Question: I have been on 0.1 mg of synthroid for many years for hypothyroidism. I started taking an iodine supplement on my own and felt better, but it seemed to cause my TSH levels to go too low or in other words it looked like I had too much thyroid hormone in my blood.
I told my doctor what I had been doing and she told me to stop taking iodine as it was interfering with my thyroid medication. I was disappointed because I thought she would agree that it was helping and maybe I could decrease or get off my medication. What’s your opinion?
Answer: First, I would like to emphasize the importance of fine tuning thyroid function. I believe that working with your MD and an ND is your best option. If your wish is to integrate the knowledge of both primary care practitioners then you may have to have this discussion with your doctor if they are not familiar with what a naturopathic doctor does.
Iodine is used by thyroid gland to make thyroid hormone in the first place and deficiency is quite common especially with the avoidance of iodized salt with low sodium diets, coupled with excessive intake of bromine, chlorine and fluorine which can displace iodine’s rightful place in the body.
What is less known about iodine is that it also needed for the cell’s thyroid hormone receptor to work properly. Hormonal activity does not occur without proper binding to its’ receptor. So normal blood hormone levels do not guarantee normal hormone activity.
