"I'm really old-fashioned. An Epsom Salt bath, that genuinely better than any massage." Emilia Clarke
I remember a couple of years ago (although in hindsight it feels like a lifetime ago!), when a Consultant Rheumatologist I was seeing at the time recommended Epsom Salt baths to me. I was pretty chronically ill at this point. My condition was deteriorating further. I was forced to give up my job in Advertising, I was completely financially broke, and had no prospects of how or when I would get well. All I knew at that point was that I was in pretty big trouble and there wasn't a magic pill that would make this daily hell go away. I was desperate to find answers to turn my situation around. I tried some pretty 'out there' things, but I hadn't really found anything that gave me much relief from this chronic pain and all these symptoms that had become my life at that point.
I'd already put up with the Consultant's weekly Magnesium injections, which felt like lead being pumped into my muscles, and I was literally doing anything I could to get better. (I didn't care how loopy people thought I was, I'd try anything)
The Magnesium injections made no difference unfortunately (and they weren't cheap at £125 a pop!), but the Epsom Salts did..slowly..
When I went to the Pharmacy next door to purchase my first tub, the lady at the till said, "Are you buying that for your Nan..? This stuff is for muscle sores and pain Son..." If only she knew I felt like 108 inside at that time! (Anyone who has had M.E. or has it will get what I mean)
So..I started trying these Epsom Salts. First off I followed the instructions on the box, scooping a whole kilo in my boiling hot bath, and soaked for 20 minutes. BIG MISTAKE!! I had a massive detox reaction, with a huge flare up of symptoms, and was back in bed for a few days. It taught me two things :
1) That this stuff was powerful
2) That it was to be respected!!
People going through M.E./CFS, especially in the earlier stages, can be very prone to chemical sensitivities. Those of you who have been on supplements, will have ~I'm sure experienced nasty die off symptoms when introducing something new too quickly or in too large a dose. This is what I suspect happened when I had that first Epsom Salts bath, and it taught me a valuable lesson - start small and build up slowly. Remember, the tortoise always wins the race. And I'd say take this approach with your health more generally - if you're suffering from chronic illness or not.
You don't need to climb Everest in a day..if you do you'll just burn yourself out and have to start over again. If we take it one step at a time, and acknowledge the steps we are taking, no matter how slowly, we can acknowledge we are making progress.
Researchers and physicians suggest these health benefits from proper magnesium and sulfate levels, as listed on the web site of the Epsom Salt Industry Council:
- Improved heart and circulatory health, reducing irregular heartbeats, preventing hardening of the arteries, reducing blood clots and lowering blood pressure.
- Improved ability for the body to use insulin, reducing the incidence or severity of diabetes.
- Flushed toxins and heavy metals from the cells, easing muscle pain and helping the body to eliminate harmful substances.
- Improved nerve function by electrolyte regulation. Also, calcium is the main conductor for electrical current in the body, and magnesium is necessary to maintain proper calcium levels in the blood.
- Relieved stress. Excess adrenaline and stress are believed to drain magnesium, a natural stress reliever, from the body. Magnesium is necessary for the body to bind adequate amounts of serotonin, a mood-elevating chemical within the brain that creates a feeling of well being and relaxation.
- Reduced inflammation to relieve pain and muscle cramps.
- Improved absorption of nutrients.
- Improved formation of joint proteins, brain tissue and mucin proteins.
- Prevention or easing of migraine headaches.
(And if you're well enough to drink any alcohol, it's also great for a hangover!)
My General Guidelines for those Recovering from M.E./CFS (or other chronic illness)
1) Fill up the bath with warm hot water (you don't want it overly hot as this is likely to exhaust you)
2) Add in just half a teaspoon. (Don't worry, you can work to up to 2-3 cupfuls over time) I would urge caution when increasing the Epsom Salt load dramatically, as your body is likely to be sensitive to changes in this fatigued state.
3) Soak in the bath for 12 minutes. (I generally found longer than this and more severe symptoms would start showing themselves again) I wouldn't bathe more than twice a week with Epsom Salts, as too much of one thing can become a burden on the system.
CAUTION - if you have negative reactions ie hyperactivity or irritability, decrease the amount you put you use.
- your body may feel a bit heavy the next day. That's good, it shows the sulfate has entered your muscles and softened a lot of tension being held there.
- if you feel a bath is too much for you right now, just start by adding Epsom Salts to hot water in a tub and just soak your feet in it.
- if you are pretty knackered before having a bath, give it a miss on that occasion, you don't want to make you body more tired than it already is.
Where to Buy
Amazon have a wide range of stockists, although the best quality I've found at a reasonable price is http://www.justasoap.co.uk.
Hoping you're as well as you can be, wherever you are :-)
Adam x
This is an issue very close to my heart, given I'm planning on working in this field once fully qualified. I know that this may seem like a bit of a controversial topic...how can emotions affect my CFS? This isn't all mental..I'm in physical pain, I'm tired, I have brain fog all the time..what the hell does emotions have to do with all this??
Firstly, I absolutely agree that M.E/CFS is a physical illness, I have blood tests to prove it! However, I feel that focusing on purely the physical side really limits our scope in relation to recovery. Think about it..if this condition was purely physical, all we'd need to do was rest and our body would be able to fully recover itself. Also, if it was purely physical, GET (Graded Exercise Therapy) on its own would cure everyone. However, this rarely seems to be the case. Don't get me wrong, rest and graded exercise (at the right stage of recovery!) can be really supportive in overall recovery, but on their own, don't generally get us well.
I'm an advocate of a more integrative approach to health. Having listened to, read about, and seen so many recovery stories, I've noticed one common thread that runs through virtually all of them - they integrated their approach to getting fully well, harnessing not just the physical side, but also the mental side.
It's absolutely normal to experience strong emotions when we are ill. We can lose much of our independence, our friends, our jobs....in effect, much of our livelihood. The constant worrying about this, and most prominently our symptoms, can exhaust us and really vamp up our nervous system (anyone familiar with that Tired but Wired feeling?)
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| Tired but Wired |
Often the most painful thing can be resisting these emotions and thoughts, because resisting them can often be more scary than just accepting them and honouring them. In addition to this, the resistance of these emotions can also be a drain on our already limited energy sources, which in effect can compound us to more symptoms, more panic, and more exhaustion.
I'm not going to go into too much depth about what has helped me on my healing journey on the emotional side, as that is beyond the scope of this post and something I could talk about for weeks...literally!! What I will do is talk you through a few things that have helped free up some energy for me by working with my emotions and thoughts. By the way, this isn't mainstream, it's considered 'alternative' by Western Medicine, but for every 95 out of a hundred recoveries, their approach has been alternative.
1) STOP RESISTING SYMPTOMS - by resisting symptoms we're using a hell of a lot of energy. Often more energy than going for a walk. Think about a time you've been lying in bed for days and are feeling no better than when you first got under the covers. Chances are that you're running loads of anxiety patterns about when you'll get better, whether you'll be able to see your friend tomorrow, why you aren't improving etc. This is really stressful on your system, and is what someone I know refers to as 'horizontal stress!'
I must say I needed help with this - by going to see a specialised M.E./CFS Psychology Practitioner. They helped me identify what patterns I was running about my symptoms, and gave me tools to change them. Much calmed down since then! Click here for the clinic I visited.
2.1) DEEP BREATHING TECHNIQUES - this may sound really simple, but it's really quite effective. It won't make your symptoms go away, but it will really help you tune in more accurately to your body's messages. Accept these messages as useful feedback and try and heed them, you're body won't give you false information, it doesn't have an ego!
If I've learnt anything from going through this process, it's the importance of listening to the body and following what the body wants rather than what the mind wants! Deep breathing massively helps with this. Click here for a useful breathing handout.
NOTE : Deep breathing may also cause emotions to arise. That's ok, just allow them to just be there, they're not trying to hurt you. Avoid resisting them, as this will drain your energy.
2.2) YOGA & MEDITATION - we get our benefit from Yoga through gentle stretching of the muscles, but mostly importantly, the deep-breathing we attain whilst doing it. The same applies for meditation. This is vitally important, as deep-breathing oxygenises our cells, helps detox the body, and nourishes the soul (for any Spiritual readers out there!)
3) REACHING OUT AND RECEIVING SUPPORT - this can be anything from talking about your feelings with a friend or family member. What I found more effective was seeking the help of a therapist (ideally one who specialises in treating M.E/CFS sufferers.) Yes, I've seen a therapist, and there's nothing wrong with that!! I needed help where I was at, and that help gave me new perspectives on things, along with helping me process some undigested childhood traumas, which once processed, took me another step forward on my recovery process.
I avoided taking the CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) route. I instead chose to trust my intuition, and find someone who specialised in NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming), Hypnotherapy, and EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique.) This really helped me identify and work with some of my deeper underlying patterns which were keeping me in this constant fear, fight-or-flight mode. Emotional Freedom Technique was particularly powerful, especially with pain, and is now commonly used with Fibromyalgia patients. These modalities have inspired and helped me so much, that I'm now actively qualifying in all of them. You generally feel energised after a session, and it's something you can do on yourself whenever you need! I would recommend EFT to anyone with M.E./CFS (and trust me, I've tried a lot of other stuff!) but I'd encourage you to explore how you feel about this intuitively. Trust your gut instinct!
4) COACHING - being our own best coach, supporting ourselves whenever we need to. This is so important, especially when we're experiencing sadness, anxiety, or any related emotions. It keeps us motivated on our path to health and wellness, and has a wonderfully grounding quality to it. Ask yourself, "How would I treat a 3 year old child?" Hopefully with love and care! Maybe it's time we treated ourselves like this..we're usually so hard on ourselves! You're going through a really tough time right now, it's time to cut yourself some slack!
5) GET INSPIRED! - a great way to lighten your emotional load is by reading inspiring stories by those who have faced adversity and come through the other side. There are now A LOT of published CFS recovery stories out there! I used these to fuel my belief in recovery, as well as to gain valuable info on how to recover. There are loads of cancer recovery stories out there too, which follow similar patterns. Reading these made me feel a hell of a lot better about my situation at that particular time! One I would recommend is written by a now friend of mine, Alex Howard, which can be purchased on Amazon here. A hugely inspiring and deeply personal account of his 7 year journey from M.E. to full recovery.
I really hope anyone reading this finds it helpful and not too contentious!! It's just a description of the things I've used on the cognitive side which have hugely supported my physical wellbeing. Simply put, I wouldn't have got to this point without using these tools :-)
Adam
x
@cantfailwithkale
