To Tub or Not to Tub, THAT is the Question (related to chronic pain/fibromyalgia)

 Here's a question I received on Facebook today which I wanted to turn into a new topic on Lumigrate.

Mardy I know you work with people who have Fibromyalgia. My son  lives in one of the cities on the Front Range of Colorado and sells and installs bathtubs designed  to help seniors stay in their homes. Just recently a neighbor of mine who has fibromyalgia is strongly considering the purchase of a tub because the warm water is soothing to her. It will be a tax right off and I'm not sure if insurance pays for it or not. What is your thought on this? 

• 4 hours ago

  Mardy Ross

  • Hi - Thanks for writing. 
    
    I'm going to take your question and put it on Lumigrate, it's a very good question. Fancy bathtubs are always nice if a person has the money. The problem is, they are expensive, insurance rarely pays and then someone might be putting a LOT of money to something that helps the symptoms without solving the underlying problem, but what helps the underlying problem isn't really covered by insurance either and if a person can put $3,000 to their health one year in underlying solutions not symptom solutions, then they might feel better but really never 'get things reversing'. 
    
    This is my experience: 7 years ago for two winters, I lived in a little house downtown GJ which had a clawfoot tub and I've never had such great time in hot water, better than modern day hot tubs due to the shape and whatever -- for my body type/size/shape --- dunno, it was just THE BEST!  I'd get it it almost every evening before bed and think sometimes 'why did bathtubs get so bad as time went on?' 

    That was the year I'd moved one month and the next month lost my job, so money was tight, and I was starting my own LLC to provide therapies at an outpatient clinic so as to not have to work under poor management again, unless it was my own! 
    
    The bathtub helped! And I didn't have money to be pouring into alternative health as I had the year before when I had the job at the nursing home (with lots of overtime plus they paid for insurance that had a really reasonable copay on visits and medications, so I was able to spread my health care dollars around quite a bit and cover a lot of different things).   But my muscles were better and that might have made me sleep a little better but what REALLY helped was looking at where to put my $ overall.  

    I did invest $2,000 in a really good bed. I found a really cool site recently where you can build your own similar type of bed for a LOT less money, but it's likely $1,000 to get a really good surface under you for sleeping. I figured if I was needing to be in bed sleeping 1/3 of my life to get better, as my doctor was insisting, I'd better buy a good bed.

    I have so many expenses I just don't 'treat myself' to things like fancy beds and clothes and vacations. And the bed allows me to get refreshed sleep, which makes a HUGE difference in how I feel the next day, more than anything. I moved because the ONLY thing good about that house was the bathtub, and  I've lived for six years in a perfect place in all ways except it has bathtub which is literally so bad I think I've only used it once.  So I've not been having the 'hot water' therapy and my health excelled in the years I lived here.  Not that I don't love to take advantage of opportunities to soak in hot water, and it REALLY helps me, I'm just saying, I'd just look at the overall.  In a perfect world we'd all have the money for all the things that would help, right?  Realistically, some have $0 and some have unlimited and we're all on the continuu somewhere and have to work within our 1) means and 2) values.  Many wealthy people won't spend money and many poor people get themselves into problems spending money.  

    But that nice bed still won't make my brain sleep, I'll just be lying in it being comfortable with insomnia -- with FM you have to get your hormones straightened out. Not just one or two or three hormones, it a bunch and we have information about that in the forums here, so if it's interesting to someone, please go find it!  

    And I don't know of a provider that knows how to do that which takes insurance. I'm sure they're out there somewhere and if you're lucky enough to find one, that's a bonus! So I use ITC Pharmacy in Castle Rock, Becca Slomiani, NP contracts with them and Rxs for a VERY reasonable charge. They have very high quality on their supplemental hormones and they work with patients in all 50 states.

    She's making a REALLY good recovery from FM herself, she was leaving when I stopped in before Christmas when I was over in their area visiting friends, and she just looks amazing! I'd first met her about 10 months before when I was hoping they'd agree to put information on Lumigrate if I came in and met with them personally as they requested -- 'see the whites of your eyes' as Gary said!  I believe I will be back on track once I get this stressful part of my life over with, which keeps dragging on incessantly but so far I've got the upper hand at least.  Ten years ago I did NOT and it was miserable/horrible, so I really work hard to share my experiences and find the best providers I can get interested to participate at Lumigrate. 

    I  hope this has given you and others reading who are interested in fibromyalgia and hot water/tubs for it a few other pointers from my experience.  But absolutely, I encourage people to replace tubs with safer, better tubs that they'll use IF they have the money and wish to spend it that way.  I worked with someone last year who was on a budget and was scrambling after her husband fell and broke a hip and I presented the option of how to make the bathtub/shower safe for WAY less money and they opted to go with my suggestion.  But I sure wish she had been able to have the bathtub, it would feel SO good to them, might speed healing or increase function with the joint but it's also not good to spend more money than you can afford to! That's up to each of us to figure out which way to go with our time, energy and money resources! 

    Live and Learn. Learn and Live Better!  ~~ Mardy

    PS - again, GRATE question, thanks for asking!