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Vitamin B6: pyridoxine hydrochloride vs. pyridoxal 5’-phosphate?
I had posted this earlier in the midst of a longish thread. As I've not had any responses, I thought I might post it as a topic all its own:
Good morning. Maybe someone following these posts about B6 can help me sort something out. I understand vitamin B6 is available as pyridoxine hydrochloride in multivitamins, vitamin B-complex, and vitamin B6 supplements. My neurologist tells me that pyridoxine hydrochloride in the form of vitamin B6, if taken in excess, can lead to toxicity with its various PN-like symptoms. He assures me, however, that the form of vitamin B6 that I’m taking in EB-N5, which is pyridoxal 5’-phosphate, is essentially different; pyridoxal 5’-phosphate comes with its own dosage guardrails, but not the same toxicity concerns that accompany pyridoxine hydrochloride. Have you met this “two forms of supplemental B6” issue in anything you’ve read or been told? I have found brief mention of it in only a few places. I’d love to get some clarity. –Ray (@ray666)
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@ray666
Good afternoon Ray,
I have a question about the two forms of vitamin b6.
Can you direct me as to how I can send you a a message.
Hi, @nana57
You can ask your question right here, but I need to say that I'm no authority on the B6s. I'm like everyone else here, just a gatherer of information.
Ray (@ray666)
@ray666 Dear Ray, I am not normally on this site, but I feel I must jump in here. Last year I developed symptoms of numbness, loss of balance, mental instability and other symptoms. I went to several doctors and could not find a cause for my symptoms. Finally I saw a Physician (I don't know what it is called in the States - I am writing from Melbourne, Australia, but mean a doctor who speciaizes in diagnoses.) He took an extensive blood test, and it showed that I had 600 TIMES the normal amount of Vitamib B6 in my body. At the time I was only taking one multivitamin capsule a day, but B6 occurs naturally in many foods, and taking the supplement tipped me over into an overdose of Vitamin B6. As soon as I stopped taking vitamins, my symptoms disappeared. So to anyone taking supplements or thinking of taking supplements, please talk to your doctor first. It could be the very supplement(s) you are taking which are causing your symptoms! Don't believe everything you read on the internet about megadoses of supplements. If they eally woked, don't you think every doctor would be recommending them? Stay well, and stay safe. @ellu
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1 Reaction@ellu You’re right about getting too much B6. The neurologist at my cancer center and said I should NOT take any B6 and only 6 months of B12 if I felt I wanted to raise that level a bit. I was within the normal range but slightly below midpoint.
A brain MRI had shown I had mild White Matter Hypersensitivities - that’s an indication that the myelin sheath protecting nerve pathways was thinning out. The WMH was typical age related, but she said too much B6 could make it worse.
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