Can I take Biotin supplements

Good Morning, My question is related to my hairloss it's very thin all over now but the fringe and front line area is the worst so thin n frizzy I have lost a lot of hair my b12, folate, ferritin, vit d all very good I also take selenuim my b complex Ingennes contains 300ug per tablet my lady GP noticed my hairloss just said its causes could be many reasons things thyroid having had covid Dec last year I said hairloss started way before covid my pharmacist did say she knows of a lot of covid related hairloss going on now but can I take supplement of Biotin on its own? I have results comeback from ultrasound benign nodule on my thyroid see Endo today

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK]

Biotin is generally very safe.

300 micrograms a day is not a high dose.

To provide some scope: Trials are currently ongoing regarding the use of 100 to 300 milligrams a day (a thousand times as much) for Multiple Sclerosis.

High doses of biotin are known to interfere with some blood tests including some makes of TSH, Free T4 and Free T3. For that reason, it is usually recommened to stop taking biotin a week before blood tests but that is probably over-cautious for small doses (similar to how much you could get from your diet).

[Hidden in reply to helvella]

Hi helvella, If I took higher doses and stopped well before any thyroid blood tests would that be okay? Is it just thyroid bloods test it affects?

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to Hidden]

No - it affects a range of tests. But you can only be sure by asking the laboratory that is going to do your tests. (The test industry is well aware and is likely to be making changes to avoid the issue. And, for that matter, they might find additional tests that are affected. Primarily it is tests which rely on immunoassay techniques involved streptavidin.)

[Hidden in reply to helvella]

Oh I see well maybe best I don't start it just yet Thank You!