- Iodine/Lyme Disease

[Guest guest]

I agree this is a VERY important topic. In my area of the USA (mid atlantic) lyme is epidemic and very few doctors are lyme literate. There are also several other tick infections (babesia & bartonella) that are causing incredible suffering. has given great details about lyme here.

I have been wondering, since learning more about iodine, if our across the board iodine deficiencies are the cause of these tick borne infections being able to take over the body. They are not "new" infections and certainly we've been exposed to them all along. So, are our bodies not able to keep control? I asked a lyme expert who attends all the conferences whether iodine is being considered. As of this spring he hadn't heard anything about it.

I read somewhere that all our blood passes through the thyroid gland every 17 minutes (not sure if that's accurate). If that is so then the blood is being exposed to the iodine in the thyroid? It could be cleansing and disinfecting the blood and erradicating these infections before they can take hold. A possibility for sure.

Janet

iodine From: kathy.caurdy@...Date: Thu, 1 Sep 2011 06:33:53 -0700Subject: Re: Re: - Iodine/Lyme Disease

,

How do you know so many people with Lyme disease? Is there any documentation about Iodine and Lyme Disease I can forward to someone I know about it? I just don't want to tell her about it since I think it would be more beneficial for her to read for herself.

Thanks,

Kathy T.

From: texlyme_mom <texlyme_mom@...>Subject: Re: Lori - newbie updating and Vit C - blood sugar and Lymeiodine Date: Thursday, September 1, 2011, 8:37 AM

,You asked if anyone knows whether iodine has been used for treating Lyme disease. To the best of my knowledge, none of the ILADS doctors knows anything (yet) about iodine therapy, but it's probably only a matter of time before they learn about iodine and consider trying it. (ILADS = International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society) I have read somewhere recently (forgot where, because I read so much) that Lugol's solution was used for treating syphilis back in the old days before antibiotics became available. Lyme disease is caused by a spirochete bacterium very similar to the spirochete that causes syphilis. The only problem would be to figure out what dosage of Lugol's or Iodoral to take in order to treat Lyme disease effectively since Lyme spirochetes can hide out in almost every tissue and organ in the body. Therefore, my guess is that it would probably require working up to a rather high dosage of iodine, but how high and for how long to treat is anybody's guess.Personally, knowing as much as I know about the various antibiotic therapy protocols for Lyme and also knowning what little bit I know so far about the Iodine Protocol, I'd opt to start first with iodine and I'd treat aggressively with iodine for at least 6-12 months (or longer) before resorting to antibiotics for Lyme disease. I say this because I've met numerous Lyme patients who claim to be "cured" from Lyme disease but who are still taking "maintenance" doses of antibiotics after more than a decade of having taken high doses of multiple antibiotic combos, including IV antibiotics. If you suspect that it might be Lyme disease, then you need to learn what a "Herxheimer Reaction" is and how to manage it. A Herx reaction is caused by the immune system's over-reaction to toxins produced by dead and dying spiorochetes. In the old days of syphilis, patients often died from the severity of Herxheimer reactions, especially after penicillin first came on the scene. Therefore, learning what to expect and how to manage a Herxheimer reaction could be critical to your success if Lyme disease is indeed part of your diagnostic picture. The best lab for diagnosing Lyme disease is Igenex. We can continue this discussion privately (or in the Off Topic forum) if you suspect that you might be having Herxheimer "die-off" symptoms from taking iodine, but I would be remiss not to add one important note of caution about the danger of a rare, but severe life-threatening Herxheimer reaction, as follows: If you experience a sudden on-set of fever of 100.5 F or above (which usually occurs around the 3rd - 4th week of treatment, due to the slow replication life-cycle of spirochetes) then STOP all antibiotics or iodine immediately and get a white blood cell count ASAP. If the WBCs have dropped below 3, you are in the danger zone for a life-threatening crisis. Therefore, do NOT continue taking iodine (or any antibiotics) until your WBCs have come back up above 4 -- which could take about 7-10 days to occur. It is safe to continue treatment again after the WBCs come back up above 4. I have known of hundreds of Lyme patients, but I've only known of a couple of rare but severe, life-threatening Herxheimer reactions. (One such patient was a family member, which is why I take this matter so seriously.) Remember, the immune system is the Big Gun and that antibiotics or iodine merely weaken/s the Lyme bacteria so that the immune system can do its job of eradicating the infection. That's why it's safe to continue treatment after the Herxheimer crisis is past. To be quite honest, I would be quite surprised (shocked, really) if iodine would provoke such a life-threatening Herxheimer crisis, especially if the patient builds up gradually enough on Iodine Therapy -- but since no one else has attempted to treat late-stage, chronic Lyme disease before with Iodine Therapy, it would be foolish for any of us to assume that such an event couldn't happen. PS to Moderators: Please indulge this important "OT" message because many CFS (and other chronically ill) patients can be unsuspected and therefore undiagnosed late-stage Lyme patients in disguise. Please remain vigilant for the possibility of this kind of serious but rare Herxheimer event. Such patients require prompt medical supervision. Please feel free to contact me privately if you are worried about any iodine forum member who spikes a fever of 100.5 F or higher, especially at the 3rd-4th week after first starting Iodine Therapy. I occasionally fall behind in reading the Daily Digests; thus, I might fail to notice their message otherwise. Most ordinary doctors won't recognize the significance of this kind of rare Herxheimer event associated with spirochetal infections unless they are experienced ILADS Lyme specialists. >I'd also love to hear from anyone who knows about Lyme disease - can iodine or anything else you know of help with that? That is starting to look like the culprit in the rest of my issues.> > Thanks, >