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From: dyer@spdcc.UUCP (Steve Dyer)
Newsgroups: net.med
Subject: Re: question about hypercalcemia
Message-ID: <44@spdcc.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 20-Mar-86 23:36:37 EST
Article-I.D.: spdcc.44
Posted: Thu Mar 20 23:36:37 1986
Date-Received: Mon, 24-Mar-86 00:27:57 EST
References: <57@athena.UUCP>
Distribution: net
Organization: S.P. Dyer Computer Consulting, Cambridge MA
Lines: 21

In article <57@athena.UUCP>, glenm@athena.UUCP (Glen McCluskey) writes:
> I know someone who was recently diagnosed as having hypercalcemia.
> His chronic intake of calcium from all sources was 1500mg, and of
> vitamin D 700iu.
> 
> My question is: are these levels of calcium and D enough to cause
> the problem?  Goodman & Gilman's pharmacology book says that simply
> taking too much calcium alone is unlikely to cause hypercalcemia.
> The vitamin D intake, while really too high, doesn't seem like
> enough to cause the problem.

Hypercalcemia is almost always a symptom of some underlying problem;
it isn't a "disease" in and of itself.  While excessive vitamin D
intake can cause hypercalcemia, 700 IU is a pretty ordinary dose.
Actually, there are a surprising number of different disease entities
which can produce this condition.  If *I* were diagnosed with hypercalcemia,
I'd certainly want to get more information from my physician.
-- 
Steve Dyer
dyer@harvard.HARVARD.EDU
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