Iodine and Potassium Iodide

WIN 52 said:

lainey said:

Laura said:

My energy is good, brain fog greatly reduced. And one thing that's interesting: my eyes and ears seem to be improving in various ways. The tinnitis is reduced by about half and no more light flashes in the eyes.

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That's good to hear, I'm happy for you. I will be so happy if my tinnitus reduces.

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I wonder about this ringing in the ear. It seems like it is related to some foreign material within the machine. Some sort of interference?

Just the thought of having some ice cream makes this ringing in my ear go to a fevered pitch. I have felt that this is directly related to certain pathogens. Three weeks into the protocol, resisting the urge to have a dish of ice cream has become much easier. Also it is becoming a lot quieter, funny even writing about ice cream brings on a cheer, of sorts. Talk about interference!

It wouldn't surprise me a bit if the noise is directly related to pathogens in your machine.

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We started Dr. Hulda Clark's parasite cleanse prophylatically August of 2014 and continued with the maintenance program. Part of the program requires taking Green Black Walnut tincture, which is high in iodine, but not sure how much...guess it would vary. Anyway, decided to try the Iodine protocol since part of Dr Clark's program includes using Lugol's iodine, which I never added due to other expenses at the time.

After being on the Iodine protocol for about a month now, I've noticed the tinnitus I've had over the last 2-3 years, which seemed to be getting shrill and constant, has been "silent" occasionally. Very encouraging! Trying to be more observant to determine what factors make it ring and what I'm doing before it goes silent.

I too, wondered if tinnitus was of pathogenic origin since after starting the increased dosage of Iodine i came down with what felt like a sinus infection. Figured I had caught something from 4 year old grandson. During the course of illness, I experienced a sharp headache in the occipital region of head where neck connects with base of skull. Drinking more salt water helped, as well as blowing out of my nose thick masses of congestion (sorry, that's really gross). But seriously, these masses reminded me of a nest of something that was growing in my sinuses. UGH! A pathogen perhaps? This happened 3-4 times, and the headaches lessened after I got rid of these. That's when i noticed the tinnitus was gone... but it does return occasionally, although it's encouraging to experience even temporary silence from it and hoping this is the course to complete recovery from tinnitus.

Also, on a different note. Have felt great after having to do work outside, such as chopping an inch of ice off driveway and shoveling it away, two days in a row! (Winter finally arrived!) Ordinarily, I'd feel stiff and sore from doing that kind of repetitive work which my body isn't used to. But the next day, felt a little sore and stiff, but not bad enough to reach for the bottle of ibuprofen. Remarkable!

I've ordered the ingredients for making my own Lugol's per Dr. Clark's instructions. That way I'll be able to adjust dosage increases more easily and start supplementing our dog. I've read that 0.08mg Iodine/# body weight for pets (70# x 0.08mg = 5.6g), anyone have further suggestions for supplementing pets with Lugol's iodine? Would like to get him off the toxic worming meds and am thinking the Lugol's would be a good substitute. Our companion is allowed off leash in hunting areas (marshy ground and lowland woods) so he can re-infect quite readily.

Thanks a bunch to everyone contributing to this thread; what a revelation for optimum health and well being.
Starting to feel more like a warrior, instead of a fence-sitter.

It occurred to me today that perhaps one of the reasons we seem to have more issues with the Iodine therapy here on the forum is that through changing our diets and getting healthy, and all the attention we've paid to our bodies during transitions in order to work safely and network about it on the forum to help each other too, that maybe we just notice things more than other people?

When you know how it feels to be healthy, you notice minor things that someone on a sad diet who, say, experiences back aches, skin conditions, brain fog, depression, ad nauseum, just takes as normal, everyday problems.

I think I just experienced the power of iodine to kill pathogens. During the week, we've had a nasty stomach bug making its rounds in the family. One by one, both of our kids and my wife got infected, and they started vomiting, having headaches, and feeling pretty ill. Immediately after noticing our daughter, who was the first one, having symptoms, I upped my intake of iodine. I thought that I'd rather have detox reactions than vomiting all night. ;)

I took ca 20mg of iodine 3 times a day for two consecutive days (which considering my previous doses was a lot), and it seems like it worked. I could feel some "rumbling" in my stomach the day after our daughter got sick, like the onset of the disease, but it subsided as soon as I took the iodine. Now all family members are healthy again, and I seem to have avoided this disease altogether! :)

Mandatory Intellectomy said:

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I think it's something about my metabolism. Like I said, I almost never have any immediate reactions to anything. Like with all the other supplements. I've never taken a new supplement and felt any change within the next day or two... or more. And if I feel something after a few weeks or months, it's impossible to tell exactly what was responsible for it. The only effect I can attest to is bowel tolerance for high doses of Vitamin C.

Unfortunately this goes for painkillers, too. During over 30 years of bad migraines, I've tried at least 10 different painkillers, including 1200 mg of Ibuprofen (which is about the strongest thing they can sell me in a pharmacy), with no effect on the pain or anything else.

What's more, I can actually eat a slice of bread (not that I do that these days, but it's been tried a few times before) with no reactions despite having the Celiac disease. Don't ask me why. The doctors don't know either.

So for now, I'll just continue and... "wait and see".

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Hi Mandatory Intellectomy
From reading your blog and what you have mentioned it sounds like you could be getting some serious detox symptoms - but they are hidden behind your long standing issues.
Given you mention having no body fat and celiac disease I'd also suspect damaged intestines and malabsorbtion. As celiac disease is also linked to thyroid problems I'd also consider a pre-existing thyroid problem.
One remaining possibility is nerve damage (from the gluten), you don't feel any effects because you can't.

Given all of the above it may well be a good idea to lower the dose.
Having suffered years of health problems I know what it's like to want to 'go nuclear' to get any positive result, and that in over doing many things they do indeed lead to 'the same old symptoms' (And the same depressive cycles of 'nothing works!'/overdoing things) I'd been suffering for years. A slow and steady approach is much better.

I'm basing this on my personal experiences and knowledge of the subject (I'm not a doctor).

You mention ketosis in your blog - how long have you been gluten free and in ketosis?
Have you experienced any improvements and weight gain in that time?

RedFox said:

Given you mention having no body fat and celiac disease I'd also suspect damaged intestines and malabsorbtion. As celiac disease is also linked to thyroid problems I'd also consider a pre-existing thyroid problem.
One remaining possibility is nerve damage (from the gluten), you don't feel any effects because you can't.

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I always had a messed up digestive system, ever since I was 4 or 5. I've been trying to fix that with diet, supplements, etc. in recent years. I think it's better now, but hard to say what the status really is. Asking doctors about anything only leads to frustration and facepalming because they seem more clueless than I am.

I had a neurology examination in March because of the pain in my hands, and they found nothing wrong, so I don't know about nerve damage. I certainly feel pain very clearly, heh.
But "damaged intestines and malabsorption" is something I would consider quite likely. Hopefully keeping up good habits will help.
As for a pre-existing thyroid problem, no idea. I suppose it's possible. If that's the case, the iodine might help over time.

You mention ketosis in your blog - how long have you been gluten free and in ketosis?
Have you experienced any improvements and weight gain in that time?

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I was diagnosed with Celiac disease when I was 11, so I've been gluten free most of my life. I occasionally cheated when I was still a kid, and I certainly ate lots of other garbage for many years, but some 4-5 years ago I started eliminating everything bad.
I started the ketogenic diet 19 months ago. I thought I'd try it for a few weeks and see what happens. After a week or so, I realized that I needed about 3 times less food than before to maintain the same (and more stable) energy levels. And soon enough, hunger and cravings pretty much disappeared. While those have been the only noticeable effects, they seemed cool enough to never get back to eating carbs. I was at about 30 grams of carbs per day most of the time, but about 2 months ago I brought it down to probably less than 10 grams a day on average.
My weight, however, hasn't changed since I was 18. That's another one of the constant things that stay the same no matter what I eat and how much.

Anyway, I took 400mg of Iodine today and still feel nothing unusual, but I probably won't go much above that, since I have to start working on Monday. I may keep up the high dose throughout the next week if I see no ill effects, but after that I'll go lower and just see what happens in the long run. Maybe I'll do experimental high doses on Saturdays. Plus I want to try higher doses of some other supplements (just for a few days each) to see if maybe some of that might make a difference.

Oh, incidentally, stains from iodine that I put on my hand yesterday are still there after about 14 hours now. So that's at least one sign that the body is actually retaining it.
I don't know if I nuked anything, but I guess I'll have to wait and see. I will certainly be moving towards more reasonable doses now.

Merci à tous pour vos commentaires et votre collaboration à cette expérience...
Je prends maintenant depuis un mois maintenant mon lugol 12% (celui recommandé par Laura) 5 gouttes par jour à 3h du matin puis quand je me lève vers 7h un verre d'eau chaude salée puis vers 7h30/8h je prends 2 cuillères à café de Sélélnium pour sucré mon thé, ma vitamine C 1 cuillère à café dans un verre d'eau, 1 comprimé B 3 complexe et depuis une semaine, une gélule de Charbon Marie au petit déjeuner et 3 au déjeuner du midi... Je viens de me commander du magnésium 300 que je prendrai le soir...
Depuis mon dernier commentaire, je me rends compte que je me mouche le matin 2/3 fois mais très légèrement et très clair...
Rien d'autre à signaler... Je vais continuer comme cela sauf que lorsque que le Charbon Marie sera terminé, je prendrai de la NAC et ainsi de suite Charbon Marie puis Nac...


Thank you all for your comments and your cooperation in this experience ...
I now take a month now since my lugol 12% (recommended by Laura) 5 drops per day at 3am and then when I get up around 7am a warm salt water and then drink around 7:30 / 8h I take 2 teaspoons Sélélnium of sweetened my tea, my vitamin C 1 teaspoon in a glass of water, 1 tablet 3 B complex for a week, Mary Coal capsule at breakfast and lunch 3 lunch ... I just to order me that I take 300 mg in the evening ...
Since my last review, I realize that I fly up in the morning 2/3 times but very lightly and very clear ...
Nothing else to report ... I will continue like this except that when the Coal Marie is over, I will take of the NAC and so on Coal and Marie Nac ...

So I have a concern and I figured ya'll might be able to give me some advice. My grandma, who's 75, has hypothyroidism. She's been taking low doses of levothyroxine for ten years, according to her, and over the last couple months started taking a higher dose according to her doctor's recommendation.

I've recently started supplementing iodine/iodide and I feel pretty good, and I started telling her about it and how her condition is a result of iodine deficiency. She wants to try supplementing, but she's not sure if she should be taking iodine while also taking levothyroxine. I read online that this isn't recommended. I told her that it might be better to supplement iodine instead of taking levothyroxine. From what I understand, this medicine is a synthetic form of thyroid hormone, but the reason her thyroid isn't producing thyroid hormone is because of iodine deficiency in the first place, and if she could get her thyroid to start producing the hormone naturally she won't need a synthetic version of it anymore. She wants to ask her doctor, but she thinks they'll tell her it isn't safe, and she's afraid if she goes against their recommendations and tries this instead that they won't want to deal with her anymore if something goes wrong (which I don't think they can legally do - I don't see how they could refuse treating someone simply because they tried a different approach).

One of her concerns is also that she has thyroid nodules, and when I had her read Gaby's article she brought up this quote by Brownstein:

Does iodine therapy cause hyperthyroidism? l was taught in medical school that it did, especially in patients suffering from autoimmune thyroid disorders such as Graves' or Hashimoto's disease. Young doctors-in-training are still taught this today. So, let me answer the question: Very rarely. Between my partners and myself, we estimate that over 12 years, less than 10 patients out of thousands treated became hyperthyroid when treated with iodine.

When I lecture to doctors, l tell them one particular condition can predispose to iodine-induced hyperthyroidism. This condition occurs in a patient who has an autonomously functioning nodule in their thyroid. Sometimes this is referred to as a hot nodule on a thyroid scan.

An autonomously functioning nodule is not under the feedback control of the pituitary and the hypothalamus. It functions independently of the thyroid gland. When iodine is present, these nodules can take up the iodine and produce copious amounts of thyroid hormone leading to hyperthyroidism. This condition can be diagnosed with a thyroid scan. However, it is most frequently diagnosed after a trial of iodine therapy is given and the patient becomes hyperthyroid after taking the first couple of doses.

How do you treat a patient with an autonomously functioning thyroid nodule? These patients must avoid iodine supplements and food (such as seaweed ) that is high in iodine UNTIL the nodule is surgically removed.

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So should she switch from her meds to supplementing iodine and see if that reacts with the nodule after the first couple doses? Or should the nodules be removed first? I really think iodine will help her condition, but I told her it's up to her if she wants to try it, even if her doctor recommends otherwise - that it's her body and she has the choice to try a different route. Especially because Big Pharma wants nothing more than for her to keep buying the meds and taking synthetic thyroid hormone instead of curing her thyroid so it can produce the hormone naturally.

I would go for the iodine, but in a gradual way. First, I would suggest using nori (seaweed) in the diet. Then, I would add small amounts of potassium iodide as a supplement. After that, I would use Lugols solution on any sores and show how they heal better.

PhoenixToEmber said:

So I have a concern and I figured ya'll might be able to give me some advice. My grandma, who's 75, has hypothyroidism. She's been taking low doses of levothyroxine for ten years, according to her, and over the last couple months started taking a higher dose according to her doctor's recommendation.

I've recently started supplementing iodine/iodide and I feel pretty good, and I started telling her about it and how her condition is a result of iodine deficiency. She wants to try supplementing, but she's not sure if she should be taking iodine while also taking levothyroxine. I read online that this isn't recommended. I told her that it might be better to supplement iodine instead of taking levothyroxine. From what I understand, this medicine is a synthetic form of thyroid hormone, but the reason her thyroid isn't producing thyroid hormone is because of iodine deficiency in the first place, and if she could get her thyroid to start producing the hormone naturally she won't need a synthetic version of it anymore. She wants to ask her doctor, but she thinks they'll tell her it isn't safe, and she's afraid if she goes against their recommendations and tries this instead that they won't want to deal with her anymore if something goes wrong (which I don't think they can legally do - I don't see how they could refuse treating someone simply because they tried a different approach).

One of her concerns is also that she has thyroid nodules, and when I had her read Gaby's article she brought up this quote by Brownstein:

Does iodine therapy cause hyperthyroidism? l was taught in medical school that it did, especially in patients suffering from autoimmune thyroid disorders such as Graves' or Hashimoto's disease. Young doctors-in-training are still taught this today. So, let me answer the question: Very rarely. Between my partners and myself, we estimate that over 12 years, less than 10 patients out of thousands treated became hyperthyroid when treated with iodine.

When I lecture to doctors, l tell them one particular condition can predispose to iodine-induced hyperthyroidism. This condition occurs in a patient who has an autonomously functioning nodule in their thyroid. Sometimes this is referred to as a hot nodule on a thyroid scan.

An autonomously functioning nodule is not under the feedback control of the pituitary and the hypothalamus. It functions independently of the thyroid gland. When iodine is present, these nodules can take up the iodine and produce copious amounts of thyroid hormone leading to hyperthyroidism. This condition can be diagnosed with a thyroid scan. However, it is most frequently diagnosed after a trial of iodine therapy is given and the patient becomes hyperthyroid after taking the first couple of doses.

How do you treat a patient with an autonomously functioning thyroid nodule? These patients must avoid iodine supplements and food (such as seaweed ) that is high in iodine UNTIL the nodule is surgically removed.

Click to expand...

So should she switch from her meds to supplementing iodine and see if that reacts with the nodule after the first couple doses? Or should the nodules be removed first? I really think iodine will help her condition, but I told her it's up to her if she wants to try it, even if her doctor recommends otherwise - that it's her body and she has the choice to try a different route. Especially because Big Pharma wants nothing more than for her to keep buying the meds and taking synthetic thyroid hormone instead of curing her thyroid so it can produce the hormone naturally.

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First up, the vast majority of thyroid nodules are just that, only a very small percentage is "hot". She would react with the first few doses in a way which would be very obvious. I think I would start her off with a very small dose (maybe 1/4 drop) for a few days and then gradually increase, perhaps to 2 drops per day of the 5% solution and keep it there, unless she has other more acute problems.

In general, it is recommended to initially keep the thyroxine dose up and to see what happens, when you start taking iodine, bearing in mind that you might get hyperthyroid very quickly, in which case the thyroxine dose needs to be adapted and/or the iodine temporarily ceased.

It would be best if she could do that with an iodine-competent doctor, maybe there's someone nearby, at least to help her in the transition phase? Other option is for her to just tell them doctors she's going to try no matter what, maybe even to give them a few article or the Brownstein book, but they can't not treat her if she goes against their views, at least not in an overt way.

Hope this helps!

nicklebleu said:

First up, the vast majority of thyroid nodules are just that, only a very small percentage is "hot".

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Yes, I think the distinction is important. Due to iodine deficiency, the thyroid gland and other tissues (prostate, breasts, ovaries) can lose their normal architecture and become "bigger" or "cystic" or "nodular". In the case of the thyroid gland, the presence of nodules doesn't mean that the nodule is hot or an autonomic independent nodule. The latter condition is very rare whereas the presence of "non-functional" nodules might actually be the norm due to iodine deficiency.

My grandma, who's 75, has hypothyroidism. She's been taking low doses of levothyroxine for ten years, according to her, and over the last couple months started taking a higher dose according to her doctor's recommendation.

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This reminds me of a conversation I had with the head of Endocrinology from the Hospital of Navarre. He told me that the elderly did better without an overtly correction of their hypothyroidism. When thyroid function was corrected with levothyroxine, they had more general mortality. In that sense, hypothyroidism gave the elderly more longevity.

This could be due to the iodine research we're reviewing. If you give synthetic drugs without correcting the underlying iodine deficiency, it is bad for the body. It could also be related to longevity research where apparently, some folk with hypothyroidism do live longer.

I agree that a health care provider knowledgeable of iodine and levothyroxine might be able to give a hand. I would decrease the dose of levothyroxine to the one she had before and keep the following in mind:

Brownstein said:

if someone is already taking thyroid hormone and they are diagnosed with iodine deficiency, the 'rule of thirds' comes into play. These patients may need to:

- Maintain the same thyroid hormone dose
- Reduce their thyroid hormone dose in half
- Stop taking thyroid hormone

The problem is, when starting iodine therapy, I do not know which of the three groups an individual patient will fall into. l tell my patients if, upon staring iodine therapy, they become nervous, anxious, or develop palpitations, they need to immediately cut their thyroid hormone dose in half . if the above symptoms still persist, it is best to stop the thyroid hormone.

Following patients closely can minimize complications. In addition, performing an appropriate exam and checking blood tests can help guide the process.

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The endocrinologist that I spoke to also passed me this publication from Clinical Endocrinology where they found that those who quit smoking had a 6-fold increase risk for autoimmune thyroid problems. Smoking is associated with a low prevalence of thyroid auto-antibodies.

My 2 cents!

Phoenix toEmber, I think it is also important to help the body detoxify with the saltwater and to add at the very least selenium to the daily diet from the beginning.

Hi,
I have the intention to finish to read all this thread in 3 days that's why I don't post in it but just tell you how grateful I am of all the information you give, it gives confort and strength.

We continue with one drop by day, some moments I am with a lot of energy, others moments I feel depress and negative. Today I wake up with a huge headache that lasted 10 minutes. I imagine a symptom of iodine? I will stop for 2 days then take again but 2 drops. Every morning my water with salt, Selenium, The B's vitamines, I don't take vitamine C, I feel sick with belly problems, is that normal? and also I stopped to take Magnesium, I have Clorure Magnesium and I don't feel well when I take it, so I will look for another type of Magnesium today.

Thank you to everybody for this extraordinary thread!

loreta said:

We continue with one drop by day, some moments I am with a lot of energy, others moments I feel depress and negative. Today I wake up with a huge headache that lasted 10 minutes. I imagine a symptom of iodine? I will stop for 2 days then take again but 2 drops. Every morning my water with salt, Selenium, The B's vitamines, I don't take vitamine C, I feel sick with belly problems, is that normal? and also I stopped to take Magnesium, I have Clorure Magnesium and I don't feel well when I take it, so I will look for another type of Magnesium today.

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What type of vitamin C you took? It might be the format rather than the vitamin C per se. Same with magnesium chloride.

Stopping for a couple of days sounds like a good plan.

Gaby said:

loreta said:

We continue with one drop by day, some moments I am with a lot of energy, others moments I feel depress and negative. Today I wake up with a huge headache that lasted 10 minutes. I imagine a symptom of iodine? I will stop for 2 days then take again but 2 drops. Every morning my water with salt, Selenium, The B's vitamines, I don't take vitamine C, I feel sick with belly problems, is that normal? and also I stopped to take Magnesium, I have Clorure Magnesium and I don't feel well when I take it, so I will look for another type of Magnesium today.

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What type of vitamin C you took? It might be the format rather than the vitamin C per se. Same with magnesium chloride.

Stopping for a couple of days sounds like a good plan.

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I take "C-Time 1000" capsules with protective Bioflavonoids and Rose Hips. The brand is Puritan's Pride. And the magnesium clorure is from the very well known brand Ana Maria La Justicia, Cristalizado. And when I take it is very small portion, almost nothing but it gives me belly problems. I have an irritable colon so maybe that's the reason.

Thanks Gaby! Have a nice day.

loreta said:

Every morning my water with salt, Selenium, The B's vitamines, I don't take vitamine C, I feel sick with belly problems, is that normal? and also I stopped to take Magnesium, I have Clorure Magnesium and I don't feel well when I take it, so I will look for another type of Magnesium today.

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It might be the type of vit C, as Gaby suggests, but it might be also related to the changes in the gut flora due to the introduction of the iodine protocol. Whenever I start doing something different in my diet or the supplements I take, I often notice some type of belly/digestive problems surfacing. I gather that the changes affect the digestive critters, and usually, a few days later it goes back to normal for me.

Another thought, is it possible to be a belly/stomach bug you might have picked up from somewhere? Different types of cold bugs seem to be going around at this time, at least in my area.

I just saw your reply to Gaby. Magnesium chloride gives most people belly troubles, if I am not mistaken it is used as a laxative. Try finding magnesium malate, orotate, L-threonate, or glycinate.