We have taken iodine deficiency off of the table.
Make sure someone else can hit 98.6 on that thermometer. Is your technique OK? Note eating, drinking, talking or exertion for a while?
You can not also see if labs are shifted.
Will check on the thermometer accuracy with someone else. Yes, Iām pretty consistent with when/how I take my temperature.
Interestingly, after the first 2 or 3 days, which were a little brain-foggy, I felt great while on the 50mg/day Iodoral for those couple weeks. Energy, motivation, libido, etc. were all fabulous. Not as much now that Iām off it.
Yes, Iād like to have followup lab work done.
After iodine replenishment, has anyone had the experience of needing to adjust dosage of testosterone? Just wondering what effect correcting an iodine deficiency might have on oneās med schedule and other non-thyroid hormones. Is there any known effect? Today, I will have worked up to 25 mg of iodine (not as easy to do with kelp supplements) and I will be curious to see my labs after they are run in a month or so. I assume a month of 25 mg of iodine from kelp would be comparable to 2 weeks of 50 mg of iodine from Iodoral.
Regarding Damiciās drop in temps after switching to a maintenance dose, does everyone absorb/retain iodine similarly? Does the source (Iodoral versus kelp) matter?
Are goitrogenic foods an issue affecting iodine absorption? Seems to be a lot of confusion over this and Iām having a hard time separating fact from fiction. Supposedly, cooking helps alleviate the problem, if itās a problem at all. May not be an issue if one is getting adequate iodine though. I do eat quite a lot of fresh spinach, which I was surprised to learn is on the list. Eat lots of sauerkraut too. I do not eat as much broccoli but it shows up on the list as well.
Anybody know if this has been proven a non issue? Damn internet is a haven for misinformation.
There is always unknowns and for you the truth is how your body reacts, not others.
As for T, that is a perception. As low thyroid function can create the symptoms of low T even when T is good, recovering thyroid function will have the obvious benefits.
Hi ksman, after reading through this thread, I ordered a thyroid supplement which contains 150mcg iodine with selenium 200mcg among other ingredients in 2 capsules. How do I dose that for 50mg of iodine a day?
That is a tiny amount of iodine, similar to what is in a multivitamin. I donāt believe you will ever get your level up with that amount. I donāt 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. Soā¦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. Iām 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 manufacturerās 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:
Iāve 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 youād 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 youāll comment on my case when I post an update, and Iām 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 ādose to 50% of the bodyās storage capacityā 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 thatās 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 MDās 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.
Hereās 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 āmoreā.
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 donāt 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 havenāt been on this thread in a few weeks, so am just catching up now, but interesting. Thanks for the input.
Iām wary of staying on such a high dose for so long until I know more, though. Iāve read some things where some seem to think it could be harmful, but I donāt 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 ā definitely better than before I did the IR protocol) and late afternoon was 98.2 (allegedly not ideal, but itās 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, āhigh-Tā feeling I had when on the IR protocol is no longer present.
āBut the general energetic, super-clear-headed, high-libido, āhigh-Tā feeling I had when on the IR protocol is no longer present.ā
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 Iām trying to understand exactly the kind of damage thatās 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 wasnāt until I started breaking bones that my progress stalled. I gained two inches in my thighs whilst losing a lot of bodyfat when I shouldāve 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.