Iodine Deficiency

Lilja · Post by **Lilja** » Thu May 12, 2016 4:58 pm

Hi,
I have now been GF, DF, SF and partly egg free for a little more than 3 years. I don’t have diarrea any more, I feel a hundred times better than I did back in 2013, i.e. no brain fog, no confusion, no lack of balance when I walk, I can follow and participate in normal conversations, I’m not depressed, I sleep well, I don’t run to the toilet for pee or D all the time, I ‘m not nauseous all the time and I have more energy and appetite. But, since having had constant D for 3 years, and thereafter being on a strict diet for three years, I wanted to find out how my nutritional status was.

So, I did a lot of tests last April, and almost everything was within the reference areas, except from 24-hours of urine iodine, which was 2 degrees below minimum reference area, and lymphocytes slightly above reference area, as well as eosinophiles slightly above reference area.

You cannot know if you are developing a thyroid issue while you are busy suffering from MC, but the chances are present, so I thought after these three years that I might try at least to prevent that I would develop some thyroid issues in the future, and I thought it would be wise to start supplementing with iodine, since my level was below reference area. Well, lo and behold. Talking about pains? I have never, ever experienced this kind of pains. My shoulders, the back of my neck, my upper arms…!

I have now followed the iodine protocol for 3 weeks, but I had to stop. The pains were so awful I could not sleep! According to the «Iodine Protocol» that I have been following, it’s important to supplement with Selenium, Magnesium, D3, Zink, vitamin C, unrefined sea salt, B2, B3, and the active forms of B12, B9 and B12, which I have.

So, according to this iodine protocole, if people get detox-symptoms, it is said that one has to follow a so called «salt protocol», which is supposed to alleviate the bad reactions from iodine intake, while the bad stuff is getting out of your body. I did that too, I loyally followed the salt protocol, but the pains would not go away.

So, here I am with an iodine deficiency, but taking iodine supplements give me pains.

However, I forgot to tell that my integrative doctor told me to take Kelp supplememts (maybe because it is against the law to prescribe hormone supplements in my country), but I went straight to Lugol’s Iodine. Maybe that’s the answer, and that there is a difference between taking Lugol and Kelp, a difference I was too eager to understand?

Lilja

Post by **tex** » Thu May 12, 2016 6:06 pm

Lilja,

Did you dilute it? It's available in various formulations, but because it contains free iodine, even at just a 2% concentration it tends to be irritating and can damage the mucosal lining of the esophagus and stomach. Maybe it contains something other than iodine and distilled water. Did you check the label carefully?

And last but not least, "How much did you take each day?" The RDA for iodine is very low and the American Thyroid Association claims that taking more than 1,100 mcg of iodine per day can cause thyroid dysfunction. That could possibly cause the symptoms that you described. I've always just used iodized salt, and never even thought about iodine in my diet.

I would be afraid to take it orally, because iodine is a pretty good disinfectant. At least that's what we used it for when I was a kid. If I recall correctly, doctors back in those days disinfected bad cuts or puncture wounds with iodine.

Tex

Gabes-Apg · Post by **Gabes-Apg** » Fri May 13, 2016 12:39 am

What dose did you take?? Did you start low and work up?

I didn't have the detox symptoms with iodine... For me I saw improvements within a few weeks.

My practitioner prefers liquid iodine versus any tablet capsule form.

Lilja · Post by **Lilja** » Fri May 13, 2016 4:44 am

Thank you both Tex and Gabes,

Sorry, it is not Lugol's, but a product called "Iodoral" 12,5 mg. I have cut each tablet in 8 pieces, and took 1/8th of 12,5 mg each day for three weeks. I never got so far as to up my dose from 1/8th. My plan was to increase the dose after 4 weeks, but I had to stop.

The box says:

Totall iodine/iodide: 12,5 mg

Iodine: 5 mg
Iodide (as potassium salt): 7,5 mg

Now, I feel a bit stupid that I jeopardized my health with iodine

Or, maybe it was the wrong product, and that liquid iodine would have had a milder effect?

Lilja

Post by **tex** » Fri May 13, 2016 10:37 am

Lilja,

According to my calculations, you were taking approximately 1,562.5 mcg per day and the National Institutes of Health guidelines say the safe upper limit for adults is 1,100 micrograms of iodine per day. In China the maximum intake is listed at 800 mcg, for example.

The amount that you took was high, but not high enough to be a serious health threat (unless you continued to take it for a long time). I have a hunch that you are just allergic to something in that particular product. If it was a tablet then it has to have other ingredients besides just iodine and distilled water. Look at the ingredient list. If it doesn't even show what else was added so that it could be formed into a tablet, then I would discard it and try a different product (something other than a tablet).

Tex

Lilja · Post by **Lilja** » Fri May 13, 2016 11:48 am

Thank you, Tex!

I will throw the tablets in the garbage. On the box nothing is listed other than the quantity of iodide and iodine... Looking up at iHerb's content list it says:

Other Ingredients:

Micosolle, a silica-based excipient containing a non-ionic surfactant, microcrystalline cellulose, vegetable stearins and pharmaceutical glaze. (Greek to me).

And then this:

Warnings:

Store in a cool, dry and dark place.
Potential Side Effects:
Ingestion of iodine and/or iodide has been associated with certain complaints. If you experience any of the following, stop ingesting Iodoral and contact your physician:
Acne-like skin lesions in certain areas of your body
Headache in the frontal sinus
Unpleasant brassy taste
Increased salivation and sneezing
If you experience any unusual symptom since starting on Iodoral, contact your physician

Lilja

Post by **tex** » Fri May 13, 2016 12:40 pm

Lilja

That first ingredient (listed first because it is the largest quantity ingredient in the product) is a proprietary chemical product that could contain all sorts of things such as gums, or emulsifiers, and the "non-ionic surfactant" part of it is a chemical detergent. It's considered to be an inert (inactive) ingredient, but anytime a surfactant is used, the reason why it is used is because it increases absorption of the product. I would guess that the Micosolle may have been the reason why you reacted to the product.

But one has to wonder about the pharmaceutical glaze, also. Pharmaceutical glaze is usually a food grade shellac. But shellac is derived from the raw material sticklac, which is a resin scraped from the branches of trees left from when a small insect known as Kerria lacca (aka Laccifer lacca), creates a hard, waterproof cocoon. So this is insect crud scraped off of tree limbs.

I would guess that it's possible that some people may be allergic to the stuff.

Tex

Erica P-G · Post by **Erica P-G** » Fri May 13, 2016 1:25 pm

Wow....I learned so much about Iodine just now....I don't think I gleamed this much information when I was in chemistry class!

Thanks for your wealth of knowledge about certain things Tex....I'm sure it would take me plenty of time searching the net to come up with such an explanatory explanation

I love learning here

JFR · Post by **JFR** » Fri May 13, 2016 2:15 pm

I take sea vegetables to insure I get enough iodine since I don't use iodized salt.

http://www.seaveg.com/shop/index.php?ma ... cts_id=100

Seems to me this kind of stuff should be easily available in Norway. I add it to bone broth and a variety of other foods.

Jean

Lilja · Post by **Lilja** » Fri May 13, 2016 2:53 pm

Thank you Tex! And of course Erica and Jean!

Wow, one thing is to be stupid and not investigating ingredients, - which is the foremost quality an MC-person should learn - , the second thing is not to ask other people with iodine deficiency what they prefer as their first choice supplement.

For the time being I will let iodine be what it is; a deficiency I might not be so concerned about. If my iodine level according to the next 24 hr urine test is still beneath minimum level, I will consider taking a supplement, but then preferrably in the form of liquid.

I appreciate your contribution to sort out a somewhat penible experience :-)

Lilja

Gabes-Apg · Post by **Gabes-Apg** » Fri May 13, 2016 3:04 pm

I thought when we first discussed this i sent you the link for the drops??

the drops have no other ingredients - other than purified water

Lilja · Post by **Lilja** » Fri May 13, 2016 4:16 pm

Gabes,
I can't see a link in this thread. Could you please send it once more?

Lilja

Gabes-Apg · Post by **Gabes-Apg** » Fri May 13, 2016 4:24 pm

http://www.iherb.com/Life-Flo-Health-Li ... 9-ml/22640

Gabes-Apg · Post by **Gabes-Apg** » Fri May 13, 2016 7:45 pm

Aside from the form of iodine that you took was maybe not ideal - and the dosage maybe too high..

doing some reading today for someone else (impacts of living next to aluminium smelter as a child etc) and came across this

IODINE HELPS REMOVE ALL TOXINS

Iodine supplementation has a wonderful effect on all the toxic metals in the body. It can also help remove toxic chemicals and infections. This occurs for several reasons:

1. Iodine opposes or antagonizes the halogens. This has been discussed above. Taking iodine often leads to the elimination from the body of bromines, chlorine, fluorides and other metals as well.

2. Iodine improves thyroid activity. As thyroid activity recovers, the body is far more able to eliminate all the toxic metals. This is the main mechanism behind iodine’s ability to reduce the toxic metal burden in the body.

3. Iodine is a germicide – antibiotic, antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal and anticancer. It appears to help the body fight off many types of infection. This occurs partly by improving thyroid activity. However, iodine can also act as an anti-oxidant, according to researchers.

http://www.drlwilson.com/articles/IODINE.htm

The pain was most likely the clearance of halogens and/or toxic metals, not necessarily a bad thing in the long term. and with a lower dose of safe iodine, will be a more gradual process.
Maybe the learning from this is that you do have excess halogens and/or toxic metals..

Lilja · Post by **Lilja** » Sat May 14, 2016 2:16 am

You are an angel, Gabes

Yes, I do have that bottle from Life Flo somewhere among all my supplements.

Dr Wilson says: "Meanwhile, Iodoral and similar products are synthetic, and we find they tend to be somewhat toxic, in all cases!" The exclamation mark is his.

Lilja