Iodine And Thyroid Disease

[DebNC84]

I'm just wondering - I have DH which is brought on by ingesting iodine

My thyroid levels were high before I went gluten-free and lowered my intake of iodine

When I add iodine into my diet - along with the DH I experience hair loss which is associated with thyroid problems.

A lot of people with celiac disease also have thyroid disfunction -

I'm wondering, what if people with celiac disease without HD are still sensitive to iodine and that is what may be causing their thyroid disfunction? Has their been any studies?

[Mother of Jibril]

After doing a lot of reading and hearing about the experiences of other people, I've been coming to the conclusion that there are two different types of thyroid problems (kind of like type I and type II diabetes). In one type, your thyroid has been partially or completely destroyed... no matter how hard you push it (with TSH, iodine, other supplements, etc...) it just can't make enough hormones. Hashimoto's disease can cause that kind of damage. You can also get it from being over-treated for Graves' disease. This is like type I diabetes. Interestingly, Hashimoto's can cause swings between hypo and hyper while it's destroying your thyroid. Your body tries really HARD to compensate, but eventually it's just not enough.

In the other type of thyroid dysfunction, there's some kind of imbalance in the system... maybe you have a problem converting T4 to T3 (selenium deficiency can do that), diminished uptake of T3 by the rest of your body (like type II diabetes), overproduction of thyroid hormones due to too much iodine in your diet, etc... If you have this second type of dysfunction you might be able to improve your situation... or make it worse... with diet and supplements.

A lot of doctors think that if you have hypothyroidism you just need to take Synthroid and everything is fine But... you also need to be tested on a regular basis if you have a thyroid problem because your numbers can change. If you're having symptoms (like hair loss) this would be a good time to get tested! Keep in mind that hair loss can result from other things too... alopecia, stress, etc...

[DebNC84]

A lot of doctors think that if you have hypothyroidism you just need to take Synthroid and everything is fine But... you also need to be tested on a regular basis if you have a thyroid problem because your numbers can change. If you're having symptoms (like hair loss) this would be a good time to get tested! Keep in mind that hair loss can result from other things too... alopecia, stress, etc...

Thank you for your reply!

in the beginning of my quest to find out what was causing my rash, which took 8 mos of doctors, blood tests, doctors, more tests, doctors, biopsies -you get the picture. The endocrinologist that I saw because of my high thyroid levels actually told me that I was in the beginning stages of Hashimotos - he sent me home with synthroid - i was to take 12.5 micrograms a day - it shot my blood pressure through the roof - may I add that I have never had a blood pressure problem.. I stopped taking the drug - and called the doc - he said I'm not ready for the medicine obviously and to get retested in 6 mos. - a few months later, I went gluten free and stopped ingesting as much iodine as I could. - a few months after that - I got another blood test and among a lot of other things that went back to normal, my thyroid was in the "normal" range. May I add that it seems that my hair only falls out when my DH flares - but I think i've got a handle on that now... I shouldn't have any more flare ups - since I've figured out how sensitive my system is to iodine.

I AM CONCERNED ABOUT CELIAC PERSONS that don't have DH - are they just as sensitive to iodine as I am? But since they don't have "the rash" they are keeping the iodine in their systems and possibly hurting their thyroid? There is a definite link between thyroid disease and celiac disease from what I'm reading - is their any studies to find out why? Is it the iodine? I was wondering if anyone knew of any studies that were taking place - or that have been done.