Vitamin b6 levels very high?!!

[Abzieg]

Hi, I have just had my results from vit b6 and they are 416 nmol on reference 35 - 100 what does this mean? I take no supplements and have a normal diet. My b12 is 411 nmol should I supplement just b12 to lower my b6? I'm suffering hairloss but don't know if this is the cause ... Please help

[Clutter]

Abzieg, there are some links at the post dated 20/8/2008 which discuss B6 toxicity.

medhelp.org/posts/Neurology...

You'll find more information if you Google "High B6".

I would supplement methylcobalamin as B12 is <500 but I'm not aware it will reduce B6 level. Don't take a B Complex or any multi-vit which contains B6 while level is elevated.

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I am not a medical professional and this information is not intended to be a substitute for medical guidance from your own doctor. Please check with your personal physician before applying any of these suggestions.

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK]

High B6 despite not taking any supplements is not that unusual. This probably won't help you but at least describes what some others have found:

medhelp.org/posts/Neurology...

(Be careful about the units - 1 nmol/mL is close to 4 ng/L.)

[Abzieg in reply to helvella]

Thankyou for your responses. I was about to start a b vitamin supplement do you think this is not wise? I wanted

To try raising my b12 a bit as its 411. Should I bother? Is this low enough to supplement, and would I be on just taking a b12? Banks!!

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to Abzieg]

In my view, you'd be bonkers to take anything that is a B6 supplement of any sort.

If you want to raise B12, take B12. Consider that in conjunction with folate (all sorts of discussions about which sort and what level of that as well!) There is no multi-vitamin product I have ever heard of which can address low B12 other than what can occur in a simple case of a low B12 diet. If you are have absorption issues, you need the best part of 1000 micrograms to potentially achieve sufficient absorption by diffusion.

I know we see "take a B complex with B12" - but not when your B6 level is already so high. The number of people on that link suffering neuropathic synptoms was considerable - you don't want to be another one.

҉ helvella ɐllǝʌlǝɥ ҉ helvella ɐllǝʌlǝɥ ҉ helvella ɐllǝʌlǝɥ ҉ helvella ɐllǝʌlǝɥ ҉

Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional and this information is not intended to be a substitute for medical guidance from your own doctor. Please check with your personal physician before applying any of these suggestions.

[Abzieg in reply to helvella]

Thankyou i

Think il take a b12 - it's just I heard if you take one b vitamin it lowers all the others. Obviously you can't find a b complex without b6 which is very annoying! Do

You think b12 is even low enough

To vouch supplementing? I've heard mixed reviews

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to Abzieg]

I'd ask over on Pernicious Anaemia Society.

[Abzieg in reply to helvella]

Thanks I will do. Where is that, is it a separate site?

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to Abzieg]

No - just another group/forum within HealthUnlocked. Go to My Communities and choose Browse Communities.

[Abzieg in reply to helvella]

Got it thanks!

[humanbean]

If you want to take a B Complex without any vitamin B6 I googled "B complex without B6" and the first link that came up was this one :

desertharvest.com/shop-new/...

I'm not endorsing it or recommending it - I have never heard of the company, and haven't looked at any of the other ingredients. I didn't search for any others.

Just from the google search I found out it is popular with people who have interstitial cystitis, so perhaps you could look for forums for that problem and ask for sources of other products without B6.

[Abzieg in reply to humanbean]

Thankyou!

[thyr01d]

If we take B vitamins in the wrong proportions, it depletes some. The expensive B vitamins are often 'short-changed' in multi-vitamins and B complex. If you were taking either this could cause the rise in B6.

[Abzieg in reply to thyr01d]

That's the thing I havnt been taking any supplements

[thyr01d in reply to Abzieg]

How odd! Is it added to anything you eat regularly? Could it be folic acid, that is added to a lot of grains (bread, corn flakes etc) causing an imbalance? Just suggestions.

[Abzieg in reply to thyr01d]

Excuse my ignorance but what has folic acid got to do with b6 is it the same as folate? I've had my MCH hemoglobin back and it's 32.7 on and the cut of reference is 32. Could this be linked?

[thyr01d in reply to Abzieg]

Sorry missed your question about MCH, this is from

brighthub.com/science/medic...

MCH levels in blood tests are considered high if they are 35 or higher. A normal hemoglobin level is considered to be in the range between 26 and 33 picograms per red blood cell.

High MCH levels can indicate macrocytic anemia, which can be caused by insufficient vitamin B12. Insufficient folic acid can be another cause of macrocytic anemia.

Bearing in mind the B12 deficiency being hidden by high folic acid levels, do you think this could be significant? I really don't know, you need someone medically qualified and knowledgeable in this area I think.

[Abzieg in reply to thyr01d]

Thanks for your reply my MCH is 32.6 on reference 27-32

My folic acid is 9.2 and b12 411 so I really don't know the significance

[thyr01d in reply to Abzieg]

Neither do I, I'm afraid, but it might be worth you reading through those articles to see if any of it applies to you.

Presuming you know that 32.6 is 0.6 over but I have no idea if 0.6 is of any significance and I don't know what the 'normal limits' range is for foli acid or B12 so can't give any advice, but you may find the answer in one of those links.

[Abzieg in reply to thyr01d]

I will have a read thankyou!

[thyr01d]

Hello again Abzieg,

Bit of a long answer but it's worth reading and exploring the two links at the end because they explain it more clearly.

According to chriskresser.com/folate-vs-... Folate is a general term for a group of water soluble b-vitamins, and is also known as B9. Folic acid refers to the oxidized synthetic compound used in dietary supplements and food fortification, whereas folate refers to the various tetrahydrofolate derivatives naturally found in food. There's much more on there but I don't know if Chris Kresser is medically trained or an alternative practitioner.

The following came off nhs.uk/conditions/Anaemia-v... -

Vitamin B12 or B9 (commonly called folate) deficiency anaemia occurs when a lack of vitamin B12 or folate causes the body to produce abnormally large red blood cells that cannot function properly.

NHS ought to be a good site but I have recently read something that explained that EXCESS FOLATE CAUSES B12 DEICIENCY TO BE UNDETECTABLE IN BLOOD TESTS because of those enlarged red blood cells. So this isn't very clear. If you want to know more, try these:

pernicious-anaemia-society....

b12deficiency.info/sign...

Can't remember if I wrote this before but the significance is that so much of our food has folic acid added to it. I just looked on my daughter's packet of cheapo corn flakes and there is 30% of the daily requirement in just one serving but 0% of some of the other Bs.. If you look up Folic acid (or folate) deficiency you'll see which food are right in it which might be a clue for you, possibly.

No idea if this is relevant or of any help - hope so though.