Gastrografin - Yes or No?

[MarnieB]

I am due a CT Colonography and have been given Gastrografin to take prior to this. On the bottle it says "If you have an allergy to iodine do not take Gastrografin". I have Hashimotos and have been taking 100mcg Levothyroxine for many years. Should I be taking this? Has anyone had experience of this prep?

[humanbean]

Levothyroxine contains iodine. If you've been taking Levo for many years then you shouldn't have too much problem with anything else containing iodine.

Levo is often referred to as T4. This is because it is made of Tyrosine with four iodine atoms attached.

Iodine deficiency is a common reason for hypothyroidism in some parts of the world.

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to humanbean]

helvella - Vade Mecum for Thyroid

The term vade mecum means:

1. A referential book such as a handbook or manual.

2. A useful object, constantly carried on one’s person.

Please don't get put off by the number of pages!

Nor by the fact it is targeted at people interested in thyroid issues. Much of its contents could be of use to many involved in health issues. Things like abbreviations, lists, general reference information, an Appendix of links to many useful websites.

And do keep up to date. I edit it frequently- sometimes trivially, sometimes extensively. If your copy is more than a few weeks old, please download it again.

In particular, it is not intended that you sit and read the document. Just that you download it and know you can look things up.

If there is anything you'd like me to add, let me know.

• Iodine Content of Thyroid Hormones

From Dropbox:

dropbox.com/s/vp5ct1cwc03bl...

From Google Drive:

drive.google.com/file/d/1P9...

[MarnieB in reply to humanbean]

Thank you humanbean. That is very reassuring.