I am into week four of my iodine experiment. No changes that can be observed, one way or another. I will continue to omit iodine from my daily regimen for the next few months, and then re-evaluate to see if further iodine supplementation is necessary. I do wish that this wasn't so difficult and that there were doctors out there sufficiently competent and not at the beck and call of the pharmaceutical industry and whom are capable of thinking not only independently, but outside the neat little hypothyroid box so that those who are subclinically hypothyroid might get the help they desperately need. The thyroid affects the whole body in so many ways; many of them subtle. You would think a doctor with a supposedly high level of education would know more than I do about this! Instead I, and others are met with this wall of resistance and reliance on a test (TSH) that has missed so many cases of hypothryoidism! So many are miserable and don't know why, are on AD's and don't need to be; all they need is proper diagnosis and proper treatment of their hypothyroidism. It is a pathetic window on how degraded our medical system is, that so many are miserable and so many doctors don't really seem to care as long as blood tests are "normal." This notion needs to be pitched and doctors need to follow their counterparts of a century ago, who looked at the patient and listened to the patient and checked their cholesterol levels also, as this can be an indicator of hypothyroidism. Instead they put patients on dangerous cholesterol drugs they don't need. A sad commentary indeed on the state of our medical system here in the USA. It could be the best in the world, and it settles for medication over diagnosis and attention to detail; detail that could tell a story in and of itself. Get to the root cause of a problem and stop medicating symptoms! Often only one medication is needed, thyroid hormone, preferably Armour thyroid, an approved medication by the FDA, plus sometimes a little adrenal help so that it works better! You don't need a lot; often a physiological dose of cortisol can make a huge difference, but balancing things is so difficult, which is why I wish there was more competence out there, and less ignorance and reliance on drug manufacturers.

Hypothyroid Children and Infants

Parents, if you have a child that seems lethargic, with very dry skin and hair that is also very dry or sparse, if your child doesn't sleep well at night (reads in bed with a flashlight like I did because I couldn't sleep!), is too tired to play outside, has trouble concentrating, seems depressed, or has weight problems on a healthy diet, or has trouble losing weight on any diet, then have this child checked out for hypothryoidism - and have your doctor run several tests, not just the stupid TSH, which is a pituitary test; TSH stands for thyroid stimulating hormone. The tests that MUST be run at FreeT3, FreeT4 and both antibody tests, to rule out Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, which is autoimmune thyroid disease. I was suicidal in high school, lethargic, gained weight easily, insomniac, puffy, too tired to play outside, and had lots of brain fog, plus concentrating was very difficult. Now that I am being treated properly for my Hashi's and Hypothyroidism, it is much easier to concentrate and good things are starting to happen, but I am now almost 54 years old! It shouldn't take that long! Don't relegate your child to a lifetime of misery - I urge any parent with a child that answers the above description to see a GOOD doctor who is very knowledgeable on thyroid issues and don't take the word "normal" for an answer - get a copy of the test results with the lab ranges. Be proactive so that your children have a better shot at a much better future than the one I had; I wasn't really a good mom because I was sick. Even as a toddler I wasn't normal, per se; I gained weight very rapidly even though I was on 6 lbs. 3.5 ounces at birth, by the time I was 3 months I was larger than I should have been and puffy looking. As my problems weren't caught and diagnosed until well into adulthood, I feel it is critical for parents not to be complacent; I was nagged by both my mom and the doctor about my weight, but if my hypothyroid problems had been addressed I wouldn't have had such a big problem with it. Don't let your child's childhood be miserable as mine was; be watchful and be proactive!