Exactly one year ago today (October 26, 2015), I made my first blog post. One year ago, I came down with B6 toxicity.
Since then, I've experienced some recovery. My symptoms are no longer as bad as they were. The slight neuropathy in my arms is intermittent and easy to ignore. The neurological problems have mostly gone away, although I still feel that my balance isn't as good as it used to be. Still, I feel pretty good.
Looking back, I would say that the first month was the hardest. The symptoms were all but debilitating. Even after the neuropathy began to fade, I still struggled with adjusting to a new diet. And there was the anxiety, which was almost as bad as the neuropathy. Some of it was caused by the toxicity, but some of it was just a natural result of being sick. It's not easy wrestling with the thought that you might never be well again.
After that, things got better. In fact, the past six months have been pretty uneventful. I still watch my diet, and I still pay the price when I fall off the wagon, but the consequences are less severe. A few weeks ago, for example, I ate a high-B6 meal and my arms burned all night, but I was surprised to feel no lingering effects the next morning. When I woke up, my arms felt fine. I took that as a sign of healing. It's as though my body is getting better at handling B6 and getting over high dosages when I make the mistake of eating them.
Speaking of food, I've added a few medium-high B6 foods back into my diet, and I no longer worry about over-indulging on tomatoes or broccoli. They don't seem to affect me. However, I won't touch potatoes, bananas, corn, or brown rice. They're just too high in B6. Maybe after the two-year mark, I'll start re-incorporating them. For now, I'm content with what I have to eat.
Anyways, I just wanted to update everyone on my condition. I know some people follow this blog and use it to gauge their own recovery. If I were to sum up my current situation in one sentence, it would be: I've come a long way, but there's still a long way to go.
I think I have at least another year of recovery ahead of me. We'll just have to wait and see.
