Changing to T3- more Iodine needed

[renawaltdr]

Hallo everybody, I had a Thyroidectomy 1996 and was for long years ( under) substitute with T4. Recently my health deteriorated further and I decided to give T3 a try. Now I am in better condition, ut just read one would by this increasing the metabolism also increase the ( beforehand existing) iodine deficiency and by this the risk for (breast) cancer. Does anybody have suggestions or experiences on how much iodine to substitute?Thank you.

[greygoose]

As you've had a thyroidectomy, you actually need less iodine, because you're not making thyroid hormones.

Also, taking thyroid hormones exogenously, increases your iodine intake. 100 mcg T4, gives you 65 mcg iodine. You don't tell us how much you're taking of anything, so I can't work out exactly how much iodine you are ingesting daily.

[renawaltdr in reply to greygoose]

Thank you. Momentarily I still take 25 mcg T4 and 30 mcg T3. My plan is to stop T4 after another week and continue T3 for 3 months, then try to switch to NDT. I feel I am almost there with the T3, maybe another 5 mcg or so. T4 seems to do nothing good for me.

Regards

[greygoose in reply to renawaltdr]

So, by my rough calculations - I'm really no good at maths! - at the moment, you're getting about 21 mcg iodine a day. Plus what you get in food.

I don't understand why you embarked on this tortuous process, and why you didn't just go straight to NDT. If T4 doesn't suit you, and you can't convert, I can't see why you would want to take NDT, which contains 38 mcg T4 per grain, and you would need about 3 grains. That's an awful lot of T4.

Do you know for certain that you don't convert well?

[renawaltdr in reply to greygoose]

XxThank you. No, I don't know for shure , it is just an assumption that I had produced too much rT3 and this is just a trial to get rid of it. If NDT doesn't the job, I will remain on T3. I was talking with a woman who succeeded in achieving this ( getting on with NDT after the T3 cure).

[greygoose in reply to renawaltdr]

But rT3 isn't an obstacle to getting on with NDT. And, often the same things that cause the rT3 can be the things that stop you getting on with NDT : high/low cortisol, nutritional deficiencies, low-calorie diets...

Perhaps you should sort out those first.

[penny]

My private doc. prescribed some iodine along with my T3 and I began to feel really tired, wanting to nap in the afternoons. I stopped the iodine and felt better again.