elevated vitamin b-6
 

after having numerous blood work nct and emg tests, the only thing my neuro found was a " slightly elevated B-6 level... he said if its been extenedly elevated it could cause some of my burning tingling and numb sensations... i have never heard of this before.... i have
not taken any supplements that i'm aware of containing it vit. b-6...has anyone heard of this before and any ideas how i can lower it..... thanks. jon mark

Excess intake of Vitamin B6, from whatever source, can lead to sensory neuropathy.

You might find the information about it here helpful; Vitamin B6 | Linus Pauling Institute | Oregon State University.

Several months after my SFN started, my B6 also tested slightly high without my having ever taken supplements, but it's almost impossible that it caused my symptoms. Mine is most likely immune mediated. I take more than the recommended daily intake now in a B complex vitamin and do so confidently. I don't think B6 causing neuropathy is especially common, and testing for B6 is not particularly accurate (as MrsD will tell you). But just to keep my B6 low/not overdo it, on some days, perhaps every other day, I take just B12 and folate (and Befothiamine) separately and not the B-complex.

thanks but any ideas on how to lower b-6 thx

My B6 was really high because of a B complex I was taking. My neuro had me get off the supplement for 3 months then back on; there was no effect on my symptoms either way. I would just say that if you're taking other supplements, look at them to see if they contain B6. Mine did, so I cut back on those vitamins and minerals. Also I was drinking Vitaminwater every day without realizing that it had B6. Not much, but I played it safe by also cutting back on that; and continued taking the B complex which helps my hair loss.

My B6 was also elevated. I think it contributed to the severity of my SFN.
I did not take it everyday and hadn't even taken it for a while before being tested. I will never know how high it really got, but I stay far away from any supplement with B6.

David,
Keep in mind that it takes much longer than 3 months for nerves to heal.
From what I understand, some people have trouble absorbing this properly.

My B6 was also quite high when initially tested, about 3x the normal range. I was only taking a generic multi-vitamin at the time. My neurologist also claimed it could have been a contributing factor to my sfn.

So I immediately stopped the vitamin, made an effort to avoid foods high in B6 and drank lots of water. When retested 3 months later, I was back within range, at the high end of normal. But unfortunately, the lower B6 level did not provide any symptom relief.

It appears many people diagnosed with neuropathy present with high B6 levels of unknown origin. I think it's a mystery for many patients.

This question comes up all the time. I think for most people it is a red herring.

If blood tests are done in labs that don't do this test often, then the calibration of the machines may be off. Also there are many machines and they they differ when reporting and use different ranges.

Blood cells can lyse ( burst) when handled and this would release the contents of the cells into the serum specimen. This is well known with potassium readings and many of those are factitiously high (artificially high) also.

The B6 in supplements and food are not all pyridoxal in form, and pyridoxine(non active form) may not be converted well in some people (failure in pyridoxal kinase enzyme), and may build up in the body and show up higher in testing.

The actual numbers of patients damaged by high B6 took over 100mg a day for a LONG time to develop the toxic B6 syndrome. Many used 500mg a day for years, to treat PMS, carpal tunnel and other things by doctors.

I have yet to see any study showing elevated serum levels which gives the actual amounts of B6 those patients developed symptoms from.

I've not been retested for B6, so I can't help with that. I imagine not taking supplements with it and avoiding natural sources would help. But perhaps there's some other reasons why so many of us test high for B6 without having ever taken supplements. And it can just as easily be for any number of reasons as mentioned by MrsD.

I'm not sure if the comment was aimed at me (likely for the posted after me), but just for the record I'm well aware that it takes much longer than 3 months for nerves to hear, if at all. If only it took 3 months! :)

Though in all seriousness I've heard that if nerve damage is due to such things (e.g., vitamin toxicity or deficiency), once the cause of the problem is removed, one often sees much more immediate improvement, certainly much more so than say in a situation like mine where it's likely immune mediated.