Vitamin D2

Medically Reviewed by Dr. Harshi Dhingra, M.D.

Last Reviewed: Sep 22, 2023

Warnings

Vitamin D2 Risks, Warnings, and Complications

Vitamin D2 may cause or worsen health problems in some people. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist before taking a vitamin D supplement. Some of the risks of taking vitamin D2 include:

VITAMIN D TOXICITY: There is a very small difference between the safe and dangerous doses of vitamin D. Too much vitamin D can cause serious adverse effects. Check with your provider before taking any vitamin and mineral supplements. Take only the recommended dose and make sure you are not getting vitamin D from multiple sources, such as fortified foods, over-the-counter dietary supplements, and prescription vitamin D2 from healthcare professionals. Keep all your lab and medical appointments while on vitamin D2. Your doctor may want to order frequent vitamin D levels, calcium levels, and other blood levels.
ALLERGIES TO CERTAIN FOOD DYES: Vitamin D2 contains a food dye called tartrazine or FD&C Yellow No. 5, which can cause allergic reactions in some people. People with a known aspirin allergy are at a higher risk of developing hypersensitivity to this food dye. Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you have a known allergy to tartrazine or aspirin.

Precautions Before Starting Vitamin D2

Tell your doctor if you have ever had an allergic reaction to vitamin D2, any of the active or inactive ingredients in vitamin D2 formulations, aspirin, tartrazine food dye, or any other medications. Your pharmacy can give you a list of ingredients.

Give your doctor and pharmacist a complete list of your medications, including prescription medications, over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, dietary supplements, and herbal products. This can help avoid possible drug interactions between vitamin D2 and your other medicines.

Vitamin D2 may not be right for people with certain medical conditions. Give your doctor a complete medical history. Be sure to mention a medical condition such as high blood levels of calcium or vitamin D in the past, malabsorption syndrome, liver disease, kidney disease, or heart disease.

Tell your health care professional if you are pregnant, could be pregnant, plan to get pregnant, or are breast feeding a nursing baby.

Precautions During Use of Vitamin D2

Keep all your medical and lab appointments. Follow the dosing instructions on the prescription label or package label.

Make sure you are taking calcium as recommended by your provider. Too much calcium while on ergocalciferol can result in serious side effects. Not enough calcium can make ergocalciferol ineffective in controlling your condition.

Tell your doctor if you become pregnant while on this medication.

Vitamin D2 Drug Interactions

Other drugs can affect how vitamin D2 works. Possible interactions with a particular drug can increase the risk of severe adverse effects. Some of the medications that can have interactions with vitamin D2 include:

Vitamin D supplements and fortified foods
Calcium supplements
Diuretics (water pills) such as hydrochlorothiazide, chlorothiazide (Diuril), metolazone (Zaroxolyn), and indapamide

Give your doctor or pharmacist a complete list of your medications, including prescription drugs, nonprescription drugs, dietary supplements, and herbal remedies. Also, tell your healthcare professional if you smoke, drink alcohol, or use recreational drugs because some of these substances can cause serious health complications when used with prescription medications, over-the-counter medicines, and dietary supplements.

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