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High Vitamin B6 level

Anonymous

The last time I had blood work done, which wasn't too long ago, my Vitamin B6 level was high. I stopped taking B Complex and now just take B12, as I am on a vegan diet. I haven't had blood work done since then, but am wondering if that is why I was having those shooting pains in my knees and feet. I still occasionally have pain in my big toes, but the other shooting pains have ceased, and I wonder if there's a correlation. ???

Also, I feel much better now that my iron level is up. That could account for it, too, I suppose; but I'm thinking that maybe my Vitamin B6 level has returned to normal.

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22 replies

Latest reply was from

Glory

Veteran

That is wonderful news!

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Glad things are "normalizing" for you, BC.

Anonymous

Thanks!

Style Fan

Veteran

Good news.

texstyle

(website)

Veteran

It sounds like you are feeling better which is great. You could still be missing vital nutrients and get low again easily though since you are eating vegan/vegetarian. It's tough to get enough trace minerals with a vegan diet unless you eat the right nuts/seeds/lentils etc. on a daily basis and do proper food combining strategies.

Maybe you can keep a food journal for a while to see if you are eating enough of the important vitamins/minerals. You can take it with you to your doctors.

Anonymous

Thanks. Fortunately for me, I love beans and lentils, so those are staples in our diet. I also love veggies, fruits, nuts and soy (milk and tofu). My DD and I plan our meals in advance and make sure we include everything that we're supposed to be eating. The iron-deficiency anemia is something I've suffered from in the past, long before I went vegan, and I do wonder what the deal is with that. My mother and sisters have also had anemia.

texstyle

(website)

Veteran

Somewhere along the line I read that tofu (and soy in general) is really not a great choice for me - I know it interferes with thyroid hormones.

I wonder if you take a yeast based B12 supplement? I didn't think there was any other way to get it in a vegan form. And of course non-heme iron (heme is the type from meat) is much harder to absorb so you have to really overcompensate on the type and quantity of iron rich vegetarian foods you eat, right.

I'm no longer vegetarian but I was for many years. I was also anemic as a child so it's something about my body's ability to produce enough iron - maybe a lack of stomach acid? Betaine HCI? I don't know.

This is what I've read and wonder if you have too?
Phytic acid, naturally found in nuts, seeds and legumes prohibits
our bodies from absorbing iron when eaten. The phytic acid level can be
reduced by soaking, sprouting, or fermenting them.
Cooking alone does not eliminate phytates.

Coffee and tea (tannins) also interfere with iron absorption so if you you have tea/coffee within and hour or so of eating, you won't absorb much at all.

Anonymous

Thanks. Yes, I've read up on all that. I take the iron supplement that my doctor told me to take. I don't know about iron absorption, except that my mother had to have shots because her body couldn't absorb iron. So far, I don't think that's my problem. My iron level went up after starting to take the iron supplement, and my doctors are no longer worried about it. I was advised, however, to continue taking the iron. I personally would rather take it than risk another deficiency. I chose a B12 supplement that doesn't have an overload of B12 in one pill. I don't need to take a pill that contains 3000% of my RDA when a pill that contains 100% will do. The information on soy is conflicting, but the most recent information indicates that it's fine to take as long as you don't overdo it.

Barbara Diane

Veteran

I don't have any medical knowledge but I'm glad to hear that most of the shooting pains have stopped.

Anonymous

I asked my doctor about it, and she said it's not likely that the shooting pains was due to the high Vitamin B6 level, but I don't know what other variable there was except the iron-deficiency anemia. Something else may have come into play, but I don't know what that would have been.

shiny

Veteran

I was dx'ed with B12 deficiency, long-standing, about 3 years ago. It was so bad I now have permanent nerve damage in my feet. Nothing to mess with! My B12 level was low-normal for over a decade -- I guess my doctor just figured since I was short it was fine, but that's not how it works. It then took a dive into nonexistent. Apparently, they are revising the B12 standards so my "low-normal" would now be abnormal.

FWIW, they first put me on B12 shots to get my levels back up quick. Then they put me on OTC cyanocobalamin, 5000 mg. This is the type that you find in most drug stores and super market shelves. But my B12 immediately did a nose-dive back to nothing, despite such a high dose, and symptoms came right back....

Turns out I have some genetic malabsorption issue, so I need methylcobalamin instead. I have this on auto-order from Amazon, as it's difficult to find off the shelf. I take 5000 mg daily. My symptoms are gone, except for the lingering nerve damage in my feet. I will be on 5000 mg the rest of my life. My B12 is too high now to measure, but the doctor says that is fine, and not to take less.

Incidentally, my iron levels throughout all of this have been just fine. I've never been anemic.

Anonymous

My vitamin B12 level has been normal for ages. I have that checked routinely because my mother had a vitamin B12 deficiency (also iron-deficiency anemia). It's the vitamin B6 level that was (is?) high. I was advised to quit taking the vitamin B complex supplement, and I did.

I take Solgar Vitamin B12, 100mcg, sold at Amazon.

texstyle

(website)

Veteran

shiny -
methylcobalamin

is supposed to be far better to take than the other forms of B12. The cyano type is actually a
cheap synthetic form that's actually bound to a cyanide molecule that is counter-productive to good health.

Marmee

Veteran

Texstyle, so interesting. Does this have to do with methylation?

Anonymous

It's difficult to find a vitamin B12 supplement that doesn't give you 10,000% of your RDA. Same goes for other vitamins, actually, which is why Vitamin B12 is the only supplement I take. If I can manage to find a vitamin B12 in

methylcobalamin form that only provides 100% of my RDA, I'll buy it. I just don't want to take mega doses, which is why I chose the one I'm presently taking. That high vitamin B6 level gave me a scare.

texstyle

(website)

Veteran

The reason (from what I understand from reading online) that the amount is so high in most all B vitamin supplements is because we only absorb a small amount when taken as a supplement as opposed to when we eat whole foods that contain the same vitamins. The RDA doesn't mean much to me personally - I think some of the old logic beyond RDA is very flawed.

A liquid version of
Methylcobalamin might give you more control over the amount you want to take (you could use one or two drops instead of a whole dropper which I think is like 30 drops).

The methylcobalamin sublinguals I take are indeed like 16,000% of the RDA but I know I will not absorb it all and I do not take it every day - just like I don't eat the same foods every day I actually base it more on how I feel.

Here is some info. on it:
http://www.dadamo.com/B2blogs/.....amin?blog=

http://www.easy-immune-health......n-b12.html

texstyle

(website)

Veteran

BC - this is an interesting thread to read about other people's experience with low B12 and low iron.

http://www.healthboards.com/bo.....pathy.html

Anonymous

Thanks, texstyle. My iron level was low, while my B12 level was normal and my B6 level was high. Go figure. I also have a high CRP level, which hasn't been adequately explained to me, even though I have asked. I don't know if there's anything I can do to bring the CRP level down.

texstyle

(website)

Veteran

CRP is a marker for inflammation right? So, I guess a lot of immune response things could cause a high number on that. Allergies (food or environmental), viruses, thyroid issues, etc.

I've done some research on Boron for inflammatory type things and it seems to be of interest esp. for those with any type of arthritis.

So many doc's don't recognize low level thyroid or parathyroid disease - they want to go by the simple lab results and that doesn't seem to be adequate in so many cases. I went to an alternative doc a long time ago who looked at me physically (my eyes, skin, nails, etc.) and he diagnosed my thyroid issue and low B12 before any blood test or doctor did. Eyebrows thinning near the outside edges, large and/or puffy eyes, dry fingernails, dry skin, hair loss, anxiety for no reason, etc. After a couple years of thyroid supplementation that all resolved.

Anonymous

Thanks. I did have my thyroid checked, too. I think they've checked me for almost everything, lol. I don't have any of the symptoms you listed, so maybe I really am okay with that. I'll look into boron for CRP. Thanks.

Dottie

This is interesting, particularly at the 2:00 min mark. They talk about B6 toxicity. .https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flYBkORVNo8

Anonymous

Yes, I've read about vitamin B6 toxicity; yet when I asked my doctor about it, she said there was nothing in the literature to suggest that a high vitamin B6 level would cause my symptoms... yet now they're gone.