My Experience With B6 Toxicity and Hidden Peripheral Neuropathy
- Brainz Magazine
- Jul 1
- 4 min read
Written by Tia Hills-Edge, Health and Fitness Coach
Tia Hills-Edge is known in the health and fitness space for her work in pain management, rehabilitation, helping with hormones, and fitness and functional movement for seniors. She founded Edge Power Personal Fitness in 2014, a private studio in the Dandenong Ranges of Victoria of Australia, and expanded into Online training in 2020.
Vitamin B6 is essential for nerve health, metabolism, and mood regulation, but when taken in excess, it can lead to toxicity and serious health issues. In this article, Tia Hills-Edge shares her personal journey of discovering B6 toxicity and its devastating effects on her health, including peripheral neuropathy. As someone already living with chronic illnesses like fibromyalgia and hemiplegic migraines, the signs of toxicity were easy to overlook. Through this experience, Tia offers valuable insights on how to manage supplementation safely and the importance of movement in recovery.
Be careful with B6: A hidden risk
Vitamin B6 (also known as pyridoxine) plays a key role in nerve health, metabolism, and mood regulation. But what many people don’t realize is that too much B6 can be toxic, especially when it builds up gradually through supplements.
Just like many others, I was taking supplements to support my health: one daily multivitamin, protein powder blends, collagen blends, magnesium recovery/stress formulas, and occasionally using sleep blends to help with insomnia, all with good intentions. None of them seemed dangerous. But B6 was quietly stacking up in almost every supplement.
When you already live with chronic illness, it’s easy to miss the signs
I’ve been living with fibromyalgia and hemiplegic migraines, complex, painful, and often invisible conditions that already make daily life challenging. Fatigue, brain fog, pain, and neurological symptoms were nothing new to me.
So, when things started to get worse, I thought my existing illnesses were simply progressing.
But this time, the symptoms weren’t just flaring; they were rapidly escalating:
I was experiencing blackouts
My balance was deteriorating
Dizziness became constant
My coordination felt off
I had strange numbness, tingling, and nerve “zaps” that were rapidly getting worse.
I genuinely believed I was deteriorating fast. It was frightening, and for a while, I didn’t know if I would get better.
Recently, after blood tests and digging deeper, I found the answer: peripheral neuropathy caused by vitamin B6 toxicity.
The problem with “healthy” supplements
The safe upper limit for vitamin B6 in adults is about 100 mg per day, but when you combine multiple products, especially energy or mood-focused ones, it’s easy to exceed that without realizing it.
B6 can also be listed in different forms: pyridoxine hydrochloride, pyridoxal-5-phosphate, or even hidden in proprietary blends. Many of us never think to add up our total daily intake.
That’s why I’m sharing this now:
Always check your labels
Add up your total intake of B6 across all products
Be cautious when combining supplements
If you're already managing a chronic illness, it's especially easy to miss the signs of toxicity when they mimic symptoms you're used to living with.
Signs of peripheral neuropathy to watch for
The scariest part of B6 toxicity is that the symptoms are often misdiagnosed as other conditions, such as fibromyalgia, MS, diabetic neuropathy, anxiety disorders, and more.
Here are some red flags I experienced and that others might too:
Tingling, burning, or numbness in the hands and feet
Muscle weakness or a strange “disconnect” from limbs
Constant dizziness and poor balance
“Electric shock” or restless sensations in the legs
Fatigue and brain fog that feels unmanageable
Chronic insomnia
Constant hair loss
Unexplained weight loss
If you're taking supplements and dealing with these symptoms, ask your doctor for a B6 blood test. It could be the missing piece.
This is still the beginning of my healing journey
Right now, I’m still in the early days of recovery. I’ve only just discovered what was really going on, and it’s been both overwhelming and empowering.
What’s helped keep me sane, through the confusion, fear, and physical decline, is movement. Moving in any way I can. Even on my worst days, movement helped me feel like I still had some control.
My doctor has now confirmed just how important continued movement is for healing from B6 toxicity. Recovery from peripheral nerve damage can take months to a year or more, but movement:
Supports blood flow
Nourishes the nervous system
Maintains muscle and connective tissue health
Helps manage pain and improves mental clarity
What to do if you suspect B6 toxicity
If any of this sounds familiar to you, here’s what I’ve learned about the first steps toward recovery:
1. Stop all supplements containing vitamin B6
Your body needs time to process and eliminate the excess. Let nutrition (food) be your only B6 source for now.
2. Talk to your doctor
Ask for blood work, discuss nerve pain management options, and bring up peripheral neuropathy as a possibility.
3. Keep moving gently
You don’t need intense workouts. Just consistent, low-impact movement to support healing. As always, my preference with movement is slow and steady martial arts, yoga, stretching, and resistance training that is slow and controlled. But I will admit, there are days when the pain is so bad I can't even grip the barbell or dumbbell, so I have learned to adapt to a Pilates bar or resistance bands.
For me, the movement is really medicine, not just for the body, but for the mind and spirit.
You’re not alone, and you’re not broken
If you’re living with a chronic illness and feel like things are getting worse with no explanation, trust your instincts. It may not be “just your condition.” It might be something fixable, like a hidden vitamin overload.
You don’t have to live in fear, pain, or confusion. Once you find the real cause, healing becomes possible.
Be curious. Be cautious. Be kind to yourself. And please keep moving.
Read more from Tia Hills-Edge
Tia Hills-Edge, Health and Fitness Coach
Tia Hills-Edge is an Australian actress, personal trainer, and martial artist with a background in general and mental health nursing. She is passionate about helping individuals with chronic pain, injuries, hormonal imbalances, or weight management challenges unlock their body's true movement potential through exercise, fitness, and supportive nutrition. Tia is also deeply dedicated to seniors health and fitness, striving to help the aging population maintain youthfulness by preserving movement and muscle strength.
