Bathrooms

stlucia

Hello,

Having just got stuck in the bath and hauled out by my husband, I feel about 90 even though I'm in my 20s....does anyone recommend anything useful to get for the bathroom to stop me having to be so dependent? I have a bath board over the bath to sit on and swivel in and out but that all depends on being able to get up and out!

Any ideas would be great. What do other people do?

x

dorcas

would having 'grip rails' on the bath wall help? might give you better 'purchase' when trying to lift yourself back out....

why not phone and ask for an OT to do a home visit :idea: there are bound to be other aids they may suggest that could be useful.

I'm afraid my bathing days are over....the last time I had a bath I couldn't get myself back out for over two hours (long story)

I have a walk in shower now.... although I do miss having a lovely soak.

Iris x

dreamdaisy

I have a shower. Baths are an unimportant thing of the past. DD

stlucia

Good thinking...

Unfortunately you have to climb in my bath in order to have a shower anyway....feel like you are running the gauntlet sometimes!

dreamdaisy

So do I, our shower is over the bath, but baths are a thing of the past. Sitting down is easy, it's called gravity, but getting out is not. My knees don't bend sufficiently. I make do with showers. DD

speedalong

Hi stlucia,

I would definitely ask for an OT to come out and advise. They are great at practical solutions.

Unlike DD, I love baths best - but if you are happy with showers a perching shower stool might be a better option as they are much easier to get up off - due to being higher and sloping.

Speedy

julie47

Hi stulcia

I used to have a bath lift. (it is now in the loft)
Which my OH and I purchased from a mobility shop.

I don't recommend them as every time my OH and daughter wanted a bath it had to be taken out. I found you used tonnes of water and you still were not fully covered.

(after a couple of years we ditched it, waste of money)

I bought a bathboard and we too have a shower in over the bath. When i have a bath hubby lifts me in.
I have seen in mags a bath bubble but don't have any experience of one.
I think perhaps showers are best.

Love julie pf xx

stlucia

Maybe I need to convince my husband to build a heated swimming pool in the garden complete with slide so I can zip in and then a lift to get out :-) Oooh I like this idea! Shame our garden is too small!

dreamdaisy

Now you're talking! DD

nanarose

Sorry about your bathtime troubles.

I felt so much better than usual the other night, so decided a hot bath and a book would set me up nicely for bed.....How wrong was I?

Couldn't even manage to kneel, to then sit, as I have a gammy knee, so after scrabbling around for ages, and eventually managing to get myself onto my behind, the backwash would have flooded the floor if I hadn't had only a few inches in the bath!

Getting out was nigh on impossible too, and after several aborted attempts, I ended up having to get hubby to heave me up and out....not conducive to a restful sleep at all. :?

So like others, unless/until I get complete mobility, baths are totally out for me. The hassle and the pain are just not worth it anymore.

Somehow standing under a shower with a good book and a cup of tea just doesn't work!

Luckily I have a walk in shower as at times I've been so stiff I could barely raise my leg over the lip of the shower tray. I guess it's another one of those things we can wave bye-bye too.

Still, so long as we can get clean in some way or other, without pain and stress, what does it really matter in the long run.......watering can anyone?

cthornley

I like the swimming pool idea, unfortunately we'd also need to build a backyard to put it in :?
I'm another who has generally given up on baths....except when I am so desperate I get my hubby on standby to lift me in and out, but that also comes with the indignity of having to leave the door open so he can hear me shout.
I guess i'm lucky tho as we have a separate cubicle for ours which takes most of the difficulty out of it, although washing my hair is still a chore I struggle with.
My only suggestions would be get some grab rails installed and ask for an ot assessment (they can help with correct positioning of rails) and think about whether you could squeeze a small freestanding shower in.... our bathroom is tiny and somehow we’ve squeezed a bath, corner shower, wc and basin in and it all works fine, and it was worth the effort as its something we use every day and the RA ain’t going anywhere, being able to use it on my own makes me feel more like the 30 i’m supposed to be rather than the 90 that I often feel.
Chrissie

tkachev

I gave up with baths and thankfully had room fo a double shower-room for the other half to help me wash. I do miss them especially when a good,long soak would help my aches and pains but felt the effort involved was no longer worth it.

Elizabeth

grampyal

Hi,
Dare a male enter the bath debate? Before I finished work we did quite a bit of work on what I think were called "Disability living grants". Adaptations to houses for disabled owners.Usually baths were removed and replaced with level entry showers. Most had a vertical pole which enables the user to grip with both hands at varying heights if you can understand. For those who prefere a bath there is the bath with a door but some who have had these and they are costly, have said that the major drawback is that you have to get in, then fill the bath with lots of water, bath, then empty bath BEFORE opening the door to get out. I think we had a catalogue from AKW Medicare of disability supplies so you could try going on-line to see what is available. Good OT could be helpful. Not the one we met who asked us to replace a six inch high shower with a level one ( we are talking £6,000) because the lady in question couldn't make the step. He didn't seem to realise that the bathroom was at the top of the stairs 13 steps. I find getting out the hardest and the rails on every bath I've seen are in the wrong place.
Best of luck, Al

tkachev

Hi GrampyAl
Regarding the replacement of a shower with a step , despite it being upstairs I wonder if they meant the gap between floor and step into shower was too high. I have had this problem as my hip couldnt lift high enough to clear from floor to step into the shower. However this was remedied(although still difficult) by a step in between floor and shower, a lot cheaper than replacing the entire shower.Even if shower was upstairs the person may have been confined to upstairs which has also happened to me in the past on many occassions-days at a time.

Elizabeth

woodbon

Hi, I'd go for the OT option, as they may be able to give you a grant for any expensive work that needs to be done. The other thing is to have some hand rails to hold, I do, as I don't feel safe without them. For me its confidence as well as safety. I also don't go in the bath when my husband isn't around. But you need your independence its important medically and phscologically for you, so get some advice from the OT! Oh blimmy I'm sounding bossy, I'd better have a rest!!!! :oops:
Love Sue xxxx

border

I would recomend on OT assessement. I had a bath lift and have shower fitted within bath. Neither were any good when had hips replaced as I had to wait 12 weeks before I could attempt to get in, but the bliss . Have tried the shower since, but too fiddly.

tonesp

Didn't think about it at the time but our house has a bathroom and a walk in shower room What a godsend now I have OA

annic4363

HI there

Sorry - I only just saw this...

Do you know we actually considered taking the bath out of our house ALTOGETHER last year!

I haven't been able to get in - or more specifically out - for YEARS and my OH has a bone disorder so it is a non-starter for him...

But for the intervention of the Building Society we would have ripped ours out totally and replaced it with a walk in shower which would have been far more useful to us... Mind you I did get awfully sick of folk telling me we were devaluing our property. Why? A shower is much more hygienic and environmentally friendly...

I can see the value of a long soak for sore joints mind except that I lay there stressing about how I will get out...

I am sorry you have had such a problem though,

Chat soon

Annie xxx

dreamdaisy

I'm with you on losing the bath altogether. The shower that we could have in its place - ooooh, fabulous! It would be big enough for two - - there would be room for a proper seat, if not a bench, you could have jets and sprays and everything. Cor! If I won the lottery bath out, wet room in. Fab. DD

speedalong

No way!! If I won the lottery (and that would be a miracle since I don't do it!) I would have a jacuzzi/hot tub style bath put in and keep enough put by so that when OA decides to ruin another joint - I would have a super dooper bath lift put in - one that is easy to use, wouldn't stop others using the bath and allowed me to lay down, fully submerged once in ....

Speedy