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Bromide Detox in Iodine Users
                                   
Some people supplementing iodine have reported symptoms consistent with
"bromism" or bromide detox as catalogued by the Department of Defense's Rand
Corporation Report on the Gulf War as well as published dermatology , toxicology and
psychiatry literature.

Where does all this detoxed bromide coming out our tissues come from?

Please look at the evidence of the  increasing bromide dominance condition in our
environment and products.

Because iodine was not supplemented much before the last three years, few
physicians have had a chance to look closely at the occasional symptoms which arise
from iodine supplementation (still called "iodism") and raise questions.

    Might the historical observation of iodism be due principally to massive
    amounts of stored bromine leaving the tissues and entering the
    bloodstream?   

    Is it possible the apparent adverse effects of iodine are due almost exclusively
    due to bromide excretion, and not enough iodine-alone effects can be
    documented to qualify as an "ism" ?

    Might the iodism phenomenon be more appropriately called "bromism"?

**For those using iodine therapeutically, these symptoms are NOT common, are
usually TRANSIENT in nature and are easily usually remedied by a salt loading
procedure, variations of which have been used for many years.  

One of the principal therapeutic actions of iodine is the removal of toxic bromide from
the body, so bromide detox is necessary.  The objective of orthoidiosupplementation
is to promote detox while at the same time keeping symptoms at a tolerable level.

Many of the Breast Cancer Choices' Iodine Investigation Project registrants also found
the following suggestions helpful if bromide detox symptoms were not tolerable. Consult
your doctor before implementing the strategies below:

Bromide Detox Strategies

    1. Salt Loading. See sidebar.
    2. Stopping iodine for 48 hours to rest the kidneys.
    3. Reducing the iodine dose temporarily, then working back up.
    4. Taking several grams vitamin C spread out throughout the day along with the      
         Iodine Companion Nutrients.
    5. Drinking more water.
    6. Pulse-dosing (stopping and restarting iodine therapy.)
    7. According to Iodine users with skin symptoms, adding 25 mg zinc often helps.

Iodine-related bromide symptoms may include but are not be limited to:

eye lid twitching
foot twitching
tingling in hands or feet
dark thoughts (e.g., there is no reason to live)
depression (e.g., there is no reason to get out of bed)
anxiety
emotionality
mouth and tongue sores and cuts or "sore mouth"
"different" acne,"bromide acne," "acne-like eruptions" without "coniform." (Some iodine
users found zinc helps bromide acne.)
skin "cuts"
hair loss
brain fog
leg and hip ache (feels like arthritis)
rash (bromaderma)
metallic  taste
sinus ache
runny nose
headache
sedation
lethargy
odd swallowing sensation (reported in old  medical literature as "swollen glottis")
body odor (bromos is Greek for stench)
unusual urine odor
dry mouth
ureteral spasm, frequent urination (mistaken for urinary infection)
diarrhea
constipation
vision changes
irritability
increased salivation
dream changes
hormone changes
kidney pain


References:
A Review of the Scientific Literature as It Pertains to Gulf War Illnesses: Pyridostigmine Bromide
Vol. 2 by Beatrice Golumb, MD, PhD,
http://www.gulflink.osd.mil/library/randrep/pb_paper/

Abraham G et al., Evidence that the Administration of Vitamin C Improves a Defective Cellular
Transport Mechanism for Iodine:  A Case Report, The Original Internist 2005

Abraham G., The Safe and Effective Implementation of Orthoiodosupplementation in Medical
Practice, The Original Internist 2004

Cann S et al., Hypothesis, Iodine, Selenium and the Development of Breast Cancer, Cancer Causes
Control 2000.

Breast Cancer Choices, Iodine Investigation Project Database.

The statements above have not been evaluated by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration.  The
supplements discussed are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.  Do not
take iodine without the supervision of an Iodine-Literate Doctor who is qualified to interpret lab
work in the context of supplementation. This website is intended as information only. The editors of
this site are not medically-trained. Please consult your licensed health care practitioner before
implementing any health strategy. The information provided on this site is designed to support, not
replace, the relationship that exists between a patient/site visitor and his/her existing physician.
This site accepts no advertising. The contents of this site are copyrighted 2006, 2007 by Breast
Cancer Choices, Inc. Contact us for reprint permission. Web page updated May 23, 2008
**William Shevin, MD,
uses a specific protocol
to clear bromide detox
symptoms if they occur
while taking iodine.

Dr Shevin  presented his
Salt Loading Protocol at
the February '07 Iodine
conference:

  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
    in 1/2 cup warm
    water  followed
    immediately with
    12-16 oz water.
  • Repeat in 30-45
    minutes X 2 until
    copious urination
    begins.
  • Observe
    subjective
    response (usually
    within several
    hours).

Be sure to ask your
doctor before
implementing this or any
medical strategy.
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