Secondary hypothroidism

[pianolady689]

Should a patient  with ablated thyroid on synthroid take any sea kelp?  I am currently taking supplements for hair replacement.  I 'm not sure I should take the sea kelp.  Thanks Judy

[pianolady689]

Thank you for your input.  I have seen an endocrinologist lately and my thyroid levels were normal, so I think I won't use the sea kelp as I was worried about using it anyway.  Thanks again.  

[laura1967]

Hi there and welcome.  
I never suggest to people with thyroid disease to take kelp. It will interfere with your thyroid meds, and keep you on a roller coaster of dosages. The biggest thing with thyroid is consistency. If you keep your levels consistent, then you will feel your best.
Also with kelp I would imagine you will never know an exact dosage each time that you are consuming. My advice.....don't take it.
Now as far as iodine is concerned, in the form of Iodoral, etc....that is a whole different ballgame. IF you have NO thyroid function left at all, then you may or may not benefit from it.  I personally have not tried it as of yet, due to the fact I am not totally through the destruction phase of my Hashimoto's autoimmune thyroid disease. Almost...but not totally. :)  And after battling for years to feel better, I am not willing to rock the boat in trying.  

I think your main question is whether you should take a hair replacement supplement with kelp in it, due to your thyroid situation?  I wouldn't......no way....feeling healthy is much more important to me.  

[Paxiled]

There's a thread here on to iodine or not to iodine.  Typically, it depends on why your thyroid is off -- if it's dead completely, it's too late for iodine (which is what the kelp has in it that helps the thyroid).  If it's hyperthyroid, iodine is usually not recommended.  And it probably isn't recommended if the problem is an autoimmune disorder, such as Hashimoto's.  But there's controversy here.  What is clear is if you've been on synthroid for any length of time it's unlikely your thyroid works anymore.  So first you have to find out if it's still functioning.  And kelp will throw off the dosage of synthroid, so you have to work with your endocrinologist carefully -- most people who do seaweed treatment haven't gone on synthroid, they've chosen to deal with their problem naturally.  Laura is the person on here to talk to about this.