Some Things To Think About (Hum)

[needafix]

I keep my meds and a small bottle of water in every room and in my pockets-you never know when you will need that little pill with water.

Do Not Lock The Bathroom Door- it is better for a family member to get you out of the bathroom if needed than to have the fire depertment break the door down if you have passed out.

Get a tub chair with a back-the back might help brace you if you pass out, it might prevent you from banging your head.

Get a, take apart, shower seat to bring with you when you visit. (don't forget to get luggage long enough to carry it in.

Place a clean cloth on the shower seat-so the seat will remain fresh.

No more hot, steamy showers, make them as luke warm as possible.

Take showers not baths-people don't usally drown in showers but people do drown if they pass out while taking a bath.

I used to brush my teeth and wash my hair while in the shower, now I shower first and when I am out of the shower I brush my teeth.

While you are in the shower wash everything two times because you don't when you are going to have the strength for your next shower.

I have cut all of my beautiful hair off because I could no longer groom it properly, it actually feel good to wash and brush short hair.

Put a mat or towel on the tub floor to stand on while taking a shower. Put handle bar where needed.

Get a suction cupped clamp so you can position the shower head where you need it.

It is bad when you become offensive to yourself because if you can smell you, others can smell you to.

Keep a flashlight with you at night because turning on the bright light affects you (it seems to hit a nerve).

I pass my kitchen while traveling from the bathroom to the livingroom so now I keep the dining chair turned around so if I can't make it to the livingroom I can just sit down without worring about pulling the seat out. Every second counts.

These are just a few things that help me. What are some tips that help you.

[corina]

Thanks needafix. I use a stool on wheels in the kitchen to prepare meals and cook. We adapted our kitchen to have just the lower placed cupboards (I can't reach above my head). We bought a robot to vacuum clean (I love my robot haha), it makes such a difference!

[Katybug]

I plan my errands so I can get as many things done in as few stops and in and out of the car as possible.

My bins for my dog and cat food are elevated so I don't have to bend over and then stand back up.

I also have a stool to sit on in the kitchen when I am prepping food.

On a "good" day, I try to make something to eat in my digital pressure cooker. I can make enough for 3-4 meals for that week and freeze 3-4 meals for future eating when I'm not well enough to cook. And my pressure cooker has a browning function, so there's only one pot to clean. It turns itself off so I don't have to stay in the kitchen and check on things.

I have a fan wall mounted in my bathroom at my vanity that I can have blowing right on me after my Luke warm showers to keep me cool.

I also cut my hair super short. It's so much easier to maintain.

[needafix]

Hello everyone, I also have a stool at my sink and a chair that rolls at my table but I wish the chair that rolls was a little higher so that I could see over the pots on the stove. I still have to get up to check my pots.

I was so scared to cut my hair but after I did I questioned myself why it took so long.

[Becia]

Yep, cut my hair as well. I wear a lot of scarves and hats, especially on days I can't have my hands up long enough to tame it down, or when I don't feel like doing anything with it (currently shaggy, haven't cut it since November, time for a trim).

Slow cooker is my pal. Lately I've been doing a pork roast for pulled pork, and then I can repurpose it into many meals, usually lasting a week. I make tacos, sandwiches, an omelette if I feel creative and can handle the eggs (if I have them too many days in a row, migraine trigger, but once every now and then isn't too bad). I usually have one "big" cooking day, and will chop extra veggies if I have them around and freeze for later use (I use onion and celery like its going out of style sometimes), as well as make double batches of baked things and freeze for later. So handy on those days when being upright for more than a few minutes is dangerous. Also use my oven s lot... Anything I can just throw in there, turn it on and then rest for a bit, I'm good. Baked potatoes are good; just wash, pierce, spray with oil and sprinkle with sea salt, wrap in foil, toss in for 1 hr, maybe hr 15 depending how big.

Tall stool in kitchen to sit on. Lucky my kitchen is so tiny, I can kind park myself in a corner and I can reach stove for stirring and put things in sink. I usually prop my feet up on my wheelchair when I'm in there a well. I have a round board I can place in my kitchen stool and use as extra space for placing my chopping board, rolling out dough, all from sitting in my wheelchair.

I have meds everywhere in my place it seems. Stomach meds in bedroom, by couch and in purse, BP meds and pain meds in purse and bedroom.

Best thing I can think of is having a support team as well. I have a friend and POA who has my key, and they can let themselves in on me having a bad day,so the buzzer of the door doesn't trigger my heart, nor do I have to move to let them in (my building is a locked down building, and we have to buzz people in). I can call, ask for them to stop by and bring mostly anything I need, or for them to come by and help me do things. Last week I had some sort of flu, and wasn't moving at all unless I was crawling and then laying down on floor. They stopped by, fed my fish, moved my curtains into bedroom so I could stay in bed and rest (only have one set of curtains right now), brought me soup, and apparently helped me off the floor (seizure, fever, bad combination). While I know they are not always available for this, it does help.

I want a roomba so bad, lol. I miss vacuuming, I loved to vacuum.

And Katy, what brand is your digital pressure cooker? I'm looking at upgrading my slow cooker set up, and have been eyeing different things, but you said yours has a browning feature? That would be nice

[needafix]

Hello everyone. Becia I thought my place was small but I think you got me beat. As small as my place is, it seems like I have to take a million steps to get from the kitchen to the livingroom but it is really only about ten steps from my kitchen chair to my couch.

I was just wondering if amyone has applied for disability. I applied two years and was denied but I then got a disability lawyer that takes your case fro free and get a portion when you win the case. I recently won the case, I think more should apply. If this is not a disability I don't know what is.

[Becia]

Yeah, my place is super tiny, which is okay to a point. I've got two wheelchairs (one manual, one powered) which take up more space than I would like, but it works for me. Just when I was as sick as I was last week, I wasn't getting anywhere. I got as far as my couch, which is only about 8feet away from my bed or so, and laid on the ground for about two hours,never getting to kitchen or anything.

What I love about my apartment, is it is Becia-sized, for lack of better terms. It's small enough that I can keep it semi tidy. I usually don't have help cleaning, I don't qualify for that type of home health (although man it would be nice to not be completely spent after mopping kitchen floor), so the smaller, the better. The kitchen took a lot to get used to, I'm still trying to adjust, but it's nice to be able to reach everything from my kitchen stool.

I have applied for disability, and am waiting on my hearing (two denials in). I just passed the one year waiting mark on my last denial, been told it's still 18 months away for possible hearing with judge. All I can do in the meantime is just wait, do the best I can, and go from there.

[Katybug]

Many of us are on disability.

[needafix]

Some disability cases are approved on the first try and some on the second try but mine was rejected on the second try so I finally had to get a lawyer. They did not charge anything until the case was won. Just don't give up.