Dropping Calcium: Dr. Lee, author of "What your doctor never told you about menopause" would agree with you. He says people generally get enough in thier diets, not getting enough is rare. The problem is unbalanced hormones after menopause and the way the bone stops doing what it's supposed to with the (in his opinion) plenty of calcium available is the real problem. He suggest supplementation with progesterone cream rather than calcium supplements.

Vitamin D level- I figure you are right, will google. Also had the thought that maybe when the level gets high enough, and then I drop it back, it will resolve until the level drops below what calf is happy with again.

I can't get to sleep without that benedryl - but feel like mind is foggy - I'm going to see a bioidentical doc to see if I can get my hormones further balanced - Dr. Yu is a personal friend and won't treat me. Have apt. coming up. If I can resolve this that way, then no more need for all that Benedryl. If not, I guess I could ask my bp doc for something - just hate to take more of anything, really.

I actual thought that the neurologist might say something bout that Benedryl - cause he asked me once exactly how much I was taking. He didn't, but he said, maybe try to drop some of my huge list of vitamins and supplements over time, one at a time, to get it down to what I need. I can drop the Calcium. The stuff I got from here cannot be dropped. Problem is, I have PN, a good dose of menopause misery AND knee arthritis and Im trying to avoid taking you know, more drugs... like Celebrex, recommended by both orthopedic doc AND neurologist!

It makes me feel like a healthier person when I can take a vitamin and nerve pain drops away, arthritic pain drops away, rather than a prescription drug. It is very emotionally satisfying and makes me feel young, not old.

Thank you again so much Mrs. D. for all of your generous help.

We both find here at this house that 3mg of Melatonin works well.
Hubby takes chlorpheniramine 4mg at bedtime for his allergies, and I take 25mg of diphenhydramine.

If you add in the melatonin, you might be able to get away with 25mg of the diphen. I have found over the years that tolerance happens with it too. So that may have happened to you.

My doctor told me people on Benadryl have more car accidents, and pilots are suggested to not use it at all!

So far I have found that the upper limit for safety for those concerned about D is 4000IU daily.

Perhaps your insurance will allow electrolyte tests? Testing for elevated calcium would then possibly tell you more information anyway?

I don't know if you saw my vit. D numbers in the other thread, but they went from 40 to 34 after only 2 weeks of stopping to supplement, and despite catching just about every ray of sunlight (admittedly not much) available.

I still think it's a lot easier to go back to "too low" than it is to poison yourself, and, FWIW, my GP agrees with that.

Karen, do you have a good integrative doctor that can find out balance hormones like progesterone for sleep, etc? There are so many that need to be balanced for the brain, sleep, heart, skin etc. Most doctors have no clue how to do it. It is bizarrre that most do not know all of the things they should know to help healing.

FYI.. Taking bendryll can cause problems when you try to stop taking it. It is not as bad as zyrtec but there is case study that both of these drugs can have a "withdraw" effect when you stop taking them.

I took both of these drugs for years, especially zyrtec and I was in the percent of people that had serious withdraw effects. Rash and extreme itching, which made me think I needed to keep taking the drugs, was actually caused from it.

I am taking 5,000 iu of vit D now but I have never been tested. I hope it is safe but without testing i dunno, but I really believe I need it.

I remember reading something about people who had low Vit D levels and who took supplements and still showed low levels, especially after stopping taking Vit D supplements. That this was some type of problem with how their body absorbs and processes Vit D. That people with that issue would have symptoms of PN or muscle twitching.

If I can find that article, I will post it.

With that being said, can Vit D3 supplementation in high levels cause neurological symptoms?

I'm going to see a bioidentical hormone doctor at a local gyn at the end of the month. If you mean an integrative doc like a neurologist, doubt they exist where I live. I read about them... I doubt I could actually find one. I am happy that I will at least get my hormones tested and see what else is out of whack.

That's why I bumped mine up - my orthopedic said 1000iu and he said that the reason I had a 16.2 vitamin d level was probably heredity. I know when I bring it down, just a little, my darned calf starts 'cramping' and aching again, which is really just some form of nerve pain