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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.
Hello SK – sounds promising. Thanks for posting. Look forward to your results.
Just curious, what ever happened with your Pioglitazone trial?
Great find Josh. That one could help a lot of people.
I think we all could use a little hope at the moment. I found a study about vitamin a depletion in a old man who had hypervitaminosis A. It showed that RBP was greatly inhibited by protein deficiency and that eating 120 grams a protein a day causes RBP and vitamin a serum to rise. While on the high protein diet (58 days) they estimated the daily vitamin a being depleted was 226,000 iu daily.
https://www.gastrojournal.org/article/0016-5085(82)90132-9/pdf
Very interesting! Thank you for sharing the study!
If anyone is looking for a Cure, here is your best bet:
http://beauty-international-japan.com/en/japonskie-lekarstvennye-preparaty/2463-mochida-goofice-5mg-100tab-36000.html
I ordered my first batch and it arrives within one week.
The active component is Elobixibat.
Elobixibat is the world’s first ASBT / IBAT inhibitor.
It causes interruption of enterohepatic recycling of bile acids and bile salts.
Retinol/VA is transported in bile, and the fastest way to eliminate it, is also through bile.
ASBT inhibition causes bile acids to be lost rather than reabsorbed.
This solves our problem through 2 mechanisms:
VA requires bile salts for absorption.
VA undergoes continuous transport in bile.
The result is effortless VA loss, without the need for induction catabolic enzymes such as (Retinol dehydrogenase or CYP).
What side effects can you expect?
More frequent bathroom visits.
And that’s all.
Aside from Elobixibat, the most significant symptom relief I’ve got is from Phenibut or Baclofen (available at nootropicsdepot.com).
But their side effects are significant. And they merely prevent toxicity from VA intake; they don’t cause VA loss, just absorption inhibition.
For the person who just want a cure and to get back to their previous healthy state, I can only recommend Elobixibat.
After 6 years of trying to solve this through full time research, this is my strongest and only recommendation.
I’d suggest you wait a week, until I receive my product.
Then I can verify that the vendor is legitimate and the product is effective.
A note:
Yes, the price is ridiculously high.
But this is the only source available.
The medicine is ONLY produced and available in Japan, so far.
And on top of that, it’s prescription only.
That’s why this vendor is able to sell it at that price.
It’s also part of their medical system, from April 2018.
Dose:
Use 5-10 mg, 20-30 minutes before breakfast.
That’s what all the science articles on the medicine recommends as the most effective dose.
The price comes out at 5$ USD per 5 mg.
I’ll be dosing at 10 mg before breakfast daily, which costs 10-11$ USD per day.
But at least, I expect I’ll be recovering and able to get back to a normal life.
If Hypervitaminosis is significantly comprimising your quality of life, 10$ USD for a cure is a small price to pay.
I repeat:
Wait one week until you place an order.
I’ve purchased one product to test the effectiveness of the medicine and the reliability of the vendor.
It’s being shipped from Japan as we speak and will arrive in a few days.
hi Lori how long did it take you to detox fully?
I would say about 2 years. I still have IBS from it though, which I don’t think will ever go away.
How do get VA flush out from our system?
i had vertigo in middle march n my blood test showed vit d n magnesium deficient. Got my magnesium thru iv and clears my vertigo but now im having brain fog and unstable while walking. I have been eating supplement vc, flo n vit b and my meal daily include low fat milk
and oats in morning and oily fish eg. salmon, sardine for lunch n mainly daily papaya for snack. I stop taking fish oil supplement since its makes my body sway n unstable while walking. Could it be im VA overdoze?
Check these e-books written by Grant Genereux:
https://ggenereux.blog/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/PoisoningForProfits.pdf
https://ggenereux.blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/extinguishing-the-fires-of-hell2.pdf
Here is the RayPeat thread discussing this topic, you could read through:
https://raypeatforum.com/community/threads/grant-genereuxs-theory-of-vitamin-a-toxicity.24722/
Here’s what Dr. Garett Smith’s research has to say about helping detox/prevent Vit A toxicity:
https://nutritionrestored.com/blog-forum/forum/compounds-that-help-protect-against-and-or-detox-poison-vitamin-a/
Lastly, here’s a few more forum pages that talk about Vit A toxicity you can check out:
https://180degreehealth.com/vitamin-vitamin-villain/
https://ggenereux.blog/discussion/
hope these help =)
Is ANYONE able to test Ramipril, Enalapril or any other ACE Inhibitor for the purpose of reducing Vitamin A toxicity?
This study indicates that it can increase CRBP1 (retinol binding protein) and RAR Activation, by up to 500%.
This means Retinol toxicity will become lower, more controlled and recovery becomes faster.
(CRBP increase means more Retinol is bound. And Vitamin A is only toxic due to unbound form Retinol.)
http://molpharm.aspetjournals.org/content/75/3/685/tab-figures-data
I will run my own tests as soon as I can, but access to these meds is limited.
Hi all,.
I’m a relative newcomer to this and I’m looking into taurine and methionine and am very confused by this study:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0271531705803112
(Dietary cysteine/methionine ratios and taurine supplementation: effects on rat growth, amino acids and bile acids)
Are we trying to increase or decrease bile salts? I would take it that we are trying to avoid a fatty liver (more VA storage?) hence taurine supplementation with a low methionine/cysteine diet would be the way to go?
“Taurine supplementation also increased levels of taurine-conjugated bile acids in the bile of rats fed the low cysteine/methionine diet but produced fatty livers in those fed the high cysteine/methionine diet.”
Any input much appreciated.
Sarah
Bile acids:
You want to increase their losses, because they carry Retinoids through the enterohepatic circulation (recently absorbed and of hepatic/ storage origin).
And you want to decrease conjugated BAs (like Taurocholate), because they are essential for VA absorption.
Essentially:
You want to maximize BA losses, regardless of whether they are conjugated or not. They carry your retinoids.
Metformin also seems to inhibit ASBT/Bile reabsorption.
I’ve tried Taurine at all doses. It has a small acute positive effect, but nothing significant when used long-term.
Hi all,
If anyone is interested in using pharmacology/”biohacking” to actually find a faster cure/treatment, please connect; reply here and we could exchange email or just chat here.
I’ve had this problem for 5,5 years now and aside from “minimizing intake”, there are obviously faster ways to solve the problem.
I maintain a minimal VA diet, but I can’t accept that speed of recovery since nothing is improving.
Currently, after years of research, the most effective mechanisms I have found for reducing symptoms are:
Asbt (slc10a2) inhibition.
Fxr agonism.
(Potentially, CAR agonism.)
Asbt inhibition means inhibition of Bile Salt reabsorption.
The positive effects on the hypervitaminotic organism are twofold:
VA is recirculated in bile, and loss of bile means loss of VA.
Loss if Bile Salts means subsequently consumed VA can’t be absorbed.
Absorption of Vitamin A in all its forms, is dependent on Bile Salts.
What I have found is that the fastest way to deplete VA, is via Bile. By increasing its losses.
Note on CAR agonism:
Studies show that CAR agonists cause VA depletion. But the side-effects of such agents all seem too hazardous and unsustainable. The mechanism itself may be toxic.
Thus, if anyone wants to be constructive and find a more effective treatment that allows us to recover faster, I encourage you to think of the problem scientifically.
Could anyone help me identify more effective ASBT inhibitors or inhibitors of Bile Salt rebsorption?
Current drugs I’ve found to eliminate 90-99% of HVA symptoms:
Phenibut. Seems to inhibit Bile Reabsorption or secretion in higher doses. May be via GABA B or Ca Channel inhibition.
But it’s unsustainable, due to GABA desensitization.
Nifedipine, Nimodipine.
Strongest ASBT inhibitors confirmed by 2-3 reliable studies.
But I dislike using them due to side effects:
Skin flushing, impaired fertility and others.
Please contribute if interested.
Hi SK – spent a few days on bile reabsorption, but didn’t find anything worth reporting.
I thought you might find this one by Chris Shade interesting in some way.
https://tinyurl.com/y42ofscs
Hello all!!
It’s been a while since I’ve reported on here! It’s been 1 year and 6 months since my tretinoin toxicity. I am recovering well. I’m not completely back to “normal” but I can definitely see the light now. Most days I don’t even think about it. My eyes have taken the longest to heal but someday I don’t have any pain!! I do not eat dairy or eggs and have gotten used to that since this toxicity began but now I can tolerate baked goods with eggs. I am able to eat all veggies and I encourage you all to keep eating veggies even when you don’t feel great. I ate butter lettuce and cucumbers a lot and now I can have everything! I thought this would never get better and I praise God that it truly has. My body has been healing. How are you all? Lori, Julie?
Ashley W.
Hi Ashley and everyone else!
Great to see your message, Ashley! I am very happy to hear you are doing much better! SO I too want to encourage you all to not lose hope and get discouraged about how you are feeling. It does get better!! Stick to your low vit.A diet. It just takes time. I am finally doing better after 2yrs. I got in this mess taking Green Pasters cod liver oil and taking too much of it! Every now and then my vision gets blurry and I have brain fog. I can now eat anything. I do focus on green foods because I went way too long with out any vegetables. Every now and then I have muscle twitches from low magazium. I do want to share something crazy, I got pregnant, unexpectedly, 6 months into having vitA toxicity and I was scared I would cause harm to the baby! I had a lot of fears but God took care of me and my baby. I was on a multi vit (without vit A) fish oil and magnesium and my baby was healthy! I am so so thankful for a healthy baby and that my body is getting stronger and I am feeling MUCH better. Great to hear from you all! Take care Ashley and thanks for all your great thoughts/messages! I read every single one! ❤Julie
Thanks SK, those links are very interesting. The idea that some people’s problems with the retinoids might result from cyp26b1 deficiency or something else that messes with its expression came to mind. Hope you have good results with it. I did some background reading and saw Pioglitazone had some potential long-term negatives, but so does having the retinoids out of control. I tried the Cissus and Lions Mane for a short time but consistently got headaches and bad dreams so discontinued them. Good luck with this one, it looks very promising.
Thanks for your feedback JF.
I’ll report back with results.
Pioglitazone is the glitazone with the least side’s but I concur that it’s not completely safe.
I’m only resorting to it after having tried everything else, including minimizing intake.
Seeing every aspect of my life continue to fall apart due to HVA, is something I want to stop.
I myself have experimented with both Cissus and Lion’s mane. They’re great for physical and mental performance, but have no significant positive effect on alleviating Hypervitaminosis A. If anything, they’re aggravating it (e.g. by CYP inhibition).
SK – do you think this glyphosate substituting for glycine in protein synthesis presentation by Stephanie Seneff could have anything to do with it? Seems like a completely overlapping Venn Diagram with VA toxicity.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxSJt722iSw
I’m picturing something like vaccine damage to a cell, which is then vulnerable to serum retinol getting past the membrane, and it cranks out retinoic acid, as Grant G has detailed as a potential sequence. Substitute a glyphosate-deformed protein in a cell membrane and maybe that does the same thing in making the cell vulnerable. Still living, but metabolizing in an altered way.
SK – I’m getting a funny feeling about Seneff. I watched it twice and went out looking for detail on her involvement in all of this. I didn’t like the way she glibly put Vitamin A toxicity in the back seat, barely mentioning it, as if it would not be a problem except for Glyphosate. I think I’ve seen this movie before but that’s a long story. Due diligence my friend. I’ll be doing more digging on it, but it’s looking like she’s a godsend for Monsanto, because all they need is to keep the waters as muddy as possible, for as long as possible. With her seemingly deliberately saying outrageous things since around 2014, which are easily debunked by critics, it ends up making Glyphosate look better. Odd thing, old technique. Sorry if I distracted you with that.
Hi JF,
Very reasonable ideas you put forward.
But I don’t think Glyphosate has been causative in my case.
Cause was excessive VA intake (from CLO, eggs, liver, spinach, kale, supplements) combined with too many performance enhancing herbs and drugs (modafinil, racetams, artichoke extract, green tea, forskolin, etc).
Now I’ve discontinued everything and will try PGZ standalone in addition to a low-VA diet.
Sometimes I have a little coffee aswell. I also do IF to remain asymptomatic my first half of the day.
SK – I was pulling on a thread all morning and think I found some things that might interest you. I condensed just the title and links. See how they copy/paste here. One thing led to another starting with Ginkgo and leading to the Farnesoid X Receptor. Nice puzzle pieces in the abstracts.. There’s some serious upregulation/induction in one of the papers. The FXR is involved in conjugation of Taurine and Glycine to bile acids and Ginkgo Biloba and Propolis compounds are involved as ligands for FXR, RAR’s and RXR.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22784423
Mitochondrial effects of Ginkgo biloba extract.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16716909
Screening of novel nuclear receptor agonists by a convenient reporter gene assay system using green fluorescent protein derivatives.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12761213
Human kininogen gene is transactivated by the farnesoid X receptor.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12754200
Farnesoid X receptor regulates bile acid-amino acid conjugation.
Hi JF,
It’s an interesting mechanism and train of thought. Seems our minds run in the same direction;
I’ve already considered FXR, PXR, along with most other nuclear receptors.
I’ve studied them thoroughly and used the strongest antagonists and agonists without significant positive effects.
I’ve used Ginkgo in its TCM form, in addition to even stronger FXR ligands such as Cycloastragenol, Reishi and Forskolin and even TUDCA.
The herbs were used in their TCM form in Taiwan, aswell as supplement forms back in Europe.
Among the ligands, TUDCA had the strongest positive effect on HVA I’d say.
FXR agonists upregulate P450, inhibit BA reabsorption, inhibit BA synthesis and upregulate ADH1 (also an RDH).
But the effect wasn’t significant enough and symptoms persist.
I also trialled Propolis, and each ligand used in low, moderate and high doses.
What makes PGZ more interesting is the potential for a 50+ times induction of CYP26b1, and as that study states: “typical inducers had no effect on cyp26 enzymes”.
I received it today from an EU source and will start observing the effects carefully.
Are you available on another messaging platform? Drop your email or preferably Telegram address if you’d like.
SK
SK – I’d bet the folks posting on Grant Genereux’s blog would appreciate your experience. It’s getting a lot of traffic lately. I check in there often. @ggenereux.blog
Posters can start Titled Threads of their own, so it’s a great option for keeping track of things over time and getting feedback on whatever the focus is. If you start a Pioglitazone thread I’ll see it.
I’m warming up to Stephanie Seneff after a couple weeks of reading her papers and watching interviews with her. I think she is legitimate and I was knee-jerking on the alternate information. Many of her papers mention CYP disruption due to glyphosate. She responded to an email and said she’ll probably speak more to the retinoid side of the equation. If her hypothesis of glyphosate substituting for glycine in protein synthesis is correct, the implications are many, as she makes the case for in this 2018 paper.
https://www.omicsonline.org/open-access/glyphosate-substitution-for-glycine-during-protein-synthesis-as-a-causalfactor-in-mesoamerican-nephropathy-2161-0525-1000541.pdf
Hope your Pio trial goes well. Oh yeah, I wanted to mention, if I haven’t already, I’ve been 5 months of very low to zero retinoid intake and my eyesight is getting better. It wasn’t too bad but I needed to use reading glasses. Hardly ever reach for them lately. It kind of snuck up on me. The other thing that I’m doing is Red/Infrared LED therapy with panels I bought from China (5 times cheaper than the private-labeled products like JOOVV). Presently only have the 660nm and 850nm in the panels at a 50:50 ratio. I do 10-20 minutes a day of full-body exposure and only 2 minutes on the eyes with lids closed. There’s a lot of info out there that causes me to think it helps metabolize retinoic acid. The few practitioners in the US who are using the NovoThor light-bed machine are really raving about the wide-range of benefits their regular users are reporting (resolving autoimmune conditions). I went to Ohio to do three sessions and met some of those people. The machines are few and far between, most owned by private individuals and sports teams. But I think it can be replicated at home, which is far more convenient.
Hello everyone,
Still fighting this disease, since October 2013.
Cause was excessive intake of VA.
Since natural/spontaneous VA depletion rate is too slow (I’ve tested it long enough), I’m looking for ways to increase breakdown rate.
In addition to my minimal VA diet;
Next test will be Pioglitazone.
I believe I’ve encountered a significant association that can help one break down VA faster.
RA is broken down by Cyp26b1 and cyp26a1, which are the rate limiting enzymes in VA catabolism.
Pioglitazone is the strongest known inducer of this VA-catabolic enzyme, causing it to increase up to 54x.
That’s a 5400% increase in catabolic rate.
Here’s the study:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2812069/
And for some further support of this hypothesis, a study of cyp26b1 knockout animals: they quickly suffer from Hypervitaminosis A.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352187218300391
I’m not suggesting anyone start taking Pioglitazone.
I’ll be the guinea pig and report back if results are positive.
I’m simply writing to share information and stimulate some thought.
May be of interest …
https://ggenereux.blog/2017/04/29/vitamin-a-oh-no-its-not/
Hello everyone. Im glad I stumbled across this thread. I am also dealing with hypervitaminosis a. Im a 33 year old male. In july I started taking vitamin a supplements (50000 iu worth + wheatgrass shots + spinach + and 2500 iu from a multivitamin). From July til September I was ok until I started to have severe back aches, peeling skin, nausea, decrease in mood, and a sudden intolerance for zinc (whether from supplements or food). I did some research and turns out vitamin A was the culprit so I immediately stopped taking the vitamin A supplements, wheat grass and spinach and started taking vitamin E ( helps my mood stabilze), black seed oil, vitamin c, and a b vitamin complex. When I stopped taking the VA my peeling skin and back pains stopped but the nausea comes and goes at times. My intolerance for zinc has increased though. If I comsume any meat, beans, lentils or zinc supplements I start to feel this wierd level of inflammation thru out my body and my whole day is flooded with negative energy that people can feel and dont want to be around. I went to doctor last week and were doing blood work to test my liver health. I go back in late February. Im open for any suggestions that would help. God bless.
Hope you feel better soon!
Hi. I’m a 17 year old male who’s committed my last 5 years to exercise, nutrition, and calories.. In April of 2018, I had the WORST acne breakout of my LIFE. I show my face quite a lot on social media and I’m known as that kid with “good looks” not to sound cocky at all… In July, I had enough and went to my local drugstore to purchase Vitamin A, Zinc, and Omega-3’s. At the time, I had been taking spirulina every morning in my shake. It was around November when I realized not only was my skin clearing, but I was getting mood swings, VERY RED LIPS, my workouts were not as intense and sweaty, I was bloated, my hair was mega thin (I’ve had super thick hair all my life), my knuckles were bleeding from dryness, very pale skin, and I wasn’t vascular at all anymore (i usually have veins running across my forearms). My Vitamin A sources came from SWEET POTATOES, **VIT A TABLETS**, SPIRULINA, EGGS, SPINACH, MILK, CARROTS. I tried to do some quick math and i totaled to about 30,000 IU of vitamin A every day for about 5 months. I went from being that outgoing unique and funny teenager everyone wants to be around to that lonely, isolated guy filled with negative energy that nobody wants to be near. I went completely inactive on social media because of how thin my hair became (it literally looked like it was burnt, my ends were very see through). My symptoms came in “waves” if you will. I would go 4 days straight with my symptoms seeming to clear up but there is 1 day where it just CRASHES and my symptoms all return out of nowhere (usually after meals for some reason). Then, my symptoms would gradually subside and every time they’d return it would come back much less harsh than previously. I remember back in December how I’d search literally ALL over the internet to find out more about what I have and this was the MOST useful because there are so many people who share their stories and it makes me feel like i’m not alone. I did at one point think I was iron deficient for some reason because my symptoms pretty much replicated anemia. I have had a MAX of 2% vitamin A each day since late November. Not only is my hair thick enough to style like I used to, but my whole life is coming back to normal much quicker than I expected (probably because ive been on a suuuuper strict diet since november). I continue to gain muscle mass to this day so I need to be on a caloric surplus but that’s hard considering the fact that vit A is stored in fat. I’ve been on the keto diet and I find it to be great not only for building muscle and staying lean, but also keeping my fast metabolism to get rid of the excess ASAP. FUN FACT!!!! MY ACNE BREAKOUTS WERE CAUSED BY HIGH CARB INTAKE FROM BODYBUILDING (It raises blood sugar)!!!! So this diet is literally perfect and fits all my needs. Only problem is I’m missing some nutrients, especially since i drink a gallon of water a day, so I supplement vit C and other water soluble vitamins i cant access from the foods I eat (WITH CAUTION). My diet consists of: OATMEAL (i boil it with salt and water), EGG WHITES, NOODLES, BROWN RICE, SOME FRUITS, CHICKEN BREAST, GROUND BEEF, SALMON, AND NUTS. I will keep you updated on my progress
update: i didnt realize that salmon might make my problems worse so im taking that out of my diet after reading around on this site. My symptoms are still in waves and right now is a low point, but it will get better in a few days.
Okay so after a BUNCH of testing different foods into my diets…….. i found chicken breast, rolled oats, egg whites, white potatoes, 5 cashew, and brown rice work BEST at keeping symptoms at bay (because it is a very low fat diet). Here’s my meal routine (im an athlete so i tend to eat 4-5 meals a day not 3).
Meal 1 – egg whites cooked in a small amount of coconut oil, 1/2 cup oatmeal boiled w/ water
Meal 2 – 1 tbsp of Apple Cider Vinegar diluted in a cup of water before my meal, white potatoes, brown rice, chicken breast. This is also my pre-workout meal and i try to add lots of carbs for energy in the gym. Also id like to mention that i started to run 1 mile every day post workout to increase my metabolism.
Meal 3 – 1 tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar diluted in water again before meal, rice and chicken breast
Meal 4 (small meal) – 1/2 cup oatmeal boiled w/ water
Meal 5 – (small meal) – white potatoes and chicken breast
NOTE: I ONLY SEASON WITH SALT AND DRINK NEARLY A GALLON OF WATER EVERY DAY. i do realize that I am missing some vitamins such as C… ill probably have to supplement on that or something in the future if i need it. I hope i could help someone out because i really wish someone gave me this sort of info when i was reading all types of blogs such as Grant Genereux’s and others. I do stay away from beef because I am afraid of the insulin resistance that cause me acne.
did anyone of you feel gut related problems after toxicity , like colitis /IBS
Yes, it caused IBS for me.
i have taken accutane low dose for few years. withoout knowing about vitamin a toxicity, i took chlorophyll and chlorella supplements. now my body and skin is full loaded with vit a.
my symptoms is, all aha or exfoliators or peels, lasers, topical alcohol applied to skin, it gave me new depressed scars.
now im so depressed. i dont know what i can do to help with the scars.
i have stop the accutane for 6 months, stop the chlorophyll and chlorella supplements for 3 weeks only.
have taken taurine, vit d, nac and zinc supp for 3 weeks only.
does anyone have same symptoms as me?
i hope someone can find solutions to eliminate vit a toxicity asap instead of waiting it to be gone on its own. i want to heal my scars asap.
Hope you feel better soon!
Dr. Garrett Smith is going deep down the Vitamin A rabbit hole, for anyone interested:
https://nutritionrestored.com/blog-forum
Also, I recently saw this article about Weston A. Price Foundation (WAPF) people dying young and their consumption of Fermented Cod Liver Oil (FCLO):
http://davidgumpert.com/those-ticking-time-bombs-going-off-are-wapf-people-dying-too-young
Grant Genereux has also released a third e-book. All three are freely available on his website:
https://ggenereux.blog/my-ebooks
Wishing everyone a Happy, Healthy New Year!
Been 2+ years since toxicity , symptoms still persisting , I am on a low vitamin A diet since , ( potatoes , kidney beans , red meat , rice , egg white) . I have been eating very clean since , my stools and bowel movements were quite good , but recently I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis , did anyone of you suffer from colitis after toxicity . or if not what were the gastro difficulties you faced
Dan .
Hi. I’m sorry you got swindled. I would like to point out that maybe you should put in you post that people who have eye diseases need to take higher doses of vitamin A. My daughter is 17 and has been diagnosed with RP cataract and it is best for her to take 15000 dose daily of vitamin A. This is base off of a pubmed article published in about 1993. People who do not have eye problems should take a maximum of 10000 per day.
Does anybody else’s symptoms get a lil worse when eating alot of fiber? Its been two weeks since ive stopped vitamin a completely.
I wanted to post my story:
I took accutane in 2010. In 2013 I was diagnosed with osteopenia at the age of 27. I didn’t know how to fix it. So I started trying supplements and diets and exercise, but nothing worked. Eventually, the diets and supplements started causing other health problems (digestion mostly). So I stopped the supplements, but the digestion problems stayed. Eventually, as time went on, more and more symptoms developed (headaches, brain fog, depression, neck pain, joint pain, food allergies, fatigue, etc, etc, etc). Eventually (January 2018), I read this blog and I immediately started a zero vitamin A diet. I noticed an improvement right away.
I am now 8 months on low vitamin A diet and I feel much better. I feel best when I eat low vitamin A, and also specific low vitamin A foods. Rice does not go well with me and I think I am allergic to rice right now. Honey causes digestive problems. I do best with white potatoes, peanut butter and black beans everyday. I add in chicken and beef every once in a while. Peanut butter seems to sooth/calm my intestines. I only eat a teaspoon a day of peanut butter. It took me a lot of trial and error to figure out which low vitamin A foods make me feel best.
My prediction (hope) is in 2-3 years on a low vitamin A diet, I will have healed most of my health problems. I think it may take 4-5 more years before my bones heal fully. My first symptom back in 2013 was bones problems, so I think they will take the longest to heal.
I am not taking any supplements.
I heard peanut butter slows progression
I’d check out this forum: https://ggenereux.blog/discussion/
Arent fat soluble toxins excreted via bile/fiber?
Yes.
Interruption of enterohepatic recirculation of bile acids also causes loss of VA.
Hi guys, it’s been months I have stopped using tretinoin , the headache which used to come earlier has totally stopped but I have got a new problem I am getting cystic acne , I never had cystic acne earlier but I feel its the side effect of tretinoin after I stopped using.
Could anyone pls guide me what to do ?? How to get rid of cystic acne
Hi Rahul, have you tried anything for the cystic breakouts? I’ve found changing my diet, using the oil cleansing method, and face masks (like bentonite clay face masks) to help me.
Hi Cole. Thanks for replying, really appreciate it. I have been to every Dr there is. I’ve been to a gastroenterologist for my bloating. She said it’s just IBS. Did all the tests, everything is normal. I’ve tried saukeraut and symprove , but neither made a difference. I guess I just need to actually go vitamin A free to see a difference. I’m assuming if I’m getting symptoms then I still have vitamin A stored in my fat cells or liver?
My experience has been contrary to the ‘scientific belief’ that beta carotene does not cause Vitamin A toxicity.
For 2 years I was attempting to eat ‘healthy’ by consuming 140g Kale, 250g spinach daily with a multi-vitamin which had 3000mcg of Vitamin A from beta carotene. In the last 6 months I incorporated 4 whole boiled eggs daily. The onset of Vitamin A symptoms were experienced after 1 week of incorporating 3 carrots daily in my diet. I experienced severe hair loss ( 80% of my hands were covered in hair in the shower). I observed skin peeling, jaundice, fatigue, headaches, sleep loss, mental fog and so forth. I suspect this was a case of chronic toxicity and my body has been unable to regulate the amount of Vitamin A from beta carotene. It is also possible the multivitamin I was consuming had incorrectly stated the Vitamin A source and I was consuming Vitamin A in Retinol form, but I find that unlikely. I think beta carotene needs to be treated with caution and everyone may not be able to regulate it’s conversion to Vitamin A safely.
Mans,
I was just coming here to post the exact same thing. It has been 16 months since the retinol overdose. At this point, I am totally normal and healthy if my diet stays 100% vitamin A-free.
The other day I decided to try foods with beta-carotene in them. I started eating plantains and watermelon. Within one day, the toxicity symptoms (namely the memory loss and gastrointestinal distress) came roaring back.
I agree with you about beta-carotene. My hypothesis is that some people do not make enough retinol-binding protein so even “normal” amounts of vitamin A coming from beta-carotene could result in toxicity with these people. I believe I am one of them because I have experienced vitamin A toxicity three times in my life. Once from taking Accutane nearly 20 years ago. Once from eating a diet that contained about 2500-3000 IU per day of retinol from dairy for about 6 years. And then once again after overdosing on the supplement.
I do believe beta-carotene can be a problem for some people contrary to what I previously thought.
What does your diet look like now? What staple items do you eat most of? Obviously stay away from fish, eggs, liver, brightly colored vegetables, and so on. So you’ve found that this diet has been the most effective to stop the symptoms?
Alexander,
My diet is not entirely based off the vitamin A sensitivity, I have other issues as well and have also developed some severe food intolerances in the aftermath of the vitamin A overdose.
My diet consists of lean chicken breast (make sure the package says 0% vitamin A because some do not), potato chips cooked in coconut oil only, coconut oil, gluten-free oatmeal, soda containing real sugar (no high-fructose corn syrup), sometimes beer (Corona because it’s technically gluten-free), sometimes pear juice, sometimes coconut milk (make sure it is not fortified with vitamins), sometimes ground beef as well. That’s all I consume.
I have become severely intolerant to gluten and corn after the vitamin A overdose. The vitamin A caused damage to my gastrointestinal system and I speculate that this is why. I also am of the persuasion that it sugar is not bad for you. I do not believe that saturated fat or sugar cause heart disease. The polyunsaturated fats are the real culprit. If you notice, my diet basically contains no polyunsaturated fat and this is by design.
I get somewhere around 100-150 grams of sugar, 75 grams of carbs from starch, 100-120 grams of fat (mostly from coconut oil so that I stay below 2% of calories as polyunsaturated fat), and I don’t count protein amounts but I get a fair amount.
All sources of vitamin A and beta-carotene are out.
I see. I have gluten, dairy, and egg sensitivities also. I didn’t think beta carotene was an issue but maybe it is.
Brian,
Can you go into more detail on your diet in relation to potatoes?
Do you eat potatoes? Do they bother you? Reading your old posts, it sounds like you could potatoes at one point. What are your symptoms if you eat potatoes?
I ate white potatoes everyday from April until October and then all the sudden I started reacting heavily to potatoes. Now I can’t eat them anymore. I’m really disappointed.
Hi Mike,
I know you have been asking someone else, just remembered reading and thought this may be useful. It is possible to develop intolerance to a certain food that one consumes a lot/regularly. But then it is also possible to reverse it by stopping eating it for some time and reintroduce it without any problem.
Hi Brian,
seems like 16 months is a long time and it should at least be enough time to be able to tolerate at least some beta-carotene. Why do you think it is still not the case? Is there a possibility that these are food intolerances either to watermelon and/or plantains? Or it is possible to still have such an overabundance of retinol in the system that it will react to a small amount of beta-carotene?
I am just thinking if it’s possible to still have sensitivities even if they were induced by retinol even after it has been eliminated from the liver? Or can the immune system mark beta-carotene as an invader and is activated by any amount of it?
Hi Brian,
Earlier in the forum you quoted:
“Avoid ALL supplements with iron, copper, or manganese added. Avoid ALL foods fortified with iron, copper, or manganese. Read the ingredients list of everything you consume.”
But you say you consume ground beef sometimes (which is indeed fortified with iron) and I’m a little confused
Beef isn’t fortified with iron. What I mean by fortified is that it is added to the food when it normally would not be there. The iron in beef is naturally present.
That said, my opinion on this has changed as I found eating larger amounts of beef to bring back some of the symptoms, particularly the memory trouble.. So, even naturally present iron (and copper, zinc, manganese, aluminum) may pose a problem for someone with too much vitamin A in the system. I mostly eat lean chicken breast now for protein.
I have finally reached a point after 2 years on a near zero vitamin A diet where the memory troubles and brain fog are largely a thing of the past.
It has been a very long, slow, and arduous process reversing the toxicity. Much longer than anyone else I have seen on here. It makes me wonder if I took more than I thought (the scale I used to weigh the powder was cheap and may have been inaccurate).
Brian, I am very happy to read that your symptoms have decreased and that you are slowly feeling like your usual self again.
I will take your advice and stay off the ground beef. When I overdosed I was (and still am) in a very lean physique for bodybuilding. Would you by any chance have tips on the best way for me to detox vitamin A? I dont have much bodyfat to work with haha. My diet consists of literally only white potatoes, brown rice, egg whites, oats, salt, chicken breast (main source of protein)
Has anyone heard of itching due to an overdose. My back has been itching, no rash just a horrible itch. I have eliminated most foods and no change. After reading your blog I started to take a look at what vitamins I have been taking, I have been taking a combination of oil from my doctor. It contains 7500 A, 5000 D3, 30 E, 5000 K
plus cod oil 1260 A, 127 D.
Do you think that could be the cause of the itching?
Itching, headache, nausea, dizziness, diarrhea, and blurry vision were my symptoms when I went from chronic to acute vitamin A toxicity. I found out what the problem was when I searched online for those symptoms. I had been taking a large dose supplement so it made sense.
THANK YOU for posting this informative blog on Vitamin A. I refer to it often because I inadvertently overdosed on Supplemental Vitamin A a little over a year ago. I stopped all Vitamin A August 10th, 2017 when I realized what was causing my symptoms. It’s been a year now and I’m wondering if it’s safe to eat the foods that have Vitamin A from a vegetable source? (i.e., leafy greens, carrots, etc.)
How long has it been since you had any symptoms?
Hey guys
Hows it going ?So far I have been on a beef, black beans and rice diet( and literally nothing else no fruits/veggies) and seems like it works good , though mild symptoms still persist , but though it definitely feels like is the way .
Also, I have been constantly keeping a track of my Liver enzyme levels , though they are in normal range , I am still considering going for a Fibroscan (Transient Elastography) test to check if my liver has any signs of fibrosis .
any updates form you guys ?
Regards
Dan
Hello Cole!
I just love how in time you are with your body! I had a almond butter at my girlfriends a while back that contained palm oil and had a reaction but didn’t put 2 and 2 together since vitamin a was not listed! Good to know the fda has a 20% margin of error. Wow!! That’s really good to know. I feel the same as you as far as certain foods go. I also realized a while back that my daily tinted moisturizer by tarte contained vitamin A!!! I stopped using it and felt markedly better. Now I read the label on all skin products even hand lotions.
Keep me updated on how your doing.
Ashley W
A couple of typos in my previous message. I also listed cauliflower in my list of veggies with beta carotene and cauliflower does not contain beta carotene.
Ashley W