Steam rooms

[wyntre9]

This is probably a silly question, but does anyone know if it's ok to go to a steam room once or twice a week while on tx?

I asked my Dr. (these days I ask about everything).  I wondered if the loss of fluids could be problematic.

He just said, drink extra water. :)

Any thoughts?

(Ok.  Busted.  This is shot night and I'm doing my best to procrastinate as long as I can, so will someone please respond and grant me a few minutes reprieve?

Wyntre

[scubadiver30]

Well, that's what she said. Never met her father cause I met her after he passed away. But it makes sense because even though
(no steam bath) Finish sauna is good for most people it has many contraindications for certain affections like:
Epilepsia
Hyperthyroidism (we get hiper or hipo on riba)
Cancer
Acute swellings
Heart disease and vascular diseases
Diabetes
Eye dryness that we experience on TX)
Epilepsia

[scubadiver30]

A friend of mine lost her father due to lung failure because he was a more than regular sauna user (and the steam & heat entered his lungs and alveolus daily and fried them).

The hot tub is great though. I highly recommend it..I use it when is sunny and it really calms the aches and pains, but the bromine and the water temp really hurts the dry skin and flare the riba rashes...So the next thing after getting out is geting soaked in mosturizer for 2 hours..Is a trade off..

[Forseegood]

yes, I'd love to talk to people about hypoglycemia, what's a worry (isn't everything when you have my personality?) it says on the drug lit that it can 'cause' hypoglycemia, I'd love to get some feedback on this, I've asked before, and didn't get much...either people didn't want to answer me on this (free country) or maybe this is just not such a problem in the hep community...my sister has advanced cirrhosis and she doesn't suffer blood sugar problems in any appreciable degree, so I don't think this is so wide spread in the "sick liver" community, course I'm only guessing...I control my hypoglycemia by eating small meals every 2 1/2 3 hours, and I eat a diet with complex carbs and protein in ratio, sounds a lot easier then it sounds...

I have heard of many, many people who suffer from this and refuse to eat properly, and suffer because of it, once they do eat properly, they feel much, much better...what's troubling is that many docs don't focus on this too much, because there are some hypoglycemics who only register "symptoms" and don't register on blood tests too much, so they disavow it for many patients...I just think by now, I see that some people don't register on all these tests, diagnosing procedures just aren't that sophisticated for many ailments (including hep I'd wager) and if you can eat according to your symptoms, all the better...this is a good way to eat for anybody anyway, from all that I've ever read and heard...when people tell me they don't have time, well, everything's a trade off, you want to feel better, change your habits...

I have a friend that had all the classic symptoms for low thyroid, but when she'd do tests, she registered as normal, so the docs would do nothing for her and told her it was psycho-somatic...till she found a broad minded, out of the box type of doctor who was willing to work with her...he started her on thyroid meds at a miniscule amount, and she started to feel better and they built her up to a dose and now she's normal, she suffered for years unnecessarily...a great thing about these boards is that we can all see that our health is not totally in the hands of doctors all the time, (I know people who think that way, and well, what can I say?) we as patients have to be pro-active in our own health as well as work with doctors, and learn all we can for ourselves as well...my opinion...

[Forseegood]

Just wanted to say, if youre not on chemo, then a steam room or sauna, (if not used a whole lot) is fine for people...I do know people on chemo who take a little bit of a hot bath or jakuzzi, and they love it...so I guess everyone is different....used to live in Europe, and many of those people do those things a few times during the week, then jump into ice pools! excellent for the cirulation....that's what I think might be a problem, you should cool off afterwards with slightly cold water, great for the circulation, and it'll make your hair shiny and bring the blood to the skin to give it a glow and pinkness to the cheeks...Many Scandanavians, the Japanese are as healthy as god knows what, they do that stuff into extreme old age...but it's like Jim said, you have to build up to it and don't overuse it, everything in moderation as always, and if it doesn't agree with you it doesn't agree with you...I just don't want people to think that a little usage of these things will kill you...I've been doing it since I was what, 16? I'm 53 now and my lungs are fine, and my skin is great...

[wyntre9]

Thanks, all.

I guess the consunsus is there is no consensus so I'm gonna keep going coz it's one of the few things I can do right now that makes me feel better.

Thanks for the sauna warning, Cindy.

Scubadiver - is that rue about your friends' dad passing away coz of effects from steam and sauna?  Wow.

DP - sounds like you're going through it.  Hang in there.

[LindyK]

I went to the health club today - first time since I've been on tx (wwek 9/24).  I used to go 2-3 times a week.  I workout in the pool.  It is soooo relaxing.  Then a few minutes in the steam room and usually the sauna, then the reward - the JACUZZI!  It felt great to do that today.  

Cindy - today I didn't go in the sauna because it was still heating up.  Glad I didn't now.  Want to research that some more!  Thanks for sharing that info.

[Cindy10]

Not sure about steam rooms, but at our local sauna there is a sign that says do not use if you are on chemo.

[dperry10]

about 10 years ago I was hypoglycemic too, and had a seizure at work.   But that was about 4 years after going thru Interferon treatment for 6 months.  So kinda wondering if the treatment or the infection may have caused it all along.   But I was diagnosed about 3 years ago with Diabetes, and the meds they gave me started shutting down my kidneys so I stopped taking it, and then job changes and loss of insurance, and could not contiune with visits to doc and just tried to change my eating habits.  Then in Sept I went for my annual check up with gyno, and he ran blood tests and determined my hep C was active again as well as the diabetes.    Referred me to my PCP and its been crazy since then.. I can hardly keep up with all the appointments and I am so tired of feeling so tired.  I am really struggling with my diet actually, cuz nothing sounds good and when I do eat I get sick, soooo since I am not eating I am in that low blood sugar..... and feeling very dizzy and you know the feeling.    I was supposed to be testing my blood in morning before eating and then at night 2 hours after eating no later than 6:30... I barely get in the house and stuff by 6.. too hard to cook prepare in 30 mins, not to mention I have nto been hungry and feeling like s**T  I go to bed, and forget to test sugar, also she wants a log for 2 wks of what I craved during that time..   Nothing on my " allow list ". she wants me to eat foods for my blood type.. A.. I am also genotype 1A.  I think I will cancel that appointment and see if I can find a class I can take to learn to cook what I should eat.  I do not know what to do at this point, because dr feels the diabetes is working against my treatment...

[Forseegood]

I thought you'd throw in your nose ballad, but i guess it's s-not ..lemme outta here!

[Forseegood]

Hi, as a hypglycemic, I'd like to know if you had low blood sugar probs before you started treatment...try to eat some protein, etc..hope youre better soon, and please try to share any low blood sugar info you have, I don't speak to many who have this problem...be well...

[dperry10]

Hot bath, sounds great and so does a massage.. but sitting in a steam room.. Not me.. tooo hot.. and hard to breath.     Hot tub or bathtub, jacuzzi....ahhhhh.. I have an appointment for massage next week at my chiropractors office.  Can hardly wait.    Well just took shot #5, and resting in bed.  Thought I would type a few lines before hitting the pillow..

[Forseegood]

I agree, I like a steam better then a sauna, in a sauna I feel like it's singing my nosehairs (I have but a few...) just make sure youre going to a reputable place that cleans the rooms regularly, no wants to grow mushrooms unwillingly:)

[wyntre9]

ok, i'm going now, to do it,  again.  :(

here's my message from yesterday.

no problem about response time. i understand completely. So you're Not working. Sorry, i misunderstood. But teaching Middle School is like being sentenced to Hell. What did you teach?

You have a workers comp case coz of a student assault? Oh, what a shock. (Not). Did you hear about the videotape of three Long Island 9th grade girls beating up a fourth girl over a boy that got posted on Myspace, Youtube and Photobucket? Not that you need to be reminded of how the little sh--s act, but it's pretty amazing footage. I'll send you a link if you wanna see it.

We definitely have to compare notes.

BTW - if you're a budding bird lover, not only do I have 6 parrots, but I have a friend who's a master falconer and runs the Round Top raptor center in the Catskills. I'll send you the link to that as well, if you like. He has Gyrfalcons, Arizona Hawks, Peregrines, Snowy Owls, Great Horned owls, Peregrines, Red-tails, Coopers Hawks, etc. I usually visit him in the summer.
He does free flying falcon demonstrations and is also involved in the Central Park falconry demonstrations as well as in the recent campaign to save Pale Male and Lola, two of NYC's most famous residents, from being evicted from Mary Tyler Moore's Building on 57th Street overlooking Central Park.

Wyntre

[wyntre9]

Hi DP,

We're on the same schedule.  You';re an hour or so earlier than me.
How's it going?

Wyntre

[wyntre9]

The club is very clean.  But I thought the bacterial growth issue was more for public jacuzzis and hot tubs than steam rooms.

Am I wrong about that, too?

I would have thought the steam would kill everything.

Wyntre

[dperry10]

Its going better than yesterday.. I thought my world was falling apart as well as me.   But it appears to be my sugar working against the tx right now. Because of low appetite, my sugar was really low.   They also sent me over for a chest xray.. I think was a waste of money..

And had my CBC this morning, and see the Doc on Tuesday, so will know better then.. I do know my Hemoglobin has dropped, but the last lab was a week old that the dr translated to me yesterday, since they conveniently forgot to mail me that one.   So just hoping it was the sugar level..  I need to get that in check, I need to rest, and am thinking I need to also file for my short term disability pay.   I was getting things in order at work today.   CYA as far as orders I had committed to and that are coming in so fast this month.    And getting someone to do my work while I am gone.. LOL..

They were understanding and totally supportive at work today.  I think they know the stress is really getting to me, and I look like death warmed over... I have lost 22 lbs so far.  and more than usual hair loss  ( have had hair loss since going thru treatment 14 years ago, it comes back, just alot in the drain and brush each day.. thinning in the front now..

How are you handling it >

[Forseegood]

yeah, those little buggers can even be found in steam rooms, as long as they regularly disinfect youre okay I should think, wish they'd do that with all public places where people congregate though, ha ha! Actually not, I've read that we do need to have some germs in order to have a resistance to them (as children.) Speaking of kids, that's where I draw the line, I will not go into public pools where a lotta kids frequent... I like kids, but when I was 19 or so I saw a floater, then a mass exodus from the pool, that was enough for me...well, you and everyone have a nice weekend, cause I better go, I'm even too silly for myself right now...be well...

[wyntre9]

I don't like saunas coz they're so dry and irritating to the nasal passages.

I've read the same thing your homeopath said about steam.  I
understand it was one of the original forms of hydrotherapy.

wyntre

[dperry10]

Thank goodness I have my own pool..    Just wish I had the hot tub to go with it.   I am working on a Jacuzzi bath tub.  I would settle for that.

[sfbaygirl]

That steam room sounds good actually. I don't like Jaccuzi's either. Luckily I do have the tubs and pool, but unfortunately it is winter so I am not spending the bucks to turn on the heat. Besides somedays I dont' feel like putting going out there. All will be better sooner than we think.

Yep, those middle school kids are something. I taught in the Oakland, no less. Talk about inner city! I taught computers, and history. Loved teaching, but it only takes one troublemaker and it ruins a class. I'm not sure what I will do after tx....Thinking of law school. John REALLY wants me to go. He has won the last 5 cases due to my input (of course I am bragging!) I just feel too old to go back for another 3 years of school. I could finish my master's and teach college, only 10 units left...hard to think about now.

Forseelogs; Are you sure it wasnt a tootsie roll? Hahahhaa That is funny, but I'm with you. I'd stay out of the pools with kids. Geez, I remember going to the bath houses in SF back in the day before they shut them down. Probably lucky all I have is Hep c!

[Forseegood]

ha, you went to bathhouses too? shoulda known, ha ha! yeah, we didn't have the right equipment, but they let us in anyhow-prob cause we like a good laugh!

[GoofyDad]

Singing nose hairs? Holey mackerollie!

Boogers in the night...
Sticking together....
We stuck at first sight...
We're stuck together...

What are the chances we'll...
Be in a Kleanex....
Before the night is through.....

[Forseegood]

when you pick your kid up from the kindergarden, does the security guard ask you if you want to stay? he he he...

[Imagine]

The room is getting steamy :)