How much Lugol's ? - and question to all

[Guest guest]

Thanks for the file but HOW MUCH Lugols should one take a day and for how long.On my bottle of 7% Lugols it says Max usage 6 drops daily for 3 weeks as a foodsupplement. I have been looking at the bottle for weeks but cannot decidewhether to start it or not as I can't find any hard and fast rules on theinternet. It seems to come in various strengths so I am in a bit of a confusionabout the correct dosage for Hashimotos. Any suggestions?

, you are right, there is very little info on dosages on the net. Even on Dr. Browstein's website I could not find any info on that. So I took my cue from from Broda /Mark Starr

(quote from Mark Starr's book)

Adults begin with one drop daily in water or juice. Some of the more sensitive patients may begin with one drop on their skin every day or every other day. Increase the dose by one drop every 5-7 days until reaching 3 or 4 drops per day. My experience indicates pregnant women should not use more than one drop per day during pregnancy. Infants and children tolerate up to 170 mcg per kg a day. I recommend 2% Lugol's for small children.

May I just chime in here and ask questions too, please. I would be very grateful if anybody had an idea of what may be the cause of the following.

I have read Dr. Brownstein's theory, I have heard Dr. Peatfield's speech, read Broda ' book... in fact I have read just about all I could find on the subject of Iodine and Lugol's. Brownstein and his followers tell us how very important Iodine is for us all, even for us Hashi's, but others like Datis Kharrazian warn against using Iodine when suffering from Hashimoto's – Kharrazian compares it to putting fuel on the fire.

I don't know who is right or wrong, and I am Dr. P's patient – so I decided last year to give Lugol's 7% solution a try. I started with 1 drop in water, after a few days took 2 drops, then 3 and so on. I think I went up to 7 drops over the weeks, if I recall correctly. So perhaps that was too much, but right from the start, 2 or 3 days `in' on 1 drop I begun to feel dizzy and this dizziness got worse and worse over the weeks. I thought I had to persevere, take baby steps and that it would go away – it never did. After about 6 weeks or so I stopped the drops and it took about another month or so for me to feel normal again and to stop swaying. Several months later a friend persuaded me to try again – I did.... same result. So I am inclined to think that Kharrazzian has a point about warning to mix Hashi's with Iodine. I definitely have Hashimoto's - I have positive TPO's – I am taking everything that JOT listed (have taken this for years) – large amount of Vit C, 200 iu Selenium, sea salt and Magnesium (although not the ATP co-factors, I don't know what they are) – it made no difference... I was feeling dizzy all the same, so I stopped it again, and won't take it again.

Interestingly, less than two weeks ago I decided I wanted to try Erfa (have been taking the Thai Thiroyd for about 2 years with excellent results) simply because my GP was putting ideas in my head about `purity' and `consistency' of the Thai tablets, although there was NEVER any reason for complaint – I feel great on them and my blood results are optimal. Nonetheless, I wanted to try Erfa – well - just `because'.....

I assumed that Erfa would be stronger than Thiroyd, so I left out the 12.5 mcg T3 that I take in addition to my 2 grains and just did a straight swap. One grain the first morning and I felt good. Second grain in the afternoon and I begun to feel dizzy.... thought nothing much of it. Next morning I took again 1 grain and straight away I felt dizzy.... the dizziness got worse during the day, so I took nothing more that day. Third day I only took ½ grain Erfa and I was so dizzy, I could not take anything else on that day either.... So I went back onto Thiroyd on the 4th day and felt instantly better. I have been back on Thiroyd now for about a week, and I feel ok, but still a bit dizzy... Can anybody enlighten me WHY I should have such a reaction to both, Iodine and Erfa ? I assume I am intolerant to something that is in both – but what? I am not `chemically minded' and have no means of working it out, but perhaps someone here can enlighten me ? I have written to Dr. Brownstein, but received no reply.... well, he's a busy guy, I guess. Any ideas?

Love,

[Guest guest]

I can't answer all your questions, but I may be able to shed light on a few.

Towards the end of this link, there's a chart which shows the different doses of

lugol's... 3%, 7% and 15%......I look at the US drop at the bottom of this

chart..4.47 mgs per drop for the 7% lugols. I suggest everyone start with 1 drop

of that per day.

http://www.herbhealers.com/store/lugol-s-iodine-7-1-fl-oz-29-5-ml.html

The iodoral tablets have 12.5 mgs in each tablet and this is based on the

healthy Japanese people who's intake of iodine through their food intake are

very healthy and have little or no breast cancer, etc.

This site explains that well:

During the early 1900's, the iodine/iodide solution called Lugol solution was

used extensively, effectively and safely in medical practice, for both low

activity and above normal activity of the thyroid gland. The recommended daily

intake for iodine supplementation was 2 to 6 drops of Lugol solution containing

12.5 to 37.5 mg total iodide. That amount was mentioned as lately as 1995 in a

book on Pharmaceutical Sciences. Several investigators have shown convincing

evidence connecting inadequate iodine intake and breast cancer. Japanese women

living in Japan consumed a daily average of 13.8 mg total elemental iodine and

they experience one of the lowest prevalence (risk) for breast, ovarian and

uterine cancer. In the 1960's, one slice of bread in the USA contained the full

RDA of 0.15 mg iodine. The risk for breast cancer was then 1 in 20. Over the

last 2 decades, iodine was replaced by bromine in the bread making process.

Bromine blocks thyroid function and may interfere with the anticancer effect of

iodine on the breast. Now, the risk for breast cancer is 1 in 8 and increasing

1% per year.

The RDA limits for vitamins and minerals were established after World War II.

One of the last essential elements included in the RDA system was iodine,

established in 1980 and confirmed in 1989. The RDA for iodine was based on the

amount of iodine/iodide needed to prevent goiter, extreme stupidity and

hypothyroidism. The optimal requirement of the whole human body for iodine has

never been studied. Therefore, the optimal amount of this element for physical

and mental wellbeing is unknown. Based on demographic studies, the mainland

Japanese consumed an average of 13.8 mg daily and they are one of the healthiest

people on planet earth. Lugol solution is a time-tested preparation with a

proven track record for over 150 years. Two drops contain 12.5 mg iodine/iodide,

an amount very close to the 13.8 mg average intake of mainland Japanese.

Scroll down on this link to read more of this:

http://www.pureformulas.com/iodoral-180-tablets-125-mg-by-optimox-corporation.ht\

ml

So basically, what they are saying is that at 12.5 mgs a day of, iodine should

keep your body in pretty good shape. The 12.5 mgs is a very basic dose but

raising iodine takes a bit of time and understanding. There is no reason you

should have to increase this if you are fairly healthy, but 37.5 mgs and up to

50 mgs of iodine is the normal dosage to prevent breast cancer and other

cancers. This is what Brownstein has studied and researched.

Not all people need the 50mgs a day for these benefits. Some do well on 25 mgs a

day ....it is, as always, a personal thing.

If you are taking the 7% drops, to get about the 12.5mg of iodine you should

take 3 drops. 4.47 x 3 = 13.41 mgs.

There are a couple big things here which need attention. Raising the drops

should be done very slowly to let your body adjust. If you are starting on 3

drops, I would keep it here for at least a month. If you are doing well

throughout that month, then you can think about adding another drop. If you are

not doing well with the 3 drops, go back down to one or two drops and start

over. If you have adrenal fatigue or your adrenals aren't up to snuff, this will

cause dizzyness. Although iodine helps the adrenals, if they aren't in good

shape, the iodine is going to put too much pressure on them. (some people say

this is true, some say it is not true, I believe it is true) By lowering the

dose of lugols, you'll generally get that answer.

Iodine needs to be taken first thing in the morning when you wake up. You can

take all the iodine protocol supplements together at that time. If you take

iodine later in the day, it may keep you awake at night. (this does not happen

to everyone, but quite a big percentage experience this)

The other reason you may be experiencing dizzyness is because of bromide

blocking your receptors. Bromide is the toxic halide which is in everything

these days...we cannot get away from it. This is where the Celtic Sea Salt comes

in....the salt attaches to the bromide and carries it out through the urine.

Thus, opening the receptors so the iodine can get into the cells where we want

it. There are a lot of symptoms of bromide toxicity, it can be anything at all,

aches and pains, dizzy, headache, flu symptoms, sinus trouble, anything at all

that starts up all of a sudden. It's best to note these in a jotter pad whenever

you start iodine or are trying to raise iodine. Most people have quite a bit of

bromide in their system which needs to come out...the less bromide, the less

symptoms. When you have symptoms of any kind here, you take 1/2 teaspoon of

celtic sea salt in 1/2 glass of water, and then follow that will 12 ounces of

water. Drink it all down. If the symptoms resolve themselves within the next

half hour or so, you know it was a bromide problem. If it doesn't resolve than

repeat the process up to one tablespoon a day of sea salt. This generally does

the trick.In my own research, I have found that women with a *Scorpio* Sun sign

have less trouble with iodine absorption than any other sign. Men also seem to

have less absorption trouble.

If you try to raise the iodine without clearing out some of the bromide first,

it's generally going to backfire on you. So, slow and steady with raising. Start

with one drop and go from there....if you start with 3 drops and have no

effects, than stay there for a while until you know it's clear.

I do not have Hashi's so I cannot speak from experience here, but has and

is on the iodine protocol, so I hope she will chime in here and explain it from

her expertise on the subject.

I do know that with Hashi's, selenium is very important and it helps to start on

the selenium several weeks before you start iodine to get a backup in the

system. Sometimes Hashi's needs more selenium and magnesium than others. I know

that the iodine protocol is the same for Hashi's as it is for everyone else

except that you may need a bit more supplementing vitamins .....the Atp

cofactors is part of that:

http://www.amazon.com/OPTIMOX-ATP-Cofactors-90-tabs/dp/B004HXIVL6/ref=sr_1_2?ie=\

UTF8 & qid=1303064421 & sr=8-2

Scroll down to read about magnesium and synergism.

Let's give a shout out to who will be able to speak more about Hashi's for

you.....

Cheers,

JOT

As far as raising the ERFA, the dizzyness sounds like adrenal again, but maybe

it's just not the right natural thryoid med for you. When I use thiroyd instead

of ERFA in the morning, I'm just bouncing off the walls, so I take that less

than I do the ERFA. For me, thiroyd hits me far too strong and it's short lived,

rather than the ERFA which hits me slow and even without bouncing......

[Guest guest]

WOW, JOT – thanks ever so much J My adrenals are not great, I know that, but I do cope just with NAX and extra B complex and SAMe – have taken all of those for years and I take masses of other supplements anyway – .... Bromide toxicity could be a very likely culprit though. I have had sinus problems for most of my life, but the dizziness is something new (which started when I tried Erfa ... )

OK – so I will read up a bit on bromide toxicity and I have just downed ½ teaspoon of Himalaya Salt (don't have Celtic Sea salt in the house right now) in half a glass of water followed by 12 oz of plain water.... jeez, I feel like a walking bath-tub! I'll see if that takes care of the dizziness within half an hour. I am hesitant to re-start on Lugol's before the dizziness has gone, since I started getting dizzy on even 1 drop of Lugol's before. I have not noticed any problem with drinking salt water though, so that's a start J

I do take selenium religiously anyway and have done so for 3 years – equally, yes, I need masses of Magnesium... I take 600 regularly, sometimes up to 1000 mg per day, and again, have done so for a long time.... and I am looking forward to what has to say - , I hope you read this J

This is so strange, JOT, that for you the Thiroyd appears strong. I remember when I started on it, the first 3 days I had energy like never before (well, never since Hashi's) but then it just settled down and they suit me down to the ground. But it is odd – I fare better on 2 grains Thiroyd & 12.5mcg T3 than taking 2 ½ grains of Thiroyd and no T3 .... perhaps this is something to do with Bromide toxicity too ???

Well.... if this works to get rid of the dizziness and perhaps even the sinus probs, JOT, then I'll owe you big time J

Thanks very much. I'll let you know if it works.

Love,

[Guest guest]

Hi :

I recommend this article on bromine/bromide:

http://preventdisease.com/news/10/030910_bromine_toxicity_thyroid.shtml

It talks about how much bromide is really out there...and that there is little

we can do to avoid it in this day and age. This makes the salt protocol

invaluable.

As far as articles on iodine, lugol's, apple cider vinegar and all the halides,

I go back to DR Jarvis who really is the one that started all this business. He

wrote a book, which is wonderful. I wonder if Sheila has it in her lending

library..

http://www.amazon.com/Folk-Medicine-England-Almanac-Natural/dp/044920880X/ref=cm\

_cr-mr-title

There is gobs of info in this little book. I wouldn't be without it even though

it was written back in 1958. Some of it has changed because of the years, but

all the iodine parts are correct.

Here are two downloads from DR Jarvis' books which are always interesting and I

find them very educational on iodine and vinegar and honey, alone. They are not

specifically on anything we are talking about but always informative:

scroll down to the document:

http://capsulesenterica.3dcartstores.com/assets/images/pdfdownloads/folkmedicine\

excerpt.pdf

http://capsulesenterica.3dcartstores.com/assets/images/pdfdownloads/folkarthriti\

smedicineexcerpt.pdf

Hashi's always gets a bad wrap with iodine...Mostly it is because the people are

not educated in the use and protocol of iodine intake. It is explained well on

the iodine site, but as I said, I have not experienced it myself. When people

get the hashi's flare-ups they need to supplement to get through the scare. But

once they know the drill, they will move forward with it and heal the flares.

Many have cured themselves from Hashi's with the iodine protocol so that they

reduce the number of anti-bodies to zero. POOF ! no more Hashi's.

Cheers,

JOT