Iodine for Anxiety

5 star (3) 
  75%
4 star (1) 
  25%

Sarah (Dallas, Texas) on 09/13/2012:
5 out of 5 stars

I've been having such bad anxiety, that the muscles in the front of my neck are in pain for days at a time from the tension. I noticed that taking a few drops of Lugol's iodine in water gives complete and instant relief from the tension and pain. It's weird how fast it happens--I mean AS I am drinking the water!! I think perhaps, since tyrosine and iodine work together to make thyroid hormones, that the deficiency of iodine causes excess tyrosine, which is known to cause elevated heart rate and anxiety. Also, I have been taking SAMe daily for six years, for depression, and I took my usual 3 day break from it, and felt complete relief from the anxiety, which came back when I took another SAMe pill yesterday. So, I guess it's time to exchange the daily SAMe with N-acetyl cysteine for the purposes of replacing methylation lost from mercury toxicity.
REPLY   5      

Mike (Vancouver, Canada) on 02/03/2011:
4 out of 5 stars

I was recently researching the link between iodine deficiency and anxiety. I didn't find a lot of convincing information, so I decided to try it on myself.

I've had IBS for at least a year now and strangely enough, I found it to be completely anxiety related and not at all to do with the bowels themselves. I also have regular anxiety as well, but I haven't seen any doctors about either condition because I refuse to get on the meds wagon.

Two nights ago, I painted two squares of 2.5% iodine tincture onto my wrists. I could feel the effects of that by the next day, I went the whole day without any symptoms. One important thing I did find in my research, was that selenium deficiency apparently aggravates iodine deficiency, so naturally, I took 200mcg of selenium the next night in addition to painting iodine on my biceps this time. Still no symptoms of anxiety or IBS on the third day now and I'm hoping this is the real deal. Another interesting bit, I used to take selenium regularly as part of my supplement routine and then stopped for a long time without any obvious reason (ran out and forgot to replenish.. ). For informational purposes, I'm 23, smoke regularly, drink on weekends, eat relatively healthy (always home cooked) but not a ton of fruit and vegetables in my diet.

Interesting Fact: The iodine painting deficiency test is not an indication of anything. Most of it evaporates and becomes colorless, and the rate of that is dependent on the environment that you are in. It does absorb into your system, however, in small amounts. To back that up: When you do this so-called test, wait until it disappears, then get some hydrogen peroxide and apply it to the area; you will see that the whole thing is actually still there.

Best of luck!

REPLY   1      

Jo Ana (Daytona Beach, FL) on 01/30/2009:
5 out of 5 stars

I think a lot of us are iodine deficient. I have low thyroid function with a body temp of around 97 as well as various other low-thyroid related symptoms which I would like to alleviate. I now take 10 drops of Lugol's in water in the AM and 6 more in the PM. That's about 100 mgs of iodine but my body seems to need it. I had tried iodoral, nascent iodine, painting feet & wrists with Lugols with no noticeable improvement. My body seems to crave iodine. Lugol's can be purchased online from various vendors.
REPLY   3      



Anne-Marie (Palm Coast, FL) on 02/04/2007:
5 out of 5 stars

While I would not consider myself "cured" of anything, I have found that Iodine..or the lack thereof...causes me to have panic and anxiety attacks. This is a recent (within 3 months) development for me as I have never had panic and anxiety attacks prior. And although I now take Kelp in a Thyroid supplement (for my newly developed Hypothyroidism), my Iodine test (painting a 2x2 in sq on my abdomen) still shows a regular Iodine insufficiency. Interestingly, I also drink protein shakes that contain 30% FDA Iodine each. I drink 2-3 of these each day. Yet, my Iodine is consistently depleted.
REPLY   2      
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