Hello all,
I recently read somewhere that too much Biotin was bad for people with thyroid problems, I am currently taking (and have been for about 4.5 months) a liquid supplement which contain 5000mcg of Biotin in it, and was wondering if this was a problem.
Also if this is a problem, can anybody recommend something that works? Sadly this stuff I've been taking is brilliant, so I will be gutted if I can't take it anymore.
Thank you 
Hello Bell and Happy New Year.
IDK if you are hyper thyroid or hypo either way Biotin is not actually bad for you. What the problem is... you should not take it at least three weeks before a test. When you are taking biotin it is known to mess up Thyroid tests. If you are normal, it can make your tests look like you have Grave's auto-immune disease and makes you look hyperthyroid. If you get in remission from Graves or hyperthyroidism and start taking biotin, you will not show remission as it will show you are hyper.
If you were taking Biotin when you were initially dx if you are hypo or have Hashomato's it may make you look like your thyroid is in better condition than it really is and if it still showed hypo, you need to get retested after being off it three weeks to make sure you are being treated correctly for your actual condition. So keep that in mind when you know you are getting tested and watch other supplements like B complex and daily vitamins, many do have some Biotin in it.
BTW, glad to hear you found something that works great for hair, I tried all kinds of different Biotin based formulas and some I stayed on over a year and none ever helped me. I just had to wait for chemo to get out of my system before my hair started to fill in.
Hope that makes it a little clearer why some people may say Biotin should not be taken when you have Thyroid diseases.... as far as I know you can still take it, just stop 3 weeks before a test, so your tests will be accurate.
Red
redeyes2,
I don't know where you got the idea of three weeks?
The ordinary levels of biotin supplementation seem to need just a few days.
And for very high levels of biotin, such have been advocated for multiple sclerosis, well, last I looked, no-one had done the research. So no-one knows how long needs to be left! If you know of further research that has clarified the time for very high doses, I am sure we would be interested even though not many here are likely to be using such levels.
Thank you that's very informative. I wasn't sure I as did seem to feel very hyper after I have my supplement, and I was wondering how long that was affecting my system. I am actually hypo and I have also recently some tests whilst taking my supplement, so will bear that in mind for the future.
I can private message you if you want to know what the supplement is, I lost a lot of my hair whilst going through a very bad patch of my Anorexia and tried so many things and this has been the only thing that worked. Let me know if you want me to message you, and thanks again for the info.
Bellerin,
Just to make things clearer. The impact of biotin is on the blood testing process - not the amounts in your blood.
Hi Bellerin, just wondering if you could give the name of liquid Biotin that you
found very good - thank you, Goblin 2 x
Hello goblin2,
I have used a variety of ones actually, but I used a product called cocoalocks. It makes a hot chocolate style drink, and the vitamins for your hair are in that. You can buy it online, or I think they are now in Boots & Superdrug. But more recently I have been using MyVitamins product called 'Beauty Sleep' which as vitamins for your hair, skin but also helps you sleep. Hope that all makes sense, let me know if I can help you any more
Belle
Most all drugs, medications clear system within 21 days (at the latest) and it also has to be totally out of your system to produce correct results. So if anything holding onto it, this gives time for clearance. I also had tests at 3 days, 10 days and still showed up, at 17 days gone for me... but to be sure md said plan 21 days. I wouldn't tell someone 17 days as they may be 18 days or more and it would be a waste of time and blood to do sooner.
Here's the links about it
If you are taking vitamin B complex, or any supplements containing biotin, remember to stop these 3-5 days before any blood tests, as biotin can falsely affect test results
endo.confex.com/endo/2016en...
endocrinenews.endocrine.org...
Thanks for the links. I’ve never stopped before a test as my osteoporosis multi only contains 300mcg of Biotin but maybe I should reconsider.
Why are you taking it?
not sure if you meant this question for me, but ill answer anyway! I have been taking because I have anorexia and my hair had been getting very thin and breaking off so I wanted to take something to help with that. This product has really helped and it is longer & thicker now than it ever has been, so hopefully I will keep using it, but I just wanted to check about if it interfered with my thyroid meds.
Yes it was a question meant for you. Nuts and eggs contain biotin which I eat all the time but what your taking is very good and should help a lot.
Thank you
Biotin
Paper showing which thyroid hormone assays are sensitive to biotin
Biotin & thyroid tests
Biotin n blood test
How Biotin Impacts your Thyroid Hormone by Suzy Cohen Pharmacist
