My husband and I felt the same way for many years until we were diagnosed with vitamin deficiency not by a doctor but a vegetarian nurse practitioner she saved our lives. Doctors tell people to cut back or stop eating red meat, dairy and eggs which rich in B 12 and eat plenty of fruits a veggies and drink plenty of water which depletes your body of B 12, vegan can't live without supplements. We started taking supplements B 12, D 3 and calcium for over a year now we feel so much better, we feel like different people and now life is worth living. I'm not trying to promote any product just want to help people feel better you can look on my Facebook to see what supplements we take. Vitamin deficiency is becoming a big epidemic in the USA and mimics a lot of other different illnesses but doctors can't make any money off supplements. I've been on thyroid medication for 20 years and it never helped my symptoms, I just kept getting worse it was like my mind and body was slowly wasting away, the side effects never went away. I started taking a supplement with iodine to slowly introduce my body to iodine about 6 months ago, a week ago I stopped taking my thyroids medication and started taking a liquid organic iodine supplement with no side effects! The number one cause of hypothyroidism is iodine deficiency so why don't doctors start their patients on an iodine supplement first if it doesn't work then give them medication. In my research because I still have my thyroid gland, I find that the thyroid medication is what made my symptoms worse.
Vitamin deficiency is becoming an epidemic in t... - Thyroid UK
Vitamin deficiency is becoming an epidemic in the USA and mimics a lot of other illness but doctors aren't telling you!
Giving people iodine used to be a way of treating high thyroid hormone levels. As a person with hypothyroidism I would be extremely wary of taking it unless I had first been tested for deficiency.
But there is a problem. The standard iodine loading test is practically guaranteed to produce a result suggesting a patient is deficient.
townsendletter.com/Jan2013/...
blog.zrtlab.com/flaws-in-th...
If I was going to test myself for iodine deficiency I would just use a standard non-loading urine or blood test. I wouldn't supplement iodine without doing one of these tests.
I was expecting to press the ' Like ' -
until I read that you had stopped taking your Thyroid replacement med. If you have Hypothyroidism, then you need your Thyroid medication. Whilst you were deficient in certain vitamins your Thyroid medication may not have helped you as it should.
Should you be supplementing with iodine ?? Check out Thyroid UK's website for what (and what not) to take /eat .
I did my research about iodine and hypothyroidism and I'm confident about the way my mind and body feels! I haven't felt this good in my life!
People often feel better if they stop taking meds - for a month or so, as TSH rises and helps improve conversion - then they crash. I believe iodine does a similar thing for a short amount of time. Of course, you might actually have been iodine deficient and you are no longer getting all that iodine from your thyroid meds. You also need L'tyrosine, so if you are vegan, you might need to supplement. If just veggie. milk kefir is a good source. Be aware that undertreated hypo can result in heart disease, dementia and a slow death.
The "number one" cause of Hypothyroidism is Hashimoto's Autoimmune Thyroiditis.
Have you ever had Antibodies blood tests (Thyroid Peroxidase and Thyroglobulin )? What was your actual diagnosis? Were you monitored regularly?
Mary
"Hidden" means that the member is no longer a member of the forum, so she won't see your reply.
Thanks Susie
You're welcome Mary 
My doctor did just that, without doing any tests or anything. The result was that I got ten times worse! But he still didn't test my thyroid. I don't think I'd be in the state I am not, if he hadn't put me on iodine, and I will never trust another doctor again. Especially not for nutritional advice! They just don't learn about it in med school!
Oh, and the leading cause of hypothyroidism in the west is Hashi's. Excess iodine can trigger Hashi's.
My doctor didn't put me on iodine I did, I did talk to a nutritionist first you can't just start talking iodine you have slowly introduce your body to iodine by taking a supplement with a little iodine in it for 3 months, then I took a different iodine supplement for 2 months now I only use 3 drops in the morning with a glass of purified water before breakfast. Then I take my other supplements with breakfast and lunch you have to take them with food.
Well I won't be taking it again, that's for certain! Anyway, my thyroid is dead, now, killed by Hashi's.
The danger with iodine - one of them - is that doctors know nothing about it. They think everything to do with thyroid is easy - you just throw iodine at it! They have no idea how to start it or continue it. And that puts patients in danger. You would be very, very lucky to find a doctor that knew anything about it. And that's why they shouldn't try.
You may have put you on iodine, but you were also suggesting that doctors should try it before giving levo. So, as they know nothing about it, that would be a very dangerous thing to suggest.
Do you have Hashimotos ?
Iodine Blood Test Result
Received this email, concerned about their comment re vitamin B9 and B12
Vitamin And Nutrients plus Thyroid Health
Goitre & supplementing selenium & iodine 
