Iodine Supplements to Treat Afib - Your Thoughts?

A reader of my blog sent me an email that I found very interesting. She claims to have found a way to keep her afib episodes (and their intensity) at a minimum for the past 5 years. She pointed me to this doctor and his article on the topic of iodine supplementation for the treatment of afib:

[www.drdalepeterson.com]

As the doctor points out in his article, it's interesting that one of the most effective drugs in the treatment of afib is loaded with iodine (amiodarone).

I don't know if this doctor is talking hogwash or if he's making some compelling arguments about taking iodine supplements to treat afib.

The whole topic makes me nervous, however, as iodine isn't something you want to "play around with" but if it came down to taking amiodarone or trying iodine supplements I might opt for the latter...

Travis

www.drdalepeterson.com/Iodine_f979f59fd58ccdcc01303b4bf.html - copy and paste


Hi all. When I have nothing to do I may check out anything regarding health issues resolved/cured by natural means, its an interest of mine. I came across the above website where a doctor himself came around to using iodine to 'çure' his own Lone Atrial Fibrillation.

Very easy reading with three people mentioned and three people 'cured' by iodine supplementation.

I don't have AF now after having ablations but I do take a minimum of Lugols iodine 12.5mg (one drop) every day. I make my own Lugols hence my interest in the website.

Any success story is welcome in the world of Afib especially to a newcomer.

Barry G.

Hey Barry,

I have also in the past read of individuals recommending Iodine supplementation to deal with Afib. But with the Iodine toxicity warnings on the Web, I did not know what dosage to try, and currently take 1 or 2 drops of 225mcg of Eidon. This might explain why I haven't noticed anything -- 1/56 or 1/28th of your daily dosage. Hmmm...back to the drawing board.

Cheers!

Barry - Thanks for your post.


Phill - You may fine this thread on iodine helpful. [www.afibbers.org]

While iodine can be very useful in promoting thyroid function, it's best to be tested first to determine if you are deficient.
It's an iodine loading test overnight followed by a first-morning urine catch to determine how much your body absorbed according to how much is excreted.

Those who have autoimmune disorders such as Graves Disease or Hashimoto's should be supervised carefully by a physician because while in some cases, adding iodine can help, it can also cause problems.

Since I was hypothyroid and using thyroid replacement hormone therapy, I asked for the iodine test and learned I was just slightly low and the calculated dose for repletion was around 6 mg which I did use daily for about three months but I didn't notice any significant improvement with the arrhythmia... (which, of course, doesn't mean for someone else, it may be a huge improvement). It's worth checking out and it certainly would be a welcome, easy 'fix' for arrhythmia.

I was also instructed to use selenium and ended up using a thyroid support complex that contained several other trace elements known to be helpful... eventually, I either shrunk or eliminated completely several of the many thyroid nodules that had grown probably because of low iodine and lack of enough thyroid hormone.

There are many reasons why people are iodine deficient and also many reasons why it's important to make sure you are at normal, functional levels.

Jackie

Hi Phill.

I am presuming that you have Lone Atrial Fibrillation with no know cause which could mean a lack of iodine or maybe the AF has nothing to do with iodine as appears the case with Jackie. There are countless triggers of AF.

I just checked out Eidon iodine and it appears what you are taking is iodine in the Iodide form which from what I have read is the form taken in by the thyroid gland which seems to be on the right track for eliminating thyroid induced AF if indeed that is were the problem is originating from. The Daily Value of Eidon iodine is noted as 150mcg claiming it is 100%???? of the bodies requirement however as you have mentioned my daily intake is something like 80 times as much so a big question there on what dosage is needed per day. It must be noted here that the recommended daily requirement for Vitamin C is around 100mg however to get real results from Vitamin C you need around 3000mg per day as a maintenance dose, minimum 6000mg for a arterial repairing 'dose' as claimed by Linus Pauling arguably Americas greatest scientist. I would also add that one BB poster of years back claimed the iodine some one on the BB was taking was not the correct one though I can't remember what he claimed was the right one.

I make my own Lugols Iodine which is a combination of iodine resublimed and potassium iodide which I get very easily and cheaply off the internet ebay or similar. The Lugols is made at 15% and 10% formula with the 10% used for oral intake of 1 drop daily (approx. 12-5mg) the 15% will eliminate skin tag issues, nail fungus, cold sores etc very quickly. It literally takes a few minutes to make the Lugols as can be seen on the internet i.e. copy and paste....Make Lugols Iodine Full Strength 10% Formula Save Money Excellent Results - You Tube.mp4. The guy on this video makes his own distilled water however I used 'good' quality distilled drinking water from the supermarket.

On the safety factor after approx three years: My wife and I have been taking iodine since she was told 3 years ago that she was developing a goiter on her thyroid and in a year or two she would require surgery. After 10 minutes on the internet I had found the problem could be a lack of iodine so we started supplementing with Lugols. Two years ago at her annual check-up the goiter had not progressed at all and its the same today. Touch wood we are both in excellent health with no issues whatsoever of overdosing with iodine.

I am not a doctor in any sense at all however given the countless things I and other people have tried to eliminate Lone Atrial Fibrillation a concerted effort with Lugols Iodine must be worth a go IF you are in otherwise good health. I only found out about Iodine after having 5 ablations :-(

Barry G.

Barry - Thanks - that's good information. Yes, I was iodine deficient, for sure. I was born and raised in what is known at "The Goiter Belt" in this part of the country. I had various symptoms for years that went undetected by my family doctor and endocrinologists.

I did have a (small) goiter plus the nodules which tend to turn malignant with time. I also had massive fibrocystic breast disease which no one traced to iodine deficiency but it's common. That's why I was hopeful that the arrhythmia was also linked to low iodine which impacted thyroid function. I'm certainly not ruling that out, but all my heroics didn't reverse the Afib...although it's difficult to know what subtle influences may have been running behind the scenes as I did improve otherwise with thyroid hormone therapy and my adding in iodine. However, not one endocrinologist was ever curious about iodine deficiency or tested for it....and I consulted with at least four over the years. Amazing!...well, not really.

This is important information for afibbers to consider and I'm glad you have brought up the topic.

Thanks again and be well,
Jackie

Barry:

Ok, here is my two cents worth:

I go to a Holistic doctor and some years ago I was taking Iodoral (12.5 mg.) a day, I took that amount for approximately 4 years. I felt good, but it didn't stop my AF, at that time i probably got an episode of AF once every couple of months, so it didn't stop my AF. I had to stop taking Iodoral because I got hives from it. One of the girls working in my doctors office said she couldn't take Iodoral but she could take Lugols. I havn't tried that, I might, I too have to take synthroid for my thyroid, my thyroid was mostly nuked because of Graves disease.

Not too sure about your quote that Linus Pauling was Americas greatest scientist--his claims that vit.C was a cure all doesn't quite hold up, he died of Prostrate Cancer.

liz

Liz,

Just checked out Iodoral by googling...The difference between Iodoral and Lugol's.... and up came the Cure Zone webpage. The first post I read was by Unyquity and she and her husband take 100mg Lugol's per day with no ill effects at all other than good health. She does claim that Vitamin C must be taken daily to get the Lugols fully absorbed. Note: I believe that Lugols and Vit C must be taken at least and hour apart, better two hours, as the vit c turns the Lugols into iodide. This can be seen easily if you put a drop of Lugols into a glass of water and add just a tiny amount of Vit C crystals i.e. the iodine turns the water slightly brown and the vit c changes it instantly to clear.

The second post was from Batgirl43 who changed from taking Iodoral to Lugols and claimed that both her temperature and libido increased and her hands and feet were not cold anymore. This would suggest that there is a major difference between Iodoral and Lugols at least in her case.

I would note that in the UK you can get Lugols at up to 15% strength whereas in the USA I believe the best you can get is 2%.

Regarding Linus Pauling, he died at age 94 and if I remember correctly was working up to his final days. I don't ever remember Mr Pauling writing about iodine at all and I read plenty, primarily on Vit C, when I first started out on the Afib journey. It is now becoming clear that breast cancer and highly probably prostate cancer along with many other parts of the body require iodine far more than previously thought. My guess is that ole Linus would have lived to be 104 if he had been on the Lugols. :-)

Barry G.