Why do we crash after bathing? Is it the heat?

[u/SnooCakes6118]

Thanks for the replies but here is how I "bathe" I sit in the bathtub, use the handheld shower and leave the bathroom door half open so it doesn't get too warm and steamy. Wash my hair first so the rest of my body stays chilled.

Turn the water on and off again many times so I cool down between shampooings.

But after I get out and wear my Apple watch again my heartrate is still around 100 which means it probably was high in the bathroom too

[u/DermaEsp]

Hot water is vasodilating and can worsen dysautonomia symptoms.

[u/Outside-Clue7220 → u/DermaEsp]

Yes, you can try to fix this with cold shower after bath but better to skip it all together

[u/Jembless → u/DermaEsp]

Pretty sure this is it.

[u/redditmeupbuttercup]

I definitely crash worse with hot baths / showers, but I've had mine luke warm for years now and I still crash from it.. its a lot of factors for me - it's upstairs (I sleep downstairs so don't usually use stairs), setting up, getting undressed, getting in, the activity of actually washing, getting dry, getting dressed and then back down the stairs. The bathroom light is harsh and everything is white so it puts a strain on my light sensitivity. The humidity also makes me feel awful too.

[u/RaspberryJammm → u/redditmeupbuttercup]

Setting everything up is definitely a big part of it

I've moved from a shower over bath set up to a wet room and it's definitely become easier.

I used to have to make sure the chair was in place, faff with the curtain, place down the nonslip mat etc

[u/middaynight]

It's probably a combo of the heat and the energy required to bathe, it's definitely an energy-using exercise.

learning how much energy getting clean actually takes reminded me of when I was a teenager and had a surgery on one of my legs. fully couldn't move it for a while using my own leg muscles and it was so damn HEAVY. didn't realise how heavy legs were until I couldn't move it with my leg muscles and had to move it "manually". it's the same with getting clean for me, didn't realise that I was using sm energy to get clean until I didn't have the energy anymore

[u/LuxInTenebrisLove]

There's something about raising your arms above your head that is very exerting.

[u/birdsandbones]

In addition to what everyone else has said: bathing takes a lot of executive function as a multi-step task and it’s hard to break up. Maybe this is because I’m both fatigued and AuDHD, but it’s definitely the mental portion of moving through laborious and boring menial tasks for cleaning my stupid meat-suit is a factor for crashing after.

[u/Loud_Preparation2036 → u/birdsandbones]

YES. ADHD* here. And showering also takes more per-shower energy because it’s been a week since my last shower, so I’m working harder to get clean. 

those multi-step meat-suit functions are the worst. And for me, it’s not even really about having the physical stamina- sometimes I don’t have the brain power to figure out how to make toast. Sometimes I don’t even have the brain power to decide on what to eat so I just go back to bed. 

And brushing my teeth is my kryptonite. Every time I look at my toothbrush, I’m like, “oh god, not this again.” Thankfully I (almost) always manage to get the job done. And if I need to wash my face, sometimes I just splash water on my face because the soap is too much to wrap my head around. 

*there a CFS/ADHD Reddit group too!

[u/Agitated_Ad_1108]

I would speculate heat increases heart rate, but I've never tested it. 

[u/dreit_nien]

Shower is like a massage and I need it. Light and temperature are under control !... but recently I noted that it is very noisy in fact. This cans contribute to the feeling of being stunned after. 

[u/caruynos]

aside from the other stuff like heat/whatever, theres a lot of exertion happening.

[u/wewerelegends]

It’s the standing for me. I do better sitting with a shower stool.

[u/charliewhyle]

Physically washing my hair takes a surprisingly large amount of energy. I'm lifting and holding my arms over my head and scrubbing things. That and I have full baths so do several "situps" when rinsing, though that wouldn't apply to you.

Baths take me a day or so to recover from. 

[u/sicksages]

I definitely think it's the heat but I can't stand showers that aren't hot. I usually turn the water on cool or cold a few minutes before getting out and that helps!

[u/TomShankland]

Same here, I think it's the heat. Though I think healthy people do also get a bit fatigued or relaxed after steamy showers, but us with CFS get hit a lot harder.

[u/lotusmudseed]

I was told by my dysautonomy specialist that I need to take a salt stick capsules before getting into the shower with a glass of water because the standing up with warm water or sitting up with warm water causes dilation in the vascular system so the water and salt helps.

[u/Thin-Account7974]

I wear a heart rate monitor (from visible) when I am in the bath.

I found that I did need to reduce the heat a little, as when the bath water is very warm, my heart rate went up a lot. The less warm water does raise my heart rate a little, but not more than 75-80 beats per minute.

I only get heart rate alerts (100bpm) when I am washing myself, not when I am laying still. But, a am always more tired when I get out of the bath.

I love my bath, so I wouldn't stop them. I get a lot of pain in my body. My joints, and muscles always feel much better after a long soak, so I wouldn't give it up, even though it makes me feel tired.

[u/Kromulent]

for me, i don't think it's the heat. i live in a place where it gets hot and I get in and out of a hot car and it does not bother me. but a shower is half a day gone and the other half just not feeling very well

there is a weird disease called CHS (cannibus hyperemissis syndrome) which has a distinctive diagnostic sign - patients vomit uncontrollably until they get into a shower, which causes the symptom to go away. i've read that there are endocrine changes that happen when we shower

[u/Maximum_Pack_8519]

Do you also have dysautonomia and/or POTS? I've found that i crash harder if I haven't stayed on top of my electrolytes prior. I usually end up lying in bed for a bit after, which makes my cats happy 🤷🏻‍♂️

[u/Weary_Tax_5690]

Heat can cause PEM, everyone's threshold is different. I can tolerate a warm/hot shower for 10 mins, but a sauna for 10 minutes gives me PEM.
Maybe get a thermometer to see how hot the water is and experiment until you find the right temperature you can handle.

[u/Mom_is_watching]

My blood pressure drops after a shower and it's already too low so that's why I feel awful after a shower. The heat makes the bllood vessels near the surface expand to lose the heat, hence the drop in pressure.

Also standing up for 15ish minutes. My blood pressure doesn't like that at all.

Third factor might be the relative lack of oxygen in the bathroom due to the steam.

[u/alexwh68]

For me this is adrenal insufficiency, hotter the water bigger the crash, sauna the same, been tracking it for years it’s how I have been tracking my recovering adrenals. 5 years ago 5 mins in a sauna led to a crash, my blood cortisol was 130nmol/l today it takes 20 mins to crash my blood cortisol is 235nmol/l. There can be a lot of factors but for me this is adrenal, hydrocortisone 100% pulls me out of the crashes.

[u/RaspberryJammm]

Before I started on ivabradine my heart rate was going up to 160bpm half the time I showered, and I'd go slowly, have it lukewarm and use a shower seat.

I think for me it's having arms above my head and the heat. Also the muscle usage of holding myself upright I know you're in the bath so maybe slightly different but you still have to brace your muscles somewhat. I don't know

[u/judgewithagrudge]

Heat intolerance is a huge problem for us. Lower your shower temp as much as you can tolerate.

[u/ejkaretny]

In no particular order:

1. The setting up. Boy is it complicated!
2. The heat. Magma?! ... But I need it if I can't wear all my usual layers.
3. The movement, especially overhead.
4. All that water!
5. Getting so cold afterwards.

Last week I washed just my hair, and I felt like I'd been shoveling snow for HOURS. I couldn't even stand heavy clothes on and opted for the lightest pants, shirt and sneakers I could while still being warm....fortunately it was warm here.

Edited to say, it definitely trips off a lot of symptoms. Have had the zaps (or is it zips) since then, for the first time. So I can cross that off my symptom bingo card.