Hi,
My tests came back and my Thyroid Panel(TSH, T4, T3, Reverse T3) were all fine (mid range)
However, Urine Iodine was on the lower side 45.1 (Range 28 - 544)
Dr. Suggested I take Iodine and I did , but gave me severe headaches.
My questions are :
1. Can Iodine deficiency alone cause symptoms of fatigue and low energy?
2. Is there a transdermal form of Iodine that works well for Iodine deficiency? Reason I ask is I am very susceptible to headaches when I take supplements by mouth, but injections and sometime creams and sprays bother me less.
Thanks so much.
Hi
@Peyt
What was your T4 number? The ratio of T4:T3 will show if you are convetimg T4 efficiently. Reverse T3 shows how much T3 your system is unable to pick up and use. What isn't used is chucked out as RT3.
Unfortunately, the old T3 Uptake test was discontinued here in the UK back in the 1990's. It was a useful test to help see if there was any receptor resistance.
Can Iodine deficiency alone cause symptoms of fatigue and low energy?
Absolutely.
Iodine is important in thyroid hormone production because T4, (manufactured in the thyroid gland, and controlled by TSH via a feedback loop), is one molecule of the amino acid tyrosine with four molecules of iodine attached to it, hence the name
T4.
If you don't have enough iodine to attach four bits of it to each piece of tyrosine to make T4, your thyroid function is impaired straight off. (One of the old traditional remedies for low thyroid function was to take kelp tablets. Kelp tablets stimulate T4 production and have the side-effect of greatly increasing the rate of hair and nail growth because of this.)
Selenium is important because the enzyme that converts T4 to T3, 5' deiodinase, is selenium-based. As "de-iodinase" suggests, it removes one molecule of iodine from T4, leaving three behind, hence
T3.
5' deiodinase is produced in the liver. Conversion of T4»T3 takes place in the liver, and also in peripheral tissues. The amino acid Carnitine has been shown to block the production of T4 in peripheral tissues, and is used as a treatment for hyperthyroidism. (There is no mention in the study I saw about this of carnitine impacting on liver conversion of T3»T3, or of any impact on T3 itself, only peripheral T4.)
I also get a bad reaction to iodine (headaches, nausea, etc) if I take more than c.225mcg/day.
I figure this is because I have to take T3 due to having a conversion block for T4»T3. I don't convert much T4 to T3. Consequently, I don't make very much T4 anymore because production is automatically suppressed by the end-point, active hormone T3 being supplied exogenously.
(I always thought that my need for iodine with my particular form of hypothyroidism was less than others, because my system has no need to pick it up and attach it in groups of four to tyrosine.)
I'm not sure I've explained that very well! :-/
Jigsaw