Helping hands or not

Wobbly

Ok so i dont know if this has been posted before as i am quite new to the forum.
But what aids do you have that you couldnt be without and have u found other uses for them?
Wat aids have u aquirred that are rubbish?
Do u use household items to do things they weren't meant for? If so wat are they & wat do u do with them??........
Has anything gone wrong with an aid u have bought or made yourself that made u laff
I shall look forwards to your replies

My worst one atm is that i take the loft hatch hook to shut the window in the bathroom as i cant reach it and everytime does the big yankee candle bounce across the window cill and threaten to drop in my posh bath and smash a bloody big hole in the bottom of it and of course hubby hears it everytime - what he says is unrepeatable ha ha xx

dibdab

Glad I'm not the only person that seems to drop/throw things with alarming regularity.

Things I've found useful and use a lot....... a cheap long handled shoe horn from Ikea, great for getting socks off as well as easing shoes on! A sort of domed silicone jar opener that gives a secure grip, my fingers are fairly weak now.....but on the other hand I bought a different jar handle that's supposed to fit around jar and bottle tops and you hold the handles and turn , you need strong hands to actually open it wide enough to get around the jar then squeeze tight to turn-useless for me. An electric can opener is a boon because I can't turn a manual one very easily. The 'good grip' range of peelers, mashers etc are great because they have chunky handles that are easier to hold. A simple non-slip mat that provides extra grip on the work surface is useful when baking. Lots of these were recommended by the OT when I first met her.

I've also tried things like button fasteners that are so fiddly I've given up.....and sunk my pride to ask hubby or daughter for help when I'm struggling, or bought tops that don't need fastening!

Deb x

Slosh

Electric jar opener, electric knife (I like making bread in my bread machine and I use it for that), a mini oven which I love. I can't easily bend to get things out of my regular oven so this is great.

stremlett

Good idea Wobbly,

Ok here goes.

1) I have a metal bar that goes under the mattress and gives a sort of holding on thing on each side of the bed. This is very useful turning over in bed i'm getting up using a lower arm rather than hands.

2) My white plastic toilet extender bring the height of the loo by 4 inches. It clicks firmly into place on top of the existing toilet seat. It's nice to be able to remove it if anybody is coming and it's easy to clean.

3) The reacher is no more helpful than my barbecue turner and I wish I hadn't bothered with it.

4) the dense foam cushion which was supposed to raise to my chair by four inches compacts to about 2 inches and so is pretty useless, however a perching stool bought for a tenner from IKEA has proved to be more useful.

5) I bought a stabiliser to go over the side of the bath to help me in an and when I'm using the shower but I didn't pay attention that there were different sizes so the one I've got wobbles so much it could be dangerous.

6) my ring pull sync doesn't work unless the ring pull has been opened a little and as that's a bit I can't do it is useless.

7) my fat-handled cutlery is wonderful.

I expect people's experiences will be different; I bought a cheap battery operated can opener and it is so fiddly that I can't set it up to use - i'm always trying to save money and sometimes it backfires :-)

Best wishes to everybody, SueT

bubbadog

I love my long handled shoe horn, it's a god send! (even OH uses it!) I'm lucky I have a beautician friend who comes and does my nails for me and my OH is around to help me with most things. I have perching stools that I couldn't live without. I have to admit there's such a good selection of products that are 'helping hands' and places now you can get them now a days.

dreamdaisy

Over my arthritic years I have had to change many things and how I do stuff to make life easier. I've changed saucepans, irons and ironing boards, chopping boards, vacuums, cutlery, flatware, the oven - the list goes on. Mistakes include an electric can opener, cast-iron casseroles, a completely unsuitable cheese grater and a 10.5 tog superking feather duvet which is now too heavy for me to lift, let alone shake. The best have been the cordless vacuums and a floor steamer plus using a wet dishcloth to hold bowls etc. still on the worktop.

I think it's very much a matter of personal preference and you only find what works for you through trial and error. DD

AliB

My grabber ....couldn't live without it at the moment...

TheLordFlasheart

As my journey on the Arthritis bandwagon is still new, i've so far had to get myself a grabber (total inability to bend down now), and a lightweight vacum.