iodine & underactive thyroid

[hairyfairy]

Iv`e had a slighly underactive thyroid for some time now, & have just started taking Levoythyroxine. I don`t like the idea of being on medication for the rest of my life, & I`m wondering if taking an iodine supplement would help.

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK]

Are you deficient in iodine?

I guess you don't know simply because you have not been tested. (Nor has anyone else - the urinary iodine test is rarely done on real patients in the UK.)

The trouble is that iodine is not a simple substance. Certainly some source of iodine is required to make thyroid hormone. But as you are getting that by tablet, you probably don't need so much. And there are many cautions about taking iodine if you have an autoimmune thyroid disorder. And if you take it, it can have the opposite effect to what you might expect.

All you have to do is think like this: Iodine is a medication that you don't want to take for the rest of your life. Levothyroxine is simply a hormone replacement.

Also, search this site for references to iodine.

Rod

[wasokonce]

hi! hairyfairy i hope you get some answers as i would like to know the same though ive been on levo for 10 years and was just a detail on new docs list so never have had a real in depth analysis on my distant SUDDEN change in health.

isnt it a real pain not to know the reason why your thyroid goes down. that's wot happened to me and was just given levo without any info as to what could cause it to go under active.

best of luck for future health.

[Hidden]

You may find this site useful. It has a lot information about iodine research.

optimox.com/pics/Iodine/opt...

Don't think about levo as a medication. It is a replacement hormone. That might help.

If you want something completely natural, however, you may want to consider changing to a natural desiccated thyroid hormone like Armour, Erfa or NatureThroid.

Jane x