Hey, been trying to research the subject but been getting conflicting messages.

The bariatric nutritionist at the hospital told me I should not be taking anything besides multi Vitamins and Calcium because Biotin could be cancerogenic and not safe (Strange I know).

On forums and such, I've seen people taking anything between 300mcg and 5000 mcg.

Some report side effects and weightgain, others say it works great.

Should I be taking this for months before noticing effects?

If I had sleeve surgery two weeks ago, is it too late for me to start taking this?

What is the recommended dosage? And is it dangerous? Any brands you prefer?

I can't say for sure, but I think your NUT may be wrong. I believe that if it had a known potential to cause cancer, that other NUTs and doctors would know that and I don't think I've seen that warning on here before. You have to make the decision if you are going to override your NUTs advice on your own or if you are going to try to get the advice of another NUT.

If you decide to take it, I think anywhere between 5,000 and 20,000 mcg/day would be a good dose. I think it's not too late to start taking it, but clearly the later you start taking it, the less benefit that you will get as regards hair loss. Once you are about 8 months past surgery, if you want to continue taking it, I think a dosage of 1,000 to 5,000 mcg per day would be fine.

I did a search at pubmed and did not find any suggestion of Biotin being a carcinogen in the first several pages of results. Typically if something like that had been shown, or even been suspected of being a carcinogen it would show up on the first page of results.

According to an official British Government publication, there is no indication that it is a carcinogen. At the site

http://www.food.gov....fs/evmpart2.pdf

it says

Carcinogenicity and genotoxicity.

No carcinogenicity data are available for biotin. It has been shown to be negative in the Ames test. However, further data on the mutagenicity testing of biotin are not available.

Thank you so much for your reply, it helps alot. Yes I think I'll start taking 5000 mcg a day and hope it doesn't cause strange side effects.

I started taking Biotin the minute I came home from the hospital...One of the affects from not eating for 51/2 months was my hair all fell out.... I cried and cried and started to up the Protein drinks and used Biotin....I take one every day and will until all my hair comes back.. I take 1000 mgs a day...

My hair is growing back....

@RJ: Oh yay I'm glad its growing back! 1,000 mgs is enough? Doesn't cause any side effects?

@RJ: Oh yay I'm glad its growing back! 1,000 mgs is enough? Doesn't cause any side effects?

Yes my hair is growing back....lol...I cannot trust this program for growing my hair back alone....I am on my second bottle I took 5000 mgs the first bottle and this one is less.....no side effects that I have experienced

B vitamins including Biotin are water soluble, so if you have a healthy kidney you will just pee out anything your body doesn't need

It is a load on the kidneys though isn't it? Considering I already take alot of other vitamins. Before the surgery they did find some protein in my urine, saying the kidneys were starting to get damaged (because of diabetes). mmmm...now I'm a lil worried I may be putting my kidneys through strain.

It is a load on the kidneys though isn't it? Considering I already take alot of other Vitamins. Before the surgery they did find some Protein in my urine' date=' saying the kidneys were starting to get damaged (because of diabetes). mmmm...now I'm a lil worried I may be putting my kidneys through strain.[/quote']

Based on what you are saying I would definitely suggest asking your doctor.

This is what I found online:

Biotin is usually included in B-complex Vitamin supplements. It is generally a good idea to take Multivitamin supplements that contain all of the B-vitamins rather than single supplements because the B vitamins work in concert with each other.

The exception to this might be people with diabetes, since preliminary evidence suggests that very large doses (7,000 to 15,000 micrograms) of biotin may be helpful in regulating blood sugar.

Side effects from biotin supplements should not occur if the vitamin is taken within recommended amounts. If side effects do occur, lowering the dosage of biotin is usually sufficient to eliminate these effects.

I take 5000 mcg two times a day and have since a month pre op. I noticed my nails getting stronger around 3-4 weeks after I started using it. I have always had strong healthy thick shiny hair and that hasn't changed. No clue if it's helping in that department and being nearly 6 weeks out it is still yet to be seen.