Check your supplements

[sunshinelady]

Hey ladies,

I just got the results of some bloodwork and it came back that my B6 level was off the charts! I was like hmmm, the doctor said that it usually comes from supplementation. I've been taking a multi-vitamin and Andrew Lessman's HSN vitamins. I wouldn't have thought that those things would have led to an excess. An excess can cause numbness and tingling in your extremities.

 

[LaReyna756]

Thanks for posting. Did your doc review your vitamin regimen or advise you to cut out any parts of it?

 

[sunshinelady]

Thanks for posting. Did your doc review your vitamin regimen or advise you to cut out any parts of it?

Yep, basically he told me to check them and stop taking anything that was greater than 5 mg of B6.

I'm also going to start paying more attention to when the directions say take 1-2 tablets a day. I'll take one in the morning and one in the evening.

 

[sareca]

Wow! I didn't think enough of our supplements were absorbed to do that.
Thanks for sharing!

 

[gorgeoushair]

Yep, basically he told me to check them and stop taking anything that was greater than 5 mg of B6.

I'm also going to start paying more attention to when the directions say take 1-2 tablets a day. I'll take one in the morning and one in the evening.

Are you going to take the multi in the morning and the andrew at night?

 

[sunshinelady]

Are you going to take the multi in the morning and the andrew at night?

Not sure, just yet. I'm going to stop all of them for now.

 

[Suerte]

What does B6 do to you if you have too much of it?

 

[PaulaDiddy]

Is there anything special about Andrew Vitamins?

 

[Brownie518]

Thank you for that info. I'm off to check right now...

 

[remnant]

Thanks for this useful info

 

[Serenity_Peace]

Oh snap! I take Andrew Lessman HSN and a multivitamin, too! I also take Biotin and B-Complex 100. I'd better check my stash or cut down. Did the doc tell you about the dangers of B-6?

 

[the_UnPrettiest_pretty]

Oh wowsers!! Does this mean I need to stop taking my Ultra Women vits from GNC? I just checked the label and it says that it contains 50 mg of B6 per serving!!

 

[Shaniquah]

This is what I found on the internet:

"Carpal tunnel syndrome sufferers who take vitamin B6 in hopes of improving their condition are wasting their money and may be jeopardizing their health.
The largest and most comprehensive study to date of the relationship between vitamin B6 and carpal tunnel syndrome found no correlation between a patient's vitamin B6 status and the hand/wrist ailment.
The lead author of the study, Alfred Franzblau of the School of Public Health, also cautions that excessive doses of vitamin B6 are neurotoxic and can cause sensory nerve damage. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 38,300 cases of carpal tunnel syndrome involving lost work days in 1994---up from 33,000 cases in 1992.
The study is reported in the May issue of the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
"Unfortunately, a number of small studies and some anecdotal evidence have convinced many physicians to routinely prescribe supplementation with vitamin B6 as part of the clinical management of carpal tunnel syndrome," says Franzblau.
However, those studies were flawed, he notes, adding that they included "small samples of non-randomly selected subjects" and frequently relied on subjective measures of outcome.
The U-M study is the first to measure blood levels of vitamin B6 with two different laboratory tests, assess ulnar and median nerve function in the wrists and hands, and obtain carpal tunnel syndrome symptoms among a large sample---125 employees in two auto parts plants. Carpal tunnel syndrome symptoms include numbness, tingling, burning or pain in the wrists, hands or fingers.
The researchers found that 40 employees (32 percent) reported symptoms consistent with carpal tunnel syndrome, 31 employees (24.8 percent) had median nerve dysfunction as determined by nerve function tests, and 10 employees (8 percent) had a vitamin B6 deficiency. However, there was no relationship between the vitamin deficiency, symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome or impaired nerve function.
"Our primary concern is that patients may be overdosing on vitamin B6 as prescribed by their physicians, some of whom are prescribing 300 milligrams a day or more," Franzblau says. "While most reported cases of sensory neuropathy related to vitamin B6 supplements involve dosages of more than 1,000 milligrams a day, some cases involve dosages as low as 200 milligrams a day. The United States Recommended Dietary Allowance for vitamin B6 for adults, incidentally, is just 1.6-2.0 milligrams a day."

 

[the_UnPrettiest_pretty]

This is what I found on the internet:

"Carpal tunnel syndrome sufferers who take vitamin B6 in hopes of improving their condition are wasting their money and may be jeopardizing their health.
The largest and most comprehensive study to date of the relationship between vitamin B6 and carpal tunnel syndrome found no correlation between a patient's vitamin B6 status and the hand/wrist ailment.
The lead author of the study, Alfred Franzblau of the School of Public Health, also cautions that excessive doses of vitamin B6 are neurotoxic and can cause sensory nerve damage. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 38,300 cases of carpal tunnel syndrome involving lost work days in 1994---up from 33,000 cases in 1992.
The study is reported in the May issue of the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
"Unfortunately, a number of small studies and some anecdotal evidence have convinced many physicians to routinely prescribe supplementation with vitamin B6 as part of the clinical management of carpal tunnel syndrome," says Franzblau.
However, those studies were flawed, he notes, adding that they included "small samples of non-randomly selected subjects" and frequently relied on subjective measures of outcome.
The U-M study is the first to measure blood levels of vitamin B6 with two different laboratory tests, assess ulnar and median nerve function in the wrists and hands, and obtain carpal tunnel syndrome symptoms among a large sample---125 employees in two auto parts plants. Carpal tunnel syndrome symptoms include numbness, tingling, burning or pain in the wrists, hands or fingers.
The researchers found that 40 employees (32 percent) reported symptoms consistent with carpal tunnel syndrome, 31 employees (24.8 percent) had median nerve dysfunction as determined by nerve function tests, and 10 employees (8 percent) had a vitamin B6 deficiency. However, there was no relationship between the vitamin deficiency, symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome or impaired nerve function.
"Our primary concern is that patients may be overdosing on vitamin B6 as prescribed by their physicians, some of whom are prescribing 300 milligrams a day or more," Franzblau says. "While most reported cases of sensory neuropathy related to vitamin B6 supplements involve dosages of more than 1,000 milligrams a day, some cases involve dosages as low as 200 milligrams a day. The United States Recommended Dietary Allowance for vitamin B6 for adults, incidentally, is just 1.6-2.0 milligrams a day."

Thanks for that post. I guess I will not be taking anymore of my GNC at all, at least until I can talk to my physician about it.

 

[sunshinelady]

I think because B-6 is water soluble people think you can't overdose on it. Well, here I am as an example. So, you don't really pee it all out. I haven't had any of the neuropathy or parathesia, thank god, but occasionally my scalp feels numb. I'm just going to cut down on my supplements for now and be more careful in the future.

 

[gorgeoushair]

How much water were you drinking? Do you think you were drinking enough?

 

[Serenity_Peace]

Good point. You need to drink TONS of water ANY TIME you are taking B Vitamins in particularly. You also don't want to over work your kidneys, so you do need that extra water. I drink about 80 oz. a day. I drink more because I workout and sweat. On the days I do not work out, I drink about 70 oz. a day. You should drink 1/2 your bodyweight at least. Yeah, I know...I'm trying to get my weight down.

 

[sunshinelady]

Yep, I drink lots of water. Not half my body weight, but I drink quite a bit.