Does anybody else have peripheral neuropathy that doesn't seem to be improving with B12 injections? My neuroimmunologist ordered blood tests and some of them I had never had before. One being B6. It came back quite high and he said that would be causing my numbness in legs and feet. I was told to stop taking multivitamins (which I had been doing for years) and limit any food containing B6. OMG !! There is B6 in almost every healthy food that I normally eat. I was also taking a Vitamin B complex tablet some days, thinking that my B12 injections might have been causing a B imbalance. I thought any unused B vitamins would be peed out, but that's wrong. I have to drink a lot of water to flush out my excess. So far nothing seems to have changed but hopefully, when I have my next blood test the B6 will have come down. I just thought I would mention the B6 in case anyone else has unexplained neuropathy.
High B6: Does anybody else have... - Pernicious Anaemi...
High B6
That's interesting.I must ask for b6 to be tested.
I've recently been taking b6
To see if if hrlis energy levels and balancing of hormones..
Anything will build up in your system if you take in too much of it - think of a bath - if you have the taps running very fast it will fill up even if you have the plug out.High B6 intake is a known cause of B12 neuropathy. In all but a very few cases it stops when over-supplementation stops.
I don't think it has ever been recorded as a result of dietary intake but then that probably doesn't include foods that have been deliberately fortified.
Thank you for your reply. I had no idea ... and my doctor didn't either.
My neuropathy resolved after I did B12 injections for a year. I still do them. I did not take any other B vitamins until recently. I do know b6 is the one B vitamin that you can overdose on.
Jennyettie, Thank you for this posting I think a reminder to all of us to pay attention and do the research.
Here is another reference on Vitamin B6 toxicity...
I found this.
As B vitamins are often given as supplements and found in fortified foods, there is some risk of taking too much B vitamin. There are eight B vitamins; thiamine, ribovlavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, pyridoxine, biotin, folic acid, and cobalamine. Each functions as an enzymatic cofactor or is a precursor to an enzymatic cofactor enabling many of the basic functions of metabolism in the body.
Vitamin B1
The recommended daily allowance (RDA) of vitamin B1 (thiamin) is 1.5 mg per day for an adult, and 0.7 mg for children age 1 to 4. Thiamine is generally nontoxic.
Vitamin B2
The RDA for vitamin B2 (riboflavin) is 1.7 mg for adults and 0.8 mg for children age 1 to 4. Vitamin B2 is also generally nontoxic.
Vitamin B3
The RDA for vitamin B3 (niacin) is 20 mg for adults, and 9 mg for children between 1 and 4. There is no toxic dose established in humans. However, at doses higher than 50 mg per day, some side effects such as skin flushing can occur. Therapeutic doses of 1500 to 1600 mg per day can be given, but with a risk of liver toxicity, especially in the presence of pre-existing liver disease. There were 1374 exposures to niacin toxicity reported in 2015.
Vitamin B5
The recommended adequate intake of vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid) is 5 mg per day for adults. It is not known to be toxic in humans and there is no tolerable upper intake level established. Diarrhea has been documented at intakes of 10 to 20 g per day.
Vitamin B6
The RDA for vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) is 1.3 mg for adults between 19 and 50 years. . An acute toxic dose has not been established but it is known that vitamin B6 may cause neurotoxicity at a dose of 300 to 500 mg per day over time. In 2015, 189 toxic exposures were reported for Vitamin B6.
Vitamin B7
Vitamin B7 (biotin) is a cofactor for key enzymes in the process of gene regulation. The recommended intake of biotin is 30 mcg per day in adults. Biotin is not considered to be toxic, and no tolerable upper intake level has been established.
Vitamin B9
The RDA for vitamin B9, folic acid, is 400 mcg per day for people over 14, 600 mcg for pregnant women, and 500 mcg for lactating women. Requirements for children are dependent on age. The safe upper limit of folic acid for adults is 1000 mcg from fortified foods and supplements. Taking more than that could conceal the signs of a vitamin B12 deficiency in older people.
Vitamin B12
The RDA for vitamin B12 (cobalamine) is 2.4 mcg for people over age 14. The RDA for children is dependent on age. No tolerable upper intake level for vitamin B12 is established.
I realise that is just a simple list. But the vitamers taken might be from marginal to hugely significant. For example, the form of B6 seems to be important.
I was going to post this same question, as I was getting more symptoms returning. Even though I do every other day , I stopped my B complex a week ago and had four nights good sleep and some of the neuropathy has eased a bit. Though today my feet and legs have been stinging on and off all day.
I read that even B6 as low as 50 mg daily can build up and cause peripheral neuropathy. That’s the amount in my B complex tablets.
My indigestion has also eased since stopping the daily 5 mg of folic acid .
I was trying to follow the co-factors guidelines. As my cardiologist wrote that I need B12 , B 6 and folate. But didn’t state quantities, and my GP hasn’t any idea either.
It's so frustrating, you follow instructions given and sometimes they backfire. Keeping a diary helps, also I found that it you suspect it's a lack of a vitamin causingProblems then I would take half of a tablet and see how that goes first.
Although its possible for B6 to cause neurological symptoms, it generally takes years of dosage at the 50mg level to cause issues. According to a European Food Safety Authority paper "Pyridoxine neuropathy develops very slowly in humans even at high doses; intake for 12 months or longer is necessary to produce neurotoxicity at doses of 2 g per day or less ".
Ref: efsa.europa.eu/sites/defaul... (page 41)
Fortunately in the EU, I believe in many countries you cannot sell supplements with dosages of higher than 25mg B6. But US and UK retailers still sell 50mg dosages. Personally I would advise dosing B6 only at the RDA or at most twice RDA. Most B-Complexes are not dosed properly (IMO) for complete long-term safety having way too much B6 than is needed, unless for short periods to correct a deficiency.
5mg Folic Acid daily is a huge dose, 5 times the tolerable upper limit. Unless you have a folate deficiency, absorption problem or other metabolic issue, there is no reason to take this much. Many here take 400mcg daily which is a sensible safe dosage. I have no absorption issues and a high folate diet, so I only take 200mcg folate in my multi which is quite adequate.
my neuro told me my b12 injections were causing the b6 to be too high? is that even possible?
No way! But if you've been taking a multi vitamin or especially a mega B complex (thinking, as I did, that would keep all the B's supplemented) you would have been overdosing B6 because it's not peed out. All the others are OK. But no, B12 injections or tablets have no effect on your B6
My functional practitioner told me there are different forms of B6. There is a metabolically active form P-5-P pyridoxal-5-phosphate which he says will not build up in the system and cause the numbing or tingling.
He has put me onto a daily multivit containing this form ..and told me not to worry about the B6 health warning. He says that in the UK they are required to put the warning on all B6 products. Should I be worried?
I was told the same and am taking P5P. Neuro was concerned anyway so has tested and I seem to be on the low side at 8% of range. Would love to know what level we should be at for optimal health. Best wishes
I take 150% RDA of B6 in P-5-P form. This is about 2.1mg. The EU's tolerable upper limit is 25mg daily so this is well within the margin of safety. 50mg is the lowest dose for which adverse effects have been observed.
Thank you. The old multi which I was using was 31mg, and was actually mostly pyridoxine, with a tiny bit of P5P. Latterly I'd only been taking half a capsule, as it was expensive and hard to find. They reformulated it about 18 months ago, I couldn't use the new version and had to source separate vitamins, so changed to Metabolics P5P liquid. I had been using drops to about 4 mg, and after the blood test have increased to approx 8.5mg. Someone on the Sjogren's forum has said her high B6 test was a level which calculated as 140% of range, so I am happy to try to increase my 8%. Best wishes.
under 10mg should be quite safe, especially since you are checking it against lab results being a bit low.
What level was your B6 at, if you don't mind me asking? I supplement P5P but recent test seems a bit low if anything. I know it doesn't want to be high, but we do need some. Thanks
Sorry, I didn't ask but I've just had a follow-up blood test and, when I get the results of that, I will ask for a printout of the two. I just hope it's down from last time so I can start having avocados, bananas, salmon and lots of other healthy foods that contain higher B6. I will NEVER take another vitamin supplement again. My diet is usually healthy enough.
Thanks. It will be interesting to see how your level has dropped. I understand what you mean about diet and supplementation, but I found that I was breaking down and absorbing my food so badly that supplements (mostly applied to the skin rather than swallowed) was the only way to start to turn things around. The diet wasn't unhealthy but I wasn't able to utilise it. Best wishes
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