I am so sorry you are feeling so awful. I remember very well the sick headaches I had in the beginning. I was scared I was poisoning myself. I remember feeling hyperstimulated, then feeling like a lump in a chair. I remember black thoughts, and crying jags, and feeling very sorry for myself. I guess I'm about 75% through my detox. What I've noticed is that the scary times come farther and farther apart. I hope soon they will be so far apart I will forget they exist. I've watched Hubby go through a parallel process, with fewer and fewer down times.
There's no way to know what your timeline is. But there is a promise at the end of it. And to get there is one step at time. Best wishes!
I found this forum and re-started iodine in Aug 2007. I had tried taking Iosol before that, and had to stop because of headaches and thinking I was poisoning myself. There is no question I have made tremendous progress. I no longer get the black cloud in my brain, and my breasts are cyst-free. But my thyroid did enlarge over time, and my daytime temps stayed in the 97's. By Mar 2010, I concluded that I wasn't taking in all the iodine I thought I was. I started testing how much salt I needed to feel good -- both for my adrenals and my sodium/iodide symporters -- and I started taking the ATP cofactors (B2 & B3) to help iodine get into my cells better. My energy levels increased doing this. I added a thyroid glandular to further work on my temps, and finally conceded I needed a regular prescription version of natural thyroid. As I slowly increase the amount I'm taking, my thyroid is shrinking back to normal (whew!) and my temperature is normalizing. I still have to be careful to support my adrenal function or my temps flounder.
So for me it hasn't been a straightforward need for iodine. Yes I needed it, and still love being on it, but I think my continuing hypothyroidism complicated my progress. If I weren't in it for the long haul, I don't know what different decisions I would have made. But here I am! :)