I broke down the B complex and tried everything individually

[bigmillz]

As per my previous posts, I've had a hell of a time tolerating any B complex. I've tried (over the years, in order):

-Several multivitamins
-NOW B-50
-Some CVS brand B complex
-Jarrow B Right (not the folic acid "B Wrong" either)
-Thorne B Complex #12
-Douglas Labs B Complex
-Biotics Research B-100
-Nature Made B Complex

Every single one has consistently made me feel weary, fatigued, clumsy, irritable, and just generally lousy. My eyes water a lot, and I keep wincing. I finally did what I should've done earlier this year when I set upon sorting this all out, and I broke down the B complex into individual components. I'm here to share my story, results, and hopefully leave a bit of info to help someone else who runs into this at some point.

Here's from my daily log:
B1 – 50mg –frustrated, feeling extremely worked, weary, wincing, long lasting
B2– 100mg – no noticeable reaction, yellow urine
B3 (niacinamide) - 100mg x2 – some sedation & relaxation, turned into stress/tension/social awkwardness/irritability
B5 – 100mg – no noticeable reaction, maybe a bit more energy
B6 - 50mg x2 – burst in energy, then tiredness until next dose. No irritability
Biotin – 5000mcg x2 - feeling worked in very short time, similar to B1 but not as long lasting/severe, wincing
B3 retest – 100mg x3 at once – some sedation and frustration/irritability
P5P – 50mg – Very little noticeable effect with first dose, huge crash after 6+ hours, lousy mood following

Keep in mind, the last 2 B complexes I tried (Biotics and Nature Made) are extremely low in RDA of each component. The Biotics one allowed me to start with 33% RDA of each component, and the Nature Made allowed me to work with the bare minimum number of components, without any activated forms. So these higher doses above were done deliberately so that I could really figure out where the side effects were coming from.

All this said, I think I may have to steer away from the B complex for now. I've had exceptionally great results on Freddd's protocol, with just mB12, adB12, mFolate, and a few other cofactors. Lots more energy, much better mood, and a friend even commented that my skin looks the best ever lately. Plus I've been expanding my diet again, and including sulfur foods with much less issue.

I'm going to get a panel done for my levels of the B's, specifically B6/B2 due to their relation to methylation. But in the meantime, are there other changes I could try based on my tests? I've heard of some people just not handling niacinamide very well, so I'm not too worried about that. I know B1/biotin are sulfuric, and both cause more of the "worked" and wincing side effects. B6, I have no idea why it gives me a "crash," even when I've tried it previously in doses as low as 5mg (and also 0.6mg P5P). Strange thing too, high sulfur foods haven't been bothering me like they used to - but the B1 really, really hit me. Even had a seafood spaghetti plate last night with garlic and cream sauce, and not a single issue followed.

Thanks for reading. Hope this helps some others too.

TLDR: Have trouble tolerating B1, biotin, and B6 (esp. P5P), even in minimal doses. B1 and biotin produce a nearly identical reaction. Why?

 

[Cog71]

I'm so happy to read this! I mean, happy that it's not just me, not happy that you're having problems, IYKWIM
All the B's make me feel icky. I dread taking them. I think I'm on Thorne Stress B complex at the moment, but I know I've totally cheated because I've had the bottle a month and it's still has pills in it.

Thing is, if you read the reviews on iHerb, there are all these people saying how it helps them deal with stress and sleep better, and they feel less anxiety yada yada yada. How can this be possible when I just feel ugh? And nauseous. Is it possible that they work for normals, but not for CFS people? Is that perhaps why a lot of the literature says we need more of them? (god forbid)

I would go as far as saying that I feel toxic when I take B's. I'm on the Thorne now because it supposedly has the right type of folate and the best form of B12, but I've tried them all and I hate them all.

Thoughts anyone?

 

[Thinktank]

I have the same problem regarding B-complexes. Single-strain B-vitamins give me problems too, even tiny doses of folinic acid and methylfolate i can only use twice weekly. B12 (hydroxycobalamin 10mg) i have to inject.

The only B-complex that i seem to tolerate for a few days before having to give it a break is the biotics research Bio-B100 containing 33% RDA per pill.

Have you looked into other forms of delivery?
- Transdermal
- Intramuscular and subcutane
- Oral liposomal
- Sublingual

 

[JaimeS]

Just goes to show it can go the other way around; I take a B-complex I like very much, but when given a B-12 injection I had about half an hour of feeling so much better that I felt 'normal again'.

Then the worst crash ever: in and out of bed for 48 hours.

We are such special little snowflakes...

 

[bigmillz]

I have the same problem regarding B-complexes. Single-strain B-vitamins give me problems too, even tiny doses of folinic acid and methylfolate i can only use twice weekly. B12 (hydroxycobalamin 10mg) i have to inject.

The only B-complex that i seem to tolerate for a few days before having to give it a break is the biotics research Bio-B100 containing 33% RDA per pill.

Have you looked into other forms of delivery?
- Transdermal
- Intramuscular and subcutane
- Oral liposomal
- Sublingual

Yea, I thought the Biotics B100 would've worked, but it was even too much.

I haven't looked into other forms of delivery, mainly because I've had such great luck without a B complex - it was just curiosity and hopes of getting even better that drew me in.

 

[bigmillz]

Furthering my test...I got daring and tried an Epsom salt bath last night. With the entire bag. Aside from feeling relaxed/sleepy afterwards, nothing crazy happened. Today I'm feeling great (minus some bad seasonal allergies).

In other words, nothing at all like I experienced with thiamine and biotin, or formerly from high-thiol foods like onions (always made me tired and moody).

I've been reading more about PST enzymes too: http://www.newtreatments.org/fromweb/sulfur.html
From what I understand so far, some folks may have trouble converting sulfur into a usable (sulfate) form. Need to do a little more reading to better comprehend this however.

I'm going to try some MSM tomorrow and see what happens.

 

[Thinktank]

@bigmillz, have you found a b-complex which you tolerate?

 

[Jimbo39]

Furthering my test...I got daring and tried an Epsom salt bath last night. With the entire bag. Aside from feeling relaxed/sleepy afterwards, nothing crazy happened. Today I'm feeling great (minus some bad seasonal allergies).

I've found that I need a lot of magnesium to tolerate Bs.

Dr Amy's All in One w/ Bs is about the only one I seem to tolerate orally.

I've recently been taking Source Naturals B Complex (sublingual) and seem to tolerate it just fine. I'm a little concerned about it because it has folic acid.

I really want to try oils.

 

[bigmillz]

@bigmillz, have you found a b-complex which you tolerate?

Unfortunately no...not even the smallest one, which after a few days starts causing issues. I eventually gave up on it for now, as I've gotten significant improvements from B12/folate on their own. I suppose it's also possible that I just don't need the other B vitamins at this time.