# Nail beading "ridges"



## creepingdeath

I have pretty advanced Hashimoto's.

I have shown and ask the Doctors about my fingernails.

But never really got a straight answer if they are related to my thyroid issues.

Anyone else got nails that look like this?

All my fingernails look like this, some worse than others.

View attachment 41


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## Octavia

Hi. I don't have hashimoto's, but my nails are pretty "ridgey," too. I guess I must not pay attention to it too much, because I was initially going to tell you that my nails used to have ridges, but they don't anymore. Then I actually looked at them, and, well...they still have many, many ridges!


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## creepingdeath

I noticed this change in 2009 before the debilitating symptoms started.

Before that my nails were perfectly smooth.

My nails are not dry or brittle either .

Just very deep vertical ridges.

Some nails have flat spots and are sort of deformed.

They still grow good but sometimes unevenly.

I am sure this has got to be part of the thyroid disease.

My toenails look ok but a few of them just lifted up and fell off.

They did grow back but fell off again a few times.


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## shafree

creepingdeath, refresh my memory: Were you also being investigated for lupus? Nail ridging can be associated with lupus as well as thyroid problems. My endocrinologist asked "Do your nails have ridges?" as she grabbed my hands to check during our first appointment, and I do but they're quite minor. (I have Hashimoto's.) Rheumatologists are usually interested in nail health as well when trying to diagnose you.


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## creepingdeath

I had antibody tests done.

these were the results so far.

Positive ANA test 1:80 which is low positive

Negative Lyme disease

Negative Rheumatoid Arthritis

Double stranded DNA test was negative for Lupus

I had even more blood drawn Tuesday to check for even more autoimmune diseases.

I am thinking all these horrible symptoms are from a very long time untreated thyroid.

I am back on Levothyroxine but at a very low starting dose.

Endo thinks my PCP started me off on too much of a dose too soon which caused a devastating shock to my system.

I am just hoping it did not cause any permanent damage.

Some people get these ridges with age but mine are very, very pronounced.

I am a guy and the way my nails look doesn't really bother me .

I am just trying to find out if all these changes that have happened to me are all thyroid related.


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## Sadface

That's exactly how my nails looks like! And have been looking starting these past two years. My half-moons in the nail beds are missing too exept on my thumbs and pointer finger. My fingertips are also always wrinkled/pruned as if I've been soaking them in water. The plumpness is gone. All of these I've now read from different people is due to thyroid issues.


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## creepingdeath

I'm glad to hear I am not the only one with these ridges.

I get those wrinkles on my fingertips also but only when I get dehydrated.

Moons are OK on thumbs but they are small or gone on the others.


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## bigfoot

Yup, I have ridges here, too. (Though not usually as pronounced as yours in the pic.) I've also noticed when I am swinging hypo or seemingly under-medicated, that my nails will be very prone to cracking and chipping, and are very weak. Usually accompanied by dry skin, cracking toes (deep cracks through several layers) and heels that look like an alligator. All the lotion in the world won't do anything. Typically, once I have a dose increase, these things will all improve on their own and heal up. Heck, I just ran into this over the last few weeks.

At first, I thought I was just not drinking enough water or it was hot & dry outside. But then I realized it didn't matter how hydrated I was, or what the weather was up to. Besides, no such thing as a coincidence.


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## lumin

this is very good post


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## Whisperwindkat

I have really deep ridges as well that have become more prominent in the last year, coinciding with the dramatic downslide in my thyroid health. Mine are also curving over at the ends and I have no moons on any of them.


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## Thancock760

Interesting, I did not know the ridges were related to thyroid, mine are minor


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## MsSasha

Thancock760 said:


> Interesting, I did not know the ridges were related to thyroid, mine are minor


I have ridges too. Didn't know thyroid could cause these.


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## dillie

I've always had vertical ridges (dx'd with lupus for 20 years, probably had longer than that), and I know they can be associated with aging, too. But in the last few years, the ridges have changed--more beading/dripping candle wax look. Maybe coincidence, but seemed to correspond with other worsening symptoms.


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## creepingdeath

The ridges can be from aging but when they are as bad as mine which are even worse then when I first posted, there is definitely some systemic disease going on .

The beading is real bad on some and others look as if they have some sort of binary code of dots and dashes on them. You can grate cheese on my left thumb nail.

My Brother told me my nails look kind of reptilian.

I'll have to take pix's and post what they look like now.

"My big Brother is an "A~hole".......................


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## WhatHappened

All big brothers qualify, it's how we show affection.

I think I remember having moons, but they are gone now. (except the thumbs)


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## BurntMarshmallow

Here's a great link all about this subject, with pictures of all types of nail issues:

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/712251_2

Here's what it says about longitudinal beading:

"With nail beading, the beads seem to drip down the nail like wax (Figure 11). It is associated with endocrine conditions, including the following:




Diabetes mellitus;



Thyroid disorders;



Addison's disease; and



Vitamin B deficiency."


I had "beau's lines" a few times during the past year. My nails are much better since I started taking a digestive enzyme supplement to help me get more from my food, and a strong b-complex. Biotin is know for nail health.


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## LoneWolf

Thancock760 said:


> Interesting, I did not know the ridges were related to thyroid, mine are minor





MsSasha said:


> I have ridges too. Didn't know thyroid could cause these.


I've had superficial ridges in my fingernails for as long as I can remember (even as a kid). When I say superficial, I mean not nearly as severe as those shown in the original post. It makes me wonder if I was mildly hypothyroid even back then. Then again, I've been taking NDT for about seven weeks now and the ridges aren't changing.


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## Tui

Yes I have bad ridges plus splitting and weak nails


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