facing the same mental symptoms ( confusion , nervousness, depression) It has been around 7 months , but I am still having mild symptoms .
I highly believe that recovery is possible , but it is a matter of time till the leves of vitamins are restored in our body
As you seem to be very knowledgeable in this topic I would like to ask you few questions
1 : Is there any thing I should be worried about as you have mentioned some links between Alzheimer and stuff ? It wouldn’t be a cause of any neurological disorder for me?
2 : Which foods am I supposed to take ( as you mentioned some vitamins cancel the effect of vitamin A toxicity )
3 : Do I have to completely aviod Vitamin A foods for a year or so following recovery ?
Answers would be appreciated !
Dan,
Keep in mind that I am merely a biochemistry graduate student. I do know some things. But, I am not an expert by any means.
1. The link between Alzheimer’s and vitamin A is merely a hypothesis at this point. An epidemiological study in the early 90’s pointed out that Alzheimer’s is generally a phenomenon limited to the developed world. Underdeveloped areas are generally deficient in vitamin A while developed areas seem to run a slight chronic toxicity because of fortification of foods. At this point, this is only a correlation and causation has not been proved.
With that said, there is a plethora of evidence linking vitamin A to oxidative stress, neuronal death, and irritable bowel disease. Vitamin A is an unsaturated molecule, much like the polyunsaturated fatty acids which I also believe to be quite toxic. Unsaturated molecules are extremely unstable because they have electron rich regions which donate electrons to other substances that are seeking electrons. Oxygen is one of those substances. The vitamin A is capable of donating an electron to oxygen, creating the superoxide free radical. This does two things. First, the superoxide radical goes on to form hydrogen peroxide and eventually peroxynitrite. These are extremely toxic substances that kill cells. Normally, the body has defense mechanisms involving superoxide dismutase and catalase which eliminate these toxins. However, the defense mechanisms are limited and can be overcome. Second, the vitamin A is split into two toxic species that resemble the toxic species formed in the peroxidation of polyunsaturated fatty acids.
Heavy metals make this process infinitely worse, and I experienced this first hand. I supplemented with iron and copper separately while I was toxic with vitamin A and it exponentially exacerbated the brain problems. This is because free iron and free copper steal electrons from the vitamin A and then donate them to oxygen, creating the same toxic byproducts.
One of the suggestions I have is to avoid ALL metal supplements and to avoid tap water because it is usually high in iron and copper that are not in food. Metals from food are not a problem because they are handled differently. Metals that are not in food lead to free metals in the blood and it is the free metals that are toxic, particularly when vitamin A is present.
Oxidative stress is one of the main drivers of Alzheimer’s. It could be that what we experienced was correctly diagnosed as vitamin A toxicity because we obviously took way too much at one time. However, it could be that there is a chronic subclinical toxicity seen in people consuming “normal” amounts of the vitamin as it builds up over many years. It could be that Alzheimer’s is really a chronic toxicity of vitamin A and is misdiagnosed as a degenerative disorder. But, again, this is just a hypothesis at this point and is not necessarily true.
People who naturally produce lower levels of retinol binding protein are at a particularly greater risk of damage because they have greater levels of free vitamin A and it is the free vitamin A that is dangerous. Vitamin A bound to the retinol binding protein is “chaperoned” and will not donate electrons to oxygen or metals.
2. Personally, I am avoiding all foods that contain pre-formed vitamin A permanently. This includes liver, dairy, and certain meats like chicken thighs. I also avoid all fortified food like cereal. Beta carotene does not cause me any trouble so I won’t worry about it. Also, small amounts of pre-formed vitamin A did not seem to cause trouble for a while. But, I am talking about amounts below 800 IU per day which is far below the current recommended amount. When I was consuming a diet containing roughly 3000-5000 IU per day 2 years ago, I experienced toxicity symptoms but at a much lower level. When I supplemented with metals during this time, I experienced the same memory loss and confusion that I did this time but did not realize at the time that the problem was the vitamin A. I supplemented with these same metals when I was inadvertently consuming a diet devoid of any vitamin A and had no problems at all. All of the memory and brain trouble disappeared on the vitamin A-deficient diet. But, keep in mind, that I believe I am intolerant to vitamin A because of the Accutane I took back in 2000.
3. Completely avoiding all vitamin A for a while is the best course of action. You will only delay the detoxification process if you consume any. Eventually, you will probably become deficient and you will want to get your blood levels tested periodically to keep track of this.
Thanks man for this important information
I experienced symptoms of IBD which I think are related to the stress/nervousness caused by the toxicity .
One thing that worries me is what you pointed as “neuronal death” . what does it specify in context of vitamin toxicity ? and it is something that will be a permanent damage to the brain after recovery ? Am I more susceptible to Alzheimer / neural disorders after toxicity ?
again thanks for the valuable information !
btw I used to take this(http://www.gnc.com/mega-men-multivitamins/179322.html?productId=15485606) multivitamin which cause toxicity for about 2 months + salmon cod liver oil
This is a fear of mine as well. I am unsure if you or I are at a greater risk for Alzheimer’s. The good news is that the brain continuously undergoes neurogenesis which creates new neurons. This process is particularly prominent in the hippocampus which is involved with memory.
You should eliminate all fat-soluble supplements in my opinion. Get your D from sunlight and get very little vitamin A. I agree with Dr. Cannell of the vitamin D council. He recommends no more than 800 IU per day of vitamin A and has been warning about the dangerous of vitamin A for a while.
If you remove the source of the damage, I believe the damage is not necessarily permanent. The brain can heal itself much like the liver heals itself. But, you must remove the source of the damage and keep it out permanently. This is what I will be doing with vitamin A from now on.
Thanks , I hope both you and me will be both safe in future. I stopped taking any vitamin supplements since I got toxicity ( past 8 months) and have been on an extremely low vitamin A diet . But still have mild symptoms specially early morning ? Are 8 months too long for recovery ? how long did it take for you to feel 100% ?
Do you think I should stop consuming eggs /milk ?
My usual diet is rice , vegetables except spinach /kale
How much vitamin A did you take and for how long?
I have seen immense improvement and have been vitamin A-free for 5 weeks. If I eat the wrong things (polyunsaturated fats, or metals), I get some return of the memory issues. But, if I eat correctly, I see generally no brain trouble at this point. My digestive system is still damaged, though. It may take that a lot longer to heal.
I should also mentioned that I lost my appetite for 2 weeks and lost a ton of fat. I have also been low carb since then because carbs have been causing some issues and have lost more fat from that. I believe that the rapid fat loss caused an increase in the excretion of the vitamin and the body dumped it much more quickly.
This was both good and bad. The detox symptoms were almost intolerable for the first two weeks. I had suicidal depression and cried for hours and hours every day. It was horrifying. That is all gone now, thankfully.
I do think you should stop eating all foods with pre-formed vitamin A. At least for now.
I took about 20000 IU daily for a month on 1st oct 2016 .. I faced toxicity symptoms in nov 2016 and since then symptoms have gradually reduced , but mild mental ones are still present . I had IBS for a month but now it is alright . My symptoms (mild) still come in waves they will stay for 2-3 hrs and then go . Mental symptoms generally include confusion , anxiety/ dizzyness /vision changes . For first few weeks it included depression and suicidal thoughts but they didn’t not happen after first month .
That sounds exactly like me now. Mine used to come in waves of 2-3 days at a time. Now, it’s a few hours at most.
Keep in mind, that in my first go around with this problem 2 years ago, the memory and confusion issues did not go completely away until I eliminated all pre-formed vitamin A from the diet. Also note that I could tolerate small amounts of vitamin A after several months of being vitamin A-free before I overdosed on it with the supplement.
It might be that you and I and the others on this blog have very low thresholds for vitamin A intake.
It could be that your symptoms are not completely resolving because you are still getting pre-formed vitamin A in the diet.
correct me if I am wrong pre-formed vitamin A == ( vitamin from animal products and dairy) eggs, liver , cheese ?
I think to correct this problem from reoccurring we should stay away from Vitamin A for atleast another year ?
I feel your pain Vitamin A symptoms are scary specailly the mental ones
Yes. “Vitamin A” in plant materials is a form of carotene and is non-toxic. It is impossible to get too much vitamin A from that and it seems to cause me no problems.
What I have observed is that my body goes into “storage” mode if I get any significant source of vitamin A. The symptoms actually become less severe as the liver tries to get as much of it out of the blood stream as possible. It wasn’t until I eliminated all vitamin A that the symptoms got so severe and I believe this is because the body recognizes that you are no longer consuming it and begins dumping it out of the liver to excrete it. Be careful and pay attention to this.
I should amend my previous statement about the fat-soluble vitamins. Vitamin E has been shown to aid in recovery from hypervitaminosis A and protects against the oxidative damage caused by vitamin A. Vitamin C is synergistic with E and increases its potency. These may be good to include. The upper limit for vitamin E is set at 1500 IU and I have seen no issues taking amounts up to this level. Vitamin C can be taken until you get diarrhea. It is generally non-toxic.
Also, I just made the connection between hypervitaminosis A and scurvy this morning when I thought about the open sores and peeling I saw on my skin when it was at its worst. The first clinical signs of scurvy are generally very similar to that.
Some old studies from the 1940s pointed out the similarity between hypervitaminosis A and scurvy.
Also, vitamin C in doses greater than 5,000 mg per day actually flush fats from the liver. This would likely result in a faster excretion of vitamin A.
It might be beneficial to take vitamin C to bowel tolerance.
Love all the info Brian! You’re very knowledgeable 🙂
That’s the same amount I was taking. Interesting you mention about excess vitamin A causing irritable bowel disease. I think I have irritable bowel 🙁 I never used to have before taking the high dose vitamin A. Then it was severe when I first had vitamin A toxicity and was bad for a full year. Now, I still get bouts of it. Hopefully, it continues to get better over time. Hope your GI system gets better too!
Wow. Brian.
While I strongly suspect I am suffering from Vit A toxicity and not an MS flare, you’re post piqued my interest on behalf of my husband. I thought his retirement part-time job transporting new vehicles between dealerships was the cause of his memory issues–which seemed to begin shortly after he started driving. (I’ve learned he has both variants of the Apoe4 gene; and a toxic environment is not good at all.)
But like me, he is taking the liver capsules, plus he started taking the CLO soft gels this summer. Eating eggs, butter… so I’ll get him to back off the CLO and desiccated liver capsules to see if his memory improves. He is taking E, but perhaps he is getting too much A. THANK YOU SO MUCH for pointing this out in terms of Alzheimer’s, not that he has it or has been diagnosed, but there are some signs. Bye!
SunnySky,
I am not a doctor and cannot give medical advice. However, if it were me, I would get him off all vitamin A as soon as possible. The more I study vitamin A and Alzheimer’s, the more I am convinced there is a strong link. Vitamin E will help but only if you remove the retinol. However, keep in mind that it can take a very long time to clear out excess vitamin A so progress will likely be slow.
One of the things I have learned since last posting is that there are a number of locations in the human genome that are strongly associated with Alzheimer’s, not just the ApoE gene. Every single one of these locations involved genes that control metabolism of vitamin A. I am starting to suspect that individuals with these genetic variants have abnormal vitamin A metabolism, making it markedly more toxic to them.
There are a few studies that concluded that people with the ApoE4 variant should actually INCREASE their vitamin A intake because individuals with the Apoe4 variant make less of the ApoE protein than those who have 2 or 3. However, I believe this to be incorrect. The ApoE4 variant is also suspected to have what are called toxic gains of function (meaning that the 4 version of ApoE has gained new functions that are bad for the person) and increasing its production may actually make things worse.
Hi,
My MD, ND is treating my depression/anxiety as I experience horrible withdrawls at times. I started seeing him last year in the midst of my taper. He is very knowledgeable and was a psychiatrist many years ago.
He now mainly works with cancer patients and is holistically oriented, though somewhere in the middle (not doing crazy tests and dozens of supps!).
He wants me to take 5000IU vitamin D along with Vital Nutrients Vitamin A with Vitamin K. I’m already taking stuff to manage depression and anxiety sysmptoms but am concerned about the vitamin A.
Doctor claim that I NEED the A to assist with the combo and would actually assist with my mental health. He told me to stop googling too but I have my reservations about the A.
I’m taking 10,000 IU daily along with the other vitamins. He did tell me that if I get chapped skin or itching (I think!), I should take every 2nd day.
I feel I can trust him but am concerned.
Any Ideas?
hi Chaim Bochner
Dont listen to that stupid doctor , you know we are rarely deficient of vitamin A. If you having vegetables and fruits you would never be deficient of vitamin A . After overdosing and experimenting myself with foreign substances ( multi vitamins ) I realized that mother nature has kept everything in order and proportion for us , but we only abuse it . Take your vitamins from only natural sources . Nature knows best . If i was you I wold stop talking that vitamin. you dont need 10000 IU when you are getting more than enough from your diet .
again Vitamin A, D will not help you in your depression / anxiety instead it might make it worse if you overdose . The best mineral that has been show effectiveness in reliving the SYMPTOMS of depression is magnesium sulphate (https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/evolutionary-psychiatry/201106/magnesium-and-the-brain-the-original-chill-pill) .
PS : Depression is a thought based problem not a biological illness , if you expect a pill to solve your life problems you are highly mistaken my friend . Depression can be cured with right wisdom and understanding and talk therapy only .
Hi. Personally, I would not take that much. I really wouldn’t take over the RDA amount. Vitamin A toxicity is too scary.
hei!
Im taking f.cod liver oil from green pasture, 1/2 teaspoon per day (i measure it, i think it would fit 4,5g of kitchen teaspoon which i strange because the measure is 1/2 tsp). i take it for acne and skin problems. i very afraid to overdose it. i dont eat liver or high vitamin a food, not even fruits (which i dont eat much because of sugar) only zucchini and a little one small portion of fruit in the morning. my skin is peeling, but i dont have acne right mow only some deep cystic between my eyebrows (which shows liver condition??). i am doing something wrong? i once took 1 teaspoon and i got herpes and i felt like my immune systems dropped. do i take too much, is still ok? im very afraid for my liver. i drink detox liver tea and take a little vitamin c and some kidney detox tea. i drink a lot of water as well. i saw people takong 2 tsp per day od cod liver oil but i was thinkong of taking beta carotene with cod liver oil (not all at the same time) around 12mg or 6mg, because i not sure about 2 tsp per day. what do you think?
I would stop the FCLO if you think it’s from that.
Hi Lori,
I recently felt like I was getting a cold/sore throat so I found a bottle of “ehb” (vitamin mixture 5,000 iu, b6, vitamin c and zinc) So I took two doses daily for five days (10,000 iu). On at least one , maybe two of those five days, I used a dab of retina a (0.04%) I also take a “d” supplement. I too have been living a healthier lifestyle but find it amazing that when I’m busy or someone recommends something to me, I’ll just shove it down my throat. And the retina-a was from my sister and just sitting on my sink so that’s why I use it from time to time. I’m also a nurse and know that high amounts of vitamin a aren’t good for you. I think yesterday, my only symptom was some irritability and today I felt slightly light headed but until I layed my head down on the pillow and thought about it, I didn’t put two and two together. Maybe I truly was irritated? Maybe I just needed to eat? (This is my anxiety talking…as you see my posting is 2am) So do I have to cut out all food containing vitamin a (or just animal based and those coming from animals?) Thanks for your help and I wish all the best for recovery for everyone who has contributed to this blog.
Hi Adrienne
t is better to stop all forms of vitamin A ( impossible but take only foods which have low amount of vitamin A . Google food would give you exact amount of vitamin A in particular food item) . Drink Apple Cider and eat fat rich food which will help you in absorption . A study concluded that eating avocado helps greatly in vitamin A absorption which would help you in speedy recovery .
Also during vitamin A toxicity the most common symptom is irritability and nervousness ( without any reason ) which sometimes is easy to marry up with anxiety . SO always remember this anxiety is not real it is dues to you imbalance created by vitamin A.
Being Light headed is again very common happened to me for a long time after my overdose. Dont stress on it It passes on .
I hope you recover soon
Glad to hear you only took it for a few days! Hope you’re feeling better already 🙂
Earl, large amounts of ascorbic acid very often cause nausea and digestive disturbances (abdominal pain, heartburn and diarrhea) and can be harsh on kidneys. Are you sure you don’t go crazy with the dosage?
Rasmus, I typically take half a teaspoon of ascorbic acid, which is well below any extreme dosage. I have had diarrhea specifically from it a few times, so I would stop for a few days and then slightly lower the dosage. I hadn’t taken any ascorbic acid in around two or three weeks because I didn’t want to take any vitamins while detoxing from vitamin A, but I wanted to see if it’d help with a UTI, assuming that was the source of my pain.
What are the dosages of vitamin A that you were all taking, and for how long? Reading that long blog post linked in the comments makes me feel like I’ve shaved a few years off of my life just for taking a moderate amount for three months. At the end of November, I added a 10,000 IU supplement of vitamin A (retinyl palmitate) to my cocktail of vitamins and supplements (C, D, K2, silica, a few more) in an attempt to fill in my cavities, very occasionally taking 20,000-30,000 IU if I felt like it. My teeth have seen no benefit whatsoever, but a short time into adding the A, an area of my gums in between my back teeth felt loose/cut. About a month later, I constantly had a copper taste in my mouth from that spot, but never saw any bleeding. Now, for the past few days that spot will bleed when I brush or floss. Apparently that is a side effect of vitamin A toxicity; sites mention it as a symptom, but I haven’t read any personal accounts of it. Also, a few days ago, I woke up feeling very nauseous for no reason and had a single round of projectile diarrhea that left me grossed out and queasy for 36 hours. Still thinking vitamin A helps gums, I increased the dose a couple of days later and was soon hunched over in stomach pain, which lead me to look up if vitamin A was the problem. I’ve obviously since stopped taking it, but it’s barely been two days so far.
I match many of the symptoms for toxicity – the anxiety, sluggishness, bleeding gums, and constant nausea has been around for almost a week. Have I damaged my liver/body in a way that will come back to haunt me in 20 years, or is this fairly easy to completely recover from?
Earl, It’s been 4 months since I stopped the Vitamin A. My blood levels still show high and I also still have the bleeding gums.
Jennifer! Can I connect with you on Facebook or email? [email protected]. I need some advice and connection about this vitamin A mess!
Crystal, your e-mail came back undeliverable.
ah! it’s [email protected] I was taking 25,000 iu of vitamin A for 2 months if not more…i’ve been taking supplements for years, but never tracked exactly the dosage for more than 2 months. But I also took vitamin D 5-10,000 daily for over 6 months. I just had a vitamin D test done today, and I have ordered a retinol test for myself. One thing I found odd…was 4 months ago when I stopped the Vitamin A and D…the night before I stopped I was experimenting after researching with dosage of the two vitamins and read somewhere that the ratio of A to D should be 5/10 to 1…and since I was taking 10,000 vitamin D at that time I took about 75,000 vitamin A that night and the next week I felt really happy and back to myself…didnt sleep that night but didn’t care! Not sure if it was a placebo…cause I decided to just stop all the vitamins the next day cause I just wasn’t sure. I just thought the imbalance of the vitamin A to D ratio was causing my depression…but I have no clue!! I just know these vitamins play a role in my skin and body health…but not sure how to get them naturally. Have you had your levels tested since? I feel like my hyperkeratosis (Keratosis pilaris) is coming back and eventhough it’s winter and I moisturize…my skin especially my face is just bumpy and rough and I have mild acne. I dunno if it’s the D or the A or something else! I try to be so healthy and avoid so much.
Crystal, I have not had my levels tested since the last time. Eye doctor said eventually the body will release it, but it stays stored in the body for a long time.
How much vitamin A were you taking, Jennifer? After a few weeks, my gums have stopped bleeding considerably and usually only bleed if I brush or floss too hard in that one spot. I assume the 10,000-20,000 IU dose of A I was taking is peanuts compared to most other posters here.
Earl, my naturopath had me on 100,000 iu of Vitamin A a day for a month. And 50,000 iu a day for the week prior to that month.
Earl, you will be absolutely fine, just stop taking vitamin A (or even all your supplements, especially the fat-soluble D) and follow a low vitamin A diet for some time.
Thanks, Rasmus. I’ve been without vitamin A for about three weeks and the near-daily queasiness/nausea seems to finally be going away. Four days ago, though, I was filled with nausea out of nowhere and had diarrhea. Soon after that, I had intense pain when urinating that overcame most of my midsection and was bad enough that I could barely walk, and finding no blood or anything odd in my urine was shocking. The pain was gone after 15-20 minutes, and I took ascorbic acid & drank a ton of water to keep going to the bathroom and confirm or deny any paranoid thoughts of severe damage, but I never had any more pain after that one time. Any idea on what this was? I considered it either being a UTI (the briefest one ever) or perhaps getting rid of a bulk amount of vitamin A at once, though neither of these sound too plausible. I was rinsing with xylitol several times a day, and a lot of people say it gave them diarrhea, but nobody seems to mention kidney problems as a side effect, (and some say it helps with UTIs), so it’s probably irrelevant.
Most completely recover, just depends on the dose and for how long it was taken. How many months were you taking it? 10,000 IU isn’t that bad. I was taking 100,000 IU 🙁 Wish I could go back in time and not take it, but just focused on doing the best I can now to prevent any long term issues.
I have been taking 5000 iu cod liver oil/3500 vitamin A multivitamin/ and 3 flaxseed oil/2 fish oil a day for about a year. About a month ago my vision got foggy and glare from the sun and headlights were terrible. I had my eyes checked and Optometrist says everything looks good. I then begin to feel overall sick/tired/couldn’t sleep/Dizziness/Joint pain/ect.. I did the research and realized that it might be the Vitamin A. I stopped taking all supplements about 5 days and still feel pretty bad. Vision is still blurry too. How long before the vision and dizziness improves?
It can take a few months. My doctor said I would feel better from the vitamin A toxicity after 4 weeks. But, it took me several months. I’d say at least 6 months until my vision was better and a full year for most symptoms to be gone.
Goodness gracious me.i only took cod liver oil for three weeks and I have never been so I’ll. I have all the same sy.ptoms as you.
I had to go to ER and all my blood tests came back normal??
I’m just gonna lay off all supplements and crack on with a low vitamin a diet.
What a brilliant post for people in need.
Thank you and hope everyone is. Feeling good now
Hope you’re feeling better. Blood serum tests for vitamin A levels are very inaccurate. One study found that many with severe acute vitamin A toxicity had blood test results in the normal range.
Hi Lori,
Hope you’re well.
Would you happen to have a link to this study – re: normal blood levels – yet acute vitamin A toxicity ?
My GP keeps ordering standard RBP / retinol palmitate tests – not the definitive “serum retinol esters” test.
He also doesn’t believe any of the symptoms – just says blood normal and that’s it.
Also – was one of your very initial symptoms extreme vertigo ? And did you get skin sores and cheilosis ?
Hope you can assist.
Cheers,
David.
Hi David, Hope you’re doing well too! I don’t remember which study it was. If you look through all the studies on pubmed with anything with “vitamin A toxicity” in the title you’ll find it. There aren’t that many studies on vitamin A toxicity so it shouldn’t be too hard to find. I think it was in one that had several case studies of people with vitamin A toxicity with severe symptoms, yet their blood level was tested and it came back normal or even low. I did have vertigo but, none of the other symptoms you mentioned.
Hi Lori,
Thank you for taking the time to reply.
What do you suppose causes the constant ringing in the ears ?
What have you found worked the best for counteracting the vitamin A – zinc, Vitamin E, magnesium ?
I was also taking huge doses of CoQ10 (also a fat soluble vitamin) for about two years and when I had my fat soluble vitamins tested, CoQ10 was well above the range. Vitamin A was top of the range, vitamin E was well below the range and vitamin D was at the bottom of the range. A few specialists have advised that sometimes the body will lower vitamin D for a reason – to protect from too much calcium if there’s too much calcium in the body etc – so not to take vitamin D
So for a long time I’ve been pondering if in fact it’s the CoQ10 – and specifically the fluoride and gelatin that make up the gelatin capsules – that caused me the ringing in the ears, head pressure (severe in the sun) and chronic sweating (severe in the sun) and the plastic / oily feeling to my face when exposed to the sun (in the sun or after certain foods). The sun (vitamin D) is obviously counteracting/pulling out something stored in my fat cells – just not sure if it’s the vitamin A or CoQ10. Fluoride causes ringing in ears and both fluoride and gelatin pull calcium into the brain (head pressure – perhaps worse in the sun)
We’re all your symptoms much worse in the sun ? I get incredibly dehydrated in the sun, my throat and esophagus becomes bone dry (I feel good going down) and the sun feels like it’s burning something in my stomach /makes the stomach queezy. The sun also makes it feel harder to breath (it’s been hard to breath in general since this started 8 months ago). I also have a horrible plastic type taste in my mouth and gums – not sure if that’s the regional/vitamin A or fluoride/gelatin.
It’s so frustrating. Doctors won’t listen and I feel I’ve been brain dead for over 8 months (since taking huge doses of vitamin A for tooth infection, dizzy, find it hard to walk some days, severe cramps, and when it first started – it was hard to even talk or get my voice out. Vitamin A competing with and eliminating zinc from my body could perhaps have caused this.
Can you relate to any of this or any of the symptoms Lori ? Particularly being in the sun (vitamin D) causing you lots of trouble ? The horrible plastic/oily taste coming out of the gums ? Breathing difficulties ? Difficulty swallowing sometimes ?
I’ve not read anyone else on your forum comment on any negative effects when exposed to the sun – that’s when I start to wonder if I’m actually vitamin A deficient and this is all the CoQ10 (fluoride/gelatin/calcium).
Hopefully you and others can relate to the effects of going in the sun.
Many thanks,
David.
David,
I had the same problem for a while. I believe having issues in the sun is actually due to an alteration in vitamin D metabolism by the vitamin A. Vitamin A has been shown to cause aberrations with vitamin D metabolism in some of the literature I have read.
For me, I would get premature ventricular contractions and mild tachycardia following significant sun exposure for a while. I got the exact same symptoms if I tried taking a vitamin D supplement, especially if it was with calcium. Actually, I had a similar problem after taking Accutane as a child except that also included a sun allergy as I would develop itchy bumps all over my skin for several years following the Accutane treatment. Accutane’s chemical name is isotretinoin because it is actually a structural isomer of retinoic acid (vitamin A).
My symptoms have disappeared for the most part after nearly 10 months of consuming no vitamin A. I believe the metabolic aberrations reverse once the vitamin A level drops low enough.
Hi David, hope you feel better soon! I’m not sure about how sun affected me. I got vitamin A toxicity at the beginning of winter so I wasn’t exposed to sun much at all. I think the ringing in my ears was caused by the vitamin A toxicity. It is gone now, luckily. It took at least a year to go away.
Dear Lori,
Many thanks for posting this. I wholeheartedly appreciate your insight. It’s good to know that I am not alone with these symptoms! Basically, I have experienced all the symptoms you mentioned here. Today’s the day 6 that I completely eliminated vitamin A (even though recently I’ve lost about 8 Ibs and became underweight, I had one day fasting, eating only strawberries and one apple—I’m 29 btw). My symptoms are still powerful as they were on day 1—I should note that for 20 days, I drank a lot of carrot juices, had herbal multi-vitamin and calcium/vitamin D supplements, and three times a day cod liver oil. For weeks I lived with the illusion that I got Mono from my partner but after a lab test, realized it is not true and also my blood test results were pretty normal, expect LDL cholesterol and high-normal TSH. In addition to general symptoms like extreme fatigue, brown-ish urine (for first days), pale stool, dizziness, insomnia, and blurry vision (mild), I have experienced symptoms such as skin rashes around the breast area, hot flashes specially during the night and an electric shock feeling, heat around abdomen with pins and needles. I was wondering if you, or someone from your readers, had these symptoms. Logically, many of these symptoms can be related to over-worked liver but I wanted to have your opinion.
Also, I was wondering for how long you had acute symptoms and when felt totally toxicity-free. I’d appreciate if you can elaborate more on your diet (I’m really struggling and am afraid I could become anorexic—93ibs right now).
Looking forward to hearing from you. Many thanks in advance.
HI Emma
During my initial stages of toxicity yes , I had body flashes , still have blurred vision , dizziness. I also still feel nervous , anxious ( without any reason )and heavy and dizzy many times in a day though it was reduced to a lot .
I am still suffering , but over the time it has gradually reduced . It has been 4 months since the toxicity . Please do not worry , I know the biggest symptom of it is unexplained nervousness /anxiety and dizziness just adds to it.
Please hang in there . I think as lori mentioned it will get alright , but it takes time .
Dear Dan,
Thanks for your encouraging words. After two weeks of stopping taking any kind of supplements and vitamin A (as Lori pointed out, it’s nearly impossible to completely eliminate vitamin A), I already feel that severity of symptoms is dramatically decreased, except the general fatigue, rashes, and dizziness. Broadly speaking, our livers are regenerating themselves and we have to give them their time.
If it helps anybody: during these two weeks, my diet consist of lentil, sprouted mung bean, red radish, white basmati rice, boiled chicken breasts (with no onions or spice but a pinch of salt), Kiwi, apple, rolled oats (with cinnamon) and from yesterday, bread and unsweetened natural peanut butter, garlic, plain grass-fed Greek yogurt and chia seeds were added. Also, I believe, apple cider vinegar was very helpful.
Wish everybody a speedy recovery!
Hi Emma, hope you are feeling better! I had acute symptoms for roughly 3 months or 4 months at most (although it slowly got better in that time)..then things got significantly better. Now, it’s been 2 years since I had vitamin A toxicity and I feel great.
I definitely recommend the supplements I mentioned above in the post. I think they really helped me. Even though, the only thing that is really healing is time, unfortunately. I especially noticed a difference when I took the milk thistle.
For diet, I would just stick to avoiding foods high in vitamin A. It’s impossible to avoid it completely..it’s in almost everything. I ate cereal with milk, toast, fruit, vegetables, meat potatoes, etc.
Hope this helps!
Lori💓,
Thanks you. I am thankful for your post.
Would it be ok to drink Milk Thistle while nursing? It’s been 3 months of vitA detox for me. I am better, stronger, more energy, little pressure in head But STILL not normal. I have strange things happening to me and its always changing. What does that mean? Is it normal for symptoms to change often? Like my arm, elbow, and fingers hurt for about 2 weeks. Then I had tingling in my feet and hands for the next couple weeks, then ringing in my ears for 2 days, heart flutters for a week… I am wondering what is next and if it’s normal. And still brain fog!
How long did weird things happen to you? When does brain fog go away?
I am a 36 yr old active mom of several kids. I am needing some advice/wisdom and reassurance I will be ok.
I eat little Vit.A. I am taking no supplements(makes my heart flutter). Go to the gym and sauna which helps relieve any head pressure.
Thank you for your time. 💗
Hi Julie, hope you’re feeling better! It took me a good year. It takes so long.
How long did you take the supplements? Did you continue to take the supplements for the entire year or just in the beginning?
I mention in my post how long I took it for. I think it was a little over a week (it was several years ago now).
Hi Emma,
Is there any way you could email me? I too have experienced the electrical shock feeling after taking cod liver oil but mine will not go away. I was also juicing large amounts of carrots while taking the cod liver oil. I would truly be so appreciative! [email protected]
Thank you so much Lori, for discussing this! I felt so alone in this, having been told by my doctor that my vitamin levels were way too high and I can’t get pregnant until they are lowered. Apparently it might be bad for the baby. She told me that I ate too many coloured foods, such as carrots and tomatoes, and to avoid these as well as sweet potatoes, golden potatoes, spinach, romaine lettuce, etc. The palms of my hands were/are even orangy in colour.
I have been trying for months to bring my levels down. It can’t. It’s frustrating when you want to eat healthy but have to avoid most vegetables.
Anyways, thank you for sharing everyone! It really helped!!
Yes! Be careful not to get pregnant until vitamin A levels lower. My gosh, when my naturopath put me on high vitamin A, he didn’t even warn me about how it can cause birth defects.
Me, I believe it is necessary to look further than the Vitamin A in your case. Your Liver and/or Thyroid are underfunctioning and therefore cannot get rid of the beta carotene!!!! I have thyroid issues and when my thyroid acts up my palms turn orange because I eat sweet potatoes. Does that mean the Vitamin A is causing it? In 99% of cases, absolutely not! It’s my thyroid that is the root cause of the issue (it is suppressed by stress, not eating enough calories per day thus slowing the metabolism and stressing the body, medications, toxins, b12 deficiency, not getting truly adequate amounts of sleep, etc). If your thyroid/liver are not functioning well enough then THAT can cause VItamin A issues, not just the other way around. Even if your thyroid/liver tests come back normal, this can be occurring — If you still have issues with Vitamin A, go to a thyroid specialist — get the REAL (not basic) thyroid tests. Give thyroid hormone a trial run if you have to even if tests are normal — it will be worth it if it works (and you might feel better than you have in many years now that you have more energy as well). If it doesn’t, just stop taking it. It is a myth that once you are acclimated to thyroid hormone you must take it for the rest of your life because your body is dependent. This is simply not true — you will only need it the rest of your life if you are unable to heal your body. If you follow the new thyroid healing protocols that have come out over the past year, you will be able to heal your body and get off the hormones. Help your thyroid / liver metabolize your vitamins and reach your healing potential!
Did you also feel vision changes like blurry vision ?
Yes, very much so. Especially when I would change what I was looking at. I always had perfect vision prior to this too. It has all resolved now, thankfully.
Lori,
Did your light sensitivity ever improve?
Yes! It took a long time. It slowly got better after 3-6 months. Now, 2 years later it is completely gone.
Just got my Vitamin A levels test back and it’s still flagged high: 77 (20-65) ug/dL. The one done a month ago was 69. Was hoping it would be coming down.
The levels can be very inaccurate. Did you stop taking all vitamin A?
Hi everyone just been using vitamin D supplements more then i need but at the time i didnt know same with vitamin A from beta carotene supplements and after this 3 months using my hair become so weak that u can see my scalp and my hair change is texture before was proper thick and curly now its proper weak a straight my eyebrows to and my beard im really worry what should i do and i wanna know if my will ever go back to normal ??? Please i need some advise i quite all the supplements now just using hair vitamins that contains vitamin b and biotin paba copper and l tyrosine can u tell if this bad for me??? Thanks a lot
That’s good you quit the supplements. From what I’ve read, pretty much everyone’s hair growth went back to normal after the vitamin A was out of their system. It can take several months and up to a year though.
Hello Lori,
did you drink alcohol after you stopped taking all vitamin A? I’ve read that alcohol depletes vitamin A, but couldn’t find any details.
What foods do you eat that don’t have a lot of Vitamin A. I had a similar problem happen to me. I was given a supplement from my naturopath that had an extremely high amount of Vitamin A per the dosage they gave me. It was for a month at 100,000 iu daily. Equivalent to 30 mg of Accutane for that period of time. I have suffered major eye damage as a result. I still test high for Vitamin A blood levels. I do take Zinc but am apprehensive about supplementing D and E to offset it not knowing exact amounts. You were lucky you were smart enough to stop it within the first week.
Lori, Please delete my last name if you post my comment. I didn’t realize it would have it. Thank you.
No problem 🙂
Your story sounds very similar to mine. Hope you get a full recovery very soon! I avoided dairy based vitamin A because that is the worst..so no milk, cheese, etc. I mostly ate bread, chicken, beef, rice, potatoes, fruit, green vegetables – like green beans. It’s impossible to avoid vitamin A completely, I quickly realized it’s in nearly everything, but I just did my best to eat foods very low in it. How long ago did you stop the Vitamin A?
It was the third week of October.
Glad to hear that! Hope you are feeling better now that it’s been a few months 🙂
Hi Marco This diet was created by an engineer Calgary Canada who has researched A toxicity more completely than you can imagine.
He was on the diet for 2 years. A 54 year old, all of his serious health issues were resolved and as a side note his white hair went back to black. His blog or free book may be the most important health documents I have ever read. His findings blew me away. Vitamin A is a toxic chemical and especially the stuff they add to milk, ice cream, cheese , breakfast cereal, all packed with chemical A you will get sick I believe.
the authors name is Grant and you can contact him here:
[email protected]
I can’t find the link to his free PDF book although I have it downloaded on this computer.
Lori How long did it take for you to recover
About a full year. It’s been 2 years now and I am finally great. My only remaining symptom is the tinnitus.
Thanks for the answer lori . So do you suggest not to take foods containing foods for a year or less?
Yes! I avoided foods high in vitamin A for the entire year. It’s impossible to avoid vitamin A completely, but I just avoided foods high in it.
after two months my mental symptoms are still a bit there ( sudden nervousness ) did you feel the same ? and if so for how long ?
Yes! It’s now been 2 years and I am feeling fantastic! It is a slow recovery because the vitamin A leaves the body so slowly. Hope this is reassuring for you 🙂 It takes time to get better from it. I know how hard it is to go through. Hope things get better for you very soon!
are there any scans I should do later to confirm if there hasn’t been any liver damage or brain damage ?
You can get a blood test to check liver enzymes. It is a good indicator of liver function.
I have been losing ALOT of hair…much more than usual. Also I have been noticing more grey hairs with a brittle wiry feel to the strands. Other things I have been noticing are headaches, blurry vision, rapid pulse, fatigue, and anxiety. My face had a breakout on my chin region along with dry itchy skin. Mostly my hair falling out is most concerning. Will my hair keep falling out until the Vitamin A is cleared from my system? Is there any advice on what I could do to help my situation. Would taking a liver detox supplement be good or bad? Any advice would be much appreciated! Thanks
Sorry to take long to answer. Hope your symptoms are nearly gone by now. I think the supplements I took helped quite a bit, especially the zinc and milk thistle.
how are you feeling now ?
Sounds like possibly low copper, iodine, zinc, or selenium. Maybe all of these.
Hi Robert,
how you get the Hypervitaminosis and how long you made this diet?
I got last year also a Hypervitaminosis A.
I was eating in a period of 2 month, a lot of beef liver. Please don’t ask, why I was doing that =).
When the symptoms began, I didn’t recognize, that this will be side effects from Vitamin A.
And so I was eating my lovely beef liver any more. But then the symptoms getting more & harder and then I believe, that is the Vitamin A.
I was at my Doctor and told him, but he was only laughing.I aka to check my Vitamin A Blood level. He did it, but it was in normal range. ultrasound of my liver was ok, also my Liver Blood Values and Bilirubin.
My Doc was no help for me and I get information about to detox via the internet.
So I started then a low Vitamin A diet. When I was eating no A, I feel fine. When I only took a little piece of A, the Symptoms was coming back. I made the low dose diet for a half year. Zero diet every day is nearly impossible.
Some days I eat nearly Zero Vitamin A. Later then I was careful that my daily Vitamin A intake is only 30 or max 50% of the daily RDA.
Now, it is 1 Year ago. Since 3 month I eating back normal an feel no side effects.
Long term damage, I don’t now. My Doctor was laughing. Ultrasound of my liver was made a half year ago again and it was ok. My Liver Blood Values are also In every check up ok. For my Doc, I’m a Hypochonder.
My Symptoms was: extreme fatigue and weakness, red eyes, sometimes headaches,Bone pains on my feet.
Then ca 2 month later extrem nausea and pain in the musculature.That was then the point, I recognized, that is Vitamin A overdose.
For me , it was unbelievable to get sick from food. I didn’t take any supplements in my live.
So, this is my story. I read this Blog, since I got my toxicity. I’m form Germany, so sorry for my bad englisch.
.
Regarding the vitamin A flush diet I posted above, if you try this diet and you have more mental clarity and energy in the first 10 days to two weeks then you will know it is working for you.
Do you really think that taking 10,000 IU of vitamin A (50% beta-carotene) for a month can cause vitamin A toxicity?
I can’t see any symptom, only my hair does fall
How Did you get sick?Are you Fully recovered?
I had vitamin 10,000 IU (50% beta-carotene) for a month. Can it cause vitamin A toxicity in me?
I would just stop all vitamin A to make sure it clears out of my system.
Thank you so much. But how should I cleanse it out of my system. Drinking lots of water would do that?
Getting sick is one way to actually draw down the toxic overload of A in the liver. However once you have reached the saturation point with A you must avoid it completely and that is difficult. Even a micro-gram at the tipping point is too much. So you must stay off any foods with A for as long as possible. The only diet I know of with ZERO A is
lean beef stewed or roasted, brown or white rice, egg white, cashews, mushrooms, water, salt. Nothing else. Lack of vitamin C is the problem here but you can stay on this diet for 2 years and you will have flushed the critical levels of A out of your liver but probably not your fat cells.
As you can see, A is abundant in all foods and there is no reason to add the highly toxic Retinyl palmitate to foods especially dairy. There are theories as to why this is done to us but I won’t get into that. Giving up dairy is the first step and it is difficult and was for me. Our health fails not as we age but rather when the liver reaches the saturation point with vitamin A . It is slow and quiet with cranial pain, tiredness, brain fog, skin disorders, bowel disorders, very white hair at a young age. All signs of vitamin a toxicity. It is all downhill from there. A is not your friend.
Avoid cod liver oil and any cold water fish oil. That will finish you off.
Good luck!
Robert, did you ever try using vitamin D and magnesium to antagonize the A? I was successful with this last year but go too much vitamin A again and I’m having the same symptoms. I just started taking vitamin D again and it makes me feel so much better. But I’m going to reduce our vitamin A at the same time.
Enjoyed your post. I, too, read Extinguishing the Fires of Hell and Poisoning for Profits. I have come to the conclusion that so called vitamin A is toxic in any amount. It is now November 2017 and I am once again starting the near zero vitamin A diet. I used it in September and quit after 10 days even though my eyesight had improved tremendously. Now after 5 weeks of eating plenty of dairy and fruits and vegetables, I feel so very much worse and I can’t wait to start feeling better again. It seems so obvious to me now that vitamin A is harmful and I don’t plan on ever willingly eating it again.
Hope you feel better really soon!
Drinking water helps, I think everything I listed above helped me too.
10,000 IU of retinol is the published maximum safe adult dose. If you are taking a half-retinol, half-beta carotene supplement, this is even less retinol and should be totally safe, as long as you are also getting enough zinc, vitamin D, vitamin k and calcium in your diet.
Hi Lori and all.
Nice to find this blog.
Right now I am intoxicated by vitamin A.
I want to leave here, my experience that I believe is different from all I read here. I’m from Brazil and in advance, excuse my English.
In April I started to feed me only with fruits, nuts, milk, eggs, raw vegetables in the form of vitamins and juices in a blender: papaya, mango, avocado, carrots, beets, ginger, apple, melon, kiwi, lemon, cucumber, kale, cabbage, bananas, milk, almonds, Brazil nuts, peanuts, pumpkin seeds, honey, oats, quinoa and flaxseed. 1 tablet per day of vitamin D 5000 IU, 1 gram of Omega 3 and 1 gram of MSM. In the first 4 months I felt super good. One day, I woke up with a headache, dizziness, weakness and tinnitus in the left ear, I thought I was going to die, but soon the bad and strong symptoms went away after 4 to 5 hours. At first, I thought I had intoxicated with selenium because of lot of Brazil nuts I was eating. I took blood and gave Selenium, Zinc, Vitamin A and calcium above the normal value, but to my surprise the vitamin D level was very low. I cut off all foods with high values and I began to take more vitamin D. The result was more buzzing in the ear.
I concluded from the information I found on the internet, I am intoxicated by Vitamin A. Vitamin A interferes on the osteoclast cells in bones and teeth, releasing calcium into the bloodstream, this explains the headaches and tinnitus (calcium running in sanguinios vessels). Excess vitamin A also affects the level of vitamin D. When I tried to fix the level of vitamin D, taking 5,000 IU supplement, only worsened tinnitus, because the increased level of calcium in the blood. I started to drink lots of water and so I am feeding me food with nothing or too little vitamin A, vitamin D, Selenium and Calcium. It’s working.
I was daily ingesting about 100 grams of:
– Carrot = 16500 IU
– Cabbage = 5000 IU
– Mango = 1000 IU
– Red cabbage = 1100 IU
– Papaya = 150 IU
– Milk = 160 IU
– Cucumber = 100 IU
– 2 eggs cooked (120g) = 1000 IU
Total = 25010 IU vitamin A
Intoxication with only natural foods. It has been over one month I cut off all sources of vitamin A and the only symptom I feel is a slight tinnitus. I’ll redo the examination of blood.
Hi Kiyoshi,
You said that you have vitamin A intoxication. Yet you haven’t provided us with figures for your vitamin A, blood tests!
Did you do vitamin A (Retinol) blood test to confirm you have this toxicity?
Another thing, one cannot become toxic from consuming too much beta Carotene natural foods, like the ones you mentioned. You skin might develop a slight, or deep yellow/orange color pigmentation, but I never heard of Beta Carotene toxicity. Only the skin tone mentioned here.
Hope you feel better.
Well Wishes,
CARL
Hi Carls,
I did vitamin A, retinol does not say in specific. I did not even know that there was a more specific examination because I did the exam without consulting a doctor. Anyway, I’m almost absolutely sure it’s poisoning by vitamin A, because for several days I did tests on food. Whenever I ate something that had too much or little vitamin A, a few minutes or hours later increased tinnitus in the left ear and sometimes followed by headache. When I cut every source of vitamin A, my symptoms started to improve day after day.
A few days before the day that I woke up bad, I was pretty yellow mainly palms of hands. I also thought it was not possible intoxication with fruits and vegetables like you said, but now I’m sure it’s possible, at least in my case.
I may have some sensitivity to vitamin A, or acquire this sensitivity or intolerance by vitamin A, like many people with milk. Just correcting the information that I put above. I took an average of 3 to 4 blender pots per day of vitamin, then the amount is at least 3x largest I mentioned above (previous post).
Today I was almost 100% OK, almost without tinnitus. I have the misfortune to eat a simple apple, soon after started the buzz. I ran to my computer to see my nutrient table and I saw that 100 grams of apple has 55 IU, then the whole apple has about 100 IU. It’s a suck, lately I can not eat almost anything, because almost everything has a little vitamin A.
Regards,
Kiyoshi
Hi Kiyoshi,
Please bear in mind, that high, or higher levels of vitamin A in the body require additional amounts of Zinc.
From personal experience, can say that Zinc is very important not only to regulating vitamin A pool (content) in our bodies, but (and this was a total surprise to my doctor!) also for treating ringing, and excess wax production in the ears.
For many months had tinnitus. Visited few doctors, clinics for diagnose, exam, treat. Nothing seem to work. One day, started taking 15 – 30 mg (thou I recom the lower dose), and the ringing, noise in my ears faded away, till gone.
Try Zinc, and let me know. Will help you more than just balance what you believe is vitamin A toxicity, but the inner ear problem.
Best of health,
CARL
This makes sense, since excess vitamin A dries the skin. Perhaps at the peak of my intoxication, the skin on my left eardrum may have dried out creating a skin or a drier wax, because it has happened to me by other reason. I will try what you said and return here to tell my experience.
Thanks for the tip.
Regards,
Kiyoshi
how are you feeling now ? is your tinnitus gone ? please tell me
Hope you feel better soon!
Vitamin A toxicity causes increased intracranial hypertension also called pseudo tumor cerebri.This is what you were suffering from.Hope You are doing better now.
D has also to be balanced by K. Could this be why D made you worse?