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Warning! These gave me B6 Toxicity!
I have been taking multi-vitamins for the last 30+ years with no issue. I mostly took "Vita-Lea" from Shaklee. Last June 2012 I ordered these Optimum Nutrition Opti-Men MultiVitamins and was taking them for the last 6+ month. Similar to other reviews I had neon yellow-green urine due to the high level of B vitamins in these vitamins. Supposedly all B vitamins are water soluble, so what you don't use gets flushed out. I can't say I felt any great benefit from taking these, but I initially didn't have any ill effects either, until recently. Four weeks ago I started feeling highly fatigued and achy in my arms and legs. These symptoms then continued into peripheral neuropathy - burning and tingling in the extremities: arms and legs. I went to my Doctor and had a complete battery of standard blood and other tests with all the results coming back normal. Since I had no history of any health issues or anything related to this condition, I tried to think about any changes in lifestyle, diet, etc. that I had made recently. One of the things I looked at was the B6 levels in this vitamin: 2500% of RDA @ 50 mg. I quickly did some research and found that my symptoms matched b6 toxicity exactly. I immediately stopped taking this supplement. I went back in to my Doctor and had him run a B6 lab test to check my levels. It took a week but the results came in today and my B6 blood level is 48.3 with a standard range of 2.1 - 21.7. Since I have stopped taking these vitamins my symptoms have slowly improved over the last few weeks, but it has been hell. It's supposed to be safe to take up to 100mg of B6 daily, but I can attest that over time you can get toxicity from levels lower than this. Everyone's body is different and you may be able to take these without any issue, but for me it has been a terrible experience. I will have my B6 levels tested again as time progresses and update here. Based upon my experience I cannot recommend these vitamins, on the contrary, I would warn you not to use them unless Optimum Nutrition lowers the level of B6 in this supplement. *Update - 3/21//13* As promised in my original review I had another B6 blood test on 3/1/13 and received the results on 3/8/13. Since I have stopped taking these supplements in January my B6 blood level has dropped from 48.3 to 6.6 with a standard range of 2.1 - 21.7 ng/mL for this test. My doctor says it may take up to 6 months for all of the symptoms to resolve.
February 2013 · Health and Household · verified purchase
the product in question
Optimum Nutrition Opti-Men Daily Multivitamin Supplement, 90 Count
4.7★ · 798 ratings, as of 2023
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