Iodine, thyroid, and breast cancer??
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Thanks SusanK8. Is it better than regular salt with iodine added? I actually tried some seaweed added to soup. I couldn't get past the smell, ended up tossing it.
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Japan does have the lowest incidence of Breast Cancer according to this chart. But the U.S. doesn't have one of the highest rates, either. I have not verified this information but here's a chart with a nice graphic of how many have been diagnosed with breast cancer per 100,000 of the population by country. Iceland, Denmark and the Netherlands are the 3 highest.
http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/hea_bre_can_inc-health-breast-cancer-incidence0 -
Here's a link to one article http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC314438/
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I was finally dx with hyperthyroidism after being really sick for 3 months. TSH undectable. At 1st they thought I had mets to bone since blood calcium, ALT and other liver enzymes high. I blamed Reclast. At any rate couldn't get the meds to work and eventually liver was really having trouble dealing with treatment. So I had thyroidectomy and now getting levothyroid adjusted. But I feel so much better . At last appointment with oncologist- surprised me when she said she is suspecting Arimidex as possibly causing hyperthyroidism.
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Good grief!!! I had not heard Arimidex could cause it. oiy.
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Iceland, Denmark and the Netherlands have less sun.
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OK, I am going to ask a really dumb question, but how many of you all are not diagnosed with hypothyroidism and you are doing Iodoral or Lugols? I have normal T3/T4 levels, according to my tests, but have been battling severe Plantar Fascitis and neuropathy in my feet, so I am tempted to try Lugols in hopes of raising my low body temp and hopefully getting rid of pain in my feet..... but don't want to jump in and start doing something that will ultimately wreak havoc.
Thanks for your answers.
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in my experience.. diagnosed at the beginning with late stage 111C and then 4 soon thereafter, the cancer had travelled into my supraclavicular nodes.. If you look at a picture of nodes, you see that they 'progress to the up the neck, up the head, down the body... and all around. With lymphatic invasion, cancer will likely spread.
When my cancer flared up rather recently my neck nodes were hard and swollen and I had some issues akin to hyper thyroidism.. Which comes first.. for me it was cancer. Many women without cancer have hyperthyroidism.
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Marrianna have you been tested for vitamin b-12 deficiency? Vitamin b-12 deficency can cause those symptoms. If you tsh, t3 and t4 are normal than I would look elsewhere.
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I hope you don't mind me asking this, as I haven't gone through all the pages of this forum.
I've had BC and BMX, no chemo. My TSH came back fine. I have a lot of symptoms that match up with low thyroid and/or menopause. Let's face it, most of these symptoms could be anything, or just plain life. I'm tired of the medical profession that if your blood panels are normal searches no further and expects you to "live with it" if your not feeling well. And they hate you researching the internet.
What I want to know is, is it dangerous to take iodine if you haven't been diagnosed with a thyroid condition? There's so much info out there my head is spinning. I want to be careful, but am looking for possible answers.
Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
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I'd like to know more about this too. But there is some research that supplementation with iodine might actually trigger autoimmune hypothyroidism.
What was your TSH level?
My TSH level tested high (T3 and T4 levels normal, but on low side of range) so I went to see an endocrinologist a week ago. She ran tests for thyroid antibodies, TPO Ab and TG Ab, and the results came back very high. I have some of the symptoms of hypothyroidism -- extreme fatigue, lack of energy, weight gain -- but not all. She said I could treat it now with levothyroxine, or wait to see if it develops into full blown hypothyroidism. I think I'm going to fill the Rx today. I found the tryip to the endo less than satisfactory. She said she gets lots of female patients in their late 40s, early 50s who come to her with weight gain and want to know if it's their thyroid, but she says there are lots of factors at play.
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I don't know what my T3 and T4 numbers were, my TSH was 1.13. I am frustrated, my PCP did all these tests last year at my request because all these symptoms seemed to appear overnight. I asked for a vitamin D test and he insisted on doing the 1,25 Vitamin D test and not the oh-25 test which was the correct one, so I ordered a test kit from ZRT lab and it was 29, which is low and I was taking 1,000 units at the time. His test came back 58 and he said I was fine.
My oncologists thinks these are all menopause related symptoms. Though I was 51 when diagnosed with BC I was having regular periods then stopped after my first surgery. Then I had 6 surgeries in 17 months. With BC and menopause together my body had all these symptoms and I didn't know what the heck to think. I had always been so healthy and all this felt foreign to me. I believe doctors think after you have BC you become somewhat of a hypochondriac. But who wants to just live with feeling lousy?
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The misinformation that most doctors have on iodine is apalling. The reason they think iodine causes one to go from hyper to hypo is that often the numbers will show a steep change because the thyroid is starved for iodine. This is usually temporary and does not usually mean one is actually hyper. For a full explaintion of this, with references to studies and files and a discusision that includes those who talk about the serious side effects of drugs like levothyroxine, join the yahoo iodine group. It is a fountain of information! Go to iodine4health.com for links.
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vivre, I'm on meds for my thyroid, and am thinking I might want to take some iodine. My Dr's won't even talk to me about it, so my question is would it be safe, and how much to take.
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I just posted to another thyroid thread, thinking it was this one. I'm gonna repost here, because I think it's important and probably more pertinent to this conversation. Sorry if you see it twice.
... yesterday I saw a naturopathic doc, and she immediately told me that I'm hypothyroid, even though my recent TSH is within the normal range -- something my PCP hadn't even mentioned when I saw her last week to go over a recent DexaScan and bloodwork.The naturopathic doc explained that optimum is <2.00, with 1.0 being what we should be aiming for. Mine was 4.1 (last year it was 2.9), and because the conventional range is .358 to 4.7, my PCP never said a thing about what looks like a pretty significant change in the wrong direction to me. And evidently correcting this, along with some other things, should also help with the osteopenia I'm concerned about.I am so glad I decided to see a naturopath, who is also doing some additional, in-depth testing. It really makes me wonder how much the risk of bc and what some refer to as the breast cancer recurrence "crap shoot," is actually due to important, un-dx'd imbalances. Deanna
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Hey MaryNY, you sound like me! I had my tsh test high (7.5) with normal t4 and high tpo antibodies. Dx: Hashimotos. I too had the choice to take levothyroxine or just watch and wait. I take the meds. It has helped me a lot. More energy and for some reason, I am much less anxious. The only symptoms that made me request they tests was chronic hives. That was the worst! My breast issues were found about a month after my hypothyroid problem. What a crappy time that was! I also heard that high iodine is not wise for autoimmune thyroid patients. However, we do need a normal amount of iodine in our diets. Hope all is well for you.
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I too was recently diagnosed as hypo. I was given Armour thyroid but I have taken very little of it because I want my thyroid to work properly and not to depend on the supplemental hormones. I read that if you take them, your thyroid gets the message that it doesn't need to work anymore because there are adequate levels circulating, so it becomes even lazier. The "4" in T4 stands for iodine atoms per molecule. There are 4 iodine atoms per molecule in levothyroxine, otherwise known as T4. Same with T3 (or triiodeothyroxine.) The thyroid has the highest concentration of iodine than any other organ/gland in our body. Think about this....iodine is used as a topical treatment for wounds to lower the risk of infection. It's also sometimes used to disinfect water so I think it's safe to say that iodine is natures disinfectant. I've read that all our blood passes through our thyroid something like every 3 minutes. If we do not have adequate iodine (IE: T3 and T4) and most of us do not, we can not properly disinfect our blood. There are many researchers think that thyroid and bc are linked and anyone one who has read enough of my posts knows I think bc and yeast/mold/fungus are linked. I think fungus is related to a whole host of our problems such as autoimmune disease, MS, diabetes, breast and ovarian cysts, etc. I wonder if thyroid plays more of a role in our health than researchers think. If we have yeast in our blood and we do not have adequate iodine, we can not kill the yeast/mold and it is allowed to continue to circulate in our systems, to later wreak havoc on our health at some point. Dr Flechas has shown that patients with insulin resistant diabetes have a partial to full remission of their illness in the presence of taking iodine. With iodine therapy, breast and ovarian cysts have gone away. You can look up folk remedies with iodine and they are numerous. It seems like such a simple theory, especially when you read about what science says with regards to all that thyroid hormones do within the body, but it makes sense to me.
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Impositive, interesting, logical deduction. How do you know how much iodine you need? I know when I took idoral iodine that my autoimmune (thyroid) numbers rose significantly. With the infections I have, I definately should be taking iodine everyday. But...after taking Armour for about 5 months, I stopped it for awhile. I was tested again at 75....so, I went back on Armour. The new Armour made me ill so my naturalpath put me on naturethyroid pills. After being on it my weight dropped before menapausal weight and being on it makes it difficult to gain weight no matter how much I eat. My body is definately used to the thyroid meds. My naturalpath says my thyroid is broken and I'll have to be on thyroid med's forever. It seems from what I've read that some women on iodine have a difficult time losing weight. It seems if your thyroid was doing its job that you would have more energy, lose weight easier, and other thryoid problems gone such as hair thinning...etc. If being on iodine for awhile and the thryoid problematic symptoms doesn't disappear then perhaps you may need the med's.
I know on thyroidyahoo group there are those who seem to straigthen out their thyroid through iodine. I am not sure it works for everyone...depending on your particuliar need.
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MD Anderson states hypothyroidism results in a 61% REDUCED RISK of breast cancer (their own study):
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HerSister ~ While interesting, something about that MDAnderson retrospective study just doesn't "feel" right to me, so while prowling around the internet this morning looking for the actual study to learn exactly what the 61% (which I assume is a relative vs. an absolute stat) represents, I came across what seems like additional thoughtful input on that study:
http://www.canceractive.com/cancer-active-page-link.aspx?n=1671
There are also some interesting stats in this 1996 research: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8772562
Impositive, your suggested associations are also thought-provoking. Deanna
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I don't know how md anderson came up with that study, but it sure seems to me that everyone I meet with bc, also has thyroid issues. It makes sense because they know there is a link to hormone inbalance and the thryroid is a key element to that. So maybe all these hormone drugs will eventually go by the wayside in favor of going to the root cause, a malfunctioning thyroid!
That said, it took me a loonnnng time to accept that this could be true. If thyroid was a cause of bc, than why wasn't it every listed? After lots of research, I finally decided to give the thyroid protocol a try, and it has changed my life. I cannot believe the difference in my energy. Yes, I had some initial detoxing symptoms which were not pleasant. Yes, many people do have elevated thyroid numbers for a while as the thyroid tries to readjust, but after one works through all this, things stabilize. I was finally able to lose wt after I released all those toxins. I have energy all day now, and I know I am doing one of the most preventive things possible. Balancing the thyroid helps to balance the rest of the hormones.
I really wish you all would start doing some research, not just take anyone's word for it. I have a ton of links on my website in the iodine forum if you want to know where to find info. I also have some great videos posted. You all must read Dr. Brownstein's books on iodine, thyroid, and salt. They will answer most of your questions. Join Stephanies Yahoo iodine group where people are constantly sharing their experiences with each other. If you can get away, come to my Think Beyond the Pink weekend event in October when Stephanie will be doing a lecture about iodine and thyroid. You can "like" us on facebook for updates and specifics.
I cannot stress how important I believe this issue is. I have been to many seminars in the past few years, and I am hearing more and more doctors talk about the importance of iodine for breast cancer prevention. I believe it is vital that you all consider this.
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vivre ~ We were posting at the same time. Thanks for the Facebook link. I've just liked your page.
I agree with everything you said above about a link between thyroid & bc. I just want to add that sometimes I think getting our info' from the internet alone may not give us the complete picture. Inspite of supplementing with Iodoral for more than a year now, my TSH had gone up (the wrong direction) quite a bit in that time. So while I agree that we need to read up on and understand the role of iodine, I think we also need a face-to-face relationship with an integrative or alternative medical professional, to be sure we're accomplishing what we think we are. Deanna
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Deanna-You are so right that it is essential to find a doctor to guide us. The problem is, those who understand the iodine protocol or or not brainwashed that iodine is not safe, are hard to find. That is why stepanie's forum is so popular. I have been looking for 2 years and cannot find an iodine doc in my area. I am hoping to put together a doctors workshop while she is here so she can dispel some of the myths about iodine. It is common for the TSH to go up. Sometimes this is a result of not absorbing the compainion nutrients, especially selenium, and sometimes is is also because the detox pathways are not clear. Have you posed this question to that forum ? It would be interesting to see what others have to say.
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I agree...you need a flesh and blood naturalpath. There are different reasons to why our thyroid isn't working like it should. My naturalpath asked me to stay off it for awhile, and now she's put me back on it. Actually most of her thyroid patients are on iodine. When I went off it my antibodies dropped. I'll be tested again for the antibodies when taking iodine to see if there is a change.
And I do think there is a link between hypothyroid and bc. The only hypothyroid symptom I had was that my voice was just starting to be raspy. I had lots of energy before dx, also no thinning hair or brows.So...you don't have to have all the symptoms to be dx with hypothyroid.
For whatever reason it seems that a lot of post menapausal women tend to be hypothyroid...at least they complain about it. If it is true that hypothyroid is linked to cancer then I wonder why more post menapausal women aren't dx with bc...just a thought...wondering if there is another link besides thyroid problems...like yeast or infection.
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Vivre - what is the "thyroid protocol"?
Thanks in advance!
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Hello ladies. Just wondering if any of you are struggling with weight loss with thyroid and cancer? I have gone through chemo etc. and had a thyroidectomy last year due to severe hyperthyroid and not I take medication but they have adjusted it and I cant seem to loose weight.
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Her sister-Read Dr. Brownsteins books on iodine, thyroid and salt and you will understand the idodine protocol. You can also learn more from websites such as breastcancerchoices and the iodine yahoo group.
JenC-I was not really able to lose wt until I got my thryroid working better by using iodine. After the original detox phase, when I actually gained a couple of pounds, I was able to lose weight and keep it off.
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Hmmmmm. 3 summers ago I had thyroid cancer. This summer I was diagnosed with breast cancer. Just bad luck?
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nbc...sorry you were afflicted with bc and thyroid cancer. Bummer! I've read that bc and hypothyroid is somewhat linked.
JenC...I am 5'8" and a little more than a year ago I weighed 156. I didn't look heavy, but did feel about five pounds overweight. No matter what I did, I couldn't lose more than a few pounds. I've been on thyroid meds a few years and now I'm at about 132 pounds; on the thin side. No matter how much I eat I can't seem to gain weight. I will add that last September, due to yeast overgrowth, I now rarely eat anything with flour or starch in it. So...I'm not sure if it's that the thyroid med's that stabilized my hormones or losing weight was due to giving up bread??? Perhaps it's both
I did speak with another woman, who said that she was on thyroid med's a few years before she begin losing weight. She looked really good. I believe she is on the same as I nature type of thyroid meds. There are women who said the iodine made them gain weight. I am on it again so I'm hoping it will add a few pounds. vivre...and other women have found success in taking merely iodine to regulate their thryoid hormones. Vivre do you feel hypothyroid women should be on thryoid meds and if so what brand?
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Eve-I am not sure about the meds. I really believe there is no one size fits all. We all have to see what works for us, by judging how we feel. I feel so great with just iodine that I have not gone on any meds. I have my sauna which I use to raise my body temp regularly. The problem with hypo is that cancer cells do not get enough heat to die. That's why the sauna is so healthful. As for the wt gain, this is often a detox symptom for some and wt loss is a symptom for others. I gained a few pounds at first, but lost it once I had detoxed, over a couple of months. There are no easy answers. We all have to be our own guinea pig and just find out what works for our own chemistry.
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