Yes, taking too much Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) can cause anxiety, nervousness, and restlessness, often alongside neurological symptoms like tingling or numbness, as it affects the nervous system. While some studies suggest high doses might reduce anxiety, toxicity leads to symptoms that can be mistaken for psychological anxiety but are actually nerve-related, such as feeling "wired," panicky, or experiencing burning sensations.
Patients typically experience symptoms of peripheral neuropathy, dermatoses, photosensitivity, dizziness, and nausea with long-term intake of dosages above 250 mg/day. Additional morbidity would include ataxia and dysesthesias.
While this energizing is usually a welcome effect, problems can occur when the dose of B6 is too high, especially when it is too high relative to other B vitamins. Excess vitamin B6 can increase the likelihood of side effects such as anxiety, irritability, restlessness and sometimes numbness in the extremities.
Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) is in lots of multivitamin and mineral supplements that can be bought in supermarkets, health food shops and pharmacies without a prescription. Many people are not aware that vitamin B6 can cause peripheral neuropathy, which results in tingling, burning or numbness usually in the hands and feet.
There has been no sign of harm to the fetus with vitamin B6 use. A typical dose of vitamin B6 for morning sickness is 10 mg to 25 mg, 3 times a day. Talk to your doctor or midwife before you take vitamin B6 for morning sickness. Don't take more than 200 mg a day without talking with your doctor or midwife.
Most prenatal vitamins contain at least 100 percent of the recommended amount of vitamin B6, so as long as you're eating a varied diet and taking a good prenatal, you should be able to get all the vitamin B6 you need without taking an additional supplement.
Vitamin B6 is a water-soluble vitamin so that unused amounts will exit the body through the urine.
Management of vitamin B6 toxicity
In most cases, symptoms gradually improve after supplementation is discontinued. However, recovery can be slow and may take several months or even years. In some cases, nerve damage may be permanent (3). There is no specific antidote for vitamin B6 toxicity.
The vitamin B6 paradox: Supplementation with high concentrations of pyridoxine leads to decreased vitamin B6 function.
Both tryptophan and 5-HTP have a theoretical ability to induce anxiety symptoms via stimulation of serotonin synthesis.
A big event or a buildup of smaller stressful life situations may trigger excessive anxiety — for example, a death in the family, work stress or ongoing worry about finances. Personality. People with certain personality types are more prone to anxiety disorders than others are.
It has recently been discovered that taking high doses of vitamin B6 supplements significantly reduces feelings of stress, anxiety, and depression.
Significantly exceeding this dose, however, can cause illness. In general, the symptoms of vitamin toxicity include nausea, gastrointestinal problems like constipation and diarrhea, hair loss, rashes, and nerve damage.
“Although the TGA recently reduced the maximum permitted daily dose of vitamin B6 in individual products from 200mg to 100 mg for adults (and less for children depending on their age), peripheral neuropathy can occur at very low doses (less than 50 mg).
Drink water to help flush excess vitamin B6 from the body. Since this compound is water-soluble, what your body doesn't use is eliminated through your urine. Health experts recommend adults drink between 9 and 13 cups of water per day as part of a healthy diet.
Vitamin B6 is a water-soluble vitamin. Water-soluble vitamins dissolve in water so the body cannot store them. Leftover amounts of the vitamin leave the body through the urine. Although the body maintains a small pool of water-soluble vitamins, they have to be taken regularly.
When used as a supplement in appropriate doses, vitamin B-6 is likely safe. However, taking too much vitamin B-6 from supplements can cause: A lack of muscle control or coordination of voluntary movements (ataxia) Painful, disfiguring skin lesions.
Impact on other health conditions: Individuals with diabetes, intestinal disease, heart disease, or kidney disease should avoid magnesium unless specifically instructed by their healthcare provider. Overdose: Signs of a magnesium overdose include nausea, diarrhea, low blood pressure, muscle weakness, and fatigue.
Vitamin B6 deficiency is usually caused by pyridoxine-inactivating medications (eg, isoniazid), protein-energy undernutrition, malabsorption, alcohol use disorder, or excessive loss. Deficiency can cause peripheral neuropathy, seborrheic dermatitis, glossitis, and cheilosis, and, in adults, confusion and seizures.
While a slight excess is harmless, extreme intake of Vitamin B6 can lead to nerve damage, numbness, and other conditions.
Vitamin B6 may benefit people with insomnia. View Source , a disorder that involves trouble sleeping. Vitamin B6 supplements may also improve sleep quality and decrease symptoms of restless legs syndrome, a sleep disorder that can keep people awake with an irresistible urge to move the legs.
Fruits and vegetables
There is no specific treatment for pyridoxine or B6 toxicity. The most effective thing to do is to stop taking all supplements that contain B6. Stopping B6 supplements will help to lower your B6 levels. This can be a gradual process as your body works to process the B6 in your system.
Vitamin B6 is essential for brain health and neurotransmitter production, and preliminary research suggests it may help ease self-reported symptoms of anxiety and depression in those with deficiencies.