Re: I started on iodine, and I'm having a scary awful period right now...
There are several causes to heavy bleeding (though doctors rarely find out of it, according to my heavy bleeding female friends) like; take iron and thats it.
Two things come to my mind, fibroids or possibly an early abortion which may look like an extra heavy bleading. Happens quite often in our 40 ies.
Hypothyroidism may also be a contributing factor.
In this case,
Iodine may have caused a worsening. This would be a trancient phase. I recommend to start educating yourself with all info about
Iodine and the co factors. In the beginning it will be some trial and error, until you find your level.
"Menstrual Disorders, Fertility, and Menopause
The thyroid gland was once nicknamed “the third ovary.” The thyroid has a great influence on menstruation, pregnancy, lactation, and even uterine involution after childbirth. Often, women who at ordinary times have a decent supply of thyroid secretion, run short during the menses.
Before the twentieth century, women usually began menstruation at the age of 12 or 13. Their cycles would occur every 26 to 30 days, and menstrual blood flow would last four or five days. Today, the hypothyroid epidemic has turned the natural cycle into a monthly crisis far too frequently. Profuse bleeding, severe cramps, and other premenstrual problems such as irritability and headache are now commonplace. Endometriosis, fibroid tumors, and ovarian cysts have increased in frequency.
All are associated with hypothyroidism. Other hormonal dysfunctions, such as disturbances in estrogen and progesterone, often occur as a result of hypothyroidism and
Iodine deficiency. The excessive bleeding is caused by the abnormal infiltration and accumulation of mucin in the uterine mucous lining, by the defective contractility of the uterine muscular cells and by the hemophilic condition of the blood.
Menstrual cramps are, in most cases, completely relieved with desiccated thyroid hormones. Similar results can occur when liberal dosages of iodine are given.
One in five American couples reportedly now have problems conceiving. Infertility specialists have declared it a disease unto itself. Miscarriages and fertility problems are a red flag for hypothyroidism. Infertility rates in males are fast approaching those found in females. Sperm banks report a marked drop in the average sperm count of donors during the last 20 years. Impairment of fertility in both men and women because of hypothyroidism is firmly entrenched in medical literature. Whole families disappeared in goiter regions due to impaired fertility. Widespread pollutants and hormone-mimicking synthetic chemicals also may impair thyroid metabolism and fertility.
Yet, modern texts continue to refute hypothyroidism as a major cause of infertility and miscarriages. The main problem is that affected women and men usually have normal thyroid blood tests. Thyroid extract has proved in scores of cases an excellent remedy for otherwise inexplicable sterility.
A 27% rise in premature births has occurred during the last 20 years. Twelve percent of all births are now premature. Premature babies have a substantially increased risk of problems related to the central nervous system (favorite target of hypothyroidism) such as mental retardation, cerebral palsy, and learning disabilities. The number one risk factor for premature births is already having had one. The leading cause is Type-2 hypothyroidism.
The offspring resulting from fertility specialists will likely suffer just as many or even more health problems than their mothers, if not given treatment for their hypothyroidism. During and after a pregnancy, hypothyroidism also causes many problems such as gestational diabetes, high blood pressure, eclampsia (convulsions and coma associated with pregnancy), prolonged labor, inability to dilate, excessive bleeding, poor wound healing, and the inability of the mother to lose weight afterwards.
Severe post-partum hemorrhages are one sign. Pregnancy may occur after the full establishment of the disease, and, as already noted, hemorrhage is to be dreaded. In connection with pregnancy, fluctuations in the swelling of the body may occur"
http://www.tuberose.com/HypothyroidSymptoms.html