severe peripheral neuropathy and vitamin B6

There seems to be good information here...
https://www.fxmedicine.com.au/blog-post/vitamin-b6-rise-prevalence-peripheral-neuropathy

Also if you just Google "B6 and Peripheral Neuropathy" a lot of places come up

Hello @pain3relief, I would like to add my welcome to Connect along with @judyinjeans and others. Vitamin B6 is one that I avoid just because it can cause neuropathy if you get too much. It's one I would discuss with my doctor or neurologist and possibly have my B6 levels checked. It's one thing to take it if you are deficient but a totally different thing to take if you already have a high level in your system. There is another discussion you might want to read through.

--- B-6 vitamin danger!: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/b-6-vitamin-danger/

There are also quite a few other discussions on Vitamin B6 where you can read what others have shared. Here's a link to the discussions from a search of Connect - https://connect.mayoclinic.org/search/discussions/?search=Vitamin+b6

Here's some research on the topic that might be helpful:
"What B6 level is too high?
products containing a daily dose of vitamin B6 above 10 mg require a warning about peripheral neuropathy. the maximum permitted daily dose of vitamin B6 in individual products has been reduced from 200 mg to 100 mg for adults, with lower daily dose limits for children, depending on their age."
--- Health supplements containing vitamin B6 can cause peripheral neuropathy: https://www.tga.gov.au/news/safety-alerts/health-supplements-containing-vitamin-b6-can-cause-peripheral-neuropathy

Have you discussed taking B6 with your doctor or neurologist?

Good morning, @pain3relief, and welcome to Connect!

I, too, have peripheral neuropathy, or, after a year and a year of trying to arrive at a more precise diagnosis, I’m now able to say I have large fiber (predominantly sensory, with a dash of motor and autonomic) multifocal polyneuropathy—a mouthful, I know. Fortunately––and boy, do I mean fortunately!––I have no pain, none whatsoever; my symptom is twofold: wobbly balance and unsteadiness walking. Until my neuropathy, I’d not heard of the B6 “controversy.” Like so many of us, I was confused at first. In one place, I read: You must have an adequate amount of B6; in another, I’d read: Be careful because B^ can be toxic (mimicking neuropathy symptoms)! When my neurologist prescribed a “medicinal food” called EB-N5, telling me it would help keep my B6 load up to snuff, I became even more confused––and a bit alarmed (Why would my neurologist want me to take something with added B6 if B6 is toxic?) He was the one who first explained to me (also @johnbishop) that B6 comes in two distinct “flavors: pyridoxal phosphate, which is water soluble and non-toxic (what I’m getting in my EB-N5), and pyridoxine hydrochloride, which the body can over-accumulate and is toxic (the B6 we find in all of our favorite supplements). I used to take a host of supplements. I’ve since stopped taking supplements containing the potentially toxic B6 (pyridoxine hydrochloride) and sticking only to my EB-N5 with its non-toxic pyridoxal phosphate. The best news? I feel pretty good except for unsteady standing and my silly way of walking.

I wish you success as you learn more about your own neuropathy. And again, Welcome to Connect!

Cheers!
Ray (@ray666)

Thanks Ray for the Welcome and your information on B6.

I was diagnosed with severe peripheral neuropathy after years of numbing feet.

My symptoms seemed to worsen after a non explainable seizure. With numbness in my my feet increasing up my legs with terrible pain and what felt like shocks going through my toes.

I was told that nothing could be done but to handle with medication (pregabalin). The pain is getting better with slowly increasing the dosage. I still have poor balance and can’t walk without shoes.

The reason I was looking into B6 because I researched that B6 can increase/worsen symptoms of neuropathy

We had a case here in Australia, where a man was told by his doctor to increase his B6 intake and over time lost the ability to walk. Once the reason was discovered and intake reduced, his slowly started to improve.

I will keep researching and discuss further with my doctor and neurologist(which you only get to see every 3-6 months)

Thanks again, I’m glad I discovered this forum to better understand neuropathy.

Thanks Judyingenes, it a bit of a mine field of information. It keeps sending you off in different tangents.

Thanks John,
Will research more with your links. Having been diagnosed with severe peripheral neuropathy, my concern was that it would increase the effect and speed up the progression of the neuropathy.

I too had slow progressing neuropathy in toes, feet, and then ankles but no pain. After many test the diagnosis is idiopathic neuropathy bc I am very healthy 70 yr old doing step aerobics, running and weight lifting almost daily. The only abnormal test was b6 5 times normal. I didn't know why until I checked and found the melatonin I had taken for 3 yrs had 20mg of b6 and I also had taken EmergC off and on for about 10 yrs. I stopped the b6 but the PN slowly progressed for about a year . I found website understandingb6toxicity.com and have followed the advice there and it has no longer progressed. Other symptoms which I had not linked to b6 left including heart palpations especially at night, blurred vision, and tinnitus. Hope you find answers

There is good information on the website Understandingb6toxicity.com.

Thanks bb0753.

If you’re taking B-6 then you might be doing better by using the P5P form for your PN. Has helped with my feet on fire. Treetop