Hi,
I’ve heard from few natural holistic practitioners that taking iodine drops daily helps with thyroid illnesses to boost energy levels.
Can anyone elaborate or have any useful info regarding it or experience in taking iodine drops for their thyroid health.
Thanks
Fitness84
It's essential to test iodine with a non-loading test before supplementing with iodine and only take it if found to be deficient.
Iodine solution used to be used to treat overactive thyroid before the present radioactive iodine treatment, it can cause hypothyroidism and make hypothyroidism worse. It's also not recommended when Hashi's is present.
Iodine deficiency can be one cause of hypothyroidism but that is unlikely in the UK as we can get plenty of iodine in our diet with milk, yogurt, white fish, scampi, etc. There is also iodine in Levothyroxine, approx 62mcg in 100mcg Levo, not as an added ingredient but iodine is released when deiodinasation takes place, eg when T4 is converted to T3.
Thanks Susie. Beautifully explained and straight to the point.
Much appreciated 👍🏽
Hi SeasideSusie,
Wow, that's really informative.
Can you advise of your info source please?
Just_Be
Iodine in the treatment of hyperthyroidism
uptodate.com/contents/iodin...
Iodine solutions, such as saturated solutions of potassium iodide (SSKI) or potassium iodide-iodine (Lugol's solution), replaced burnt sponge extract in the 19th century as treatment for endemic goiter. By extension, they were sometimes used to treat Graves' disease, but by the end of the century, they were considered to be a dangerous form of therapy. They returned to favor in the 1920s as preoperative treatment for hyperthyroidism and were used in the 1930s as the sole therapy for mild hyperthyroidism prior to the introduction of the thionamides. Today, iodine continues to have a minor role in the treatment of hyperthyroidism.
Food sources of iodine
bda.uk.com/uploads/assets/4...
No need for iodine if taking Levo
btf-thyroid.org/iodine-and-...
Iodine and hypothyroidism
If you have hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid) and are taking levothyroxine you do not have a functioning thyroid to absorb iodine and therefore you do not require iodine.
Hi Fitness84. I take a few drops of lugols iodine daily and find it very helpful. I do not have Hashimoto but do have hypothyroidism - self diagnosed with a TSH above range and FT3 below range. ( GPs not interested) I also had vitamin defiencies B12( well very low normal) and Vit D for starters. One of my original symptoms on visiting the GP was constant feeling of a lump in my throat .
Initially I focused on vitamins andB12 made a massive improvement but after another 2 years or so I still had this lump feeling in throat. So after reading several books I dipped my toe into the NDT world ( after first sorting out adrenals and now on 2 ¾ grains), and a little later I nervously ( because of all the negative statements made about it here) started with Lugols iodine . Please read a book on this, like Lynne Farrows.
I started with a very low dose and it was a bit up and down to begin with but after a while I found this helped a lot. Over the last 2 yrs, on a couple of occasions, I assumed my iodine levels must be ok by now and have several times stopped taking the iodine. Big mistake. Very quickly the feeling of a lump in my throat returns and my hair, especially body hair either falls out or breaks off. Once back on the iodine things return to normal quickly.
I didn’t get an iodine test. Just started with a really low dose, but please read about it first.
Perhaps it’s also good to mention I was one of those people who never added salt to anything and I am not especially found if sea food. But since all my health issues, I now eat sea salt everyday and have fish regularly.
I am now a big fan of iodine. My daughter(27) was constantly getting UTI’s and seemed to be permanently on antibiotics. I put her on the Lugols and she has not had ANY problems since.
Iodine is good for lots of things, not just thyroid. I wouldn’t be without it now.
Thank you for posting this. I currently have that awful feeling of a lump in my throat which came in at start of lockdown when I was in my flat for 23 hours a day. I ve just purchased the iodine and am starting with one drop on my wrist today. Do you take it in water or in your skin. Did you also take selenium as this is supposed to help? Thank you x
Hi,
I always took it in a multivitamin drink but on the skin is also ok. Yes I do also take selenium daily.
I started with 2% Lugols 1 drop and very very slowly increased. You should also take Celtic sea salt daily.
Hope all goes well
Thank you for that. My iodine drops are 15% so hope that will be ok. I have had an iodine urine test with Medichecks last week which showed me as deficient. I will get some Celtic sea salt x
I have Hashi's, I take 300 mcg of potassium iodide daily, along with 200 mcg selenite and 200 mcg molybdate. I have found this combination has fixed my non-existent stomach acid levels and I was able to (metaphorically) throw my Betaine HCl tablets into the bin. This is a very small amount of iodine however, not the far larger amounts some people take.
Edit: I did a hair test and also blood serum, both showed me very low for iodine.
Hi Fitness84............I am exploring this issue myself. I just finished a book Iodine, Why you Need it by David Browstein MD. I found it incredibly interesting and informative. Still deciding on my next steps but you may find it helpful.
A. If the “natural holistic practitioners” are licensed, rather than the diploma mill, uncertified people who pretend to know what they are doing, then pay them some mind. It is incumbent on YOU to do some homework too. After all it’s your body. If your doctors can’t teach you to care for yourself, they are not doctors, they are technicians. Own your health and your life.
-a shtdstrbr
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