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    Created in 2008, Phoenix Rising is the largest and oldest forum dedicated to furthering the understanding of and finding treatments for complex chronic illnesses such as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), fibromyalgia (FM), long COVID, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS), and allied diseases.

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Hot Showers making things worse

Messages
20
I have two points with this topic:

1)I discovery during my CFS joruney that hot showers triggers fatigue, i begin to wonder why. I saw some comments that people also experienced that and solved their problems with DHEA and Pregnenolone.
I begin to think aswell about thyroid not functioning well, since the thyroid controls temperature. So i started taking Selenium, Tyrosine and lugol to support thyroid. For now i didn't notice any difference.
I wonder if acne, white coated tongue, intolerance to hot showers and fatigue related root causes.
Does anyone experimented the same thing?

2)For what i saw, there are many kinds of fatigue, for instance: physical fatigue, which people would benefit with d-ribose, ozone, creatine COQ10.
It's not my case, because i can exercise normally very very hard without feeling tired. The source of my fatigue is different, and not lack of ATP, so things that optimize cellular function are useless to me. I don't even know how to identify the source of my fatigue. I'm thinking of giving a shot to pregnenolone and DHEA. Does anyone have a tip to identify the source of my fatigue? I'm glad i discarded ATP production.
 
Messages
15,786
Hot showers are a notorious trigger of Orthostatic Intolerance. Blood pressure and/or pulse pressure drop, and tachycardia may result as well. It can help to use a shower chair, keep the temp warm but not hot, and avoid bending down or raising your arms.
 

Daffodil

Senior Member
Messages
5,875
@taroopher hot showers are a problem for me as well, but it is because i feel very uncomfortably hot for a long time afterwards and just feel feverish. i have to sit in front of a powerful fan for a long time. this can happen even with a mildly warm shower.

does going out in hot weather do the same thing to you?

i assume it does have something to do with some kind of glands not working properly...thyroid? pituitary? adrenal? no idea

if you can exercise vigorously and do not feel tried, i wonder if your problem isn't something other than CFS.

perhaps you can see an endocrinologist. if that does not work, maybe an integrative medicine specialist?

xo
 
Messages
20
Im very strong and can do push ups and pull ups with no problem. But actually can't work, i feel mentally sick, hot showers trigger absurd fatigue, and my energy drops absurdly in the afternoon, until after 8pm.
It's not related to ATP production, im sure of that. It's the same feeling of not sleeping for a long long time. You actually feel tired, but still string in the muscles..
 

PennyIA

Senior Member
Messages
728
Location
Iowa
I've swapped out hot showers in the morning (which meant I had to lie down before attempting to get dressed) for cooler baths in the evening before bed. At least I sleep well.
 

Jeckylberry

Senior Member
Messages
127
Location
Queensland, Australia
Just a thought...

One of the old diagnostic tests for MS was to put people in a hot bath to see if they become weak. Injured or impeded nerves do not conduct the electrical charge along their surface well and heat further interferes with this process. A lot of people with autoimmune and inflammatory issues have problems in the heat. Inflammation presses on nerves, causing pain and interruption of the neural signals, so when you add heat you make it harder for the neurones to transmit. It might explain why you are normally strong and why thyroid helpers don't make any dif. Thyroid heat dysregulating tends to occur randomly from within with hot flushes rather than only be affected by showers./heat source.
 

IreneF

Senior Member
Messages
1,552
Location
San Francisco
I have OI and I can't tolerate heat. Luckily I live in a cool climate. I took my first shower in years the other day and was surprised to find I did not need to go back to bed. That may be because it's been in the 50s F and we don't have the heat going.
 

taniaaust1

Senior Member
Messages
13,054
Location
Sth Australia
I have two points with this topic:

1)I discovery during my CFS joruney that hot showers triggers fatigue,

2)For what i saw, there are many kinds of fatigue, for instance: physical fatigue, which people would benefit with d-ribose, ozone, creatine COQ10.
It's not my case, because i can exercise normally very very hard without feeling tired..

I dont think Im supposed to say something like this on the forum but I think it needs to be said, you have been wrongly diagnosed with CFS.

People who have ME/CFS just cant exercise normally very very hard without it having negative repercussions from this, ME/CFS isnt just about having fatigue of some kind. Many do get wrongly diagnosed.

Get yourself to a dr who specialises in autonomic issues such as postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) and things like this. You need to have orthostatic testing eg a tilt table test done. POTS will cause fatigue on showers and also when you are upright at times (sometimes other triggers have to come into play too before someone notices bad effects of it).

POTS when it appears alone without it being caused by another illness in a person the age group it most commonly affects I think is teens. (I notice the picture you have there that you appear maybe early to mid 20s.. I've no idea how long you've been on your "CFS journey" for).

If you do have only POTS, that can often be treated and exercise may be helpful for it (which is the opposite to what one would do if one actualy does have ME/CFS).

Focus on finding out what you do actually have.. obviously an illness which is sensiitve to heat. That's probably your biggest clue right now into the things you could possibly have. Fatigue though appears in nearly every illness out there.

can't work, i feel mentally sick, hot showers trigger absurd fatigue, and my energy drops absurdly in the afternoon, until after 8pm.

If you have POTS or another orthostatic issue, you may be feeling quite unwell after being upright all day.

Your white coated tongue, you may also have candida issues knocking you around too.
 
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hmnr asg

Senior Member
Messages
558
I also agree that your symptoms are not characteristic of CFS.

I used to work out also very very hard before my CFS. After CFS each work out session would lead to devastating fatigue. These days whenever i try to push myself I end up crashing for days and months.

Try to stop working out for a month or two, completely, to see how it affects you. For a while after my CFS started i refused to stop working out. So my life consisted of going to the gym in the morning, working out for 2 hours (heavy deadlifts, squats, the whole thing) and then crashing the rest of the day. Until one day i broke my ankle and was unable to work out for three months. And finally i realized that i have to stop, as hard as it was, the three months break from the gym made me regain enough energy to get a semi-normal life. And now i have not worked out for years. I look like $hit, im weak and can barely climb a set of stairs, but at least im not suffering soul crushing fatigue and sleeping all day.

ps i also cant tolerate hot showers. I used to love taking hot baths while listening to jazz music lol, but now that is not an option. The warmer the water the worse i feel. Cold showers do the opposite, they give me a boost.


J
 
Messages
8
Location
Sydney Aus
I have stage 3 Adrenal Fatigue (never had CFS) and hot showers always trigger fatigue for me, I use to be far worse back when my Adrenal Fatigue was at a worse stage.
 

panckage

Senior Member
Messages
777
Location
Vancouver, BC
I read somewhere that that hot showers in the day are bad for CFS. I think I have experienced that too. They make me sleepy. OTOH I enjoy a hot shower before bed. Probably because it makes me sleepy