vegan, thyroid test & iodine

[Trees_]

hello

I have symptoms of hypothyroidism but haven’t been diagnosed.

I have a thyroid function blood test in 1 week.

I am vegan and take an iodine supplement as I don’t eat seaweed or use iodised salt.

Should I continue to take my iodine tablet up till the test date or should I stop taking it?

Many thanks T

[Hedgeree]

Hi Trees,

Welcome to the forum 😊

The topic of iodine does come up regularly on the forum. So if you search for 'Iodine' and 'thyroid' you'll find other posts. Also check related posts somewhere on this page.

How long have you been supplementing with iodine? Are you getting any guidance or following any particular protocol?

Also when did the symptoms of hypothyroidism start? Was it before you began taking iodine?

[radd]

Trees_

Welcome to our forum,

Iodine is required for thyroid hormones synthesis and is up-taken through an active transport system and stored in thyroid follicular cells. It is involved with transport, oxidation and coupling steps to produce thyroid hormones. Hence supplements are sold to enhance thyroid function but unless you are suffering an actual iodine deficiency, taking additional can create problems.

To get a true base line of your thyroid function you will need to stop supplementing iodine before your test as additonal iodine risks skewing the results.

[Hedgeree]

Hi Trees,

I realise you've got a thyroid blood test in a week's time but do you have any current blood test results that you could post?

[greygoose]

This is a very comprehensive post about iodine that could interest you:

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...