Hey JT,
Interesting question and comments... For starters, there's nothing wrong or dangerous about a 25(OH)D serum concentration of 96 ng/mL... or even higher as long as your serum calcium remains within limits. There's also no reason to drop your vitamin D3 intake below 10,000 IU/day... particularly if CH symptoms are present.
I maintain my 25(OH)D between 130 to 160 ng/mL from March through July to account for the heavy pollen season. My PCP just smiles during my annual physical, usually in April, enters my 25(OH)D lab results in my medical record and says... "As long as your total calcium stays withing its normal reference range and your PTH is in the lower third of its normal reference range... you know what you're doing."
You need to understand we live in an uber litigeous society where physicians need to play a CYA over matters like this to avoid scurrilous medical law suits by ambulance chasing lawyers.
Print out a copy of the anti-inflammatory regimen treatment protocol and give it to your doctor... That way you'll both be singing from the same sheet music...
It doesn't help when pseudo government organizations like the National Academy of Medicine (NAM), Health and Medicine Division (HMD) formerly called the Institute of Medicine (IOM) sets the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for Vitamin D3 at 600 IU/day from birth to 70 years of age and the Upper Level Intake (UL) level for vitamin D3 at 4000 IU/day.
You don't need to be a member of Mensa, the high IQ society, to connect the dots to see where Big Pharma appears to be waging a long-standing major campaign against the use of vitamin D3 for other than maintenance of bone mineral density. Their minions on K Street make sure key members of Congress write legislation preventing physicians from publicly stating the health benefits of vitamins and minerals like vitamin D3 in the treatment of many non-skeletal disorders. Meanwhile these laws allow Big Pharma to flood TV with commercials for very expensive biologics like Humira (Adalimumab) when 12 cents worth of vitamin D3 would be equally or more effective in the treatment of the same disorders with no adverse reactions...
So here's the bottom line... Vitamin D3 is very safe... in spite of Big Pharma's obfuscation and misinformation about the health benefits of Vitamin D3... Yes, you can take too much vitamin D3, but then drinking too much water can be fatal...
In the history of the FDA's Adverse Events Reporting System (FAERS), not one death has been attributed to vitamin D3... You cannot say that for many of the Rx and OTC medications flooding the market or used to treat CH... See the following list from a 2015 FAERS report.
Deaths due to VERAPAMIL - 229
Deaths due to DEPAKOTE - 168
Deaths due to TOPAMAX - 66
Deaths due to LITHIUM CARBONATE - 56
Deaths due to LYRICA - 703
Deaths due to GABAPENTIN (Neurontin) - 202
Deaths due to VALPROIC ACID - 194
Deaths due to BACLOFEN - 102
Deaths due to PREDNISONE - 513
Deaths due to PREDNISOLONE - 163
Deaths due to COUMADIN - 458
Deaths due to IMITREX - 32
Deaths due to INDOMETHACIN - 18
Deaths due to OCTREOTIDE -1317
Deaths due to CALAN - 208
Deaths due to CLOMIPHENE CITRATE - 8 Intra-uterine Deaths
Deaths due to PROPRANOLOL HCL - 67
Deaths due to ATENOLO - 62
Deaths due to AMITRIPTYLINE - 184
Deaths due to PAXIL - 357
Deaths due to LIPITOR - 865
Deaths due to CRESTOR - 238
Deaths due to NEXIUM - 357
Deaths due to AMBIEN - 243
Deaths due to PRILOSEC - 0
Deaths due to DIHYDROERGOTAMINE - 0
Deaths due to OXYGEN - 0
Over The Counter NSAIDs
Deaths due to NAPROXEN (Aleve) - 142
Deaths due to ASPIRIN - 645
Deaths due to TYLENOL - 964
Deaths due to EXCEDRIN - 500
Deaths due to IBUPROFEN - 661
Over The Counter Supplements/Nutrients
Deaths due to MELATONIN - 0
Deaths due to MAGNESIUM OXIDE - 0
Deaths due to CALCIUM CITRATE - Not Listed
Deaths due to BORON - Not Listed
Deaths due to VITAMIN A (Retinol) - 6
Deaths due to VITAMIN B (Complex) - 2
Deaths due to VITAMIN B 12 - 0
Deaths due to VITAMIN C - 0
Deaths due to Vitamin E - 2
Deaths due to VITAMIN D3 - 0
VITAMIN D3 TOXICITY - 2
Deaths due to VITAMIN K - 2
Deaths due to VITAMIN K2 - Not Listed
Deaths due to ZINC OXIDE - Not Listed
There's a very recent study published in the Journal Dermato-Endocrinology Volume 9, 2017 - Issue 1, that should put your doctor's fears of vitamin D3 intoxication/toxicity to rest.
Evaluation of vitamin D3 intakes up to 15,000 international units/day and serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations up to 300 nmol/L on calcium metabolism in a community settingS.M. Kimball, N. Mirhosseini & M.F. Holick
Dermato-Endocrinology
April 13, 2017
Abstract
Supplementation by the general public with vitamin D at doses above the Tolerable Upper Level of Intake (UL) is becoming quite common. The objective of the current analysis was to characterize the effect of vitamin D supplementation at doses up to 15,000 IU/d in a community-based program on vitamin D status, calcium homeostasis as well as on kidney, liver and immune function. We evaluated data collected for 3,882 participants in a community program for whom there were blood measurements at program entry and at follow-up within 6–18 months between 2013 and 2015. Participants were supplemented with a wide range of vitamin D doses (1,000 – 15,000 IU/d) aimed at achieving serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] levels of at least 100 nmol/L.
Serum 25(OH)D concentrations up to 300 nmol/L (120 ng/mL) were achieved without perturbation of calcium homeostasis or incidence of toxicity. Hypercalcemia and hypercalciuria were not related to an increase in 25(OH)D concentrations nor vitamin D dose. To achieve serum 25(OH)D levels >100 nmol/L on average, required vitamin D intakes of 6,000 IU/d for normal Body Mass Index (BMI), 7,000 IU/d for overweight and 8,000 IU/d for obese. Doses of vitamin D in excess of 6,000 IU/d were required to achieve serum 25(OH)D concentrations above 100 nmol/L, especially in individuals who were overweight or obese without any evidence of toxicity. Serum 25(OH)D concentrations up to 300 nmol/L (120 ng/mL) were found to be safe.
Were you taking the Benadry tablets or Children's Liquid Benadryl (Diphenhydramine HCL) Allergy Medicine?
I've found that 12.5 mg of the Children's Liquid Benadryl in the morning and another 12.5 mg in the evening causes a lot less drowsiness while still helping vitamin D3 to do its thing preventing my CH...
Regarding your doctor's comments on the assay method used to measure serum 25(OH)D being unreliable... The gold standard for the 25(OH)D lab test is Liquid Chromatography Dual Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). He can order this lab test from Quest Diagnostics using the following CPT Code and Quest Diagnostic Test Name:
25-Hydroxyvitamin D3 [25(OH)D3]. CPT Code 82306. Quest Diagnostics Test Name: 92888-QuestAssureD 25-OH Vitamin D (Total), LC/MS/MS.
This assay method is accurate up to 512 ng/mL for Vitamin D3 and 512 ng/mL for vitamin D2.
I realize this reply is a bit long, but I hope it helps...
Take care and please keep us posted.
V/R, Batch