Hello, welcome here.

Let me answer your question with another question: when is the last time you had a soak in a tub? With all the different, physical quirks of fibro, everyone will have different needs. I know that for me, a longer tub would be better. Or an asian style soaking tub - a tub with more verticality where it's more like sitting on a bench in warm water.

When I use a regular style tub, the angle of lying back is uncomfortable for my hips, and for my back. My hip pain makes it so I can't lie on my back, and a regular tub is reclined enough to trigger those pain problems. It also leaves my back curved in such a way that makes the bumps of my spine protrude, and then I can't lean against something hard because that hurts me a lot.

Ironically, when my pain problems got worse, I lost the ability to use a regular tub while my joints and muscles like nothing more than soaking up heat.

It might be a weird suggestion, but do you have family members or friends that have a tub that you can try out? It's a big expenditure, I'm sure, and it would be a shame if you end up with something that harms more than it helped. I always took baths a lot in the past and loved them. I never would have thought the simple sitting angle of a tub could make it pretty much unusable for me if I hadn't felt it myself. So if you can arrange a trial run of the kind of model you have in mind, that might save you disappointment. I can't speak for your problem areas and problem postures, naturally.

Those are just my ramblings on the subject. :) Nice to meet you.

Great points! I can't remember the last time I was in a tub because I have always preferred showers. I have figured that I need to float. So, I was thinking to build a long shallow, narrow "pool" (concrete faced with tiles) or get a Japanese sitting tub, or get the one commercial tub that has the longest bottom (53 inches) so that I can scoot down, float my upper body and put my feet up on the edge. If I sit up, I might be in it longer because I can read. Please, other thoughts? Opinions?

Aloha. I always like the large ones: deep enough to sit in but also enough room to stretch out a little. I notice when I soak, I'm always moving around because I can't sit / lay in one position that long. Plus moving around a little in the hot water seems to relieve the tension. I tend to bring my phone and watch netflix while I'm soaking.

BlueSky, your point makes me think about something else. I assumed that the pool helped because of the floating, but maybe it's something else like moving around, being in the sun, who knows, chlorine (kidding).

I find a regular tub to be more of a challenge and more painful in the long run. One of the places I rented had a 7 foot tub and I could float in it. I'm 5'4'' so it was wonderful. The place I am in the tub hurts my hips and lower back to the point of spasms so I shower instead.

I have a regular tub and really wish I had a garden tub. I use my regular tub for Epsom Salt soaks, but find that it hurts my lower back a bit. I don't have a bath pillow - that might help. I would go to a home improvement store and sit in them and see what feels the best for you.

It sounds like everyone is saying that whatever I get has to hold enough water so that I float so that there is no pressure on the back, hips, wherever. Would floating in a sitting position, like in a deep Japanese tub be as good as floating in a stretched out position?

Can you actually get in and out of a tub? I can't sit down in one and getting out would be impossible. The only tub that would work for me would have to be one with a door that I can walk in and out of with a bench to sit on.

Fantod _ my grandparents had a tub like that and it also had jets and a detachable shower spray to wash hair or rinse off.etc. I used it quite a few times after they died when I was there a lot clearing out their condo to get it ready to sell. It was very nice.to use and helped decrease pain.

Hi
Hot baths increase serotonin levels and can help pain and depression. I'm all for the tub. Also a therapeutic rehab pool is another place where you can exercise and stretch without your muscles cramping up. . There is one in my town you can join with a Drs note and pay a small daily charge when you go like a couple bucks. I think all fibromyalgia patients can benefit from the pool that's like 98 degrees. I can't swim in a normal pool because it's just too cold . So floating in the tub is the next best thing.

Yes, I could get in and out of a tub. I am very fortunate that I have had quite a few years of doing great and I credit it partly to what llightfoot1962 says. I started floating and walking in water several years back and increased the distance very slowly. The water was in the mid to high 80's. This time of the year, the ocean is cold and the pool is not heated because supposedly "it's warm enough" since it is not cold out. So that is why I think if I had a tub where I could float.... Will google therapeutic pool and I'm going to ask my friends who live nearby if I can try their tubs!

Fantod, in those door tubs, I imagine that you have to sit there until the water empties and that you would get cold. Is that so?

Correct!

I used to have a large old tub in a house built in the 1950s. Recently, I moved to a new apartment. The tub here is shallower and not as long. But I find the new tub more comfortable. I think it is the angle of the back of the tub. The old tub was almost a 90 degree angle from the bottom of the tub, and it was difficult to be really comfortable. The new tub has something closer to 45 degrees, so it is more comfortable to recline in. I'm short so I have enough room to stretch out my legs. I'm living in senior housing, so I do have a bar above the tub and can get out. I also have a detachable shower head.

My brother has both a hot tub and a tub with jaccuzzi jets in it. The tub doesn't get cleaned enough so black junk comes out. I've tried to clean it myself, but haven't been very successful. The hot tub has jets that hit all the right spots, and does get cleaned. Nice!

Love baths. I wouldn't live anywhere without a bathtub.

Ok. Tried a bath on Sat and another on Sunday at friends houses. There is no point sitting because the only way I can float my upper torso, neck is if I scoot all the way down and lie down propping my feet up on the edge. Feels great to float. My neck and shoulders relax and a lot of the tension goes away. Funny, I just read about the doctor who draws a link between fibro and neck trauma. I for one cannot bend down from the waist and then raise my head. Brings instant WEIRD feeling. (I know, that is a very sophisticated medical term, no?)
Back to the tub. Of course, I exit the tub and soon go back to the tension/pain. Best thing I have found is to take meloxicam. My doctor doesn't want me to take it every day (worried about liver damage? heart? ) and I haven't taken it in years, but I have a few pills left.
Decided to put in a tub -- as big as possible -- scared to do something custom because who knows what they will do and it will be very expensive.