Does anyone know about high levels of B6 causing small fiber P. neurop

Hi- I don’t have the exact same experience, but I have small fiber neuropathy and was accidentally supplementing with B6 when my symptoms got drastically worse. I was getting labs for fatigue and we found my B6 was really high. When it went down, my symptoms went back to baseline—still have neuropathy though.

It turned out that I was using Liquid IV (the electrolyte supplement) regularly, for POTS and they include high levels of B6 and B12 (but B12 you can’t really overdose on).

Sometimes supplements can be sneaky, especially some people take B vitamin supplements thinking it’ll help their neuropathy not realizing too much can be bad. Can you find anywhere you might be getting extra that you didn’t realize?

I’m guessing high B6 could be a sign of other things, but one thing I thought of is if you’ve heard of the MTHFR gene—it helps process B vitamins. Some people have a genetic variant that makes it difficult to break down B vitamins (sometimes all, sometimes just one or another). It’s my understanding it can cause a high B vitamin level but you can still be deficient because your body can’t break it down into the form it can use.

It just so happens I got tested for this recently, except we can’t be sure it is or isn’t causing a problem based on the result we got (research is still ongoing), so she’s having me supplement methylated folate (B9)—methylated is the broken down version of the B vitamin so we can see if it helps. I’m still learning so I’m not sure why she told me folate, specifically.

There’s been more awareness of this in recent years, so I’m sure you could do a search on it.

And maybe other members may have different experiences they can share.

Hello @ehope, There is quite a bit of information on B6 and neuropathy. You might find the following discussion shelpful.
-- B-6 vitamin danger!: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/b-6-vitamin-danger/
-- severe peripheral neuropathy and vitamin B6: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/severe-peripheral-neuropathy-and-vitamin-b6/

Do you take any supplements with B6 in them or use energy drinks?

Not sure if this is where I reply to all. Thank you! I have the MTHFR mutation, most of us do. I was supplementing with a professional nutritionist and obviously taking way too much. My B12 was great, however all of the other B vitamins and folate were off, B6 being the worst. I have not been diagnosed with neuropathy as of yet, however, it seems clear to me. I stopped the supplements and will be mindful of the food ( salmon, avocados, ... all of the things I eat have high levels. I will read the discussion posted. I experience night sweats and have lots of hair loss. It has been very challenging, with lack of sleep!

Hopefully you’re able to resolve it just by stopping the B6 supplement 🤞! I recall mine came down pretty quickly. It wasn’t back to normal but after about 6 weeks it had gone down by 50% and by then I was feeling better.

Due to the pain in my feet, I was told to take B vitamins. After time, I was getting different pain and muscle twitching. I decided to get my vitamin panel done. My B's were really high and that was after not taking them for a month. I am not sure why they recommend taking different supplements before actually seeing where you stand first. I also found out I was low in Zinc, calcium and mag. That may have contributed to the muscle twitching. I have been on supplements to help correct what I was low in for about a month. I do feel better. Not 100% but better.
It's like trying to find the missing puzzle piece. I am hopeful and always looking for advice or a good direction others may have found. I appreciate this site and the support.