iodine in levothyroxine?

[crimple]

does all levothyroxine medication contain Iodine? An answer to another post that I read today leads me to believe this is the case?!

[Moggie]

Taken from the Livestrong website:

Levothyroxine is a synthetic version of T4. It is used to treat individuals who have hypothyroidism due to any cause. Levothyroxine can be converted to T3 in your body, so you only have to take one medication to supply both hormones. Since levothyroxine already contains iodine, you do not need to take additional iodine to treat hypothyroidism. Any extra iodine you consume will not be incorporated into new thyroid hormones, because your thyroid’s function is being replaced by levothyroxine. In fact, according to a 1992 study published in “International Journal for Vitamin and Nutrition Research,” any additional iodine you obtain from supplements will be eliminated in your urine, feces and sweat.

Read more: livestrong.com/article/5320...

Moggie x

[candi1 in reply to Moggie]

Both my GP and my pharmacist have told me that Levothyroxine DOES NOT contain iodine.....this is of interest to me as I am taking levo at 125 mcg daily and am thinking of supplementing with detoxidane

[helvella Administrator in reply to candi1]

If someone asked me, I would point out that whilst levothyroxine is an iodine compound (each molecule of levothyroxine containing four atoms of iodine) there is no additional iodine in levothyroxine tablets.

To say that it does not contain iodine is open to misinterpretation.

(There are a few levothyroxine products that contain additional iodine and are labelled as such. Specifically, some German products.)

When levothyroxine (T4) is converted to T3, iodine atoms are released. These are quite efficiently scavenged and recycled in anyone with remaining thyroid function. (Same at conversion to T2, etc.)

Are you absolutely sure you want to take Detoxidine?

[candi1 in reply to helvella]

Thankyou for your reply....at the moment I am very confused, one person says one thing and another says something different......in the end who do you turn to for a correct answer?? My GP absolutely refuses to do a thyroid panel for me because he says my TSH is 'normal'....whilst I have every single symptom of still being very hypo....I had thought about taking the detoxidane as so many people said that it had helped them, I'm also going to do the 24 hour iodine test before I do anything.

Any advice or experience would be very much appreciated

[helvella Administrator in reply to candi1]

There are so many questions about iodine - especially in those with auto-immune thyroid disease. There are those on this forum who have had negative experiences. At the same time, we do see some who claim something positive.

Get that test and post back.

[candi1 in reply to helvella]

Thankyou....I will do that this week. Any advice on how to deal with an ill informed and stubborn GP....I know he means well, problem is that if you question their judgement you are branded 'a trouble maker'......

[helvella Administrator in reply to candi1]

Many here have had such experiences and might be able to help.

I suggest you write a brand new post - down here on a five-year-old thread it is likely to be missed.

[crimple]

Thanks Moggie, you learn something new every day! As I am not aware of the full chemical composition of levothyroxine I definitely was not aware that the medication contained Iodine. So that answers one thing that has been puzzling me for a while. Thank God for this website.

No doubt I will be back, as I think I may have developed thyroiditis or my medication needs a "yellow card" my TSH etc is "all over the shop", as it was on TEVA!!

[Angel_of_the_North]

It doesn't contain "added" iodine. T4 IS a molecule of tyrosine (an amino acid - the T) with 4 iodine atoms attached (the 4). To make T3, your body has to remove one iodine atom from the T4 (something some people aren't very good at) - it has to be the correct atom or you get reverse T3. So T3 IS a tyrosine molecule with 3 iodine atoms. It's like a ready-meal - all the necessary ingredients are already there.

If you aren't taking meds, your body has to grab the iodine out of the bloodstream (?) and stick it onto the Tyrosine molecule, so you need both enough tyrosine and enough iodine in the diet - that's what the article means.

[Moggie in reply to Angel_of_the_North]

What a good explanation - thank you.

Moggie x

[Hidden in reply to Angel_of_the_North]

so - scuse me being thick - does NDT also contain iodine, or would there be a danger of having too little iodine to transform if medicated with that?

[Angel_of_the_North in reply to Hidden]

Again is doesn't exactly contain iodine as iodine is an essential part of the substance - without iodine there is no thyroid hormone. NDT contains T4, T3, and as far as we know, T2, T1 and calcitonin. All the "T"s work the same way. They are made by breaking an iodine atom off the previous one. So NDT is a pre-digested ready meal, so to speak, as the person doesn't have to do any work to break off iodine atoms to make T3, T2 and T1.

[PoppyRose in reply to Angel_of_the_North]

Can I just ask then that any multivitamin must not contain Iodine as I have been told this afternoon? In search of a good multivitamin with no Iodine. I'll post that as a separate question.

Thanks.

[foxglove in reply to Angel_of_the_North]

Does this mean that iodine from food is all right?...but one must not be taking replacement thyroxine. Curiouser and curiouser

[Angel_of_the_North in reply to foxglove]

The point is that you need the right amount of iodine - not too much and not too little - whether form food or supplements. Most people can get enough from food (it might be possible to get too much if you ate tons of seaweed), which is why you should be tested before using supplements, and use them ONLY if you have an iodine deficiency.

[Hidden]

Sorry - didn't realise I'd asked this before. My apologies. Thanks very much for your patience.