Hot Water

[meadowlark]

These days I've been waking up with a bit of energy, and bathe for just two minutes in a tub of hot or warm water. Five minutes later, exhaustion sets in and gets worse and worse, til I can barely hold a pencil. The equation is roughly two minutes in the bathtub, three or four hours lying down, too tired to move or think.

Part of me wonders if I'm just going through a very fatigued phase and am connecting the bath to exhaustion that would kick in soon after getting up anyway.

Has anyone else found that immersion in warm or hot water brings on the depths of fatigue?

 

[Ocean]

A hot bath makes me tired in a way a warm shower doesn't. Showering still makes me tired but not as much as sitting in a hot bath. The quicker I shower, the less tired I am after. I usually sit on a stool so I don't wear myself out as much.

 

[Sushi]

These days I've been waking up with a bit of energy, and bathe for just two minutes in a tub of hot or warm water. Five minutes later, exhaustion sets in and gets worse and worse, til I can barely hold a pencil. The equation is roughly two minutes in the bathtub, three or four hours lying down, too tired to move or think.
Has anyone else found that immersion in warm or hot water brings on the depths of fatigue?

Hot water is a no no for many. Lots of reasons. Try sitting down on a stool or the bottom of the tub and taking a no more than skin temp quick shower and see if it makes a difference.

Good luck,
Sushi

 

[alex3619]

Hi meadowlark, one explanation that has been put forward many times is about blood flow. The heat may cause blood to rush to the skin, and if your blood volume is low this could cause a crash. Its not certain of course, there could be something neurological, but you could start with looking at orthostatic intolerance or POTS. Does the same thing happen in very hot weather? Does drinking a lot help? Bye, Alex

 

[mellster]

I think a hot shower/bath also depletes one of magnesium (could be countered with Epsom Salt in case of a bath) but I would be surprised if it had anything to do with it.

 

[Mya Symons]

Meadowlark, I don't take baths because they make me feel icky, but I can take showers. Although, I have never been able to find and afford a doctor to test for POTS. I have a trick I use when I take a shower. I get up and turn the heat on in the bathroom. Then I take a shower making the water as cool as possible without being too uncomfortable. When I get out of the shower, I open the door to the bathroom and turn down the heat. It seems to work well. Maybe you would feel better if you got a shower chair to sit in and you took a shower in luke warm or cool water instead of a bath?

Someone explained once why it is better to take showers when you first wake up, but I can't remember the explanation. I can't get the energy on the weekends to take a shower because I do not do it right after I wake up, so taking a shower in the morning right after I wake up is the only thing that works for me.

 

[taniaaust1]

Im with what the others have said. If you have at all problems with heat with the ME or if you have POTS, hot baths or showers may be an issue.

I suggest to well hydrate yourself (water load) 20mins-30mins before having a quick tepid one. I usually drink about 3 glasses of water (sports drinks are good too) before trying to do any activities of any kind... this can be esp important if someone has POTS.

 

[meadowlark]

Alex, that is very interesting -- I do have very low blood volume (and very high BP). This doesn't happen in hot weather and I drink a lot of water .... perpetually thirsty.

Many thanks for the advice, everyone. I don't shower because I can trudge around the apartment for ten minutes in the morning and then I'm usually done til evening, when I might get another five. (Lucky -- I live in a tiny place!) So I don't like to stand unless it's absolutely necessary. But it's good to know that this is probably not my imagination.

Now, this is the moment when everyone gets to smack their foreheads and think "I don't believe it" -- but I've never heard of or seen a shower stool. So now that I've been educated, a brief, warmish shower using one does seem to be the solution.

Many thanks -- again!

 

[ahimsa]

Now, this is the moment when everyone gets to smack their foreheads and think "I don't believe it" -- but I've never heard of or seen a shower stool. So now that I've been educated, a brief, warmish shower using one does seem to be the solution.

Just a quick note to second the idea of using a seat. I have a seat in our shower and it really helps. Mine is a built in seat (molded into the fibroglass shower form) but before we had this I used a portable shower seat.

I recommend getting a shower seat with a back and with non-slip feet. These seats are often sold unassembled in a box (and not very expensive) in the drug store as well as online. Some people have posted that they use a regular plastic molded chair in the shower (if there's room) but be careful that it does not slip around.

 

[meadowlark]

Thank you, ahimsa. I've been looking at them online and wondering about slippage. I will keep all this in mind.

 

[ahimsa]

Just FYI, the one I have (from Walgreens, not WalMart, but this was the best link I found) looks something like this:

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=11065548

It's a different brand but it's the same general idea. Ugly but functional!

 

[snowathlete]

Hot (or even warm) showers or baths make me ill, just the same.
Its a nightmare, because i actually find having a bath or shower is one of the most relaxing things for me, but i feel crap after it. Usually i go down stairs and collapse on the sofa!
Never had this problem before the ME/CFS