Started a new protocol yesterday...finally saw an official LLMD. Decided to an epsom bath and holy cow, feel worse. I got very shaky, heart rate increased, and felt weak, oh, and oddly felt hungry for the first time in a while.
I made myself stay in for 30 minutes but not sure if this was wise. Slid out like a wet noodle, tried to stand but couldn't.
Made it to the bed and just laid there for a while.
Feel much improved now 20 minutes later.
Question.....was the bath actually helping me in the long run or hurting me?
Posted by Marnie (Member # 773) on :
How much E.S. did you add? Was the bath water tepid or ***too hot*** (potentiates weakness)?
Know how you feel when you get out of a hot tub? Relaxed, but a little weaker.
Many lyme patients have a hard time tolerating heat. (Cold is anti-inflammatory.)
30 minutes is too long, IMO. 20 min. max.
E.S. help the muscles to *relax* (which is the usual reason to take those baths).
Heat can also impact the drugs you are on...greater effect.
To stimulate the immune system...alternating hot and cold is somewhat effective.
This is the basis of saunas...and then running out into the snow and then back into the sauna.
Posted by aiden424 (Member # 7633) on :
Before Lyme treatment I could hardly even take a warm bath without feeling like I was going to pass out. I would feel very ill!
After treating Lyme for years, I can now take a very hot bath for as long as I want with epsom salt and baking soda.
Still am very sick, with POTS being my worst problem. But I can tolerate some heat again.
Posted by randibear (Member # 11290) on :
better be lukewarm to mildly hot and drink plenty of water.
also be sure to take a shower afterwards and wash that stuff off. i go to bed immediately.
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
- Yes, better lukewarm to a nice cozy warm - but NOT HOT.
Though, don't get chilled, either.
and no longer than 20 minutes.
Alternating hot & cold, IMO, can be too stressful to many of us with weak adrenals (and hearts that are also challenged by infection).
If you do this, wait until you are stronger and then, avoid shockingly sharp shifts in temps as you start out.
Go for GENTLE. Our bodies do not do well with shocks of any kind. -
Posted by Maryland Mom (Member # 2043) on :
Sounds like the hot bath caused a drop in your blood pressure. Heat causes blood vessels to expand, a phenomenon called vasodilation. If the BP drops enough, this can make you feel very weak and faint, and the heart rate will increase to try to compensate.
As others have suggested, I would try lowering the temp of your bath water to avoid having this happen again, and limit the length of your baths until you find out how well you tolerate it.
Posted by ukcarry (Member # 18147) on :
This has often been my experience with Epsom Salt baths.
I would say to allow a shorter time in the bath, have a big mug of water beside you (and drink it!), rinse your body down wrap up in a towel or towelling gown and flop into bed, as you did. If you keep hydrated, don't put too much of the salts into the bath and don't run the water too hot, then you should be OK.
A few people, however, don't tolerate these baths, in which case there are other recipes for detox baths that you could try instead , such as hydrogen peroxide baths, ginger bathsetc.
Posted by Maryland Mom (Member # 2043) on :
Great point, ukcarry, staying well hydrated is very important.
Once again, it comes down to keeping your BP stable. When one becomes dehydrated, this literally depletes the volume of blood circulating, resulting in lower blood pressure.
Posted by WPinVA (Member # 33581) on :
This happened to me once too. It sounds like it was too hot for too long and you probably got dehydrated.
When you first turn on the water, get it really hot to dissolve the salt, then mix it with cold so that it ends up lukewarm. And only stay in for a little while at first and then you can work up to longer. And drink lots of water!
Posted by koo (Member # 30462) on :
All good info. I had heard to take as hot as you can tolerate and do for 40 minutes for detox.
This has worked out fine in the past but not today. Also started more aggressive protocol so guess I just can't tolerate.
Posted by terv (Member # 29410) on :
How are epsom salt baths supposed to help?
I have the same issues and feel unmotivated to continue. If I knew how they were helping me I might be willing to continue.
Posted by Razzle (Member # 30398) on :
Epsom salts provide magnesium directly into the muscles where the magnesium is needed.
Also, the bath soaks give the body a way to eliminate toxins from die-off.
Posted by LymeMom Kellye (Member # 24807) on :
My daughter had to start with like warm foot baths. Now she can tolerate tepid Epsom salt baths, but any longer than 10 minutes and she is sick for days. I would suggest taking it slow and build up in time and temp gradually. Best wishes!