Iodine deficiency: Testing yourself, and treatment
Apparently, from what I’m reading now, iodine deficiency is more common than you might think. It is also incredibly easy to test for basic iodine deficiency at home. Now, this test is not very precise, so if it indicates a serious deficiency, you may want to talk to your doctor about getting what is known as an “iodine loading” test done. But, we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it, no?
So, you’ll need a bottle of tincture of iodine (2%), the standard orange antiseptic liquid from grandma’s medicine cabinet (You may need to ask at the pharmacy. My local store doesn’t stock it in the first aid/band-aid aisle). Swab a silver-dollar sized circle on the inside of your arm, and watch it for the next 24 hours. If you are not iodine deficient, the circle should keep a strong orange color for the whole 24 hours. If it fades before then, you could use iodine supplementation.
HOW to go about getting that iodine in your diet is where things start to get tricky.
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Medical Records to Date
Here it is: the bare-bones history of my test results, vital stats and prescriptions since my first TSH test in September. In most cases, the prescription and vitals listed for a particular month were taken/written ~4 days after the blood tests were drawn, so I’ve just grouped them all together.
- September 2005
- Labs: (27 Sept.) TSH: 150.0 uIU/mL (normal: 0.350–5.500)
Vitals: T:98.5 BP:124/92 HR:68 W:199.25 - October 2005
- Labs: (06 Oct.) T4, Free (Direct): 0.36 ng/dL (normal 0.61–1.76)
Triiodothyronine, Free, Serum (T3): 1.5 pg/mL (normal: 2.3–4.2)
Vitals: T:98.3 BP:108/82 HR:70 W:198.5
Prescription: 125mcg levothyroxine (generic)
Went in for initial exam, had a gazillion blood tests ordered.
Returned for test results, was given initial prescription, and sent for more bloodwork.