Iodine and thyroid function

[Mangojam]

My good friend has an iodine deficiency along with an under active thyroid. She has been taking doses of iodine daily. The last week she has been increasingly fatigued, some “brain fog”, weight gain, even affected her eye sight. Is this something that is normal? Is it safe for her to take the iodine still or do you think that is causing these symptoms? I am trying to find some answers or experiences to help 😞

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK]

The first question is probably how does she know she has an iodine deficiency?

The second, how much and in what form is she taking iodine?

[Mangojam in reply to helvella]

Thank you for replying.

a urine test confirmed this and she has been taking the drops lugolrian solution(?)

This was recommend by a doctor For her to take and increase every week.

[Jazzw in reply to Mangojam]

Sounds like a dodgy doctor. Where in the world is your friend?

If your friend is on levothyroxine, they’ll be getting all the iodine they need from levothyroxine.

Too much iodine can worsen hypothyroidism—and it sounds like that’s exactly what’s happening.

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

Mangojam

Presumably your friend did a non-loading iodine urine test to confirm the deficiency? Hopefully she didn't just do the debunked iodine patch test.

How much iodine is she taking? When supplementing with iodine it should be done under the guidance of an experienced practitioner as there is a protocol and companion supplements are needed.

[Mangojam in reply to SeasideSusie]

Thank you for replying.

Yeah the urine test confirmed this and she has been taking the drops.

This was recommend by a doctor For her to take and increase every week.

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to Mangojam]

Mangojam

Was it a non-loading test?

[Lalatoot]

Iodine should only be taken if deficient as it affects thyroid function. It could be that your friend no longer needs to supplement and is now making herself unwell.

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Iodine deficiency is unusual unless on vegan diet

How was this deficiency tested for

Many iodine tests are unreliable

Is she on levothyroxine

Levothyroxine contains all the iodine needed

Majority of primary hypothyroidism is due to autoimmune thyroid disease also called Hashimoto’s, diagnosed by high thyroid antibodies

Does she have Hashimoto’s

Iodine is very controversial and not recommended for anyone with Hashimoto’s

drknews.com/iodine-and-hash...

thyroidpharmacist.com/artic...

SeasideSusie has details of recommended iodine test, she may pop along

How much levothyroxine is she currently taking

[Buddy195 Administrator]

Do you have your friends thyroid Blood tests, as it’s very useful to post these, plus her current thyroid medication dosage. How did she find out she was iodine deficient? I know you have to be very careful with iodine with an under active thyroid; I’d advise to stop supplementing Iodine & retest levels. The brain fog, weight gain & fatigue are classic under active Thyroid symptoms. Can you explain her eye issues.... any blurriness/ swelling etc? I have thyroid eye problems (with Hashimotos) and I would 100% recommend getting them checked by an optician.

[fuchsia-pink]

Welcome to the forum.

You need to be really careful with iodine if you're hypo.

Is your friend on levo? [this contains iodine anyway]. Does she have any recent blood results you can share? [including lab ranges, as these vary from lab to lab] - ideally she will have TSH, free T4, free T3, thyroid antibodies and key nutrients - ferritin, tolate, vit D and B12.

The symptoms you describe can just as easily be indicative of being under-medicated x

[grumpyold]

I used to supplement with iodine about 26 years ago because I thought I might be deficient whilst going through a vegan phase. Back then I didn't know anything about testing for deficiencies prior to supplementing.

Unbeknown to me at that time, my thyroid was becoming an issue and I believe that all that iodine was a contributing factor in me now having Hashi's. I think that due to my ignorance all those years ago, I actually helped cause my Hashi's.

IMO your friend should be very cautious.

[Roadrunnergreg]

In addition to what's already been mentioned, and no rest results to help us figure out what may be wrong. I'd suggest maybe selenium deficiency as selenium us needed for converting FT4 to FT3 how does that happen, selenium removes a molecule of iodine from 4 to 3 also if the adrenals are involved could easily have a zinc deficiency too, as zinc balances adrenals and thyroid levels...