Bromine intoxication for hot tub use?

[scubadiver30]

Hello everyone:
Thanks for your supporting comments in the post below. Like I said, I luv ya'll and let'see what happens in the next months.
But right now, I need to use your American knowledge regarding jacuzzis and its use prior & after tx. Over here is pretty new fad and not many people use them..There are more pools people in Spain (not the case in Scandinavia)...I got so many questions regarding my TX and the causes that brought me to treat in the first place. I was dx in 2005 and my LFTs were around 80/50. I got my HA & B vaccines and in my third booster for Hep B and Tetanus I purchased a hot tub and I was using extensively (sometimes for 3 hours but not hot just with the water jets for massage)  I was using the wait & see approach because my first fibroscan said I was 4.3 and I could be an F0 according to my first doc. After a year I went to the liver doc again and my LFTs were in skyhigh in the 300s and my fibroscans was 10 kpa (twice) F3 (never drank nor smoke since finding out). So I started my tx like you all know with my thyroid inbalance that I think was IFN caused. (only 10% of the people get it with IFN)
But right now, reading in the few places I can find on the web, I see the bromine poisoning affects the liver & kidneys & thyroid (like iodine deficciency) affects the skin, nails and the eyesight and could be carcinogenic (all symptoms of IFN/RIBA tx too)... I would not even thought about it until my wife (that uses the tub like I do had the TSH in 62!!!!!!!!!!! 10 times waht she had 6 months ago and it  was high. She's HCV negative. totally healthy and her LFTs are constantly in the 20/17he endo says is not related to my IFN tx nor the bromine dissolved in the tub water(she thinks I'm paranoid) Am I? (but how does she know if hot tubs are relatively new in this country???) The endo says is subclinical hipothiroidism pretty common in women over forty..

[scubadiver30]

So my question goes to people with hot tubs, HCV + or SVR that keep using the tub at home or gym almost everyday for terapeutical reasons but have fatigue, brittle nails, constipation, high LFTs, dry hair and skin, irritability, etc....
I know dermatitis and Hot Tub lung are common ocurrences but I wonder if the bromine as a higienizer can poison the body so fast...
Any links? any info would be greatly appreciated..
Sorry for the rant but thanks in advance for any of your responses.
Saludos
scuba

[Forseegood]

hi, congrats on being off treatment...you know, with me it's moderation with all things...of course, moderation being a relative concept as well...I don't know much about what you are talking about, the "bromine" thing, so I won't speak to that...but hot tubs? I do know, ha ha! I have kind of low blood pressure, so I never stay in them for more then say, 10 minutes (depends on how hot it is)...I don't like the public ones because of the hot chlorine...I find them to be very healing as long as I don't overdo it...but that's just me, I know other people who stay in them a lot longer...forgot already, .. But from what I remember, youre staying in them a long time?...just my two cents, I just don't know much about this...just relating what I do...be well, I love Spain...oh to be in Barcelona, youre lucky to live there!...

[antman]

i think i read that coffee enemas are the only cure for bromine. or was that something else? yeah, i'd say your a bit paranoid. ;-)

[scubadiver30]

hi there
Your explanation is the most sensible thing I have heard regarding our thyroid imbalances. My wife is flipping out and going to buy some multivitamins with iodine as we speak. Anyway she has an appointment with a different endo on tuesday and she'll expose what you said. They'll flip I'm sure. On my fibrosis I guess I'm FUBAR on that, cause if the bromine is also poisoning my liver I guess hot tubs are a NO NO for me like alcohol or smoking.:-(
Basically I need to wait 6 months for the overall status of my liver. I might go crazy till then
Thanks a million for sharing your thoughts with me anyway
God bless ya

Scuba

[scubadiver30]

Yes thanks. I guess I'm paranoid alrite.
Today is the first day of sun so that means summer is starting over here in Madrid..I have 3 more days of Riba and that's it. Adios to combo.:-)
The bad thing is that my fibroscan reading was 11.8 KPA today.:-(
So my liver's gotten stiffer after 6 months of TX. shoot....My pre tx was 10  KPA.. Does the IFN/RIBA make the liver inflamed?? I don't know if its too much ibuprofen, or too much fat, or the thyroid meds or that my steatosis is not HCV related..The docs say not too worry too much until after 3 months that I get my first PCR post TX. I guess I'm gonna have to travel to the States for a decent biopsy in the end..
My doc finds my bromine story ludicrous. They said the same thing about Galileo ;-). the reason I asked you this is because you guys over here like to push the envelope (and HR said something about it once) I first heard about double dosing here (I thought it was lethal) extending to 72, reducing to 16, TMAs and Quest, etc...I was looking for an innovative approach, jezz

well, I keep you guys posted
Good day
scuba

[Tallahassee]

Hi, Mr. Spain!

I don’t know anything about hot tubs, but I noticed that bromine and iodine are from the same chemical group and bromine (being above of iodine in the periodic table) is more active than iodine.  So if you have in your body exposed to iodine AND bromine, bromine will “win” and will become a part of your body’s chemical content rather than iodine.

As you know, iodine is a crucial chemical for normal activity of thyroid, meaning that deficiency in iodine may cause hypothyroidism.  This may explain hypothyroidism your wife has (and may be you).  


I would suggest taking multivitamin with iodine or kelp.  You also may take a teaspoon of sugar and place a couple of drops of regular iodine (used for disinfection of wounds) and mix it with tea. Do not overdose yourself – you don’t need more than 300 mcg of iodine per day – you will not kill yourself by overdoing, but you may create a deficiency in other microelements.

About fibrosis …. Sorry…  but I guess some of us (including me) are not lucky enough and don’t reverse fibrosis after interferon treatment.  My liverhead said that they are gathering information on fibrosis progression of people with different sub genotypes, etc. My fibrosis is steadily progressing and I have been for about 9 out of 12 years of interferon (full dose, not maintenance), started with less than stage 1 to now close to stage 3 … Except twice per year Champaign, I never used alcohol or smoked… just with my circle of friends we had a lot fun just studding, doing scientific discoveries and having alcohol free weddings.  Now I see how strange it sounds (!) but now I’m happy that we had this lifestyle.

But the good news – my liverhead said that WITHOUT interferon my liver fibrosis may progress faster.

But think about it – you are now virus free and probably SVR – and this definitely will stop the fibrosis and with time reverse it!

All the best!!!

[Tallahassee]

Iodine attaches itself to amino acid Tyrosine.  If you have a sensible diet (meaning plenty of protein) you don't have to worry.  But if your (or your wife's) diet is more on carbohydrate side (like too many meatless spaghetti, too many cookies, without eggs, cheese, and meat), you may add Tyrosine in supplemental form (one 500 mg capsule per day).  It is harmless, just will be a waste of money, if your diet is sufficient in protein.  I believe, avocados, almonds are reach in Tyrosine too (used by vegans for Tyrosine supplementation).

All the best!

[antman]

i would forget about the bromine. why don't you listed to your Dr.? i think he might know a tad more than you about , oh, medical issues?? just a thought.

[miked]

Our hot tub is equipped with a ozone generator and we use chlorine at the lower end of the scale.  Never had any issues.