Premenstrual syndrome is a condition that occurs shortly before menstruation that can cause a variety of symptoms, including breast tenderness, or mastalgia. Vitamin B-6 supplements can relieve some of the premenstrual syndrome symptoms, but talk to your doctor before taking vitamin B-6 or any other type of supplement.
Premenstrual Syndrome
Premenstrual syndrome is a term used to describe symptoms that signal impending menstruation in women. According to a 2009 overview of premenstrual syndrome published at Endotext.com, between 80 and 90 percent of menstruating women will develop some signs of premenstrual syndrome, including bloating, constipation, acne and breast pain, also known as mastalgia. Approximately 70 percent of women experience breast pain and 22 percent characterize their breast problems as causing moderate or severe discomfort. Premenstrual syndrome can also cause anxiety, depression and other emotional changes.
Vitamin B-6
Vitamin B-6 is a member of the B complex family of vitamins. Your body cannot make this vitamin, so you have to get it from your diet or from supplements. Vitamin B-6 is important for regulating the amount of glucose in your body, for making neurotransmitters and for making heme, a protein needed to make red blood cells. Vitamin B-6 is also needed to make niacin and hormones, such as estrogen and testosterone.
Vitamin B-6 and Premenstrual Syndrome
The effectiveness of vitamin B-6 as a treatment for premenstrual syndrome was examined in a review published in "The British Medical Journal" in May 1999. This review found that taking vitamin B-6 supplements was effective at relieving both the physical and psychiatric symptoms of premenstrual syndrome, though the researchers did not specifically examine mastalgia.
Considerations
High doses of vitamin B-6 can cause peripheral neuropathy, a condition that damages the nerves in your body. Signs of peripheral neuropathy include burning or tingling in parts of your body. As a result, you should not take more than 100 mg per day of vitamin B-6. Talk to your doctor before you take any sort of vitamin supplement.
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