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I used to love nothing more than soaking in a hot bubble bath. It was a way to relax and pamper myself. But it has now landed on the list of things that I used to do.

Why?

To start with, I can no longer use hot water. I had to get used to much cooler baths. If I make my bath a sauna like I used to I will get way too hot. When I get way too hot it triggers a Hemiplegic Migraine.

The most frustrating part is that baths no longer relax me and they are no longer a way to pamper myself. Baths have to be planned. For one, I have to wait until someone is home. Poor vision, poor balance, a paralyzed arm and a slippery surface do not make good partners. Secondly, they are exhausting! I realize that may sound absurd but it is true. There isn’t time to relax, I have to get in the tub do what needs to be done and get out because the single act of taking a bath uses up way too much energy.

I am not even counting the occasions where there is something that I would like to do the next day. When that happens, I know that I have to bathe the day before…just in case I might be able to go. But if I try to bathe on the day of an event… I know there is no possibility that I will have enough energy to participate.

Something as simple as a bath thus becomes a chore…something to plan…something potentially dangerous. The simple act of taking a bath requires a hour or more of recovery time…even more if I accidentally got the water a little too hot.

As ridiculous as it may seem to those that do not battle a chronic illness, the simplest things have become the most difficult things.

Do you ever have moments when you need a nap after a bath?

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