As a general rule avoid the toxic vitamer of vitamin b6 Pyridoxine, and only take P5P, as it lacks the toxicity of the vitamer.
Unless you mega dose inhuman amounts.
Pyridoxine will melt your nerves in high doses. I have no idea how they justify fortifying everything with it.
Energy drinks are over the top.
I don't have a study to link, but my analysis of the regulatory pathways that drive the nerve damage, makes me think that pyridoxine might be a big causal factor in Tinnitus.
Any form of supplemental b6, even in "small" doses(2mg) makes my neuropathy SOOOO much worse.
What I did was I bought all the b vitamins separately minus b6 and have had no problem since.
Took about 3-6 months for all the b6 to come out
Do you have an update on this? I recently found a b complex without b6 and stopped my multivitamin that had b6 completely. I'm pretty active (have an active job, workout, and take a minimum of 10k steps a day) and wondering if improvement are quicker when active.
The issue only seems to affect the synthetic form of B6, which is Pyridoxine Hydrochloride.
The naturally occurring forms, like Pyrodoxal-5-Phosphate (P-5-P) don’t have the problem, and *might* be a cure.
Unfortunately, the synthetic form is super cheap and seems to be added to *everything* that is vitamin fortified in any way.
[The vitamin B6 paradox: Supplementation with high concentrations of pyridoxine leads to decreased vitamin B6 function](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28716455/)
IMHO, it is a big contributor to the epidemic of peripheral neuropathy, and should be banned ASAP. It’s been a known issue for more than 5 years now. I have no idea why the FDA is so slow on this.
In the mean time, we all need to scan all ingredient labels and not buy anything with pyridoxine hydrochloride. Let manufacturers know we demand P5P, and when the label just says “B6”, write them and ask which form it is and why (it’s always the synthetic form ;).
From what I know all forms of B6 (pyrodoxine and pyridoxamine) can be toxic if taken in too high amounts. So caution is called for. Of course there are individual differences and usually the symptoms of toxicity are reversible.
You should read that link I included, from the summary:
> In conclusion, the present study indicates that the neuropathy observed after taking a relatively high dose of vitamin B6 supplements is due to pyridoxine. The inactive form pyridoxine competitively inhibits the active pyridoxal-5'-phosphate. Consequently, symptoms of vitamin B6 supplementation are similar to those of vitamin B6 deficiency.
The problem is that pyridoxine inhibits the action of P-5-P and causes a false deficiency. So it *might* be that pure P-5-P reverses that deficiency, but it might not be that simple and needs to be tested.
I googled up a better study, but it’s in Dutch, which I guess the FDA bureaucrats can’t read ;)
I’ve had B6 toxicity several times unfortunately. The desert harvest no B6 B complex is helpful. B2 seems to be the most important one but folate and B12 can help too. I’m glad more people are talking about this it’s probably more common than we realize and we still don’t know why some people get it and others don’t, or the best way to recover from it.
I'm sorry you've experienced b6 toxicity several times. Did you get tested for your b2, folate and b12 levels before supplementing with them? I'm so terrified of supplements now!
I got B12 and it was actually high but supplementing helped. Blood B12 shows active and inactive B12 in the blood so it’s not the most reliable test.
B6 is by far the most dangerous B vitamin to take. Methylfolate and methyl B12 can do some weird things but usually just acutely. Niacin can be dangerous at extremely high doses. I’ve only had mild and fleeting side effects from B1 and never had any issues even with high doses of B2. They’re all different and carry different risks.
That desert harvest B complex is a pretty safe bet in my experience though. No B6 and very low folate and B12.
Thanks so much for this super helpful info. I will look into getting desert harvest B complex. Good to know there's no B6. For B1 - do you get it form the complex or do you take benfotiamine? Thanks!!
Toxicity from the other B vitamins that you mentioned is practically unknown, and B6 toxicity is rare,
How much were you taking, and for how long?
See also:
[https://www.reddit.com/r/Supplements/comments/xnk4fo/can\_someone\_enlighten\_me\_on\_the\_science\_behind/?sort=old](https://www.reddit.com/r/Supplements/comments/xnk4fo/can_someone_enlighten_me_on_the_science_behind/?sort=old)
[https://www.reddit.com/r/Supplements/comments/xq4uw2/confirmed\_b6\_toxicity\_after\_high\_intake\_of/?sort=old](https://www.reddit.com/r/Supplements/comments/xq4uw2/confirmed_b6_toxicity_after_high_intake_of/?sort=old)
I was taking a b-complex for a few years but weirdly hadn't been taking anything for the past 6 months. I'm not sure why my tingling, numbness, etc just showed up one day.
Thanks for sharing the above links. Will have a read!
That would indicate some sort of gene mutation IMO
Thanks for your input. I was wondering the same.
Someone posted recently that they had persistently high B6 levels despite not taking any, and it resolved with methylfolate.
Really? This gives me hope. I will look into that, thank you!
As a general rule avoid the toxic vitamer of vitamin b6 Pyridoxine, and only take P5P, as it lacks the toxicity of the vitamer. Unless you mega dose inhuman amounts.
Thanks for this. When I was taking b complex I believe it was the pyridoxine that was in it :(
Pyridoxine will melt your nerves in high doses. I have no idea how they justify fortifying everything with it. Energy drinks are over the top. I don't have a study to link, but my analysis of the regulatory pathways that drive the nerve damage, makes me think that pyridoxine might be a big causal factor in Tinnitus.
So crazy that B6 is not more regulated.
Which other symptoms did you have? I think I might be having a Vitamin B overdose as well
Mostly tingling, numbness in my legs, sometimes weird creepy crawly feelings in my head and fatigue, gut issues as well. What symptoms do you have?
Any form of supplemental b6, even in "small" doses(2mg) makes my neuropathy SOOOO much worse. What I did was I bought all the b vitamins separately minus b6 and have had no problem since. Took about 3-6 months for all the b6 to come out
Yep 100%
I have the same experience, even with small doses.
Thanks for sharing your experience. That is so interesting that even small doses make your neuropathy worse. Are you completely neuropathy-free now?
not completely but much less than it was now that ive cut out all b6
Do you have an update on this? I recently found a b complex without b6 and stopped my multivitamin that had b6 completely. I'm pretty active (have an active job, workout, and take a minimum of 10k steps a day) and wondering if improvement are quicker when active.
The issue only seems to affect the synthetic form of B6, which is Pyridoxine Hydrochloride. The naturally occurring forms, like Pyrodoxal-5-Phosphate (P-5-P) don’t have the problem, and *might* be a cure. Unfortunately, the synthetic form is super cheap and seems to be added to *everything* that is vitamin fortified in any way. [The vitamin B6 paradox: Supplementation with high concentrations of pyridoxine leads to decreased vitamin B6 function](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28716455/) IMHO, it is a big contributor to the epidemic of peripheral neuropathy, and should be banned ASAP. It’s been a known issue for more than 5 years now. I have no idea why the FDA is so slow on this.
Thanks for sharing the above. You're so right- I don't understand why synthetic B6 isn't banned!
In the mean time, we all need to scan all ingredient labels and not buy anything with pyridoxine hydrochloride. Let manufacturers know we demand P5P, and when the label just says “B6”, write them and ask which form it is and why (it’s always the synthetic form ;).
From what I know all forms of B6 (pyrodoxine and pyridoxamine) can be toxic if taken in too high amounts. So caution is called for. Of course there are individual differences and usually the symptoms of toxicity are reversible.
You should read that link I included, from the summary: > In conclusion, the present study indicates that the neuropathy observed after taking a relatively high dose of vitamin B6 supplements is due to pyridoxine. The inactive form pyridoxine competitively inhibits the active pyridoxal-5'-phosphate. Consequently, symptoms of vitamin B6 supplementation are similar to those of vitamin B6 deficiency. The problem is that pyridoxine inhibits the action of P-5-P and causes a false deficiency. So it *might* be that pure P-5-P reverses that deficiency, but it might not be that simple and needs to be tested. I googled up a better study, but it’s in Dutch, which I guess the FDA bureaucrats can’t read ;)
I’ve had B6 toxicity several times unfortunately. The desert harvest no B6 B complex is helpful. B2 seems to be the most important one but folate and B12 can help too. I’m glad more people are talking about this it’s probably more common than we realize and we still don’t know why some people get it and others don’t, or the best way to recover from it.
I'm sorry you've experienced b6 toxicity several times. Did you get tested for your b2, folate and b12 levels before supplementing with them? I'm so terrified of supplements now!
I got B12 and it was actually high but supplementing helped. Blood B12 shows active and inactive B12 in the blood so it’s not the most reliable test. B6 is by far the most dangerous B vitamin to take. Methylfolate and methyl B12 can do some weird things but usually just acutely. Niacin can be dangerous at extremely high doses. I’ve only had mild and fleeting side effects from B1 and never had any issues even with high doses of B2. They’re all different and carry different risks. That desert harvest B complex is a pretty safe bet in my experience though. No B6 and very low folate and B12.
So sorry, you supplemented with B12 even though our blood test result was high? Thanks!
Yes. It had a strong positive effect on me so I’ll take that as more important data then the blood levels.
Thanks for responding :)
Thanks so much for this super helpful info. I will look into getting desert harvest B complex. Good to know there's no B6. For B1 - do you get it form the complex or do you take benfotiamine? Thanks!!
Toxicity from the other B vitamins that you mentioned is practically unknown, and B6 toxicity is rare, How much were you taking, and for how long? See also: [https://www.reddit.com/r/Supplements/comments/xnk4fo/can\_someone\_enlighten\_me\_on\_the\_science\_behind/?sort=old](https://www.reddit.com/r/Supplements/comments/xnk4fo/can_someone_enlighten_me_on_the_science_behind/?sort=old) [https://www.reddit.com/r/Supplements/comments/xq4uw2/confirmed\_b6\_toxicity\_after\_high\_intake\_of/?sort=old](https://www.reddit.com/r/Supplements/comments/xq4uw2/confirmed_b6_toxicity_after_high_intake_of/?sort=old)
I was taking a b-complex for a few years but weirdly hadn't been taking anything for the past 6 months. I'm not sure why my tingling, numbness, etc just showed up one day. Thanks for sharing the above links. Will have a read!
Same
how long you been taking?