I don't think anyone really knows all the answers about thyroid issues.

I had a patient once who had her thyroid removed and was so hypo all the time, she became so constipated, she was in agony.

TSH is made by the pituitary in response to some trigger in the tissues that signals a need for more hormone. The hypothalamus is involved too to signal the pituitary.

High TSH means the body's tissues are signaling for more hormone. It will go up irregardless of whether you have a gland to respond to it or not. It is similar to women having very high FSH (follicle stimulating hormone after menopause). In this case the ovaries cannot respond, either, so the pituitary ramps up the FSH.

In the case of treating hypothyroidism, doctors use the TSH values to gauge if your body needs more T4.

Common signs of hypo and a need for more T4, are cold intolerance, orange palms and soles of feet, hair falling out, and edema (fluid retention). Over time hypo people deposit tissue in the skin which can compress the carpal ligament and tarsal ligments. This is the basis for the PN.

In my opinion and the opinion of many others including my Dr. too many rely on the TSH reading only and it is not a good indicator. It is better to get the Free T3 and Free T4 readings and use those as the primary indicator of thyroid function. Most people do better with their Free T3 and Free T4 is in the 60% to 70% of range, but everyone is different.

One problem with the TSH reading is that if you are taking a natural thryoid hormone such as Armour it will suppress your TSH readings. This is normal and if it doesn't suppress the TSH reading then something else might be wrong.

I have always felt cold. But, with the PN symptoms, I think I feel more cold than I used to. I don't have orange palms and soles of feet. My hair has been falling for years now (its good that I still have thick hair). I dont have have edema.

So its the tissue deposits in the skin that cause the PN for hypo. I have been wondering about this. Now that you told me this, its probably not the hypo that is triggering my disease. The pain in my feet is in my soles. When I stand, its like there are electric shots jolting in my ankles; its like I am standing with no skin in my soles. My feet would seem to feel soooooo tired. My prickly skin is all over my body, but mostly legs/thighs and arms and ramdomly in my back.

Does hyper affect the nerves too?

Thank you.

To treat my hypo and nodules I ordered JCrow Lugol's (2%); Nascent Iodine; and Iodoral (12.5 mg).

They should all arrive within a week. I'm still not sure which one I'll choose to start.

My ND thinks internal use of Lugol's is crazy because she says it's toxic. It is toxic in high doses. I've read the warnings from serious mistakes made by medical professionals using wrong doses. But many conscientious adults have used very low doses with great success. Lugol's itself isn't a new idea; it's been around since about 1825. (The FDA doesn't ban it; solutions with 2% are legal.)

Iodoral is supposedly the supplement version of Ludol's (same components). It is more expensive but requires less fussing and likely is easier to get the exact amount of iodine each day. That could help for hormonal balance.

Nascent Iodine gets some good reviews online but it's a bit too young for me to fully commit to it as my first treatment choice, even though it has been said it's milder and possibly better for more sensitive people as well as kids.

I find the idea of a mineral supplement or iodine tablet fixing my hypo after only a short period of time (weeks or months) much more appealing than a lifetime of synthetic or dessicated thyroid consumption. Less time and money, for one!

As a starting point the experiment seems reasonable because of the relatively low cost and low risks.

The main contraindication is thyroid antibodies. My bloodwork showed there aren't any.

Side effects from Iodoral seem to be uncommon from what I've read, esp. when starting on low doses.

I don't intend to bother with an iodine deficiency test. I'm going to use iodine to see if it raises my core temperature from an average of 96.8 and if it increases my skin's ability to sweat/moisten enough and quickly enough to cool down the way it used to for me and still does for most people.

I also have a baseline for my resting heart rate (72-76BPM). I have to monitor it daily to watch for a jump of 10 or more (which would indicate dosage is too high).

Before anyone copies my personal medical plan, consider this statement by Jorge D. Flechas, M.D:

Source: http://cypress.he.net/~bigmacnc/drflechas/iodine.htm

After doing some more reading today, it seems iodine supplementation can restore the thyroid gland in some cases, and it's more likely when the hypo is mild and/or the person has high toxicity. In general, though, it seems one can expect iodine to lower the need/dose for thyroid supplements, as opposed to bringing complete restoration.

The problem arises when a patient is already on thyroid supplementation (Armour/ERFA/other) at a dose that gives hormonal balance, and then adds iodine. It has the same or similar effect of increasing the dosage of the supplement. When patients have been dosing at or near their maximum level, i.e., very close to HYPERthyroidism, the extra iodine pushes them beyond that point of stability, into hyperthyroidism.

So it seems to me it's better to start with iodine than Armour, instead of Armour followed by iodine (or both at the same time). And monitor the same things on iodine as you would with the supplements (i.e., core temperature, heart rate, etc.).

I found something today that is interesting and troubling.

I listened to a long radio interview of iodine expert Dr. Jorge Flechas. He says thyroid hormones affect iodine absorption.

So the millions of people who are taking thyroid meds from Synthroid (top 10 prescribed drugs in America) to presumably Armour are at the same time depleting their iodine and causing an iodine deficiency.

This can lead to all sorts of problems, including cancer, because it shuts off the body's natural (iodine) defense system.

http://iodine4health.com/overviews/a...udiovisual.htm

He himself used to be on Synthroid, but weaned himself off it, switching to iodine. He does the same thing with his patients.

It sounds like millions of people are going to hell in a handbasket.

Dr. David Brownstein says about 90% of Americans are iodine deficient. (Not surprising - who ever even tests for it?!) I think I read somewhere else that about half the US population is 50% deficient.

P.S. I started on 12.5 mg of Iodoral and gradually increased it. After two weeks I'm at 50 mg. I'll probably stay at this level for another week or longer, and then go for 100 mg. No major detox reactions so far. Core temp, BP, and HR all remain about the same. Plan to get another ultrasound to check the nodules in a month or two.

You know when T4 is converted to T3, an iodine molecule is cleaved off naturally. T4 therefore supplies some iodine, which is mostly recycled.

I'll look this up later this week. We are having a family emergency this week, and I am not online here as much as I usually am.

I'll try to search this "theory" for validity, soon.

There is "something" that strikes me as unreasonable about the new wave of high dose iodine therapy.

This article explains why:
http://thyroid.about.com/od/newscont...muchiodine.htm

Our bodies do not absorb iodine when it is at sufficient levels.
When you read that thyroid supplements are withheld before certain treatments or tests, it is because the purpose is to create a negative balance so the radioactive iodine will be absorbed well.(as per that link) This does not mean levothyroxine is BAD in any way. It is composed of iodine molecules...that is how it works.

If you do not take a multivitamin with 150mcg in it, and you don't use salt at the table, and you eat processed foods mostly, then using 150mcg per day is a good idea. Vegetarians who do not eat seafood, or meat also are at risk. But I remain on the fence for recommending any more than that daily, because the evidence is still lacking about safety issues.