One winter I developed a craving for clams and could not seem to get enough of them. I noticed that occasionally I had short periods of normal sleep. Then it hit me - iodine! I had myself tested for hypothyroidism. The result was positive. And I was furious. I never got help from the medical profession, lived for years as a zombie, and had to find the cure all by myself! Thanks to potassium iodide I sleep just fine. Although I started at a higher dosage, I currently take only four drops of 5 per cent solution a week. Now if I could get a refund of all the money I wasted on doctors who resorted to facile psychology instead of medicine . . . .
Replied By Flying Frog (Grass Valley, Ca, Usa) on 04/05/2010
Hello! I want to suggest you look into/try kelp tablets for your hypothyroidism--I prefer it to other sources of iodine because, of course, kelp is "found in nature" & contains many nutrients in a form that I feel is more compatible with the body than a synthesized form. Peace!Replied By Janice (Coloma, Mi) on 04/05/2010
Flying Frog...How much Kelp do you take a day? Do you take it every day? ThanksReplied By Kelp (Louisville, Kentucky) on 04/07/2010
I'm currently using kelp, two teaspoons twice a day, I saw the post about potassium iodide and found it interesting because I just ordered some potassium iodide. I'll keep your post in mind in terms of the number of drops that you started with. The kelp hasn't helped with sleep so far, iodide is much stronger so that may be the issue. Another consideration is that there are various types of kelp, bladderwheck is the strongest, so that one may work. I've only taken it once so far, was using dulse, and I noticed the difference, it certainly is stronger!Replied By Jp (Ottawa, Ontario) on 02/16/2011
Don't take your iodine late in the day, as that can worsen sleep.If you use kelp you 1) don't get a lot of iodine and 2) may be getting heavy metals along with it. Check your source
Lugol's or Iodoral are sources of both Iodine and Potassium iodide, both forms of iodine that the body uses. You can make Lugol's yourself. Iodoral is the same proportions in tablet form.
Replied By Mamallama (Deerfield, Ma) on 01/26/2012
I agree, iodine has helped my insomnia. I would have to take 2-3 mg melatonin every night and hated feeling dependent. I have been taking Lugol's for 5 days now (started with 2 drops of the 2% solution and have increased to 4) and I see an improvement. I have been able to decrease the melatonin to 1.5 mg and I feel pretty confident that I'll be able to eliminate the melatonin entirely! Even when I was woken in the night (something that would have me up for hours, normally), I was able to fall back asleep within 10 minutes or so.
BTW, I take the iodine in the morning, in cranberry juice.
I have had other positive effects with the iodine but will post about them after I've been using it for a couple of weeks.
Replied By Francisca (Zug, Switzerland) on 01/27/2012
Hi, I have just ordered Lugol's (5% iodine, 7% potassium iodide) because I am quite sure that I am iodine deficient. As you can't buy it anywhere in Europe I ordered it online. It is Hulda Clarks recipe and I have no idea how many drops to take. I saw the label on the site and it says one should take 6 drops a day, max. 3 days. This sounds like nonsense to me.... The lady selling it told me that in Hulda's book she advises 6 drops 4x a day for up to a week for stomach bacterial infections. All very confusing...... Dr. Brownstein says in his book that 1 drop of Lugol's 5% iodine and 10% potassium iodide amounts to 12,5mg. I think that the fact that Lugol's can come in so many combinations makes it very difficult to know how much to take. Right now I am at a loss so if anyone can help I would very much appreciate!
As far as insomnia goes I also hope that Lugol's will help me. Please keep us informed of any other changes you notice, I will do the same. I will be taking Lugol's for the insomnia, falling, weak hair, puffy eyes, dry skin..... By the way, I thought that Melatonin was a great thing after reading a book about it. It is not sold here in Europe so it is not something I can try!
Replied By Lisa (Rabat, Morocco) on 01/27/2012
Francisca, one drop of Lugol's (5% iodine, 10% iodide) is 6. 25 mg. There isn't really a set amount to take, it all depends on the person. I think it is generally believed that a maintenance dosage is 50 mg. Many people take more depending on what illnesses they may have. It might be best to start out slow and gradually increase your dose since many people can have detox symptoms. I have been taking Iodoral (pill form of Lugol's) since last March and I am up to 62. 5 mg. I have some thyroid issues and uterine fibroids along with sluggish adrenal glands. It is also recommended that you supplement iodine with Vitamin C, magnesium, selenium and unrefined sea salt (like Celtic). I think it is best to take it all at one time early in the day since taking it too late can cause sleep problems in some.
If you want to get some really good information I would suggest joining the iodine Yahoo group. The moderators are very knowledgeable and have lots of experience using iodine. The group owner had thyroid cancer and used very large doses of iodine to help cure herself.
Replied By Eva (A'dam, Nl) on 01/27/2012
Francesca, you can relatively easily buy iodine in Europe, just need to google it while entering the right keywords. By the way, Melatonin is sold in drugstores in the vitamin section, I did not enter a store yet where it was not sold and I have also seen it in several countries. I am not sure if you live at a really small place, or you don't look at the right place, but I would be more careful with generalizations about what you can and can't find in such a large area as Europe.Replied By Timh (Louisville, Ky, Usa) on 01/28/2012
Francisca, if Melatonin is on the EU ban list, try 5 Hydroxytryptophan (5HTP) before retiring as it stimulates the penial gland to secrete melatonin. If 5HTP is not available try regular L-Tryptophan or foods high in T like Turkey.Replied By Francisca (Zug, Switzerland) on 01/28/2012
Eva, I do live in a small town now but I used to live in France near Switzerland and Germany. I looked everywhere but I never found any melatonin, they told me that it wasn't allowed in the EU, only melatonin percursors. I am not sure but I think that I also asked in De Tuinen when I was in Holland last year. I am going to the UK next week and I can try again in a very good health food store where I mostly go to.Replied By Francisca (Zug, Switzerland) on 01/28/2012
Lisa, now I feel even more hopeless... You say that one drop is 6,25 mg, Dr. Brownstein says it is 12,5mg.... I will try to find that Yahoo group and maybe I just start with one drop. I am taking vit. C, 1000mg a day, am using magnesium chloride transdermally (dilute myself in water) and will buy some selenium soon (I do eat walnuts most day as I picket a lot during the Autumn). I also take a bit of Celtic Salt now and then, apart from what I take in my food!Replied By Francisca (Zug, Switzerland) on 01/28/2012
Thanks Timh, yes, melatonin percursor are allowed here. I tried one but it didn't really have any effect. I am not waiting to go the the UK next week and pick up the Lugol's I ordered on the Internet at my sister-in-law's. Actually my biggest problem is my husband's snoring. Once he wakes me up I have trouble going back to sleep and by now I am not used to sleeping all night anymore. When he leaves early in the morning I often sleep like I am in a coma just then I wake up too late and have difficulty sleeping in the evening again! Replied By Linda (New Haven, Connecticut) on 01/29/2012
Mamallama, from all that I have read, Vitamin C (which is in your juice) is not to be taken at the same time as Lugol's. Lugol's is comprised of iodine and iodide and the Vitamin C will convert the iodine to iodide. For this reason I always take my Lugol's in water & wait at least an hour or more before I eat or take my suppliments (including my Vitamin C). Hope this helps.
Linda :-)
http://curezone.com/faq/q.asp?a=13, 281, 2962&q=630
"Let's go through the titration process with a specific example: the titration of vitamin C by iodine. The chemical name for vitamin C is ascorbic acid. When Iodine and ascorbic acid are combined in solution, a chemical reaction takes place. In this chemical reaction, the ascorbic acid molecule loses electrons, which are transferred to the iodine molecule. Chemists call this type of reaction an oxidation/reduction reaction (or redox reaction for short). The ascorbic acid is oxidized to dehydroascorbic acid, and the iodine is reduced to Iodide ions. Oxidation-reduction reactions always occur in pairs like this. The molecule that loses electrons is oxidized, and the molecule that accepts the electrons is reduced."
We need ioDINE AND ioDIDE:
From "Iodine, Why You Need It, Why You Can't Live Without It":
"It was thought that the intestinal tract could easily convert iodine to iodide, but research has shown this is not true. Different tissues of the body respond to different forms of iodine. The thyroid gland primarily utilizes ioDIDE.... the breasts, on the other hand, primarily utilize ioDINE....
Because different tissues concentrate different forms of iodine, using a supplement that contains both iodine and iodide is preferable to using a supplement that contains only one form, As mentioned above, the breasts concentrate iodine. The prostate gland concentrates iodine. The thyroid gland and the skin primarily concentrate iodide. Other tissues, including the kidneys, spleen, liver, blood, salivary glands and intestines can concentrate either form. With different tissues responding to different forms of iodine, it would make common sense that a greater therapeutic benefit from iodine will be achieved by using a COMBINATION OF IODINE AND IODIDE. My clinical experience has proven, beyond a doubt, that a combination of IODINE/IODIDE (e. G. , Lugol's or Iodoral) is much more effective than an iodide only supplement (e. G. , SSKI and most other liquid iodide formulations)."
Replied By Linda (New Haven, Connecticut) on 01/29/2012
Francisca, I am taking the same strength as you, although I bought mine from J. Crows. I began with 1 drop a day (which is 6. 25 mg) and worked up to 8 drops a day (which is 50 mg) as Dr Brownstein reccommends. I'll continue with that dose for 2-3 months and then taper down to a daily maintaence dose of 2 drops a day (12. 5 mg) for life as recommended.
Just be sure to take it on an empty stomach and wait an hour or so before before eating or taking any supplements (read my post earlier in this thread).
Linda :-)
Replied By Francisca (Zug, Switzerland) on 01/30/2012
Thanks Linda, I will pick it up on Friday evening so will start on Saturday morning. Funny enough I can't find the instructions of how to take it in Dr. Brownsteins book. Are you sure that one should take it one hour before eating? I hope that it can be done during the day or else I will have to wait for 1 hour before having breakfast, which is not always possible! I underline the books I read in order to find anything of importance more easily but I couldn't find that information....Replied By Linda (San Francisco, Ca, Usa) on 02/09/2012
To Francisca from Zug,
The number of milligrams per drop can differ very widely dependent upon the size of the dropper used, and additionally the exact mg amount will differ dependent upon whether the drop is released from a dropper held exactly vertically, or from a dropper which is slanted sideways at the time the drop is released. So it is a ballpark, but not precise to talk about how many drops = 1 milligram, etc.
Exact precision with Lugol's 5% (that's what I have) is not usually critical, unless there is some special case-specific medical circumstance. Lugol's has been in extensive use in the USA for more than 100 years. Its use and effects are well-documented and easily findable on the web.
Dr. Brownstein is a good source of info on this. Also there is an Iodine Supplementation forum (VWT Forum) on Curezone where many knowledgeable folks have posted their own experiences with it for several years.
I have taken from 1 drop per day to more than 15 with a standard-sized eyedropper orally off and on for months at a time, for probably 12 years now. So IMHO not necessary to stress about a milligram difference here and there. Just always start with less and err on the side of caution, and work up very slowly. I would not take it without having food in my stomach *first*.
If I am uncertain about its effects, I can paint it on my skin.
Linda
Replied By Linda (San Francisco, Ca, Usa) on 02/10/2012
Hi Francisca, I think you're way safer ingesting it with food and water, than off by itself. Iodine is some pretty strong stuff. I like to have a buffer around it, just the same as when I take Cayenne Pepper. Just because you can get it past your teeth and down the hatch doesn't mean it won't burn something else. Those are tender little mucous membranes down there.
I take 5-8 drops of Lugol's every morning, I just drip it into the last half-inch of coffee in the bottom of my coffee cup and slug it down during breakfast :-).
I also drop it into Orange Juice if I'm not having coffee that day :-).
I like strong tastes to wipe out the chemical flavor of Iodine.
I think about it this way: after Iodine was removed from bread is when more people began to be deficient in it. So it works when baked into bread. Nobody ingests bread without eating :-).
Don't stress over the timing too much.
Linda :-)
Replied By Citygirl27 (Richardson, Tx, Usa) on 09/19/2012
Kelp tablets are not efficient. You need to take 5-10 of them to get a single gram of iodine. I recommend Lugols, and increased seafood consumption. For those outside of the US, you may be able to buy iodine tabs in higher doses. I know iodoral is available some places.Replied By Jenny (Uk) on 09/06/2018
I live in the UK but get my melatonin from the USA from Iherb. It's very cheap and if you choose the slower shipping, very cheap to ship or even free depending on the spend.Replied By Marie M. (NZ) on 06/28/2020
Acsessing MELATONIN you can send for it via internet.I live in NZ and here we are only able to get it at 3mg via MD script so I order it online and have found an outlet via Australia (www.... au )that has its source from America.They sell it from 3mg up to 10mg and the brand I usually get has small amount B6 added to it and it has an instant factor and a time release over the night incorporated into the tablet. I get it free shipping over a smallish outlay for the order. Works out hugely cheaper than a script and I can bulk up the order if I want (I take it every night)at the mg count that suits me.
I was 65 when I first took it and a remarkable thing happened.
I lay on my bed all day in a state of profound bliss and relaxation with my eyes partially closed not wanting to stir.
Sleeplessness had set in with menopause and I had noticed this affliction also in my mother and a sister a year younger than l.
