Update: 11/26/16 I’ve been using Iodine since September 2010 and plan to take it forever. Lately, it seems I see SO MANY WOMEN who have receding hairlines, bald spots, extremely thin hair. I want to run up to them and extoll the virtues of iodine supplementation… but I figure they want to believe no one notices their hair loss, so I don’t. If you know someone with hair troubles, please share this post. There’s a wealth of info here as well as links to actual experts. At least get them on the path to healthy hair. Who doesn’t want good hair days?
Back in 2010, after IAD (I Almost Died, a phrase that comes in handy when I want something from my siblings), I watched my hair falling out in clumps in the shower. It was the most prolonged depressing experience of my young life. It wasn’t the prospect of being bald. I can do bald. It was the overwhelming fear and panic, wondering what the hell was happening NOW, and what was going to happen NEXT?
After blogging about it, a reader suggested thyroid trouble. “Thyroid?” I asked. “What’s a thyroid?” You all teach me everything. Thank you.
I researched “thyroid hair loss” and discovered iodine. It didn’t take much convincing to try it. In fact, I got some Lugol’s iodine in pill form as fast as I could! After 3 days, the hair loss STOPPED. Cold. Wow… I will never be without iodine again.
IODINE + SELENIUM: they work together! I’ll be taking selenium as long as I’m taking iodine. Here’s a good article explaining the relationship. There are links in this article to read what other experts say. This is the selenium I take.
THYROID DISEASE If you have thyroid disease, Hashimoto’s, Addison’s, etc., do your research on iodine + selenium supplementation. Many mainstream doctors warn against iodine supplementation. The alternative community does not. For the record, after years of research, I would take it. You have to decide whether or not it’s right for you.
Iodine in liquid form or pill form?
Lugol’s solution is not a brand name, it’s the formula named after its creator. LugoTabs is the pill form of Lugol’s. I started with the pills, then went to the liquid because the liquid is so much cheaper. Tastes how you might think iodine tastes: terrible. If you mix it with a little kombucha or put in a smoothie, you never know.
Buy LugoTabs on Amazon here | Buy Lugol’s on ebay here | Buy selenium here.
Some say the pills are the better choice because the pill goes lower in the intestine before dissolving which means better absorption where it’s needed. I don’t understand the how or why of that, but I did read it on the internet so it’s gotta be true, right?
Ok, j/k. I don’t believe EVERYTHING I read online. Only after considerable research do I trust my instincts on new ideas. Read, read, listen, watch, then read more, then repeat. For weeks, sometimes months. I ignore verbatim postings (people copying info from one site, then pasting it on their site) and try to figure out where the information originated. Then research to see if that qualifies as a reliable source. In my 8 years of study, anecdotal evidence — personal experience of thousands of fellow bio-hackers (mostly moms) — has proven the most reliable education.
The Iodine I Buy — Lugol’s Solution:
I use the 2.2% Lugol’s solution from the_full_orchestra on ebay. Fyi, “the_full_orchestra” is the seller’s ebay handle. If the link doesn’t work, go to ebay and paste that seller name in the search box. I’ve been buying from him for years.
I started with about 5 drops. Now I’m up to 17-20 drops (half a dropper-full), about 50 mg. The minimum, according to Dr. Brownstein (see videos below with Dr. Mercola).
Here’s an excellent dosing tool from Stepping Stones Living:
Iodine Detox Reaction
When you start taking iodine, there’s a chance of detox reactions, a.k.a. “Herx” reactions. These are most often flu-like symptoms and include a wide range of unpleasant ways your body reacts to a cleanse or a change in diet: headaches, rashes, aches, skin eruptions, to name a few of the prettier ones. Just don’t let it surprise you.
My detox reactions from the various natural cures I’ve tried have never lasted longer than a week. For relief, I do coffee enemas, epsom salt baths, drink lots of decaf liquids, extra Vitamin D3 (along with my daily supplements).
I did salt loading at the beginning almost everyday and occasionally do it now. Iodine replaces the bromide and fluoride in your thyroid, toxins that are NOT supposed to be there. Salt loading helps move them out of your body. Yay!
Iodine Resources
The great yahoo iodine group is no longer active. They now have a Facebook group. You’ll read hundreds of personal experiences with iodine, including detox reactions as well as how and what iodine heals.
Dr. Brownstein on Iodine
In the alternative health field, Dr. David Brownstein is one of the acknowledged iodine experts. Here he is with Dr. Mercola (Part 1 below, click here for Part 2 and here for Part 3):
Dr. Flechas on Iodine
Iodine worked for me.
My hair stopped falling out and it all came back thick and healthy. Actually, the first growth back was what my friends who have done chemo call “chemo hair”: it was curly and a little bristly, more gray than before. Soooo relieved to have hair again!!!
Have you experienced your hair falling out? What worked for you, what didn’t?
Resources:
- Dr. Aieta on iodine
- Found this great article on iodine — very complete!
- Here’s Chris Kresser on thyroid health, Hashimoto’s, iodine and selenium.
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Post some of your thyroid findings. My tsh/ths {I forget how that goes – only test the docs will do} are always high. I need to have it redone here soon as I’ve been taking raw thyroid for a bit now {as well as the whole mostly Paleo eating thing} and I want to see if it helps my numbers. It has helped my symptoms of low thyroid function; the loosing hair by handfuls in the shower {I have a ton so it’s really no big but…}, and dry skin on feets, & the hard to loose wt thing which is the devil {still working on that last thing}. Thyroid research is a huge rabbit hole to travel down. I might try the iodine…
One thing is if ones hypothyroidism is b/c their thyroid can’t convert the iodine – then iodine won’t do them any good {in what I’ve read anyway}. But it takes more than a tsh test to tell if that’s the case.
Funny thing is my hair in december was straight w/ a slight annoying wave in the back… now it’s corkscrew curly {w/ the frizz that often comes w/ curls ugh}. The only thing I can attribute it to is that raw thyroid pill. Weirdness.
Ok, get curly hair with raw thyroid pills — weird is right!
Yeah, brand new rabbit hole and very confusing. Tons of conflicting info. I’m pretty certain I’m hypo because of the weight. Wondering how thyroid and insulin resistance are connected — sure they are.
I’ve never heard that about thyroid not being able to convert iodine. When I take it, I get a boost of energy so I’m thinking mine is fine.
But that’s the first test I’m going to take when my ship comes in: get the tsh’s all tested and figured out.
Also, how does adrenal fit in there? Are the thyroid and adrenals related? They must be… these questions and more on the next episode 🙂
My understanding is if you were hyper you’d know it. Not be able to sleep & you’d just be going crazy.
Supposed to test T3 and T4 and TSH… but since docs think that they would treat the same for it all – ie: rx synthroid – they don’t test the first 2. One of those tho’ will tell if a person is converting 3 to 4 {or 4 to 3… I confuse myself on the particulars. Very easy to do. lol} Anyway, yes. It’s all kinda connected. I have a new book file called It Starts with Food {it’s part of the Whole30 thing} send me your email & I’ll send you the file {epub}; they talk about the hormones: thyroid, corisol, insulin etc. I don’t think they mention adrenals but that’s a part too I’m sure.
Ikr… weird. All I’ve changed in the last 6 mo. {the curls have been around longer than that tho’} is taking that raw thyroid. no.clue. I don’t mind it {I used to pay for perms after all} but the frizz in our humidity makes me crazy so… I’m partially dreading it lol. email me: cokelush at gmail
Re. testing, I’ve read that you have to test “everything” whatever that is, lol. When it’s time to test, I was going to seek out Dr. Brownstein’s recommendations on what exactly to test since you can do that at an independent lab. I may still do that. However, a friend went to see Dr. Sherry Tenpenny in Cleveland which is a 5-hour drive so doable. (http://tenpennyimc.com/)
She is an expert in thyroid/adrenal help and affordable so I might go see her. That would be very cool to meet her and put my money to good use!
Thanks for the post. You have confirmed my own research, as for the last couple years I’ve had a multitude of symptoms and I knew in my gut that it wasn’t all pre-menopausal stuff like my doctor insinuated. However, this year I’ve begun losing a lot of hair in the front and my eyebrows just stopped growing basically, and then constipation joined in the symphony of symptoms. So, I too agree with your research and have begun with Lugol’s solution yesterday. I took a picture of my hair line and will take more pictures ongoing as a way to objectively determine if the iodine is doing any good. I have high hopes, and can’t wait for my hair to grow back in.
I’m excited for you!!! Please write back and keep us posted. It was SUCH A RELIEF to take a shower without pulling out gobs of hair!!!
I know that hair loss is a side effect of a multitude of drugs: perhaps because those drugs damage the thyroid? I’m not sure.
I do know that, as I run about town, I see more and more women who are going bald. I’m assuming, since all doctors do these days is prescribe pharmaceuticals–nobody is interested in curing, just treating–that this is one of the causes. You might look at any pharmaceuticals you are taking.
I was told to take 40mg (double strength) of that purple pill for indigestion (caused by massive doses of antibiotics while in the hospital). Right after I started taking that, my hair started falling out. It is not listed as a side effect but I found several anecdotal references to hair loss after taking it…
Do you take probiotics or eat fermented foods with every meal? If all disease begins in the gut — and more and more evidence points that way — all healing begins there, too.
Hi Jennifer I was wondering if you’re hair did grow back with the iodine?
Monica, if you scroll down you can see more from Jennifer. She has an update.
I have never been on any long term medication. I am 47, my myriad of ailments began several years ago. I’ve always been a healthy person, until I had my flu vaccinations for the first time. The next 2 years were the sickest in my life. I do believe that the vaccine had a lot to do with it, but may have been aided by a lot of stress, and toxicity from herbicides which I applied periodically as part of my job. My husband also was very sick those years and he did not have the same stresses nor a toxic job; however, he had also had his first flu vaccinations too. We did it 2 yrs in a row. We’ve never had another one since and have been healthier every year. I have never had any medication except for anitbiotics a few times over the last few years. We have been learning to eat healthier in fits and starts. We have a vitamix, a juicer, and have made water kefir, and kombucha. Making it all on a regular basis is the hard part. We live in Columbus, Ohio and often wish I had access to raw milk like you do in Kentucky. I have a good source of grass-fed beef, and eggs,even duck eggs.
I like your humor and enjoy reading your blog.
Jennifer,
There is an organic and raw dairy delivery in Ohio I use. I order weekly from http://www.farmmatch.com from Highland Haven Farms in Hillsboro and they deliver to Chillicothe. I love it and get all my raw dairy from them. If you are still interested you could check it out.
Thank you!
Wow, I just read your continuous brew kombucha article. I can’t wait to start it. And, ginger and turmeric are two “herbs” I try to incorporate often in our diet. I’m actually in the process of perfecting a tamarind & turmeric drink that I believe has kept me healthy while a bunch of people got sick during a family reunion. I’ll get back to you soon. Gonna go start my kombucha NOW. 🙂
Please post your tamarind and turmeric recipe! I’m game, lol!
I have heard others report illness after flu vaccines. Sorry to hear it! I’ve never learned anything the easy way… fortunately I remember my lesson.
Have you looked on the realmilk.com site to see if there are any cow shares in your area? Also, ask at farmer’s markets — whisper the question, of course! Perhaps there are Amish around there, although all the Amish don’t necessarily practice grass-fed non-GMO feed so you have to ask that, too.
[…] Iodine (here’s info on iodine including why I take it and where to get it) […]
My thyroid was removed and tag tissue left about 26 years ago. I am hypo. As for the numbers from the blood tests…..I have no confidence in them. Too much of my life was spent in a fog with doctors who have no clue. So I quit them.
I take the Lugol’s, and I give it to 2 of my dogs who have some skin fungus problems. It made a difference for the dogs in 3 days time.
Plain over the counter iodine cures my skin cancer when applied directly and in heavy doses….cured in about a week, no scaring.
We also double dose inject ourselves with B 12 shots monthly.
We have not used shampoo in more than a year. We No Poo with baking soda and water which I keep mixed together in a plastic ketchup bottle in the shower. Our hair rinse is vinegar and water kept in a garden spray bottle for ease of application. The results are….no more itching, more hair, cleaner hair, no dandruff, we are way better off. I have not had any reoccurance of scalp skin cancer.
We also Soda Dope. Baking soda and water drank in the morning and again before bed. Cheap medicine that everyone should be taking for a hundred reasons.
Iodine and baking soda are two of the best investments we can make, they are our families health care plan.
Hey, Ginnee, so nice to see your comment <3
I agree with you 100% on both of those. Because I know about your thyroid, I think about you every time I take my iodine, your name runs through my head. I'm so glad you can get Lugol's down there -- I wasn't sure on that. So yay!!!
I've never tried iodine tincture (which is what you buy in the drug store) on my skin cancer. I have a small one on my nose and one on my chest -- going to put some on right now!
How much Iodine per dosage and how many times daily are you taking?
[…] Is Your Hair Falling Out? from Nourishing Liberty […]
[…] Is Your Hair Falling Out? – Nourishing Liberty […]
[…] Why Your hair could be falling Out […]
Hello,
I have been suffering from hair loss for three years. It started as an effluvium and it is now just a steady thinning which is hard as I am 37 years of age and just a few years back had a very thick head of gorgeous hair. Now I wear a hair piece to give me the volume and confidence while I keep on my search of a remedy. I recently started working with a naturopath who put me on lugols 12 drops a day. She also took my temperature and said it was alarmingly low (she studied Wilson’s low temperature syndrome which indicates low temp can be related to low thyroid). Allopathic doctors just shook their head at me and told me to just take rogaine and be done with it. Thing is – almost right away after taking the lugols my hair loss dropping in half. I was so relieved. Its been a month and two days ago my hair shedding increased for some reason. I’m stumped. Any thoughts? I’m also on selenium, zinc, no flush niacin, vitamin c and ashwhaganda which are all supposed to support the lugols treatment. Am I just being impatient here?
It sounds to me like you are on the right path so far. Those all sound like good supplements. You are lucky to have a naturopath to guide you, I had to reinvent the wheel here! The Wilson’s low temperature syndrome explained so much to me, too, really good info there.
It could be a healing crisis, that would be the most obvious thing. Or a detox: iodine detoxes bromides and fluorides from your body. Maybe it’s time to up the iodine? Not sure what 12 drops equates to (depends on the strength of your Lugol’s). I’m also not familiar with alopecia or any other causes of hair loss besides thyroid trouble. That would set me on a couple of weeks of research!
Are you or your naturopath familiar with http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/? Since my hair loss stopped, I never dug into this site but this would be my next step. The woman who runs that site is VERY knowledgeable. And maybe you are a little impatient 🙂 I try to stick with a protocol for 90 days minimum to see how it’s working before I switch gears.
If all disease begins in the gut, that’s the place to treat like the holy temple. Lots of probiotics, fermented foods. Homemade fermented foods are actually the first choice — they have waaaay more good bacteria than storebought or pills.
Can you stop eating all GMOs and anything sprayed with glyphosate? At least for a few months until you can get this resolved. Try eating only organic and as much pastured meats, eggs, cheese, raw dairy as possible (barring any allergies). GMOs are such an unknown quantity… in the right combination with another malady, it could be the straw that breaks the camel’s back.
Keep me posted. Losing my hair was so unnerving! I hated it. Like I said in the post, I wasn’t so terrified of being bald, but it was so unexpected and I didn’t know what else was going to happen… Seriously, let us know what works, what doesn’t. Someone else will stumble on this post looking for help. Thank you!
Thank you for your encouragement. What do you mean by a healing crisis? I’m currently on the unique healing protocol as well. That protocol focuses on healing the gut but is a longer term commitment. Time will tell. I will let you know what happens.
Sometimes when we start something entirely new, our bodies will go into some sort of detox, which is referred to as a “healing crisis.” Like when people go on a diet and invariably get the flu or flu-like symptoms because the toxins stored in fat are released back into the bloodstream. Maybe the iodine or something else you are doing is causing a detox reaction which is resulting in hair loss. Now, I’ve never heard of that, but I haven’t heard of a lot of stuff, lol. I’m just taking wild guesses… which sometimes lead me back around to the truth. <3
I’ve been diagnosex with graves disease Nov 2014 and I chopped my hair off three years ago and just relaxed my hair two weeks ago approx mid march 2015. I’m currently taking methimazole meds twice a day and I noticed my hair shredding and thinned out. I’m open to lugol, but don’t no the dose or much about it. Pls email ASAP PLS AND THANKS…
Hi Tanya, I’m sorry to hear this — losing my hair was rough. I don’t know anything about Graves disease so I can’t advise exactly what to do there. If you aren’t sure about lugol’s (tastes nasty), you can get Iodoral from BreastCancerChoices.org, 12.5 mg or 25. I started with the 12.5. Watch Dr. Brownstein’s videos and visit StoptheThyroidMadness.com, see if she has any info on there about Graves disease. Also join the yahoo group, https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/iodine/info. I learned practically everything here first, then had it corroborated by other experts. Good luck to you — you can lick this and you can do it without drugs. xoxoxoxo
[…] You might also be interested in reading how your hair falling out can be connected to your thyroid health. […]
THANK YOU!!!!!
The Iodine worked for me within 1 week, my hair loss has complete stopped.
I have been losing my hair for 3 years now after going through an extremely stressful time. It has felt like insult added to injury to not only have suffered through the events in question but then to lose my hair afterwards.
I have been diagnosed with a severe case of adrenal fatigue which I’ve been treating with IV vitamin C and various supplements, but my hair was still falling out.
That’s when I became desperate and started to do my own research in a last-ditch attempt to save my remaining hair and I came across your website.
The Iodine has not only stopped my hair loss but I feel so much happier and more energetic.
This has renewed my faith in my body’s ability to heal and given me hope that I will make a full recovery.
I can’t thank you enough.
Oh my, that is EXACTLY how I felt!!! Yay!!! Iodine gives me energy, too, and I feel much better since I’ve been taking it.
I am also suffering from adrenal fatigue and now on a functional medicine nutrition protocol, including iodine. Never giving that up… talk about prying something from my cold dead hands, lol.
Thank you for letting me know you got such good results, I love hearing that!!!
How many drops do you take a day? I heard you take drops for 4 days, then off 4 days, as it’s the natural way your body would produce iodine, or absorb it…or whatever they said..ha
That should say ‘completely’, sorry!
Hello, just read your blog on iodine. I’m looking for the same I e but can’t find in eBay either. I found another kind of lugol iodine, 1oz 2% is that ok? Not sure if it has to be the exact one you had?
Hmmm, he must be out of the 2.2%. You can ask the seller when he’ll have more 2.2%.
Or use the chart to do the conversion. The 2.2% gives 2.5 mgs of iodine, so 10 drops is 25 mgs. If you get the 5%, that gives 6.25 mgs per drop, so 5 drops is about 31 mgs.
Start slowly: just one or two drops, see how you tolerate it. And consider joining the yahoo group. The woman who runs that (I think her name is Stephanie, it’s been awhile since I’ve been on it) is very compassionate and a true expert on the topic!
Good luck with it. Let me know how it goes 🙂
This is great info. I began looking into Lugols iodine and Dr. Brownsteins iodine protocol a few months ago, along with healing leaky gut. Everything you said is what I have also learned from my research, even the detoxing being a part of iodine supplementation or cleaning up a poor diet…I also wanted to mention how important selenium is when taking iodine. Many functional/naturopathic doctors would advise to always take selenium with iodine and in some cases start selenium 6-8 weeks before iodine. This should also help with detox symptoms some experience.
Thank you, Lauren. I was so excited about my hair loss stopping and I already took selenium so I didn’t focus on how important that is. I’ll add that to the article!
Hi Sally,
Your hairloss story is very inspiring. I have subclinical hypothyroidism and am trying to find a holistic approach to treating it. I apparently do not have hashimotos, I had my antibodies tested. I’ve read a number of articles and there appears to a lot of literature indicating to be cautious with iodine intake as this could potentially damage or inflame the thyroid further? What are yout thoughts on this ? I’m a bit confused and not sure if I should even try the iodine thing?
Thanks
I do know that some doctors don’t approve of using iodine at all, and warn against it for the very reasons you state. My sister’s doctor told her not to use iodine for her goiter… I definitely would, but she won’t. Her doctor didn’t tell her what to do to relieve it, but just not to use iodine.
Dr. Brownstein says no problem and he’s an M.D. too 🙂 I’ve heard him speak at a WAPF conference and he has a lot of credibility with me.
Not knowing the exact state of your thyroid and adrenals is a question. It’s sounds like you’ve had some testing done, yes? Just thyroid or adrenals/hormones? It might be that, while iodine won’t hurt you and could help relieve symptoms, it might not be the thing to get at the root of the subclinical hypothyroidism. You might need other supplement and lifestyle tweaks.
Are you working with a functional medicine/nutrition practitioner? If you are interested in healing this using all natural methods, I’m a functional health coach — this is right up my alley. My email is oboyky AT gmail.com.
If you want to continue researching on your own, visit Dr. B’s blog (http://blog.drbrownstein.com/) and do some reading there. His Iodine book is excellent: http://amzn.to/1W0tObE.
Check out the iodine Facebook page, too: http://www.facebook.com/groups/iodine4health/
Here’s the Iodoral from Amazon (http://amzn.to/1W0u3mX), it’s really come down in price since I bought it first in 2010! Iodoral is the easiest to take and some say works better than Lugol’s because the tabs get further into your digestion than the liquid does.
If I can help, Kelly, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. Everyone gets a free initial consultation and we can see what’s up and what’s the next best move for you!
What can be done for hair shedding if you don’t have a thyroid?
[…] Iodine (here’s where I get it and here’s info on iodine, including why I take it) […]
[…] Iodine (here’s where I get it and here’s info on iodine, including why I take it) […]
I’ve been experiencing hair loss for the last 5 years. My blood works all appear normal. But it seems like that doesn’t mean much. I’ve upped my iron and vitamin D and in general have been eating healthy all my life.My iodine appears in the normal high range. Just wondering if your iodine level was normal as in you weren’t deficient before you went on the iodine therapy.
Hi Mina, I did not do any testing back then, I just started taking it. Up until the last year or so, I’ve always been kind of a shot-gunner. I’m still alive and going strong 🙂
Dr. Brownstein says we need lots of iodine (especially now with Fukushima) so I don’t worry too much about it. If anything, I probably don’t take enough.
What’s normal for some people is out of range for others. It makes no sense to gauge everyone by the same chart! So you might be in the “normal” range compared to the rest of the world, but not normal when it comes to your specific needs.
The other thing is that you might have an underlying health challenge that is creating a need for extra iodine or depleting your thyroid hormone, resulting in hair loss. The best way to discover that root cause is via functional medicine, using non-invasive lab testing (like saliva, hair, urine) to pin down the trouble. Have you done any of that?
Thank you so much for your reply Sally. I have just done the urine test for iodine. I will definitely get my hair and saliva tested. My energy level has definitely improved since taking the iodine. I am so grateful that you had posted your experience. It has given me a push to dig further and not give up.
We share what we learn — I am just as grateful that someone shared it with me! All the best to you 🙂
I was diagnosed hypothyroid 8 years ago and I thought by getting on thyroid meds it would cure my hair loss issue…but no it didn’t. They put my on levothyroxine for 4 years and I actually gained weight on it even though I was dieting and doing pilates. Finally they switched me to Armour and the weight has finally came off but…the hair loss continues. My vitamin d was low (10) and I finally got that up to 60! My b12 was 200 and now I finally got that up to 1000 wooohooo! But the hair loss still continues…I’m going to start iodine now and see if this helps. Can you tell me exactly how you used it? Some people say one drop and others say 3 dropper fulls. The 3 dropper full sounds a little excessive and scares me lol. Any info will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
I hear you, every time I tried something new and seemingly waaaaaay outside the box, I was terrified. But now it all seems so normal 😉
I can’t tell you what to do because the FDA will try to put me in jail, but I can tell you what I did. I started out with Iodoral (get it on Amazon here: http://amzn.to/1YUhA5a). I took 1 a day for awhile, then moved up to 2. It’s relatively expensive compared to Lugol’s so I finally bought a bottle of Lugol’s from the_full_orchestra. One drop in a little kombucha, tossed it back. Since I didn’t die, I did two the next day. And so on.
I just now took my dose, about 3/4 a dropper full which is about 50mg, in a shot glass of kombucha. It’s kind of late in the day to take it — it gives me an energy boost, but I missed it yesterday…
You know, I’ve never found anything else that caused hair loss except alopecia and chemo. Let me know how this goes for you.
Oh, this is the FB group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/iodine4health/ and I know there are people here taking 3 droppers full and more. I just heard Brownstein on Robert Scott Bell’s radio show talking about how 50mg is the minimum… It’s a brave new world. Good luck with this and please report back.
Here are two other groups:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/IodineWorkshop/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/IodineProtocols/
I have friends in both of these groups!
Thanks so much for the quick reply. Honestly I’m surprised I’m not completely bald. I’m bald on my temples and right above my forehead. Weird really. I used to have thick thick curly hair that would break brushes and combs a lot because that’s how thick it was. Now my hair is wavy but mostly straight and pretty much lifeless. And my scalp is so dry it burns and itches. I hope iodine helps me! Thanks again.
I hope it helps, too! Please keep me posted. And as you learn more, especially about the burning and itching, report back 🙂 I’m thinking the FB iodine group might offer good direction. xoxo peace
Interesting. I’ve noticed that when I supplement with kelp, natural thyroid (Armour, homeopathic pellets), and even nascent iodine, my hair loss actually increases…every single time! Do you know why this would happen??
Hmmmm, I have no idea. Have you done thyroid testing? If you are on Facebook, join the Iodine4Health group and ask there, especially if you have test results you can share. Stephanie Buist who runs the group is an expert on iodine. I’ll bet you can find answers there. If you get answers, I’d love a comment here on what you find out. Perhaps someone else can use the info!
[…] I researched “thyroid hair loss” … Continue reading here. […]
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I don’t know where to start… I have had RA for 23 years. Was on prednisone daily, and shots monthly. Gained 40 lbs. was sent to an endocrinologist who said I was in adrenal failure. Swear pouring off me, exhausted.Dr. Took me off pred.So fast forward, I am on a biologic, methotrexate, NSAIDs. Took antibiotics for two weeks before my last surgery( I have had 8 surgeries on joints) and two weeks after . I have no appetite. I think no Dr. Will tell me what to do because they are not getting involved . I would love to be off medicine, and try the idodine . My hair has bald spots and receding hairline. I don’t know anything about supplements. Too late?
Never too late. It would be imprudent for me to make any recommendations without doing some testing. If you are up for that, click the Appts tab above and pick a time for us to talk.
I am obviously a big fan of iodine, take it every day. If you want to pursue iodine on your own, join the Facebook group (the one moderated by Stephanie, facebook.com/iodine4health), share your story and ask for help. There are people on that who have been on it for years.
The only downside to self-hacking is that we as our own patients miss the big picture of what is going wrong. I self-diagnosed and treated for years and many things got better. But I missed the big picture and ended up in the hospital with no voice. A roadblock back then was that I didn’t know any healers, didn’t know which method to trust. The world is different now, the internet changed all that, thank goodness.
I’m also a big fan of curcumin (http://vitalityhealthworks.com/curcumin-cures-everything), vitamin D3 + K2, medical cannabis (for appetite if nothing else). NSAIDs almost killed me back in 2010 so we don’t allow those in the house — literally destroys your liver. Not a fan of pharmaceuticals although I realize that a (very) few have a place in symptom relief.
If you want to see the big picture, to figure out where to start, I can help and I’d love to. Our initial chat is no charge, we spend that time figuring out if we are a fit.
I had thick gorgeous shiny hair forever. I took iodine regularly! I got lyme and forgot and got off track in the last two years because I can’t remember anything! But when my hair started falling out I still didn’t connect the low iodine to this issue. I started using tea tree and coconut oil, argan oil and other things the last week because I wasn’t seeing the core. I woke up this morning and my brain fired the thought. IODINE. I bet I am so deficient at this point because I’ve been treated with antibiotics and strong herbals on and off for the last few years. My hair is dry, brittle, falling out and just tragic! I lost approx. 70% of it. To say the least being sick is one thing but to lose your hair along with it is another if you aren’t a chemo patient! Huge clumps rolling down my legs in the shower. Awful.
One thing I will say is that the coconut oil and tea tree did stop it from falling out as rapidly but, nonetheless, was still shedding.
Yes, it is terribly depressing to watch your hair falling out! I hope the iodine is the thing for you, too — keep me posted.
I’m using Rosemary essential oils now, too. After a shower and my hair is dry, I put a couple of drops on my fingertips and massage into my scalp. Smells great, rosemary is supposedly good for memory too. I don’t use conditioner because I can’t stand the chemicals and this really makes my hair shiny and no static (not greasy either). I only wash it every 3 days or so and it’s in great shape.
Good luck with your hair, please report back after you are back on the iodine!
[…] Iodine (here’s where I get it and here’s info on iodine, including why I take it) […]
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Minoxidil surely does not work. It makes it far worse. Im on selenium, iodine, oxypowder and detox tea with cannabis oil.
Well, that surely does sound like a good combo!!! Can you tell me more about the detox tea with cannabis oil? Or are those two different things? I’ve been hearing about detox tea… need to get up to speed on that!
Many thanks for this article!
I have nearly always worn my hair long, at least below shoulder length. For some time I had noticed that I was losing a lot of hair, finding my bathroon floor covered with it after blowdrying my hair and the bath plug hole full of hair every time I washed my hair. My parting was becoming wider and wider. Was becoming quite self conscious about it, even criss crossing my hair at the parting to try and disguise the ever widening gap.
Four months ago after reading your article about iodine I ordered 3 bottles of Lugols 2% solution online. I started off with one drop in my morning combucha, increasing by one drop every day until I reached 17 drops. By this time I had already noticed new hair growth. However my hot flashes had increased to an extremely uncomfortable degree (I am 63 and had become used to having four or five mild flashes a day over the past 13 years) and wondered if this was connected to the iodine intake.
A comment on another website was from a lady who had also found that iodine seemed to be causing hot flashes but she had decided it couldn’t be that as she had stopped taking iodine and the hot flashes had not stopped.. So instead of stopping I decreased the number of drops to 10 each morning. Immediately the hot flashes stopped completely during the day! For the first time in years I was not taking my cardigan on and off all the time. Night sweats have continued however and although I have experimented with takng different numbers of drops in the evening (from 0 -6) this makes no difference to the night time sweats.
So, my hair is now thicker and fuller. Even my hairdresser has commented on how healthy my hair is recently and that it is not as thin as in other women of my age. It has been SO great to be hot flash free for the last four months…. a totally unexpected “side effect”!
I do think that how much iodine one needs is very individual and one has to approach the this slowly and carefully. I was taking selenium at first as you suggest (200mcg daily) and after the second bottle of the supplement I kind of forgot to get more. I don’t know if this has had anything to do with it but I thought I noticed a few more hairs in my hairbrush again and got worried. Thought maybe if I took more iodine at night I may reduce the hair loss again. So I (stupidly) took six drops the other night and have, frustratingly, been having hot flashes during the day again.
So now I’m trying to figure out how to proceed from here. The mild daytime hot flushes have persisted the last two days despite going back to the 10 drops a day routine. Hopefully they will recede again soon.
If you have any thoughts please let me know. I will of of course resume taking selenium.
Once more I thank you for sharing the information about iodine and hairloss. It is really wonderful not to be self conscious about my hair any more!
You are so welcome, Patricia!!! I am as thrilled and continue to be. When I stop iodine for any reason, after a couple of weeks, my part gets wider (62yo here). Start iodine, my hair is fuller and healthier… amazing.
You know, I don’t know about the hot flashes. I do know that iodine gives me a burst of energy, especially when I’ve dropped off and start back up again. My hotflashes occasionally come back for a short time but not too bad. They SEEM to be related more to weight loss than anything else. Just a guess, correlating experience.
Hot flashes are associated with hormonal health so they may come back for a short period as your thyroid hormones adjust? The only way to know for sure it to do a hormone test, see what’s happening, what your levels are. The best test (right now) for that is the DUTCH test, a urine test. You do it at home, send to the lab and they send back your results.
If you go to DUTCHtest.com, you can read up on it. I offer a discount on the testing if you are interested.
Otherwise, I’d let it ride, see how long the hot flashes last. Maybe they will fade as your hormones readjust to the levels. It could take a few weeks. Keep me posted.
And you are welcome. I am so happy to have discovered iodine. Every cell in your body needs it 🙂