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Concerned about the side effects of anastrozole
Breast Cancer | Last Active: Jul 28 9:25am | Replies (1934)Comment receiving replies
A number of people have mentioned biotin, also known as vitamin B7, to help promote hair growth. Recently, I came across these articles:
- Biotin, marketed for hair and nails, could skew some medical test results, researchers warn https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/biotin-can-interfere-with-lab-tests-study-says-1.5051992
- The FDA Warns that Biotin May Interfere with Lab Tests: FDA Safety Communication https://www.fda.gov/medicaldevices/safety/alertsandnotices/ucm586505.htm
Here are some key points from the first article:
"It is known that biotin supplements can interfere with lab tests, resulting in false positive and false negative results on a wide range of clinically important tests."
"Health agencies, including the U.S. National Institutes of Health (https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Biotin-Consumer/), say there isn't enough evidence to support the claims that biotin improves hair, nails and skin, and that more research is required before it should be recommended for that purpose."
@elizm, did your doctor tell you about biotin possibly interfering with lab tests?
Replies to "A number of people have mentioned biotin, also known as vitamin B7, to help promote hair..."
@colleenyoung
Unfortunately, my oncologist did not warn me. I had gone to a neurologist for my CIPN who wanted to do a raft of tests to see if something else might be contributing to the neuropathy. One was for a thyroid test which came back as hyperthyroid. I marched off to my GP who referred me to an endocrinologist and for a thyroid ultrasound. Both doctors knew how much biotin I was taking.
I personally was unconvinced that I was hyperthyroid and started researching the condition online. That is where I found that, up until something like 2016, endocrinologists had been treating patients for hyperthyroidism when in fact it was biotin which was changing the test assay. Sooo, I passed along the news to my GP who allowed me to drop the biotin for a week and then re-take the thyroid test which subsequently was quite normal.
The lessen taught me to stop all supplements about 48 hours or so before every blood test in order to get a more accurate reading on my health. Regrettably, doctors in my area don't instruct patients accordingly.
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For hair thinning - my doctor said to use Rogaine shampoo if it bothered me.