Posted by Lao Tzu on February 18, 2011, at 23:16:21
In reply to Re: B6 is amazing!, posted by morgan miller on February 17, 2011, at 21:35:54
My experience is that you need to reach a particular dosage tailored to the individual. For some people with pyroluria, the magic dosage is around 250mg per day, but this is just a generalization. It may vary from person to person. If you have pyroluria, for example, antidepressant meds are not going to be as effective unless you also address the deficiencies in zinc and B6, as well as other possible nutrient deficiencies. You bring up a good point about a vitamin's lasting efficacy. I don't know for sure, but it has been my experience that you can become dependent on vitamins once you've been taking them for some time. As far as efficacy long-term, I think the vitamins will indeed be helpful for as long as you use them, but optimum dosages are essential to maintaining a consistency of health, that is if your individual chemistry requires a certain vitamin above normal amounts.
There has been debate on exactly what dosage of B6 is too much to take. I can never get a straight answer about that. I think some people can tolerate more than other people because of inborn errors of metabolism. In other words, they need more B6 than normal people would need. For someone else, for example, they may need more B12 and folic acid. It really depends on individual chemistry. Will there be damage done due to high dosages of a vitamin? It is possible, but probably with certain vitamins there is a higher risk of side effects than with others. For example, my body demands higher B6 levels, but if I use folic acid, my depression seems to get worse the longer I use it. Invariably, I stop using the folic acid and continue with the B6 everyday. So far, I haven't had unbearable side effects from using B6 and zinc. In fact, my body likes these two vitamins, but I also can't say how exactly my body is using these vitamins. Am I doing harm without realizing it? Is it a placebo effect? My psychiatrist thinks it is unnecessary to use extra vitamins if you have a balanced diet. I hesitate somewhat to say he is wrong, but what if there are other problems with one's metabolism that are not remedied with diet and medication alone. Is there more psychology involved than we realize? Perhaps I am bias, but I do think vitamins are healing for people with mental illness. Yes, medication, diet, and exercise are essential as is psychology. I think there are numerous factors affecting one's mental status, all of which need to be addressed. Depression can be complex.
Lao
poster:Lao Tzu
thread:979455
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20110214/msgs/979509.html