Doc put me on prenatal vits for nails and anemia

[EbonyEyes]

Hi guys,

I visited the doctor on Thursday and she told me that I was borderline anemic and I needed to start taking a good multivitamin with iron.

I then showed her two of my nails that I cut all the way down two weeks ago and they were still the same length. She said that nails growing that slowly was not normal and she decided to prescribe me prenatal vitamins to help both my nail problem and my low blood count.

I wonder if being anemic has an effect on the speed of hair and nail growth?

I'm really hoping that these prenatal vitamins that I will be taking for a year will both cure my anemia and possibly speed up my terribly slow nail growth and my not so fast hair growth.

I'll keep you posted!

-Ebony

 

[msincognito]

Good luck Ebony,

Let me know if the prenatals help...I am also anemic, maybe I should talk to my doctor too. The only thing she has told me to take are the regular iron tabs.

 

[Cowgirl]

Hey Ebony,

I'm also anemic. Very anemic and not borderline. I don't know if it's affecing my hair growth or not, but my nails grow like crazy. I took a physical before I came on this trip and my Dr. called and left a message on my machine to come back to the office as soon as I get home to get a prescription for some iron pills. I called the nurse and asked if I could just get something over the counter and the nurse said no, "you need a prescription". So, I don't know what's special about the ones she is prescribing but I guess I'll find out when I get back. I'll ask her about lack of iron retarding hair growth and see what she says.

 

[auntybe]

I am borderline anemic. My nails grow like crazy. But there are so many other reasons why my hair doesn't grow. I was told by the nurse at my doctors office to take over the counter prenatal vitamins until after my next checkup then if they saw no improvement I would have to get the prescription ones.

 

[AJamericanDiva]

I am anemic... during my pregnancy they were very worried for me that God forbid I bled too much during the delivery, I'd need a transfusion. Furthermore, during pregnancy, I doubled and tripled up on iron and it barely made a drop in the bucket. My nails grow like crazy. ... and just so you know, anemia does affect hair growth by affecting the functioning of the hair follicles. I believe I read that in Philip Kingsley's Hair Bible: A Complete Guide to Hair Health and Care.

As far as prenatal goes, I find that when I compare the ingredients in prenatals to those in my over-the-counter vitamin suppliment, i.e. GNC Ultra Mega Women, the Ultra Mega women has far more nutrients than those in the prenatals. I used to take prenatals during the early phase of my pregnancy, but it wasn't until I switched back to my GNC ones that I no longer felt run down. Sometimes people feel prenatals are the miracle pill in that hair and nails tend to grow (during pregnancy). Sometimes the extra growth is attributed to the fact that now that the person is pregnant, their diet has changed for the better. Also, they may not have been taking any supplements prior to pregnancy and now their body is getting much needed nutrients. Also, hormones are now coursing through their body, responsible for the development of the baby and is benefitting them. This is my experience as I used to do the supplements prior to pregnancy, then switched to prenatals during the first 3 months of pregnancy, then switched back to my supplements.