How Everyday Activities Can Affect Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Having A Bath Edition
How Everyday Activities Can Affect ME CFS: Having A Bath Edition
It’s just a bath
Picture this: a cosy bathtub, bubbles floating on the surface, a book propped up on the ledge, warmth and quietness as you sink into pure relaxation and tranquillity. Sounds what you’d expect for having a bath, right? But for me, as someone with ME, the thought of taking a bath can be daunting. The prospect of triggering a flare-up of symptoms like post-exertional malaise(PEM) can be overwhelming. Yet, despite these challenges, I still eagerly anticipate the precious moments of self-care that a bath can provide.
Unfortunately, the simple act of having a bath, including shaving, scrubbing my body, and washing my hair, quickly leads to immense fatigue, raised heart rate, muscle weakness, and pain. Getting out of a bath is a struggle, and I have no choice but to drag myself to my bed, and wait there and wait for my heart rate to slow down and for the PEM to subside. I lay in immense pain, as my lower back is so fatigued and weakened with pain, it’s just too painful to lie flat with my legs straight. I have to bend my knees so the lower back pain subsides, but, then it’s an effort to keep my knees bent, I just want to drop them down straight and sink into my bed, but my lower back weakness and pain won’t allow it. My heart is racing like I just ran a mile uphill, my arms are heavy, my eyes just want to shut. I lay there in limbo, unable to do anything; all I can do is succumb to my broken body.
All of this triggered from a simple bath. Luckily, it doesn’t happen every time I bath, but it happens frequently. It's scary, its heart-breaking, debilitating and it’s what I have to accept and what I have to live with – I have no choice in the matter, my body is broken.
Adapting
But I refuse to let my condition completely ruin a self-care routine that I enjoy. I've found new ways to adapt to small steps, cutting down on washing my hair and carefully planning out my bath routine to avoid a PEM crash. I’ve gone from washing my hair every other day, to once a week. Also, I am trying new ways to removing hair from my legs, I’ve been trying hair removal creams, and I am looking at waxing - both of which allow longer break between my legs needs hair removal, and they can be done anytime, not during bath time.
Final thoughts
It's all about listening to my body and finding strategies that work for me. Sure, I still frequently get caught out, and there's still so much to learn about my new self, but I won't let it stop me from indulging in the little luxuries that life has to offer. It's all about finding what works best for me and adapting my routine accordingly - whether that means pacing myself, breaking down tasks, or just being kind to my body, but never pushing my body.
Having a bath is not as simple as having a bath, not for me.
About me
I am a married mother of four children, in my mid 40's. I run a small business and enjoy writing, which is why I blog. My blog focuses on my experiences of living with chronic illnesses and disabilities such as ME/CFS, spinal stenosis, chronic pain, and fibromyalgia.