I have Hashi's and I follow the Iodine Project Protocol.

[Guest guest]

Hello!

I have Hashimoto's disease and aches and pains that may or may not be Fibromyalgia. Since I live in the provinces of France, far from the capital, I have not yet been able to see a doctor that has even heard of "The Iodine Project" or RT3 and Fibromyalgia has no official existence in France. My MD surveys my general status with 3 monthly blood tests. I have talked to him about what I am doing but I think he is waiting for me to crash or something. My specialist told me I was very naughty to even entertain the idea of taking iodine. Besides the Hashi and possible FM I had, at my last scan, 10 breast cysts in each breast, one of which is 5cm by nearly 2 and the other about 1 by 3. Because my mother died of breast cancer after a history of cysts I was getting a little worried about things. None of the doctors I saw seemed to be alarmed by this. However, when I read the documents posted on the Internet

about the Iodine Project I started to believe that I was in a very dangerous situation. So I decided to self medicate.

I did an Iodine loading test using a local lab's services. This test is probably not as accurate as the tests done in Drs Flechas or Hakala's labs but even with a 50-100% error margin, I had excreted between 1 and 8%! So I started self medicating and got almost immediate results by having a marked improvement in premenstrual breast tension. My cycle, which had been getting shorter and shorter, started to get longer after one month only. A visit and manual examination in october to the gyneco gave me encouraging news as far as my breast cysts were concerned.

After investigating on the Internet I thought that I might have Adrenal Fatigue as well, since I was very tired in the afternoon and picked up around 6 in the evening. That seems to have improved since taking iodine.

I still had ache's and pains in my arms, legs and feet which were slowing me down, possible FM. Further investigation made me think I had an RT3 problem. I looked on www.ithyroid.com and have started taking zinc and vitamin B6. Things have improved in only 2 weeks! I am not "out of the woods" yet but my quality of life has improved since I have been taking iodine (infact, the protocol published on www.breastcancerchoices.org) and zinc and vitamin B6. I still take levothyroxine

[Guest guest]

MacG---

I am in the Paris region (Yvelines) and my Fibromyalgia was diagnosed

by a local rhumatologist and my Hashimoto's by my generalist here.

However, I did see an endocrinologist (he's French) at the American

Hospital and after six months I was at 200mg generic Levothyroxine

and still in lots of pain. I pushed to try the T3 drug Cytomel

(Cynomel in France) and, with reservations, he let me try. I ended

up on 137mg generic and 37.5mcg Cynomel and still had problems, but

less pain.

I moved to the States for several years and had a holistic GP who let

me try Armour (she suggested it) and within a week started feeling

better. Lots of small aches, pains, digestive problems, colds and

infections just went away. I started at 2 1/2 grains and fairly

rapidly went to 4 grains. As I'd already had a T3 drug I could move

up faster than many. At four grains I started to feel human again --

like I did 10 years ago, when the Fibromyalgia was diagnosed and I'm

sure I was already hypo for a long time.

I now take six grains and have not had a fibro-crash in two years. I

will go outside of France to get Armour. I refuse to go back on

synthetics. Getting onto Armour was the best thing ever. And it is

cheaper than any of the synthetics. I'm willing to pay for it myself!!

I haven't talked to my generalist here about taking iodine and I

don't have a sense of what she'll say. My gynecologist is at the

American Hospital and she may be more open. I don't know what my

French endocrinologist will say about the Armour or Iodoral, but I'm

hoping he'll write me a prescription to go to Belgium to get Armour.

It is legal to go outside of France but within Europe for drugs.

I started Iodoral (50mg) on my own after a mammogram (in the States)

that had a suspicious area. The ultrasound did not show the same

thing, but the radiologist there recommended another check in six

months -- next month. I never had cysts, but as a swimmer had ultra-

dense breasts until I hit menopause. I'm 59 now.

I too follow the iodine protocol, including the supplements, and have

noticed increased energy since beginning. Since I cannot get an

iodine loading test (tell me what the test is in French, please), I

decided to stay at 50mg Iodoral for six months and then cut back to

25mg and see how I feel.

Keep us posted on how your tests go. Fibrojay

>

> Hello!

> I have Hashimoto's disease and aches and pains that may or may not

be Fibromyalgia.  Since I live in the provinces of France, far from

the capital, I have not yet been able to see a doctor that has even

heard of " The Iodine Project " or RT3 and Fibromyalgia has no official

existence in France.  My MD surveys my general status with 3 monthly

blood tests.  I have talked to him about what I am doing but I think

he is waiting for me to crash or something.  My specialist told me I

was very naughty to even entertain the idea of taking iodine. 

Besides the Hashi and possible FM I had, at my last scan, 10 breast

cysts in each breast, one of which is 5cm by nearly 2 and the other

about 1 by 3.  Because my mother died of breast cancer after a

history of cysts I was getting a little worried about things.  None

of the doctors I saw seemed to be alarmed by this.  However, when I

read the documents posted on the Internet about the Iodine Project I

started to

> believe that I was in a very dangerous situation.  So I decided

to self medicate.

> I did an Iodine loading test using a local lab's services.  This

test is probably not as accurate as the tests done in Drs Flechas or

Hakala's labs but even with a 50-100% error margin, I had excreted

between 1 and 8%!  So I started self medicating and got almost

immediate results by having a marked improvement in premenstrual

breast tension.  My cycle, which had been getting shorter and

shorter, started to get longer after one month only.  A visit and

manual examination in october to the gyneco gave me encouraging news

as far as my breast cysts were concerned. 

> After investigating on the Internet I thought that I might have

Adrenal Fatigue as well, since I was very tired in the afternoon and

picked up around 6 in the evening.  That seems to have improved

since taking iodine.

> I still had ache's and pains in my arms, legs and feet which were

slowing me down, possible FM.  Further investigation made me think I

had an RT3 problem.  I looked on www.ithyroid.com and have started

taking zinc and vitamin B6.  Things have improved in only 2 weeks! 

I am not " out of the woods " yet but my quality of life has improved

since I have been taking iodine (infact, the protocol published on

www.breastcancerchoices.org) and zinc and vitamin B6.  I still take

levothyroxine.

> Before Christmas, I shall probably have another blood test for my

thyroid and I shall see what's going on there.

> In February I shall go and have an ultrasonic examination of my

breasts and thyroid which will provide proof of whether this

treatment is really working or not. 

> Deciding to self medicate was one of the hardest choices I have

ever made.  I thought I would die or be very ill if I didn't and I

have a ten year old son.  I am not sure what to say to people about

this issue.  My experience has been until now positive.  In defence

of self-medication I would like to say that, nothing I have taken has

an irreversible effect and I still take my " normal " medicine.

> I think it would be a very good idea to create a data bank with the

results of people who have tried iodine treatment.   I have

documented everything I have done.  A vast body of evidence is

required to sweep aside administrative and financial objections to

this treatment.  Clinical trials will never take place until the

health system of a country is practically bankrupt (by which time I

could be very ill or dead) and pharmaceutical companies will be very

obstructive .  May be this already exists in some form?  I am

getting fed up of being treated like a credulous looney who

believes indiscriminately anything they read on the Internet by

members of the medical profession and given how much health

insurance costs in France I don't like the idea that I have to pay

from my pocket for this treatment.  It's paying twice.  It's also

suffering twice because moral suffering is added to the physical.

> The bottom line in all this is the following.  I was diagnosed in

2005 and my lab results have gone up and down and I still had

symptoms, despite taking Levothyrox.  Since August I have followed

the Iodine Project Protocol and taken a few other initiatives, and I

feel much better. 

> One last point. Thyroid problems and endocrine problems in general

are complicated.  Like many people I suffered from " brain fog " .  I

couldn't have found my way out of a paper bag at one point!  It is

not easy to think for yourself when you are like this.  Levothyrox

did not cure all my thyroid symptoms but it did stop the brain fog. 

Once I got my reasoning capacities back, I was in a position to sort

things out for myself.  So Levo or Synthroid is not necessarily so

bad.  That said I hope to stop taking it someday.

> I hope the information in this post is useful/encouraging to

someone.

> MacG.

> P.S. I don't advise taking iodine tincture internally or even

taking any iodine at all without selenium (see www.ithyroid.com for

a good explanation of iodine/selenium relationship).

>

>

> ________________________________

> From: Gracia <circe@...>

> iodine

> Sent: Tuesday, 2 December, 2008 0:00:21

> Subject: Re: I'm new and have a couple questions

>

>

>  

>  

>  

>  

> http://www.fibromya lgiarecovery. com

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

> ________________________________

> Life should be easier. So should your homepage. Try the NEW AOL.com.

> Does anyone here take Iodine and have Hashimoto's thyroiditis?

Please tell me your experience with it. I have fibromyalgia and I

believe I feel that those pains are better along with dry skin is

better and stomach is better, but neck is tender.

> ________________________________

>

> No virus found in this incoming message.

> Checked by AVG - http://www.avg. com

> Version: 8.0.176 / Virus Database: 270.9.12/1823 - Release Date:

12/1/2008 7:59 PM

>

[Guest guest]

24 hour iodine test is "dosage d'iode dans les urines sur 24 heures" or "iodurie sur 24 heures". As I said in my post, the problem is that it is probably not as accurate as Drs Flechas and Hakala's test. They say that if the amount of chlorine in your body is five to six orders of magnitude greater than the iodine, this can render the iodine reading inaccurate (something to do with electrodes, I think, look at their article on the Internet for greater detail on this matter). Too much bromide may also affect the reading. However, since I haven't drunk tap water for years and I am also not exposed to bromine as much as an American, because it was banned in Europe in flour products the 80's, I may not be as contaminated as the average american. Also as you consume

iodine other halides that can mess up the iodine reading are excreted too. So, in theory, if you are not too overloaded with other halides, or if they are excreted at a fairly fast rate, the closer you get to the 95% iodine requirement in your body, the less other rubbish you will have too which should have less of an impact on your iodine test reading. (Hope this is clear) To summarise, you may not necessarily need Dr Flechas test at the end of your iodine odessey to get an accurate reading. Dr Flechas put his first urine test out to outside laboratories and got different answers from each laboratory with a variation of 50% for the same samples.

When I did my test my result was nearly 2 mg excreted. If there was an error of 50-100% that means that it was between 1 and 4 % (I got it wrong in my last post). Either way, not much really and quite frightening.

I have done two more tests and got up to 8% excretion. I think that this is going to take some time and not just three months. Until I get to 50% excretion I think I shall just stay with the current testing method. The symptoms of hyperness are well enough documented and easily recognisable. I shall keep an eye out for them in the meantime. When I get to 50% I don't know what I shall do. Find an enthusiastic bunch of chemistry students looking for a ground breaking project, investigate veterinary labos, buy a chemistry set .............. Seriously, though, the main constraint in finding a labo is the equipment. This is fully documented in Drs Flechas and Hakala's paper on the subject. After that it's a money problem.

From: fibrojay <fibrojay@...>iodine Sent: Tuesday, 2 December, 2008 14:00:32Subject: Re: I have Hashi's and I follow the Iodine Project Protocol.

MacG---I am in the Paris region (Yvelines) and my Fibromyalgia was diagnosed by a local rhumatologist and my Hashimoto's by my generalist here. However, I did see an endocrinologist (he's French) at the American Hospital and after six months I was at 200mg generic Levothyroxine and still in lots of pain. I pushed to try the T3 drug Cytomel (Cynomel in France) and, with reservations, he let me try. I ended up on 137mg generic and 37.5mcg Cynomel and still had problems, but less pain. I moved to the States for several years and had a holistic GP who let me try Armour (she suggested it) and within a week started feeling better. Lots of small aches, pains, digestive problems, colds and infections just went away. I started at 2 1/2 grains and fairly rapidly went to 4 grains. As I'd already had a T3 drug I could move up faster than many. At four grains I started to feel human again --

like I did 10 years ago, when the Fibromyalgia was diagnosed and I'm sure I was already hypo for a long time. I now take six grains and have not had a fibro-crash in two years. I will go outside of France to get Armour. I refuse to go back on synthetics. Getting onto Armour was the best thing ever. And it is cheaper than any of the synthetics. I'm willing to pay for it myself!!I haven't talked to my generalist here about taking iodine and I don't have a sense of what she'll say. My gynecologist is at the American Hospital and she may be more open. I don't know what my French endocrinologist will say about the Armour or Iodoral, but I'm hoping he'll write me a prescription to go to Belgium to get Armour. It is legal to go outside of France but within Europe for drugs. I started Iodoral (50mg) on my own after a mammogram (in the States) that had a suspicious area. The ultrasound did not

show the same thing, but the radiologist there recommended another check in six months -- next month. I never had cysts, but as a swimmer had ultra-dense breasts until I hit menopause. I'm 59 now. I too follow the iodine protocol, including the supplements, and have noticed increased energy since beginning. Since I cannot get an iodine loading test (tell me what the test is in French, please), I decided to stay at 50mg Iodoral for six months and then cut back to 25mg and see how I feel. Keep us posted on how your tests go. Fibrojay >> Hello!> I have Hashimoto's disease and aches and pains that may or may not be Fibromyalgia. Since I live in the provinces of France, far

from the capital, I have not yet been able to see a doctor that has even heard of "The Iodine Project" or RT3 and Fibromyalgia has no official existence in France. My MD surveys my general status with 3 monthly blood tests. I have talked to him about what I am doing but I think he is waiting for me to crash or something. My specialist told me I was very naughty to even entertain the idea of taking iodine. Besides the Hashi and possible FM I had, at my last scan, 10 breast cysts in each breast, one of which is 5cm by nearly 2 and the other about 1 by 3. Because my mother died of breast cancer after a history of cysts I was getting a little worried about things. None of the doctors I saw seemed to be alarmed by this. However, when I read the documents posted on the Internet about the Iodine Project I started to> believe that I was in a very

dangerous situation. So I decided to self medicate.> I did an Iodine loading test using a local lab's services. This test is probably not as accurate as the tests done in Drs Flechas or Hakala's labs but even with a 50-100% error margin, I had excreted between 1 and 8%! So I started self medicating and got almost immediate results by having a marked improvement in premenstrual breast tension. My cycle, which had been getting shorter and shorter, started to get longer after one month only. A visit and manual examination in october to the gyneco gave me encouraging news as far as my breast cysts were concerned. > After investigating on the Internet I thought that I might have Adrenal Fatigue as well, since I was very tired in the afternoon and picked up around 6 in the evening. That seems to have improved since taking iodine.>

I still had ache's and pains in my arms, legs and feet which were slowing me down, possible FM. Further investigation made me think I had an RT3 problem. I looked on www.ithyroid. com and have started taking zinc and vitamin B6. Things have improved in only 2 weeks! I am not "out of the woods" yet but my quality of life has improved since I have been taking iodine (infact, the protocol published on www.breastcancercho ices.org) and zinc and vitamin B6. I still take levothyroxine.> Before Christmas, I shall probably have another blood test for my thyroid and I shall see what's going on there.> In February I shall go and have an ultrasonic examination of my breasts and thyroid which will provide proof of whether this treatment is really working or not. > Deciding to self medicate was one of the hardest choices I have ever made. I

thought I would die or be very ill if I didn't and I have a ten year old son. I am not sure what to say to people about this issue. My experience has been until now positive. In defence of self-medication I would like to say that, nothing I have taken has an irreversible effect and I still take my "normal" medicine.> I think it would be a very good idea to create a data bank with the results of people who have tried iodine treatment.  I have documented everything I have done. A vast body of evidence is required to sweep aside administrative and financial objections to this treatment. Clinical trials will never take place until the health system of a country is practically bankrupt (by which time I could be very ill or dead) and pharmaceutical companies will be very obstructive . May be this already exists in some form? I am

getting fed up of being treated like a credulous looney who believes indiscrimin ately anything they read on the Internet by members of the medical profession and given how much health insurance costs in France I don't like the idea that I have to pay from my pocket for this treatment. It's paying twice. It's also suffering twice because moral suffering is added to the physical.> The bottom line in all this is the following. I was diagnosed in 2005 and my lab results have gone up and down and I still had symptoms, despite taking Levothyrox. Since August I have followed the Iodine Project Protocol and taken a few other initiatives, and I feel much better. > One last point. Thyroid problems and endocrine problems in general are complicated. Like many people I suffered from "brain fog". I couldn't have

found my way out of a paper bag at one point! It is not easy to think for yourself when you are like this. Levothyrox did not cure all my thyroid symptoms but it did stop the brain fog. Once I got my reasoning capacities back, I was in a position to sort things out for myself. So Levo or Synthroid is not necessarily so bad. That said I hope to stop taking it someday.> I hope the information in this post is useful/encouraging to someone.> MacG.> P.S. I don't advise taking iodine tincture internally or even taking any iodine at all without selenium (see www.ithyroid. com for a good explanation of iodine/selenium relationship) .> > > ____________ _________ _________ __> From: Gracia <circe@...>> iodinegroups (DOT) com> Sent: Tuesday, 2 December, 2008 0:00:21> Subject: Re: I'm new and have a couple questions> > >  >  >  >  > http://www.fibromya lgiarecovery. com > > > > > > > > > ____________ _________ _________ __> Life should be easier. So should your homepage. Try the NEW AOL.com.> Does anyone here take Iodine and have Hashimoto's thyroiditis? Please tell me your experience with it. I have fibromyalgia and I believe I feel that those pains are better along with dry skin is better and stomach is better, but neck is tender. > ____________ _________ _________ __> > No virus found in this incoming message.> Checked by AVG - http://www.avg. com > Version: 8.0.176 / Virus Database: 270.9.12/1823 - Release Date: 12/1/2008 7:59 PM>