This is my first post and gratefully I’ve just recently been introduced to this site. I have had PMR for just over two years and feel lucky to have reduced prednisone from 20 mg to just one mg with no flares. I am extremely interested in the hair loss thread as just about every (minor?) side effect hit me including hair loss. I have been mixing digestive, grass fed gelatine in my morning cuppa for 18 months and feel that my hair has regained its former glory as have my nails. Naturally decreasing pred has also been advantageous to getting my ‘body’ back. I am in awe of everyone’s individual and positive battle as well as the sharing and caring! Thank you !!
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Jimmy2008
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is more in line with my general scepticism for both collagen and gelatin (which is made from collagen). Both will be broken down to their component building blocks: amino acids. But those don't run around the body with a label saying "I came from ..." - the body doesn't care where they came from and treats them all equally. If you are short on particular amino acids then taking them will probably help but you can get them elsewhere if you are verggie or vegan although I'm not sure that veg/vegan gelatin supplements will have them all.
As far as I know gelatin is rather poor quality protein compared with other sources so the legend that it improves nails is probably wishful thinking. If you have fine nails it probably isn't anything to do with eating gelatin.
Many of us have found our nails improved on pred and while my hair went crackers while I was on Medrol (not on prednisolone and prednisone) it has settled down again on prednisone. One's health is definitely reflected in the condition of both hair and nails and the effect of PMR and GCA can be seen over a period of months after it starts - but often not for a few months when the tendency is then to blame the medication. Then it takes some months to start to recover - that is the nature of head hair growth, a bit slow!
Because we are all different. I did feel very early on in the pred journey that alhough it miraculously had dealt with PMR pain pred was actually quite damaging to me in sort of subtle ways. I still believe this, although I've got used to it.
I’ve found that taking biotin daily for 6 months has helped restore my thinning hair and it is growing again. Even my hair dresser has noted a difference, even though I swim in the pool most days and my hair is constantly exposed to chlorinated water (I use special hair products to combat this as well).
A bonus of taking this supplement is how healthy/strong my fingernails have become. I’ve been a nail biter all my life, but stopped the last few month as my nails are very hard now, and grow quite quickly.
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