Has anyone had strong results with medium to high amounts of natural iodine supplementation?
Iodine question : Has anyone had strong results... - Thyroid UK
Iodine question
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GerbilsinSpace_77
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I would be very careful with iodine. Too much iodine sent my thyroid haywire.Only aim to increase iodine intake if you have been tested as deficient.
Thanks for your feedback. Yes I've heard it could do that. Guess I'll have to do some experimenting and see what works best for me. I might be low on minerals in general, my latest round of NDT hasn't seemed to have helped much.
The problem with personal experimentation is that you can easily go too far without realising.
It isn't something that you can take for a while then cut back and expect all to be well. Higher doses can have profound and long-lasting effects.
Remember, every molecule of thyroid hormone you take already contains 4 or 3 atoms of iodine. As soon as you start taking thyroid hormones, you are not in the same place as someone who is just a touch low in iodine.
Well, I am not so sure iodine can be harmful tho. What in your belief is the risk?
There is well-documented evidence of the effects of amiodarone - a medicine which contains a lot of iodine. It appears that most of its impact is due to the iodine it delivers.
europepmc.org/search?query=...
Effects reported include pulmonary fibrosis.
I sincerely appreciate everyone's kind feedback. I try to be healthily sceptical of any lay advice I come across from any source. I understand I'm not a doctor - altho they don't know everything - and do my best to judge accordingly. Just based on some initial reading however, some have mentioned elsewhere that much of the potential risk for iodine supplementation can come from not pairing it with selenium. I'm not trying to push iodine or anything else, just pointing out the different viewpoints I have come across. A video I recently came across in favor of iodine usage is the following:
Again I'm not making any claims as to their veracity or anyone else's, anyone ofc can claim anything, well-meaning or not, we all need to do our due diligence and be careful about what we trust, but what would be your personal feelings about their argument? The commenters seem to have mostly positive experiences to report from their personal usages.
Thanks again for your input.
There are probably thousands of pages/videos making iodine claims.
And an awful lot of them are actually there because someone is selling an iodine product.
Many make claims about their particular form of iodine - but I have yet to see anyone properly explain why one specific form is so different to others. Yes - they make claims. But no supported explanations and evidence.
We see widespread claims about the iodine patch test. Which was debunked many years ago. At least some strong iodine supporters agree it is not a test that has any role in determining need for iodine.
The number of people who report negative experiences is small. But there could be many reasons for that including embarrassment at having fallen for the promotion.
Many claims are outright lies. For example, claims of massive iodine consumption in Japan. Some Japanese meals are high in iodine. But the average intake appears to be about 3000 micrograms a day which, while far more than in most other countries, is less than often claimed. And Japan has high rates of, for example, Hashimoto's.
If iodine and selenium need to be considered together, then test both and see where to go.
And there are profound differences between people who have been low in iodine all their lives suddenly increasing their intake and others who have always had high iodine intake.
Very sensible feedback. I can't argue with any of that. Appreciate your response.
I've been surprised (though shocked would possibly be more appropriate) at the level of misunderstanding concerning iodine and thyroid issues by the specialists that have been treating me since my initial endocrine referral.
When I tell them that I have an iodine deficiency it is either glossed over and generally ignored. Only one said to not supplement as it could confuse my situation prior to blood tests and surgery.
Rather worryingly an ENT surgical registrar even told me that the Levothyroxine I was being prescribed would not affect my iodine levels as it didnt contain any iodine.
Thankfully he wasn't involved with my partial thyroidectomy....he may have removed the wrong body part 🥴
I entirely agree that iodine issues are dismissed.
The reason I reply on iodine threads is simple. Excess iodine can have very serious effects. And if you rely on those who see iodine as entirely beneficial, you could end up causing yourself health problems.
Lack of testing for iodine pretty much automatically means it is ignored. Trouble is, iodine tests are ludicrously expensive so rarely done.
I suspect that for many who take thyroid hormones, we might well have been getting 150 micrograms a day (average) before our thyroid issue, and can continue to do so even while taking thyroid hormones, with no problem. But no-one looks.
However, I tend to be pretty calm about things like milk-replacement products that add a similar amount of iodine as would be in cows milk.
I suggest you read this thread:
healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...
Thanks a lot for that link. I will take all your advice into consideration.
You're welcome.
Just out of curiosity, what do you expect iodine to do for you?
To give me overall wellness, greater energy and vitality, to help my thyroid work better and to hopefully assist my metabolism and being more efficient and faster and to assist me in my weight loss goals and to help give me a little bit more mental clarity a little bit more mental focus. Based on reports from those in the natural health community favorable to iodine they claim that it is very foundational fundamental element that is very important to our body being used in many many different functions including all the above and so on.
I will pair it with selenium as I've read that sometimes that's necessary to provide the best benefits.
Pretty sure iodine won't do any of those things.
Yes, I've read these claims by the natural health community, but it's just claims with no proof. And, the symptoms they cite for iodine deficiency are the same as symptoms of low thyroid. And, it's true that iodine is necessary to make thyroid hormone, as I've said before. Iodine deficiency leads to hypothyroidism. And low metabolism, weight-gain and difficulty losing it, and brain-fog are all hypo symptoms.
But, iodine deficiency is not the only cause of hypothyroidism. And in the west, it's one of the least likely.
And, just because it is a necessary ingredient of thyroid hormone doesn't mean that taking excess iodine will make your thyroid work better. It won't. And it doesn't matter how many eggs you add to the batter, if your oven is on the blink, you still won't get a cake out of it.
And, even if you do 'pair' it with selenium - which is essential, by the way - excess iodine is still dangerous.
You might be right but I'll be careful with it and go slowly. I'll be sure to report any notable results here. I don't personally think OTC iodine is a serious risk for an otherwise healthy person. I mean I am pretty hypo but other than that I'm fortunate to be healthy (knock on wood).
I'm sure I'll be fine. I'm a pretty careful person, I won't be chugging back whole bottles or anything.
But it never hurts to be careful. Better too careful than not enough. No doubt.
Report
I took over the counter iodine and it made me very ill. It was contained in another supplement I was taking. I was not swigging bottles of the stuff but the amount contained in an over the counter supplement was enough to send my thyroid way out of order.
I'm sorry to hear that. That doesn't mean that will be everyone else's experience however. We're you also taking it with selenium? I will keep that in mind if I notice any issues with my body and I'll be sure to back off dosage if necessary. There's also something called a herxheimer reaction or a detoxing reaction. It is unpleasant but not life-threatening and not permanent. It's merely a reaction that can happen when a body is starting to get healthier. That may not have been your situation but it can happen. Usually it passes and a person starts to feel much better from then on.
The iodine supplement turned my healthy thyroid into a very sick thyroid.
Hmm. I'm very sorry to hear that. How are you doing now??
15 years later I have no thyroid. I spent 2 years housebound. However the last few years things have improved as I was able to get combination therapy of levothyroxine and liothyronine.
Oh dear. I'm glad to hear it's better but I'm really sorry to hear you lost your whole thyroid! Do you feel the iodine was responsible or were there other factors?
It was the iodine that set the whole thing off. I was not deficient in iodine and I was supplementing with iodine. The consultant can find no other explanation for the start of my thyroid problems. I have no family history of thyroid probs. I have no antibodies for autoimmune thyroid. I had no nodules or goitre.
I found an article - perhaps lack of using selenium harmed you. Apparently with some people it's very necessary with supplemental iodine use.
chriskresser.com/iodine-for...
But I did not develop a goitre and I did not develop or have autoimmune thyroid disease which are what the article discusses in relation to iodine.You will note however that the article does advise getting tested to see what your iodine status is.
True it does, but it also says to just start with supplemental iodine if testing isn't convenient but to increase slowly and watch carefully.
I took over the counter iodine drops too at the recommended dose from a very well known company in the US. If you are looking at taking iodine you will have come across this company and the claims made. PM me if you want to known which company it is as I’m probably not allowed to say. I ended up with overactive thyroid ‘Graves’ disease which I’ve just finished 18 months of treatment for. Previous to this I had all the symptoms of low thyroid. Therefore my recommendation is to stay well away from it.
It is not forbidden to mention companies so long as the context is clear (your personal experience) and it is NOT advertising.
You've made your response very clear - even without the name!
Please let me know the name if you don't mind or PM if you like. I can't see how to PM.
it was Detoxadine by Global Healing.
I'm familiar with that brand. And you found it did not help you?
That company makes a ludicrous claim:
The recommended amounts for normal Iodine supplementation is 150mg-1100mg per day, depending on your needs.
oxyhealth.co.uk/products/de...
The standard and widely accepted daily requirement is 150 micrograms.
150 mg is 1000 times that.
1100 mg is 7333 times that.
Probably poor proof reading and checking. But sure as anything, puts me off them.
And they say that each drop contains 650 micrograms of iodine. It ends up either a crazily high number of drops (230 to 1692) or impossible to take the recommended doses by counting drops.
That's what happened to me. My iodine dose was hidden in a multi vitamin . Of course the hyper is not true Graves as there are no antibodies or autoimmune element. And my thyroid never went into remission when I came off carbimazole.
I’m sorry to hear that Lalatoot. My TSI antibodies were only .5 over, equivocal on my results (negative as of October 2022) and Trab was normal at the time but I didn’t find that out until 3 months into treatment. I’ve been off treatment for 2 months but my levels are looking low so I’ll probably be on here looking for info with another post soon 😂
i think iodine is not a substance you can " go carefully with " and have any more control of the outcome than someone who was reckless.
I think it's more like picking a bingo ball from the barrel ..... you put your hand into the dark ,.. and you pull out whatever you get. In the case of iodine, what you get could be feeling better , or feeling nothing , or becoming hypothyroid , or becoming hyperthyroid. ... all of these affects are known to be possible with iodine .. and no matter how carefully you put your hand in the box , or how slowly you pull the ball out ... you can't see what ball you've got in your hand till you've taken it out ..... and in some cases you can't put it back if you don't like what you'll got.
it's a bit of a gamble.. and i don't think it's one i'd take ... especially if my thyroid condition was basically well controlled and stable and i currently had a reasonably good level of functioning. I wouldn't fancy rocking the boat by trying something with such unpredictable and potentially long term outcomes.
I'm sorry I just don't see it that way. I'm quite hypo and I may indeed be low iodine. I don't see what's so dangerous about this element.
If something goes wrong then I'll be the first to say I should have listened to this advice but my health is robust other than my hypo situation. I'm sure I'll be fine.
If iodine was this reactive and dangerous then why is it still being sold OTC?
If you want to know whether you're deficient in iodine, it makes more sense to be tested for this before attempting to supplement. For the record, all I have ever heard since I was diagnosed in 2017 is that iodine is quite toxic for hypothyroid patients so I wouldn't recommend it.
I've not heard that until now. I'm not worried about testing in this case. If I start to feel off and I'm convinced it's not a natural transitory herx reaction I'll back off to a lower dose or cease usage for a period of time. A lot of people in the natural health community seem to think it's a very vital nutrient. I think a Dr. Brownstein spoke a lot on it some years back. I'd like to see for myself. Others have given anecdotal reports that it's worked well for them. I'm alright with the potential risks. If it doesn't work for me I'll try something else, simple as that. Perhaps it's a myth that iodine is toxic for those who are hypo I don't know. It could just be that everyone's body is different and one hypo person could do great with iodine and another can be very sensitive to it. Bodies are complex biochemical machines, no two are exactly alike and they all don't react identically to the same input. I'm interested to see if it's a substance that could help me. I appreciate your concern but as it's not a poison I feel the worry may be excessive.
in reply to GerbilsinSpace_77
If iodine was this reactive and dangerous then why is it still being sold OTC?
Same reason as alcohol and tobacco; people will buy it and manufacturers will make money.
I'm also curious as to why you seem reluctant to test for deficiency first?
GerbilsinSpace_77 in reply to
Only bc I don't have private insurance atm. I do have a way to possibly get it but it would take a little while.
in reply to GerbilsinSpace_77
Then let it take a little while.
You keep saying on this thread how careful you're going to be, but taking it without testing first is reckless.
Iodine used to be the treatment for hypERthyroidism because of how effective it is at downregulating the thyroid.
You seem determined to take it regardless so I wish you the very best of luck. 🍀
GerbilsinSpace_77 in reply to
I keep hearing from the natural health community that it could up-regulate it, which is what I'm looking for. This is the first I've heard it that it could easily reduce it. I'll try to look up some medical essays or studies about it. I'm curious now.
"This is the first I've heard it that it could easily reduce it. I'll try to look up some medical essays or studies about it. I'm curious now."
Were you aware that Iodine was used as a treatment for HYPERthyroidism ?
uptodate.com/contents/iodin...
"Iodine in the treatment of hyperthyroidism
INTRODUCTION
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.
The role of iodine in the treatment of hyperthyroidism will be reviewed here........ "
in reply to GerbilsinSpace_77
Don't get me wrong, I'm definitely for treating ailments 'naturally'. I'd rather try dietry changes and lifestyle changes before agreeing to medication. People seem to have an arbitrary line as to when medication is acceptable. Chemo is accepted without question but levo makes people stop short. 🤷🏻♀️
BUT my experience is that natural health very rarely backs up its claims, which is a shame because by doing that it comes across as 'woo'. We have used what was available to us, in the natural world for thousands of years. With success too! But that knowledge has all but been lost. I.e. We think of dandelions as weeds and a pest but they are nutritional powerhouses (and the first source of pollen for the bees in the first part of the year.)
With that lost knowledge though we lost the wisdom that went with it.
And while accurate that iodine deficiency is a cause of hypothyroidism its not the only cause and in most cases iodine is not a helpful supplement.
As I say, you have opportunity to play this very carefully and test first but if you're going to go ahead, I genuinely wish you well.
in reply to GerbilsinSpace_77
Also, consider WHY this is the first time you've heard it.
Who benefits from you not having that piece of information? The Dr's peddling iodine supplements? The influencers on Instagram with targeted ads?
I find this whole discussion very interesting. I have been supplementing with potassium iodide (300 mcg) daily for the past 2 yrs. I also take Selenium (200 mcg) and Molybdenum (420 mcg). I will explain the latter in due course. I follow a protocol devised by Dr Greg Russell-Jones (B12 guy). The idea is that there is a cascade of nutrients starting from Iodine and progressing through Selenium, Molybdenum, B2 to B12. You need all to be at good levels for B12 to work properly.
So these are just small doses of Iodine (and the other nutrients), not mega-doses. Under no circumstances would I take a high dose of Iodine or anything else. I also take T3 only (50 mcg daily) but I am still somewhat hypothyroid. I can tell that I need the I/Se/Mo combo as without it I get a return of acid reflux very quickly. I've mentioned this elsewhere on this forum. I have tried reducing the Mo but the reflux returns within 2 days. Similarly with Selenium. I have not tried reducing the Iodine but may do so as an experiment just to see whether I need all 300 mcg or not. I may not. It's easy enough to do with tablets and a pill splitter.
I will also add that Dr GRJ wants me to come off T3 and back onto T4, then try to reduce T4 and get rid completely. This is just ridiculous and in no way would I do that. I have Hashi's and would imagine by now my thyroid capacity has been reduced a fair bit. So I'm not just swallowing everything he says, in fact the stomach effect of the I/Se/Mo was never mentioned and I think I'm the only one in his group who has stumbled across that effect.
Edit: Oh and I tested for these nutrients before starting, GRJ favours the HMTA hair test and on that I showed low for all of I/Se/Mo. I also did a blood test for Iodine and that too was low. He doesn't recommend supplementing if one is not low.
Thanks for all this info Titanium! Very good info.
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