---
title: Can taking too much vitamin B6 cause nerve damage? | Niyora
description: High-dose B6 caused nerve symptoms in about 60% of women studied, but the symptoms went away when they stopped taking it. The length of time taking B6 seemed
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/characteristics-of-pyridoxine-overdose-neuropathy-syndrome-1987/
---

- [Niyora](https://niyora.com/)
- [Research](https://niyora.com/research/)
- [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/)
- Can taking too much vitamin B6 cause nerve damage?

Case report, 1987

# Can taking too much vitamin B6 cause nerve damage?

High-dose B6 caused nerve symptoms in about 60% of women studied, but the symptoms went away when they stopped taking it. The length of time taking B6 seemed to matter more than the dose.

 Early or limited evidence

172 women with high B6 blood levels

## What they did

Doctors reviewed cases of 172 women who had high levels of B6 in their blood. They looked at what symptoms the women had, what doses they took, how long they took it, and what happened when they stopped taking it.

## What they found

About 60% had symptoms like tingling, numbness, weakness, and bone pain, mostly in their arms and legs. When women stopped taking B6, the symptoms disappeared. When 4 women restarted B6, the symptoms came back. Women with symptoms had taken B6 for 2.9 years on average, compared to 1.6 years in women without symptoms. All women recovered completely within 6 months of stopping B6.

## What it means for you

Taking high-dose B6 for many years can cause nerve damage, but it is completely reversible. This matters for women taking B6 supplements for PMS symptoms. The main limits are that this looked at cases after the fact, not as a controlled experiment, and the doses these women took were lower than previously described.

172

women with high B6 levels

60%

had neurological symptoms

6 months

time to complete recovery

## About the study

Original title Characteristics of pyridoxine overdose neuropathy syndrome Authors Dalton K, Dalton MJ Journal Acta neurologica Scandinavica Year 1987 Study design Case report Participants 172 What was tested High-dose vitamin B6 supplements Read the paper [doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0404.1987.tb03536.x](https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0404.1987.tb03536.x)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Vitamin B6](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-vitamin-b6/)

Research tells you what helps on average. Niyora helps on the day it hits.

Calm down, see it another way, and decide what to say, with a PMS and PMDD app built by a doctor.

## Related studies

Systematic review, 2025

Do nutritional interventions help with emotional symptoms of PMS?

Systematic review, 2013

Does Vitex (chaste tree) help PMS and PMDD symptoms?

Review, 2011

What are PMS and PMDD, and how common are they?

Systematic review, 2009

Which herbs, vitamins and minerals help treat PMS?

Systematic review, 2007

What treatments work for premenstrual syndrome?

Randomised trial, 2003

What complementary and alternative medicines help with women's reproductive health issues?

Ask AI about this page

Copy prompt

ChatGPT

↗

Claude

↗

Perplexity

↗

Google AI Mode

↗

Grok

↗