Thyroid Basics Explained

That is a tiny amount of iodine, similar to what is in a multivitamin. I don’t believe you will ever get your level up with that amount. I don’t even think that will suffice for a maintenance dose, let alone a replenishment amount to correct a deficiency.

I decided to read this entire thread again and look for things I may not have retained from the first go at it. Question: For those people who decided to try iodine replenishment, did you noticed a steady rise in temperature? I see fluctuation in my temps. I have noticed that every time I thought I was on the rise, the next day or so would be back down. There was not a consistent upward trend.

After 20 days of IR using ridiculous amounts of kelp capsules (reputable, recommended brand) I am holding at about where I was when I started temperature-wise. Started with small iodine amounts on day 1, but by day 5 I was taking 25 mg. So…16 days at 25 mg. I also used selenium.

Overall average temp (20 days): 96.9055
Average first half (10 days): 96.831
Average second half (10 days): 96.98

Before starting IR, I had the following temps.
Average morning temp (7 readings): 96.89
Average mid-day/afternoon temp (8 readings): 98.45
Average evening temp (3 readings): 98.25

Doing full set of labs in about two weeks. I am thinking I might postpone any further IR and give myself time to normalize and see what my lab numbers show. Have I given IR enough time to show some improvement in temps? At 25 mg/day, the full protocol would be about 1 month. I’m at the halfway point now.

Due to the lack of steady increase in temps, I began wondering how sensitive this hormone system is to other factors. Basically, how sleep, exercise, diet, etc. can affect things on a daily basis and possibly explain the fluctuation in numbers. Even though temps have not shown much change, I feel like I am perhaps sleeping better. Improved mood maybe.

Hi guys I would like to know if iodoral is absorbed best on empty stomach and if u need to take vitamin A with it to absorb. I read that on one website that claimed it was one manufacturer’s instructions but could not find it elsewhere. Do u need vitamin A for iodoral to properly absorb?

When you do IR, you eliminate iodine deficiency as a cause. If temps are still low, its not from a lack of iodine. Labs can then shed more light on the problem. Temperatures that are unsteady can be from adrenal issues. Search for this issue in context of adrenal fatigue.

Never heard that vit-A is an issue either way. Vit-A in multi-vits that you might want to take in any case would cover whatever.

Thank you, KSMAN. Do you know if it is critical to be off ALL iodine for a period of time before doing thyroid and adrenal labs. I dropped way back on the iodine from 25 mg/day to about 2.5 mg/day. I still feel like there may be some benefits to me from the iodine, but I do not want to potentially flaw my upcoming labs. Appreciate your help and support, greatly.

KSman, if you have a free moment would you mind looking at:

Thank you!

When done IR and planning labs, it makes sense to allow your body to equalize first on whatever your maintenance iodine is. How long? Do not know, but if you are feeling OK, there is no rush or urgency to get that done quickly. Again, body temps tell a story. If temps are not right, labs might shed light on why.

[quote]Damici wrote:
I’ve been doing the Iodoral regimen for 18 days now at 50 mg/day. I am feeling much better in terms of energy, no more brain fog, more motivation, libido, etc.

My morning temps are up to 97.9. (Sometimes 97.7 but usually 97.9.) My late afternoon-ish (i.e. 6:30 or 7:00 pm) temps are up to about 98.2.

1.) Is it time to stop, or taper off, the IR? If not, how long is it safe/ok to continue at 50 mg/day?

2.) KSman, I noticed you’d mentioned taking half of a 12.5 mg tablet once a week as a maintenance regimen. Should one switch to that immediately upon reaching the ideal temperatures, or taper down to it gradually?
[/quote]

[quote]KSman wrote:
I think that 6.25mg a week is enough for maintenance.

Two weeks should be enough. So maintenance the following week.
[/quote]

[quote]KSman wrote:
We have taken iodine deficiency off of the table.
[/quote]

KSman, I have the utmost respect for you. I hope you’ll comment on my case when I post an update, and I’m glad I saw your comments on selenium before I progressed too far on my IR.

But I disagree with your numbers on IR and maintenance. Regarding IR, your theory of “dose to 50% of the body’s storage capacity” is logical, it is inconsistent with the established practice and ignores absorption inefficiencies and competition from other halides (fluoride and chlorine in tap water, bromine in dough conditioners and fire retardants). By way of analogy: if you start with an empty pint glass and a pipette of water, then it only takes 1 pint of H2O to fill the glass. But if you start with a pint glass filled with yogurt and place it under a rotary sprinkler, how much water does it take to fully rinse the glass? A lot more, and that’s why the IR protocols (Abraham, Brownstein, Dach) seem to do 50 mg for months. (A side point is that many practitioners recommend ramping up the dose gradually, e.g., start with 12.5 mg/day and add 1 pill per week to ramp up to 50 mg.)

Secondly, regarding maintenance: you agree that mainstream MD’s ignore the importance of Iodine, so why do you trust their RDA numbers? The 12.5 mg dose of Iodoral was based on the Weston A. Price Foundation research on the Japanese diet.

Here’s a recommendation to do 50 mg indefinitely:

Anyway, I look forward to your response, but I personally think Damici should stay on 50 mg/day for a while (maybe do a check for thyroid antibodies just to be sure). Iodoral is cheap, so the cost-benefit seems to tilt in favor of “more”.

You can chase these arguments around. What do you suggest as a better advice?

With what I have been suggesting, some have good responses. Not all get the desired temperature points and I do not have an explanation of low temperatures when all things thyroid related seem good.

I don’t think that high doses should become maintenance doses.

Re bromines etc: The suggested IR should displace bromine loads if they exist. A smaller longer dose IR probably would not be as effective. I do address bromine issues in this sticky. We have had a few guys notice bromine displacement effects, a small number.

[quote]KSman wrote:
You can chase these arguments around. What do you suggest as a better advice?
[/quote]

Without re-reading all the papers, the first thing I would suggest is to stay on 50 mg for at least 3 months:
http://www.optimox.com/pics/Iodine/IOD-12/IOD_12.htm

Especially for Damici, who discontinued IR at 18 days and started to feel worse.

Maybe those events speak to something else been wrong. After setting down on post IR maintenance, in these cases, one should do a complete thyroid panel, temperatures and perhaps AM cortisol.

[quote]Rickenbacker wrote:

[quote]KSman wrote:
You can chase these arguments around. What do you suggest as a better advice?
[/quote]

Without re-reading all the papers, the first thing I would suggest is to stay on 50 mg for at least 3 months:
http://www.optimox.com/pics/Iodine/IOD-12/IOD_12.htm

Especially for Damici, who discontinued IR at 18 days and started to feel worse.[/quote]

I haven’t been on this thread in a few weeks, so am just catching up now, but interesting. Thanks for the input.

I’m wary of staying on such a high dose for so long until I know more, though. I’ve read some things where some seem to think it could be harmful, but I don’t remember the details or reasoning. Would have to look it up.

I did check my morning and late afternoon temps a couple times over the past week, and morning has been at 97.9 (good – definitely better than before I did the IR protocol) and late afternoon was 98.2 (allegedly not ideal, but it’s as good as it got for me while I was on the protocol, and is better than pre-protocol, when it was much lower), so temps now seem to be improved and fairly steady, if that means anything.

But the general energetic, super-clear-headed, high-libido, “high-T” feeling I had when on the IR protocol is no longer present.

“But the general energetic, super-clear-headed, high-libido, “high-T” feeling I had when on the IR protocol is no longer present.”

If you have been on a maintenance dose of iodine, we can assume that there is [no longer] an underlying iodine deficiency. If there has been time enough for things to settle down, thyroid labs may be informative.

This thread is a goldmine for me, thanks. I had thyroid tumours undiagnosed for years that sent my thyroid hormone levels skyrocketing. No wonder my gains were so hard! But now I’m trying to understand exactly the kind of damage that’s been done to me and how I can repair some of it. Hence I need to understand how thyroid hormone overload effects the system.

Interestingly, I was able to keep my natural test really high and get stronger for ages and it wasn’t until I started breaking bones that my progress stalled. I gained two inches in my thighs whilst losing a lot of bodyfat when I should’ve been experiencing major muscle wastage and fat gain. Diet and consistent weightlifting protected me from the worst of it but also helped mask the cause(thyroid tumours) until major damage was done to my bones.

here’s a rather interesting study on whether to take T4 in the morning or at night: http://archinte.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=776486

[quote]cycobushmaster wrote:
here’s a rather interesting study on whether to take T4 in the morning or at night: http://archinte.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=776486[/quote]

Interesting. When taking meds at night and doing lab draws in the AM, there is a ~10 hour delay. When taking meds in the morning, there is ~2 hour delay. Could AM meds have not had enough time to be absorbed? The PM meds had time to peak and drop, but were still higher.

I think that better levels in the morning from PM meds might lead to greater vitality to get going in the morning.

Related to T3: Low ferritin levels are known to reduce T4–>T3 conversion.

good point about the blood draws…

i’ve always taken my T4 in the morning, but i think i might switch it up here pretty soon, and see how i feel.

Can anyone tell me if you can do IR via iodine tincture placed on the skin for absorption that way?

Admittedly, I have probably not exhausted all avenues yet, but I cannot find a decent dosed / strength iodine supplement here in ZA.

Thanks

Yes, that is advocated at some other sites.

[quote]KSman wrote:
Yes, that is advocated at some other sites.

[/quote]

Good to know, however, reading between the lines the amount of iodine that you would be able to get via this method seems to be less than taking a solution orally, as well as not really being able to determine how much it is that you have actually been able to get.

So the gold standard appears to remain oral ingestion with topical absorption being okay in a pinch…