I'm going to try Biotin again!

[gustavonut]

Hola everyone! I've decided I'm going to start taking biotin for extra growth and maybe even healthier hair!
The brand I'm going to start taking is Natrol, 10,000 mcg.
Now I was wondering if I should cut the pill in half and just take that, but I'm not sure exactly.
This is the second time I will be taking this so I'm not exactly sure how I should take it. (I don't remember if it worked for me last time since I was dying and bleaching my hair..)

Did it work for you? And what are your suggestions to make it work better?

I'd like to add that I'm going to be taking it for my peeling nails as well. (I wash dishes on a daily basis.)

Thanks :D

[lapushka]

I post this every time I see a biotin post, since I think it's need-to-know. :)
http://igorsbelltower.blogspot.be/p/infamous-biotin-rant.html

[sarahthegemini]

Unless you have a deficiency, why bother? Your hair isn't going to grow drastically if you don't actually need it.

[lapushka]

Unless you have a deficiency, why bother? Your hair isn't going to grow drastically if you don't actually need it.

Very true.

[gustavonut]

Unless you have a deficiency, why bother? Your hair isn't going to grow drastically if you don't actually need it.

I'm just going to say right here, right now, I don't have a good diet at all and am unable to eat as many biotin-rich foods as I want to because of my family's money situation. By the way, how could someone know if they have a deficiency of it? I'd like to know that.
Oh and I just bought it, so I'm not just gonna throw money in the trash. You are probably saying "You already did!" But I chose to buy this and people have experienced growth from it before, so.... Yeah! But thank you for the tip.

[gustavonut]

I post this every time I see a biotin post, since I think it's need-to-know. :)
http://igorsbelltower.blogspot.be/p/infamous-biotin-rant.html

I don't understand. Is she with it or against it? Haha.

[lapushka]

I don't understand. Is she with it or against it? Haha.

I'm pretty sure she's against using huge amounts, like you are intending to use. :)

[gustavonut]

I'm pretty sure she's against using huge amounts, like you are intending to use. :)

Well that's why I asked if I should cut it in half.. Too bad I bought it without really thorough searching through LHC. I saw a lot of people saying it helped though so..:shrug:

[Allie_snowflake]

I used to take it for my nails (long before LHC) but now I just take a good b complex vitamin and use lotion like mane & tail hoof maker. Topically applied stuff seems to work better IMO (for both my hair and nails).

[gustavonut]

I used to take it for my nails (long before LHC) but now I just take a good b complex vitamin and use lotion like mane & tail hoof maker. Topically applied stuff seems to work better IMO (for both my hair and nails).

Where do you buy your B complex from? I wonder if it would be on amazon. :confused:

[Allie_snowflake]

I just get it at walmart. It's about $4 a bottle. If you're concerned about your nutrition, maybe a good daily multi-vitamin would be good for you.

[gustavonut]

I just get it at walmart. It's about $4 a bottle. If you're concerned about your nutrition, maybe a good daily multi-vitamin would be good for you.

I've been taking 1 a day multivitamin gummies for about 4 months now.. Does that count?

[lady mechanic]

I take biotin. I haven't noticed it doing anything for my hair but it made a small (good) difference in my eyelashes and nails. Good luck!

[gustavonut]

I take biotin. I haven't noticed it doing anything for my hair but it made a small (good) difference in my eyelashes and nails. Good luck!

Ah good! I have pretty crappy nails and eyelashes anyway. So that gives me hope, hehe. Thank you and good luck to you too! :)

[hufflepug]

I post this every time I see a biotin post, since I think it's need-to-know. :)
http://igorsbelltower.blogspot.be/p/infamous-biotin-rant.html

for what it's worth you convinced me to stop. I've only been taking 1000mcg but I was considering doubling it. I'll probably finish off the bottle since I don't have that much left, but I'm not going to bother buying any more.

[gustavonut]

for what it's worth you convinced me to stop. I've only been taking 1000mcg but I was considering doubling it. I'll probably finish off the bottle since I don't have that much left, but I'm not going to bother buying any more.

That ^
I'm definitely not going to buy it anymore either. After hearing everyone's opinion about it on here.
UGH I could have used the money to get something more useful... *sigh*

[lapushka]

That ^
I'm definitely not going to buy it anymore either. After hearing everyone's opinion about it on here.
UGH I could have used the money to get something more useful... *sigh*

Maybe stretch it and only take a half of a tablet weekly or even bi-monthly.

[gustavonut]

Maybe stretch it and only take a half of a tablet weekly or even bi-monthly.

Okay, since I took one today, I'm going to take one a day for 6 more days, then take one every month.

[alishaxmarie]

Well you said your diet is crap and your nails are peeling so you may indeed be deficient. I have thin, brittle nails and although biotin noticeably thickens them, they're still not as thick as anyone else's nails I've ever looked at or touched and neither my mom or sister's have this issue :shrug: Even my friends noticed a difference in the thickness of my hair after taking biotin and I didn't even take a multivitamin back then! So, you might as well see if you get any results from them although I would cut them in half. Besides, it won't hurt you; since it's a water-soluble vitamin, you'll just pee out whatever your body doesn't absorb and use. When I first began taking it, I researched it for days or maybe even weeks and everything I read said that there were no side-effects if you "overdosed" yourself on it. I even took 15,000 mcg a day for a few months and never experienced any issues with it. So, I say just see what happens, it could be worth it afterall.

Also, I would assume you'd have to ask your doctor to run some kinds of tests to check if you're deficient but I'm just gonna go ahead and assume I'm deficient due to my nails lol I haven't had a doctor in a long time and I'm certainly not going to go through the trouble of finding one who takes my insurance just for tests I probably couldn't afford and don't truly need anyways.

[gustavonut]

Well you said your diet is crap and your nails are peeling so you may indeed be deficient. I have thin, brittle nails and although biotin noticeably thickens them, they're still not as thick as anyone else's nails I've ever looked at or touched and neither my mom or sister's have this issue :shrug: Even my friends noticed a difference in the thickness of my hair after taking biotin and I didn't even take a multivitamin back then! So, you might as well see if you get any results from them although I would cut them in half. Besides, it won't hurt you; since it's a water-soluble vitamin, you'll just pee out whatever your body doesn't absorb and use. When I first began taking it, I researched it for days or maybe even weeks and everything I read said that there were no side-effects if you "overdosed" yourself on it. I even took 15,000 mcg a day for a few months and never experienced any issues with it. So, I say just see what happens, it could be worth it afterall.

Also, I would assume you'd have to ask your doctor to run some kinds of tests to check if you're deficient but I'm just gonna go ahead and assume I'm deficient due to my nails lol I haven't had a doctor in a long time and I'm certainly not going to go through the trouble of finding one who takes my insurance just for tests I probably couldn't afford and don't truly need anyways.

This makes me feel better about buying them :) I'm excited even if I don't get results. It's a learning experience!
I've never heard of overdosing on them but I have researched enough to find out that these biotin pills are way more than I need as a daily dosage. It even says on the bottle that it is 3333% your daily vitamin intake or whatever. Pretty crazy in my opinion.
But anywho, as I said, this is a learning experience. And if I do get stronger nails then I will definitely consider buying these again, because my nails are horrible... They are see through and just not growing at all. I don't even cut them that often!

Thanks for the reply, friend. ;) and wish me luck! Hehe.

[alishaxmarie]

This makes me feel better about buying them :) I'm excited even if I don't get results. It's a learning experience!
I've never heard of overdosing on them but I have researched enough to find out that these biotin pills are way more than I need as a daily dosage. It even says on the bottle that it is 3333% your daily vitamin intake or whatever. Pretty crazy in my opinion.
But anywho, as I said, this is a learning experience. And if I do get stronger nails then I will definitely consider buying these again, because my nails are horrible... They are see through and just not growing at all. I don't even cut them that often!

Thanks for the reply, friend. ;) and wish me luck! Hehe.

Psh, I still take 5,000 mcg of biotin a day despite the recommended daily intake(RDI) being absurdly low ;) By overdose I meant taking high doses since it's kind of impossible not to exceed the RDI if you're taking a vitamin that is only biotin. Multivitamins tend to have very low amounts; mine only has 10% of the RDI with 30 mcg.

My nails are weird about growing though. After trimming or biting them (its a recurring bad habit) they'll grow right to the end of my fingertips relatively fast (I have no idea how fast nails normally grow?) and then they will stall for a bit and then very slowly creep past the edge of my fingertips. I doubt that that's normal haha but if they get longer than my fingers then they literally bend. Once I did something which caused the white part of the nail to completely bend in half and it left a crease! It hurt but it wasn't that bad and I subsequently cut them of course.

But good luck although you don't need it! :grnbiggri

[KittyBird]

Well you said your diet is crap and your nails are peeling so you may indeed be deficient. I have thin, brittle nails and although biotin noticeably thickens them, they're still not as thick as anyone else's nails I've ever looked at or touched and neither my mom or sister's have this issue :shrug: Even my friends noticed a difference in the thickness of my hair after taking biotin and I didn't even take a multivitamin back then! So, you might as well see if you get any results from them although I would cut them in half. Besides, it won't hurt you; since it's a water-soluble vitamin, you'll just pee out whatever your body doesn't absorb and use. When I first began taking it, I researched it for days or maybe even weeks and everything I read said that there were no side-effects if you "overdosed" yourself on it. I even took 15,000 mcg a day for a few months and never experienced any issues with it. So, I say just see what happens, it could be worth it afterall.

Also, I would assume you'd have to ask your doctor to run some kinds of tests to check if you're deficient but I'm just gonna go ahead and assume I'm deficient due to my nails lol I haven't had a doctor in a long time and I'm certainly not going to go through the trouble of finding one who takes my insurance just for tests I probably couldn't afford and don't truly need anyways.
(bolded mine) Not true. Just because it's water soluble doesn't mean that it's harmless. Your organs still have to process it before it gets peed out. If your kidneys are already damaged (which you likely won't even be aware of), you could end up with kidney failure. Is it really worth it?

[DreamSheep]

I second what KittyBird says - your body still has to work with the excess - which may be unnoticeable when you are still young, but it will cause organs such as liver and kidneys to decay faster as they work overtime to process it and get it out of the body.

[lapushka]

No, not a fan of high-dosed biotin. Never took it, and I think the link I posted nicely explains why. If the recommended daily dose is really low, then why overdose on it? I don't know why it's okay to sell, actually.

[Platzhalter]

There's no need to overdose on anything with supplements... even if you really suffer from any kind of deficiency, ask your doctor for help. The whole "it's water soluble so you don't have to worry" only makes sense concerning normal food, you know? It's more about "don't worry about cravings, even consuming more than what you need when eating certain things because it will get out of your body and it's usually not that much more."
But supplements are something different... just be aware of the harm done to your liver and kidneys.

[jeanniet]

The recommended daily intake for biotin is roughly 00 mcg. You want to take 500-1000 times that! And that business about "Oh, it's safe, since it's water-soluble! I'll just pee it out" is absolutely 100% NOT TRUE. Everything you ingest has to be filtered by the kidneys, as KittyBird said. Everything. In fact, people with severe kidney disease have to restrict their intake of water, because even that has to be filtered through the kidneys. There is no such thing as a harmless, completely benign vitamin. The vitamin manufacturers have us hoodwinked into thinking that vitamins make us healthier. They don't. And diet is always better, because food is a complete nutrition source and vitamins aren't. There is no pill, anywhere, that will substitute for real food. It's much better to consider inexpensive ways to improve diet than to waste money on vitamins. If you think you're deficient, a blood panel can tell you for sure.

You can indeed have relatively severe kidney disease and not know it. I have mild KD and didn't know it (and I'm very, very careful about medications now). I don't have any risk factors. The main risk factors are hypertension and diabetes/high blood sugar.

[MiamiPineapple]

I post this every time I see a biotin post, since I think it's need-to-know. :)
http://igorsbelltower.blogspot.be/p/infamous-biotin-rant.html

Thank for posting this. Maybe this is why I always get breakouts...

Cutting back my dose drastically!

[gustavonut]

3 more days!

[gustavonut]

This made my nails grow soooo fast wow. They are really hard too. My hair is in nicer condition but that could be because I started CWC. I'm going to now take one on the first day of every month till it runs out.

[jeanniet]

It's not the biotin. That's not how it works--it takes longer than a few days to see results. That's why doctors have you retake blood tests about six weeks later. Whatever made yours nails grow, it wasn't the biotin. This is also exactly why just because two things happen together it doesn't mean one caused the other.

[ChloeDharma]

I brought some high dose biotin 10,000mcg I think but then I read about possible kidney damage and I stopped taking it. I'm a T1 diabetic so need to be careful with my kidneys although they are fine at the moment but I don't want to stress them further. I now take a supplement called perfectil which has a little bit but not very much. Also I think biotin is made in the digestive system so eating things like live yogurt would probably be a safer way to make sure you have enough as the friendly bacteria are making it.

Regarding your nails, the solution to that would seem to me to be to ALWAYS wear rubber gloves when washing up. I never allow m hands to come into contact with dishwashing liquids as they are formulated for removing tough grease and dirt so I feel are too harsh for skin and nails. One of my sisters washes up a lot without wearing rubber gloves and her hands are terribly dry now and her nails break easily. The free edge (the white bit) of my nails is usually about an inch long, I also oil them though. I don't think taking any supplement will help you get healthy nails if you are constantly exposing them to harsh chemicals.

[gustavonut]

It's not the biotin. That's not how it works--it takes longer than a few days to see results. That's why doctors have you retake blood tests about six weeks later. Whatever made yours nails grow, it wasn't the biotin. This is also exactly why just because two things happen together it doesn't mean one caused the other.

Huh, I wonder what else could have caused this reaction in these couple of days.. I have changed my diet really.

[gustavonut]

I brought some high dose biotin 10,000mcg I think but then I read about possible kidney damage and I stopped taking it. I'm a T1 diabetic so need to be careful with my kidneys although they are fine at the moment but I don't want to stress them further. I now take a supplement called perfectil which has a little bit but not very much. Also I think biotin is made in the digestive system so eating things like live yogurt would probably be a safer way to make sure you have enough as the friendly bacteria are making it.

Regarding your nails, the solution to that would seem to me to be to ALWAYS wear rubber gloves when washing up. I never allow m hands to come into contact with dishwashing liquids as they are formulated for removing tough grease and dirt so I feel are too harsh for skin and nails. One of my sisters washes up a lot without wearing rubber gloves and her hands are terribly dry now and her nails break easily. The free edge (the white bit) of my nails is usually about an inch long, I also oil them though. I don't think taking any supplement will help you get healthy nails if you are constantly exposing them to harsh chemicals.
That helps a lot but the thing is, we don't have any rubber gloves at the moment so looks like I'll have to deal with it for the time being.
Man I've always had kidney problems... Looks like I'll have to be careful when taking this then. The next one I'm going to take will be December 1.

[jeanniet]

The most likely answer is coincidence. And if you have any sorts of kidney issues, such as infections--and even recurrent bladder infections, I can't stress enough the importance of not. taking. supplements. It's foolish at best, and dangerous at worst, and here's why: Kidney function lessens as you grow older, and while a small amount of damage may not be significant now, that + aging + other health issues may mean problems later on. Stressing your kidneys for no good reason just isn't worth it, and if risk factors run in your family (hypertension, diabetes), there's even more reason not to be taking random supplements.

[gustavonut]

I just felt like saying my nails have grown so much and they are longer than ever before. My nails have never been this long or strong ever, even after washing the dishes my fingernails felt hard. I don't know what is causing this but I am so happy it's happening. :)