Supplements are Useless... Really! Let me dispel that notion

[CaseyInsights]

Just read this entire thread -

healthunlocked.com/parkinso...

And the smug assurances of originator of this thread has me furious as well as dismayed.

My wife, with me in tag, visited the neurologist late December 2019 for a checkup. She reported that she was being bothered by unusual and heavy sweating at all times. He told her that she has already done a thyroid test and it came back normal. So there is nothing we can do.

I said nothing. But a few days later I order Iodine tablets and a B2/B3 complex that reportedly goes well with it. I had used this combination before for her cold hands and feet prior to the firm PD diagnosis. Links to Amazon here

Iodine: amazon.com/dp/B000X843VG?ps...

B2/B3: amazon.com/dp/B002D9DFQ2?ps...

In a week after adding the tablets to her daily schedule I notice the complaints had ceased and so had the profuse sweating. I said nothing. Three weeks into the treatment she remarked offhandedly ‘You know the sweating and the heated feeling has stopped’. Me: ‘Really now, just like that - must be magic’.

She pays no attention to what’s in her pill box - her only concern is when to take them - and will not be able to point out either of these pills.

So this is not a ‘Multicenter, Multi-dose, Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study’. But I am not going to discount the results I have seen and what the ‘patient’ reported. So we are agreed that n=1.

But trust me, there will never be any million dollar research into Iodine or any of the supplements promoted on this forum. There is no money in it for the drug companies: trials are expensive and there is no way to recoup that money as these supplements cannot be patented. Not blaming big-Pharma - that’s just how the system works.

My advice, once there are no known contraindications, give any thing you think has a reasonable chance a try. There are excellent thinkers and researches on this forum. Listen to those who have tried it, those who have added their comments and do your own research. And who knows, you might just find that n=2 ✨🏋️‍♀️✨

PS: The photo - shot on the streets of Trinidad and Tobago Carnival 2015 - is from an Instagram post of mine that is titled ‘Heaven Sent’. And that’s how I see supplements 🤗

[Juliegrace]

I agree with your post, but your title is contrary to what you have written and may cause members to scroll past.

[CaseyInsights in reply to Juliegrace]

Thanks for the feedback. I have adjusted the heading. Hopefully I have made my intent clearer 🌺

[pvw2]

The iodine you showed is too strong for an extended period of time. I'm attaching a link showing the initial signs of overdose, usually a person will see some, not all the symptoms. The way to tell a iodine induced sore throat versus a cold is the soar throat will immediately start going away after stopping the iodine.

iodine-resource.com/iodine-...

After the initial signs of an overdose go away, only take one tablet every one or two weeks. Ideally 1 mg per day is a maximum dose. The tablets on your link is 12 mg.

Most of my supplements were recommended by my doctors. Some recommendations were based on blood tests.

[CaseyInsights in reply to pvw2]

Many thanks for the heads-up.

But we have used that combination of Iodine and B2/B3 for as much as two months in 2018. My understanding is the 12.5 mg daily is well within the standard consumption by costal Japanese.

My references are ‘Iodine Crisis’ by Lynne Farrow who heavily references the clinical work of A. Guy Abraham, MD, David Brownstein, MD, and Jorge Flechas, MD.

Will monitor and do as all doctors - modify the treatment based on the patient’s reactions 🌺👍🏾

[pvw2 in reply to CaseyInsights]

At that dosage I showed initial overdose symptoms in one month. I had a DATscan that has a 100 to 120 mg single dose six months before started that dosage level. Got sore gums and throat that immediately went away when stopping dosage. Much depends on how fast you can get rid of the excess iodine.

[CaseyInsights in reply to pvw2]

Oh well! We are probably dealing with an Iodine deficient household.

My wife takes five to six per week. I take one to two tablets a week. And I have given a handful to my daughter. Not too sure of her schedule, but there have been no overdosing signs from anyone 🌺

[rescuema in reply to pvw2]

You might be lacking in selenium and supplementation was probably needed. Vitamin C also helps.

[MBAnderson]

Let me give you but one obvious example. Mucuna Pruriens purchased as the supplement Zandopa, contains exactly the same pharmaceutical, i.e., levodopa as the Sinemet. There are a lot of supplements which contain the same molecules as pharmaceuticals.

[CaseyInsights in reply to MBAnderson]

MBA,

Think this comment landed in the wrong space. 🙃

[Hidden in reply to CaseyInsights]

Why?

[CaseyInsights in reply to Hidden]

MBA was at the same time on the thread by Condor39 ‘Most Supplements do nothing’.

Thought it might have been intended for that thread. On review I can make the connection.

[jimcaster in reply to CaseyInsights]

I think Marc's comment is in exactly the right place and it supports your position, Casey. Some supplements are exactly the same as pharmaceuticals and they work very well.

[MBAnderson in reply to CaseyInsights]

I was supporting your point, but should've made it more clear. The way I used, "you" is confusing.

That is one amazing photograph.

[Farooqji]

Thanks for sharing your experience

[LAJ12345]

I would agree!

[Jalu]

I fully follow your remlarks. There will be Always people trying to make stupid warnings.

Various vitamines may helps as thousands of people testimony. So it is just a matter to be prudent and intelligent when you go over the counter. I mean do not follow the so called "scientific Community" What is important is to feel well whatever the way you chose for it.

Internet gives the advantage to get informed of so many individual expériences. It is just necessary to cross the infos. Good luck.Happy your wife feels good.

Jacques from France

[Dap1948]

I have my supplements tested on a vega test device that my therapist has been using for years. It measures the effect of the supplement on my body that day. He also uses the device to find food intolerances. About every six months we test what I'm taking. I tested the probiotic that is supposed to be so good for us. The device suggested it would not improve anything! Lots of things got the thumbs up though. Supplements can be of great help. They can also be a waste of money! It all depends what YOU need.

[Hidden in reply to Dap1948]

A wise comment @Dap1948. Supplementation is about what your body needs. I saw a TV programme a while back that was about supplementation with anti oxidants - over and above a good diet. The science showed that all that this achieved was for the body to stop making its own anti oxidants.

[MarionP]

Tell me again where was the sweating and what stopped it.

[CaseyInsights in reply to MarionP]

Upper and lower body my dear.

At the end of the work day her shirt and panties were drenched. We do live in the tropics and have done so all our lives. But that does not explain it.

And I am fairly certain the combination of Iodine and B2/B3 complex was key.

There is also 750mg of N-Acetyl-L-Tyrosine on her schedule from her DopaBoost tablets and selenium from a full compliment of a bio-available trace mineral supplement and from food - Brazilian Nuts. Additionally a full B-complex is also on her daily schedule. 🌺

[sue2000web]

How true. I take 2000 mg B1 a day, which has definitely got rid of a lot of my symptoms of pd. I am much more stable, etc. people say you would never know I had pd, and I have had it for 8 years. Hospital will only say that it does me no harm. I also take magnesium and am now sleeping 8 hours a night. It can’t all be the placebo effect.

[Smittybear7 in reply to sue2000web]

What problems did B1 correct? How long before you sell results?

[condor39]

Hi Casey insights,

You missed a key word in the article,

“MOST” supplements are useless.

Best wishes,

From the Arrogant Instigator

[CaseyInsights in reply to condor39]

This was a response to your seven month old thread “Supplements Useless’ where you argued that there was a finding that ‘for cardiac problems...all but one (was) useless. There was a weak link to folic acid, but only in China where diets may be deficient.

So you are willing to admit that some may be of help. But as MBAnderson pointed out for ‘as proud as you are of your regimen, I wonder if better title for your thread might be, "Supplements, Diet, and Exercise -- all Useless."

So we need to push back against your sweeping generalizations, particularly because you are a doctor, as some see doctors as omnipotent, and as holders of indisputable truths. And it just is not so.

It is sometimes hopeless to argue for an alternative course of action, regardless how heavily researched and supported, when some one begins a rebuttal with ‘The doctor say...’

But the very fact you are on this forum gives me hope you will come to trust individuals self assessment of what supplements work and what is useless as it applies to PwP.

Best wishes 🌺

[condor39 in reply to CaseyInsights]

Casey, I have PD, progressing slowly, and I was very lucky that it did not start until I was over 80.

I am just as keen as everyone else to find a cure. I will try any supplement, but first I need evidence. I do nit consider a fervent believe, however sincere , to be evidence.

Similarly , I have not seen good evidence that any particular diet makes a difference.

Exercise, there is some reasonable evidence, but I am too lazy to try it.

I will continue to read, to study and to try and keep an open mind

[condor39]

MOST SUPPLEMENTS DO NOT WORK?

I waited until everyone had a chance to respond, and I expected the reactions, which I can group as follows:

1.The ones who admitted they had not read the article, but felt free to respond.

2.The ones who did not notice the word “MOST” supplements, and gave stories of a supplement which they said worked for them.

3.Several writers took umbrage at being referred to a “Newspaper” article. In particular Sharon was insulted by this. I suggest that she should take more heed to the content, rather than where it is printed. But if it helps, there was a similar article in the New England Journal of Medicine about two years ago, which also drew some angry comments from people who do not wish to read opposing views.

4.On the shoot the messenger field, I do enjoy a good insult. “has lost all credibility” and “smug arrogance of the originator “. Come on, guys, I just referred you to a newspaper article. If you do not agree, write your own article on “Most Supplements do work” . I will read it, however non-sensical.

Finally, my views on the subject are those of the great majority of physicians

[Farooqji]

The literature show that iodine deficiency can cause you to sweat less. I don't know why the intake of more iodine lessen the sweating

[CaseyInsights in reply to Farooqji]

Very interesting. Could you send me a link?

Thanks 🌺

[Farooqji in reply to CaseyInsights]

healthline.com/nutrition/io...

[CaseyInsights in reply to Farooqji]

Thanks 🌺

[CaseyInsights in reply to Farooqji]

This from SlidePlayer - SKIN MANIFESTATIONS OF SYSTEMIC DISEASES Dr.MOHAMED NASR Lecturer Of Dermatology & Venereology.

Hyperthyroidism: Warm skin, flushing, palmar erythema, and increased sweating (palms and soles)

Hypothyroidism: Absent sweating, dry skin (xerosis)

So it probable that Iodine supplementation can treat either thyroid issue.

[Hidden in reply to CaseyInsights]

Thank you CI! I think I may have just solved ones of my mysterious symptoms thanks to your information. Thank you! 🌸