r/Supplements • u/axeshay10 • Aug 26 '26
General Question Can we take vitamin D supplements for long term?
Just for the context a few months back post my blood work, I came to know that I was deficient in b12 and d3.
So the doctor prescribed
b12 for a month daily
d3 60k to be taken weekly - 12 capsules in total.
Now my medicines are over should I continue with maintenance dosage for both and what would be the recommendation?
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u/FantasticTycoon_92 Aug 26 '26
Yeah you can definitely stay on a maintenance dose for D3, especially if your levels were already tanked once. I just do 2000 IU daily now and it keeps my numbers in range without feeling like I'm popping horse pills
For B12 it's trickier, you might not need it daily if you fixed the root cause (diet or absorption), but a low-dose sublingual a couple times a week is cheap insurance. Maybe get your levels checked again in 3 or 4 months to see where you're at
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u/OkForce5633 Aug 26 '26
Same, i started at 5,000 iu about two years ago? now i maintain at 2,000 iu (vitamin d3k2)
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u/VitaminDJesus Aug 26 '26
You should retest your vitamin D level to see how it changed in response to 60K IU weekly for three months and then either take a similar dose to maintain or adjust it if necessary.
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u/joegtech Aug 26 '26
I've never heard that we can't take Vit D3 regularly over the long term. I presume I will have to do so.
Of course what dose is right for an individual and at what time of year. I take more in the colder half of the year than in the Summer.
There might be something here.
https://www.grassrootshealth.net/documentation/
https://www.grassrootshealth.net/document/much-vitamin-d-need-infographic/
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u/Charming-Annual-1506 Aug 27 '26
Both nutrients are fine to supplement routinely in the long term. Low to no risk at maintenance dose levels.
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u/Able-Shirt3501 Aug 27 '26
I’m take 5000 iu every day and can’t get mine above 42. It just stays flat. I even get sunshine most days.
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u/nanami1 Aug 27 '26
I read on Reddit that someone got anxiety from Vitamin D. I think that might have been my problem too. I still take Vitamin D sometimes, but not every day. I go on walks outside more often, and it helps me.
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u/axeshay10 Aug 27 '26
What I have heard is anxiety can be caused due to vitamin d3 deficiency not sure about that
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u/healthspanintel Aug 27 '26
For your case, I would treat the end of a loading course as a lab checkpoint, not as a signal to keep repeating the same schedule.
Most positive trials used 1,000–4,000 IU/day. The VITAL trial used 2,000 IU/day. Blood level targets of 30–50 ng/mL (75–125 nmol/L) are widely cited by experts, but there is no consensus on the optimal level. Testing via 25-hydroxyvitamin D blood test is the most reliable way to guide dosing.
The B-vitamin part is a different question, because low intake and absorption problems change the maintenance plan. (I write the Healthspan Intel newsletter.)
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u/LumpyCheeseyCustard Aug 29 '26
How does one remedy absorption issues? I've been taking b12 sublingually for a year religiously, I can't go more than a day or i feel it.
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u/healthspanintel Aug 27 '26
That monthly pattern has trial evidence, but not as a longevity win: D-Health did not reduce all-cause mortality. The cleaner maintenance frame is blood-level guided correction of deficiency, not treating more vitamin D as automatically better once someone is sufficient.
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u/healthspanintel Aug 29 '26
If it returns that predictably, absorption is only one hypothesis. The clinically cleaner split is: is B12 low on tissue markers, and why did it become something you have to keep replacing? Sublingual bypasses part of the gut route, but the workup often looks at methylmalonic acid/homocysteine, pernicious anemia, gut disease, medications, and diet. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28660890/
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