Yes and I'm in Arizona...! :-(

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I am not sure lugols iodine is the same as KI (potassium Iodide). My bottle appears to be iodine only. It was also mentioned yesterday that the only thing it will protect is the thyroid and does not meet the needs for bone and tissue exposure. The elements I heard mentioned yesterday were of course Pu (plutonium that has a half life of 80 thousand years) Cs (cesium) and Sr (strontium) with half lives of 30 yrs. All living things have Sr in their bones today because of the Atomic Bomb of the 40's and a drop of Cs the size of a needle point could provide you and your family with all of your energy needs for the rest of your lives....I mention these things just to let you know I do not see KI, Lugol's or any such things really helping. It is a sad and frightening situation.

Oh man, that is scary. well, maybe we can prevent the i-131 (radioiodine) from being taken up into our thyroids, anyway. I think the Lugol's would work, too, you'd just have to take more of it. 2 drops of lugol's is about 13mg of iodine. SSKI is just super concentrated iodide - 1 drop of SSKI is about 50mg of iodine as iodide. There is a link on the EPA's website as to the amount of iodine you want to take everyday for a nuclear disaster. Hopefully we don't get high enough levels to warrant it, but it sure is scary. And, I sure feel sorry for the people in Japan right now. What a horrible three-fold tragedy.

Lugol's 2% Solution is 2.2% Iodine and 4.4% Potassium Iodide and
what make Lugol's Solution dark is the Iodine precipitate. I believe that it is primarily the Potassium Iodide that you want so you should be able to remove some of the Iodine precipitate using coffee strainer.
For radiation exposure you are supposed to take up to 130mg of Potassium Iodide for a person weighing 150 pounds.
1 drop of Lugol's 2% Solution is 3.13mg of Potassium Iodide.
As a dietary supplement the dosage is 2 drops of Lugol's 2% Solution twice a week. There were no reported side affects when taking 20 times that amount in a single dose. I am not a doctor so I am not recomending that you go start dosing Lugol's Iodide Solution. Just to be on the safe side I have been taking 2drops of Lugol's 2% Solution with juice. That is about 6.26mg of potassium iodide.

Remember that Lugol's come's in both 2% and 5% solution.

From a Grave's perspective I want to add that I have only had 4 doses of the the Lugol's in prep for TT and I am amazed. Taking 5 drops/3 times a day of 5% and cannot believe it. I was told to expect shrinkage but I did not expect it so quickly. This morning my sis, surgical nurse of 35 years + asked me why they do just not give it to people with Grave's (we already know the knowledge about thyroid conditions is far and few between) but she said right away that one side of my swollen thyroid is gone and the rest of it is fading out of sight as well. One of the biggest things I have noticed is the fog has cleared from my head....I looked outside today and the world looked real to me and no depression or anxiety either. I listened to an "expert" on TV this morning and he was talking about the radiation scare, etc. and telling how the lugol's iodine works for radiation prevention to the thyroid area. Without getting into the chemistry of lugol's versus thyroid hormone, versus isotopes, etc., he said this particular liquid goes to the thyroid and blocks entrance from other substances such as radiation and in our case, thyroid hormone. Therefore my thyroid cannot accept thyroid hormone right now and is shrinking....yea! I am thinking this is how it will be after TT. No thyroid so no thyroid hormone making it self at home there anymore. He did mention though that one reason they are not encouraging folks to take it unless it is really needed is because it does have the ablilty to destroy the thyroid in most cases. My thyroid is sick and I welcome the magic liquid for now. Cannot hurt it any more than already is.

From what I've read about Lugol iodine is that it can make you feel better initially, but after 2/3 weeks of use your symptoms can come back stronger than ever. This is why it should only be given pre op or for severe cases where ATDs are not controlling it. Also read that taking strong iodine can cause imbalances of the thyroid in healthy patients, so not sure I'd give to my family unless absolutely necessary. Scary situation to be in though, it's hard to know who and how much they'll be affected. Thinking of you all x

Have any of the rest of you thought this was weird, too, or is it just me? I think the word "thyroid" is finally on the map, and it all because of radioactive Iodine spilling out of a nuclear plant in Japan. What is really weird is how "Dangerous" the media is making the 131I out to be and how these somber doctors are in the debris fields of Japan, talking about "protecting the thyroid from the dangers of 131I and risk of thyroid cancer." and now flash yourself back to your first visit with your endo, folks?? How many of us had our little legs dangling off the doctors table, paper rustling under our butts, have our doctor knock on the door, walk in and introduce themselves, tell us we have Graves' and that they have just scheduled us for Radioiodine ablation with 131I the following week, no risks involved, problem solved, thank you very much, see you later, and here's your bill. Like it's no big deal. No risks. So, What is the real deal here?

Hannah:

I have thought about this. I'm not sure what the doctors here in the USA think about this though...

{{{hugs}}}

It's just such a bizarre contrast to me. Oddly, I'm not all that worried about the radioiodine waftiing over here to the states. The half-life is 8days and I doubt we'd get an ablative dose over here, and honestly, due to the lack of disclosure, you may have been sitting right around someone loaded up with rad-iodine while waiting at your endos office. My sister, who had two back to back doses of 20mCi of 131I was never isolated in the waiting rooms, ever, from what I was told. She sat there, leafing through the magazines and waiting for her follow-up appointment like everyone else, and while she was well enough, even went out shopping and out to eat,within hours of receiving her first dose, so you just never know. The only person who seems to have had trouble from being around my sister is my mother, who did go hypo.
I'm more worried about the other isotopes with the decade long half-lives. :( How incredibly sad for the people of Japan! What a disaster!! How will they ever dig themselves out of all that? It just looks so overwhelming and insurmountable. My prayers are with them.

I haven't given any yet, but I am sure keeping it in the cabinet, just in case something bad were to happen! I received this email from
ATA today that basically says the amount right now is not dangerous and doesn't warrant the use of the potassium iodide yet.

RADIATION RISKS TO HEALTH:
A Joint Statement from the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, the American Thyroid Association, The Endocrine Society and the Society of Nuclear Medicine
March 18, 2011

The recent nuclear reactor accident in Japan due to the earthquake and tsunami has raised fears of radiation exposure to populations in North America from the potential plume of radioactivity crossing the Pacific Ocean. The principal radiation source of concern is radioactive iodine including iodine-131, a radioactive isotope that presents a special risk to health because iodine is concentrated in the thyroid gland and exposure of the thyroid to high levels of radioactive iodine may lead to development of thyroid nodules and thyroid cancer years later. During the Chernobyl nuclear plant accident in 1986, people in the surrounding region were exposed to radioactive iodine principally from intake of food and milk from contaminated farmlands. As demonstrated by the Chernobyl experience, pregnant women, fetuses, infants and children are at the highest risk for developing thyroid cancer whereas adults over age 20 are at negligible risk.

Radioiodine uptake by the thyroid can be blocked by taking potassium iodide (KI) pills or solution, most importantly in these sensitive populations. However, KI should not be taken in the absence of a clear risk of exposure to a potentially dangerous level of radioactive iodine because potassium iodide can cause allergic reactions, skin rashes, salivary gland inflammation, hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism in a small percentage of people. Since radioactive iodine decays rapidly, current estimates indicate there will not be a hazardous level of radiation reaching the United States from this accident. When an exposure does warrant KI to be taken, it should be taken as directed by physicians or public health authorities until the risk for significant exposure to radioactive iodine dissipates, but probably for no more than 1-2 weeks. With radiation accidents, the greatest risk is to populations close to the radiation source. While some radiation may be detected in the United States and its territories in the Pacific as a result of this accident, current estimates indicate that radiation amounts will be little above baseline atmospheric levels and will not be harmful to the thyroid gland or general health.

We discourage individuals needlessly purchasing or hoarding of KI in the United States. Moreover, since there is not a radiation emergency in the United States or its territories, we do not support the ingestion of KI prophylaxis at this time. Our professional societies will continue to monitor potential risks to health from this accident and will issue amended advisories as warranted.