I purchase most, not all, of my supplements from Swansonvitamins.com and Vitacost.com.

Vitamin D levels should be at least 80. Levels of 85-100 protect against cancers. Dr. Holick, a premier vitamin D3 expert keeps his D3 levels around 120.

My levels are usually around that range or higher and, since my doctor has performed multiple ultrasounds of my internal organs including heart, the higher levels have not had a detrimental effect on my health.

When you are deficient in vitamin D3 it is not enough to take 5,000 IU/day. At that level your body will not build bone and, in fact, will actually rob your bones of calcium to maintain other internal systems which need calcium and D3 to perform...one such organ is the parathyroid...the heart is also affected.

See, I told you your problems were all indicated in vitamin D3 deficiency.

At one time I had osteopenia throughout my body; walking was painful; I had to hold on to something to lift my feet to a curb; I could hardly turn over in bed. My body just HURT everywhere. The pain was so bad I obtained injectable D3 and injected 1.2 Million IUs every week for 6 weeks expecting that I was committing suicide but accepting that fate.

Imagine my surprise when in bed one night I reached for the TV remote rolled over to reach it and rolled back into position with it. When I realized what I had done and how easily I had accomplished that task I must have rolled all over my bed again and again just laughing and crying in my amazement and joy. No pain and no effort.

If I were you I would take 15,000 IU/day of D3 along with the other supplements I named and ask for another X-ray and vitamin D3 test after 3 months.

But that's just me...ymmv.

Many people here on the forum take 10k IU D3/day.

I think of the need for D3 this way.

Scientists have found vitamin D3 receptors in every part of the human body. In fact they have found that the body doles out D3 in the body according to a body determined hierarchy of need. And according to the body, you can live without strong bones, your heart and kidneys take precedence.