Another question; iodine supplements

[linteater]

So the endocrinologist is insisting that I have Hashimoto's hypothyroid disease, despite my negative antibody tests.  (diagnosis was based solely on TSH levels, no t3/t4 testing was done)  I disagreed, but went on Synthroid anyway.

For 2.5 weeks my hypothyroid symptoms were getting worse and worse while on Synthroid.  I kept telling myself that the hormones take a while to kick in, just wait it out.  I also started monitoring my body temperature; and my temperature kept dropping.  It got to the point that my temperature was at 95.4-96 degrees throughout the day and I felt like I was freezing to death constantly.  I also had absolutely no appetite.  It was never that bad before Synthroid.

So instead of letting myself die of hypothermia, I decided to start taking Iodine supplements. I'm a vegetarian and on a low-sodium diet, so it seems likely that iodine deficiency could be the cause of my hypothyroidism, but my doctor disagreed.  The day after I took a dose of iodine my body temperature shot back up to almost 97 degrees.  It's maintained a pretty stable average of 97 degrees since I've been regularly supplementing with iodine whereas before supplements and only on synthroid, my temperature was jumping up and down, but consistently trending lower.

Part of me is wondering if it's the thyroid medication finally kicking in and not due to the iodine.  Did any of you get worse while on synthroid for the first 2-3 weeks?  I could understand not getting better, but is it normal to feel worse?  And would iodine have that quick of an effect on thyroid issues?

Thanks!

[stella5349]

Can the meds kick in... Really, more of it is a release and a "rush" that can happen. It has nothing to do with the disbursement each day.

[stella5349]

eh? - that patch test is semi OK - in desperate situations but the O2 will vanish the liquid iodine more than truly knowing if you have a deficiency.

If your concerned and really want the exact levels - order a loading test.

[linteater]

Thanks Stella!  

I was wondering if it was all in my head.  Conversely, is it normal for thyroid medication to suddenly kick in like that?  I feel like if I talk to my doctor about this she's just going to say, "Well, that's the thyroid medication working" instead of taking my concerns that all my problems are caused by iodine deficiency.  It just makes more sense to me, since nobody in my family has this, and I'm NOT eating table salt, egg-yolks, fish/meat, and I rarely eat dairy, which rules out most of my sources for iodine.  

I also did the "iodine deficiency patch test," and came up deficient, but I have my doubts on how accurate that test is, or even if it's a real test.

[linteater]

Thanks for the response.

I was only hypothyroid for at most a year, and I had only begun having symptoms since July/August (I felt fine during my 70 mile bike race), a month or two after I started restricting my sodium intake.

They tested my thyroid within the last year (I think because of some other issues I was having) and it was fine earlier.

Don't know if that's relevant?

[Barb135]

Many people report getting worse for a while after starting on a thyroid med.  Your body has been without the hormones for a while and must get used to having them again.  It takes 4-6 weeks for the thyroid med to reach its full effect.  

I'm not sure how quickly iodine would take effect; however, I do know that in many cases of Hashimoto's, iodine is contraindicated and can even make things worse.  There are others here who are much more familiar with the effects of iodine, than I am.