An 86-year-old father has reportedly lost his ability to walk attributable to excessive over-the-counter vitamins.

In a recent interview with ABC Radio Melbourne, Australia resident Alison Taylor said that, sooner or later, her father could not feel his legs. After losing the power to walk, he got admitted to a hospital, where he was then diagnosed with vitamin B6 toxicity.

A condition that could cause peripheral neuropathy, otherwise often known as nerve damage, the person began affected by it after unknowingly consuming about 70 times the really useful each day vitamin B6 intake for a person his age.

“We took him to all forms of different specialists. He’s had a lot of consulting neurologists, he’s had MRIs, he’s had CT scans, all the pieces you may consider to research why he was losing his mobility,” said Taylor.

After a nine-week stint, a final test was carried out, with the doctors revealing that her dad’s B6 levels were “off the charts.”

Previously lively and living on his own, Taylor’s father didn’t have any symptoms of poor health. Nevertheless, after a blood test revealed that he had a slight deficiency in vitamin B6, his doctor prescribed a 50-milligram vitamin B6 complement to assist boost his levels.

Vitamin B6 – like other B vitamins – helps the body convert food into energy by breaking down proteins and carbs. It might also help boost the body’s immune system and certain brain functions.

Unfortunately, 50 milligrams is far higher than the usual really useful dose in Australia and the U.S. Moreover, the person was taking a magnesium complement, which contained B6, and ate breakfast cereals fortified with B6.

Inside a month, he lost the sensation in his legs before eventually losing the power to walk.

Per Taylor, she’s hopeful her father could begin to regain his ability to walk when his B6 levels return to normal.

“There isn’t any suggestion he’ll begin to walk as independently as he was before but potentially he won’t should be within the wheelchair,” she said. 

Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) University dietary scientist and dietician Jessica Danaher said vitamin B6 toxicity is rare, on condition that excess B vitamins are flushed out of the body via urine.