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Trying nascent iodine for hashimotos

Posted By L (Brisbane, Qld Australia) on 11/27/2011

I am trying Nascent Iodine for Hashimoto's and terrible menopause symptoms but everytime I try to use it, I get bad bathroom odour it's really embarassing to say the least when using other toilets... Firstly does anyone else have this problem?

Secondly my main problem at the moment is estrogen dominance it is so bad that it has destroyed my life completely... I have tried everything written everywhere and nothing works.

I have tried every diet known to man, I have a cupboard full of vitamins and if I cut out anything else I will be only left with water, it feels like a cruel curse and for a lifetime of healthy eating and excersise it made no difference for me at menopause:(

The iodine is a last resort, I do feel better on it but can never stay on it long enough because of the odour.. I have given up with doctors as they don't really care and just look at you like you will get through it but this is now been going on since peri menopause aprox 9years its been so depressing and I don't think I can handle much more.. I have lost my figure to ugly cellulite and put on so much weight in the last couple of years and just in the last week the weight is getting out of control... I could understand if I ate junk food and overeat but I don't- it's so not fair..

Very upset as you can see but I just want some quality of life back... Anyway if anyone has any helpful advice I would appreciate it ... there is not much on here about estrogen dominance...

PS: I have tried progesterone cream (compound Pharmacy) but everytime I do that it also makes the estrogen worse so stuck between a rock and hard place ... please help.

Replied by Hashiaussie (Melbourne, Australia) on 11/28/2011

Hi L from Brisbane - don't know about iodine but suggest you get hold of the thyroid book by Dr Kharazzian. http://www.thyroidbook.com/ There is a bit of a debate about whether people with automimmune disease should be on it at all and that is what you most likely have.

I too have had 'estrogen dominance' the fad term about 15 years ago and after that endometriosis then an overloaded liver problem, then it was low thyroid & now finally we know it is indeed hashimotos. You should look at about.com/thyroid as a start. You probably need to get on to T4 (thyroxine) or a compounded version of thyroid. Read about 'insulin resistance' and 'adrenal exhaustion' for weight gain causes and look at a facebook page called hashimotos 411. There is very good info there and plenty of people with the same issues.

For me, the gym, no sugar, yam cream, very weak progesterone troches, seem to keep the menopause stuff under some, although not total control. Maca helps tremendously as does magnesium & selenium. The liver needs cleaning up to so get onto dandelion tea and milk thistle - lots here on that. I am T1 dominant according to my reading of Dr K's book and a bit of testing from my doctor, so every day I have glutathione cream, green tea and coffee. Indol carbinol 3 helps with left breast pain. I was on T3 (thyroid) compounded for a while to kick start everything so maybe that's what you should do then do a full cleanse (Hulda Clark or metagenics style) and then work on the autoimmune issues. We now have the Internet and we can learn and this site is terrific so start reading. Best of luck.

Replied by Jen (Bozeman, Mt, Us) on 11/28/2011

Firstly it would help to know how you know that you are estogen dominant? Do you self test? Or does a doctor test you? Or are you going off symptoms you are having presently? Is it possible that you actually are low on estrogen and high on progesterone? Most people think it is estrogen dominance that is the evil but it can also be progesterone dominance or testosterone dominance sometimes. Your symptoms may look like estrogen dominance but may not be. If you have worse symptoms when applying wild yam then I am very suspicious.

What have you tried? Do you still take the other things you have tried with the iodine or have you dropped them and started iodine alone? You should be taking a combo of supplements to balance your hormones right now. Iodine will help mostly but when you are imbalanced because of menopause and peri menopause then it will take more than just iodine. The smell you are offended by could possibly be a symptom of detox and may possibly go away with more use.

Things you can try if you haven't already are Maca, Fenugreek (if progesterone dominant), Zinc (estogen dominance) and/or Copper (progesterone dominance), or DHEA. All but the fenugreek, Zinc and Copper are for balancing hormones in general. Wild yam as you know is good for estrogen dominance as well. Iodine will help to make hormones in general but if you are making to much of one then you will have problems. You need to tip the scale so that you are making the right balance of hormones. So take a combo of iodine, zinc or copper, DHEA (5 mg about 3 to 4 x per week), and maca. Make sure you are also taking selenium, Vit c, and Magnesium with iodine or you will cause many more issues by taking the iodine alone.

Replied by Debbie (Melbourne, Australia ) on 11/28/2011

L from Brisbane, have you tired lugols iodine? I was wondering if you are getting bad bathroom odor because the body is detoxing ...

Iodine will take out heavy metals and flouride and rid the body of yeast/candida, bad bacteria among other things.

As you say you feel better on iodine. Read the book by Dr. Brownstein on iodine and you won't want to get off it. Your body needs iodine to balance your hormones, the uterus needs iodine, the thyroid needs iodine, your breasts need iodine....

I would also take chlorella and spirulina as they are very cleansing inside the body.

Replied by L (Brisbane, Qld Australia) on 11/28/2011

Thank you ladies for the advice maybe if I try a different iodine brand say lugols it may make a difference. (can I get this in Australia?)

At the moment I am taking it with Vit C, D3, B6, B Complex, Fish oil and Magnesium and B12 Injection every 6 weeks, I can't take Selenium as it also makes the bathroom smelly...

I have a Gluten and Wheat free diet, lactose free milk, no aspartane etc.. diet has helped with the Hashimotos which is one good thing but the estrogen dominance persists...

I have been tested frequently over the years and the estrogen is always extremly high and my progesterone has dropped to almost nothing, that's why I was given the progesterone cream but unfortunately makes it worse...

Question - do you think that the progesterone will work if the iodine brings the estrogen down to a reasonable level one doctor told me that sometimes the progesterone can turn into estrogen too it you are dominant.. needless to say every doctor tells me something different..

I have got the Dr Brownstein books which I found helpful and interesting... I resorted to the iodine too because I can't take thyroxine as it gives me insomnia & migraines... gee I sound like a whiner- sorry for that its just been hard..

I have two sisters which do not have any problems but I seem to have got them all like food allergies, medicine allergies & deficiencies. Unfortunately the hormones the way they are don't help with my mood...

I probably should have put this info in the first post... Another question should I take fish oil or flaxseed oil for my estrogen dominance?

Thank you so much I appreciate your replies as I don't know anyone else like me to discuss it with...

Replied by Jen (Bozeman, Mt, Us) on 11/30/2011

That could be one of your problems if you are taking iodine but not selenium. You could be making your thyroid worse as it needs both selenium and iodine. Maybe try eating a brazil nut or two per day instead of taking a selenium supplement. There is around 200 mcg of selenium in one brazil nut. You need around 200 to 400 mcg to balance the iodine. Especially if you are taking a large amount of iodine. If your thyroid is out of whack then you can almost count on other hormones being out of whack.

Replied by L (Brisbane, Qld Australia) on 12/01/2011

To Jen from Bozeman, thank you for that info I will definately try the brazil nuts I didn't realise it was so important to take it with the iodine.. It's worth a try. <BR>Kind regards, L from Brisbane, Australia.</P>

Replied by Amber (Austin) on 09/10/2016

I just saw this thread while doing some research...it's old so hope you see this if you haven't already gotten better. I fixed my estrogen dominance after trying many things with DIM + I3C and Calcium D Glucarate. I tried DIM alone and it didn't help and Calcium D Glucarate alone and no help. Within a few days of starting DIM + I3C along with the Calcium D Glucarate I lost about 5 pounds, probably mostly water weight. I couldn't even take iodine before that but now I can do 1 drop of Lugol's a day for a few days, then I start to get detox symptoms so I'm going slow with it. Also, a clean progesterone cream (minimal other ingredients, I use one made with coconut oil, Progestelle) days 14-28 of cycle is helping as well as topical magnesium oil. Don't start progesterone cream until after a few months on the DIM + I3C and Calcium D Glucarate to flush out excess estrogen and very important to cut out all caffeine and sources of xenoestrogens. Switch to natural skin products and laundry detergent.

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