Managing pain

Following my last post on Managing Medications I thought I would write about managing chronic pain. I have fibromyalgia and Ehlers-Danlos syndrome amongst other things so I'm no stranger to pain!

I tend to use a pain scale to judge how much pain I'm in and then decide on pain relief accordingly. At this point I'd like to mention I'm no doctor. I'm just sharing my experience of managing pain.

The chronic pain scale. Unsure of source

Anything between three to five is a good day and normal for me. To be more comfortable day to day I utilise things like epsom salt baths, cannabis oil (you can read my review here), heat packs and I use orthotics on my most troublesome joints such as my wrists, knees and hands.

Between 5-7 I use things like hot/cold therapy topical pain relief like muscle rub or ibuprofen/diclofenac gel. Over the counter Medications like paracetamol and ibuprofen (careful not to use two of the same Medications at the same time. E,G. Ibuprofen/diclofenac gel and ibuprofen tablets.)

7-9 I use prescribed Medications such as naproxen and tramadol 10+ I have oramorph 14+ is a hospital trip for me.

It's worth knowing that if you have exhausted all your pain relief options to no effect and haven't taken paracetamol, if you can, you should. This is because paracetamol works like a stepladder for other Medications enabling them to work better.

A doctor in A&E told me this when I had gallstones, Because of my chronic pain I'm tolerant to most pain killers and they began to run out of options so started me on an IV of paracetamol alongside the morphine and entenox  (gas and air).

Coping emotionally with pain is a different matter. It's important to have a good support network and healthy coping methods. I'm lucky to have a good support network both at home and online. I also use journalling to express the anger, frustration and hopelessness that comes with been in pain everyday. I did a post on emotional self care a while ago, you can read that here.

Do you have any questions or tips on coping with chronic pain? Feel free to leave a comment below.

As always thanks for reading.

Laura :)

Managing Medications

Following on from this week's spoonie speak on twitter, I thought I would write about how i manage my medications.

I tend to have medication stashed in a few places so i don't have to move very far to get the medications i need when i'm not feeling well. This is usually things like inhalers and pain relief (also known as PRN medications) that i may need suddenly without much warning. I have some pain relief in a basket next to the sofa, some in a drawer next to my bed and some in my handbag at all times.

I keep the majority of my medications, splints, inhalers and spare pillboxes in a basket. This is so i can find them easily and the basket is easy to carry. It looks quite nice too.

I also have a weekly pill box set that has a separate box for each day divided into four sections, morn, afternoon, evening and night. This allows me to fill these up on a Sunday and then i have that day's pills ready to take with me wherever i go.  These pill boxes were from lidl in the UK but a quick search on something like amazon shows loads of choices. The Anabox ones look quite good but a bit pricey.

When I go out I carry inhalers, mild pain relief such as deep heat and freeze spray, moderate pain relief such as naproxen and emergency severe pain relief like tramadol and morphine. I also carry a mini first aid kit as i'm clumsy and poor Proprioception means i'm always bashing my fingers, hands, toes and feet on things.

Right, memory.....what memory......

I always forget to take my tablets unless reminded, I lose track of how many pills i've got and forget to put repeats prescriptions in. Finally i forget to refill my pillboxes. Thats where my medisafe app comes in. I spoke briefly about this in my last post about helpful apps. Medisafe reminds me when to take my pills, shows me which pills are due and can also keep track of how many pills I have left. You can also set it to remind you to refill your pill boxes on a set day. Plus its Free! Who doesn't like free and useful!?

Most pharmacys in the UK offer a repeat prescription service. This means that they will put your repeat in to your GP surgery monthly and you can then collect your medications from them. If you're housebound some Pharmacies will also deliver. My pharmacy will put my repeat into the GP and then collect the prescriptions, prepare my medications and give me a date to collect them. This makes it easier for me to make sure I have enough medication and means less anxiety about running out.

Do you have any suggestions to manage medications or questions, drop me a comment below.

As always thanks for reading,

Laura :)

Apps for managing health and wellbeing

As promised in my last post about fatigue with chronic illness I thought I would write about some of the apps I use to manage my health and wellbeing.

All the apps I have are on Google play, they may also be on the apple app store or similar apps may be available for non android phones.

So these are the apps I'm using at the moment:

 The two apps I use the most are Medisafe and S health:

Medisafe

S-Health

MediSafe is a pillbox app that reminds me to take my tablets and allows me to log extra, skipped or missed doses. You can also add a list of all your medications so you can add or remove them from your pillbox as you need them. It also has a measurements function:

But for that I prefer to use S-Health.

S-health uses my phones sensors and interacts with my sleep app to track my sleep, heart rate, Oxygen Sats, steps, water, exercise and weight. It logs it all and you can then compare trends across days, weeks or months.

To track my sleep I use android sleep. It tracks your levels of sleep, time slept and amount of noise during sleep. It also records noise during the night so you can listen back and hear yourself talking about the unicorns or pick up any unusual snoring noises like sleep Apnea. Be aware that if you listen to white noise whilst you sleep it will pick this up instead.

To manage my M.E/CFS I use this app:

M.E Diary

You track your energy usage and symptoms for a set period of time and it gives you a functional ability percentage to help manage and prevent over exertion. I talk about this and how to use the percentage for pacing in more detail in my previous post.

Finally I find it really hard to rest, especially at night. For this I have various sleep noise, hypnotherapy and white noise apps. My favourite is this one:

Relax melodies

I hope there's something here that can help you manage your health and wellbeing.

Feel free to leave me Any question or comments below and as always thank for reading, if you like this post or any of my others you can follow me on Bloglovin or social media using the buttons on the right.

Thanks,

Laura :)

Orthotics appointments and support braces

I'm not doing too well this week so please excuse the dodgy photos! If your in the same boat check out my series on self care.

Here's my experience with orthotics and support braces:

After been diagnosed with Ehler Danlos syndrome (hypermobility type) my next Physio appointment went a little differently. I informed her of the new diagnosis and she proceeded to check my joints for hyperextension. I never realised what my joints did wasn't normal until this point, apparently your knees are not supposed to bend backwards and your wrists aren't supposed to rotate 360 degrees : who knew?!

Cut a long story short my GP referred me to Orthotics for some knee and wrist braces.

At My first appointment the Orthotist asked me to hyper extend my joints and to try and walk ( I wobble at best even with a stick) and then move my wrists in all directions to see what was needed and where. He decided that I still had good muscle and joint control in my left knee but both wrists and right knee were quite bad. I was measured up and a second appointment was made.

At my second appointment I was given two wrist braces and a knee brace, the Orthotist showed me how to put them on and checked their fit and suitability.

This is a Medi knee support, its comfortable but refused to stay in place on me, it didn't matter whether I wore it over clothes or on bare skin it would always wiggle down and be really lose around the top. They have wedges on the side that can be removed if more or less support is needed over time.

These Beagle standard wrist supports were ok, they have a metal rod to support the wrist on the underside which can be removed so they can be washed. The only problem I found was that the pressure of the strap between my thumb and finger was too uncomfortable for me.

Because of the problems I had with this first lot of orthotics I had a follow up appointment and was given different wrist and knee braces:

Osso form fit wrist brace



Townsend knee brace

This brace was less comfortable and not as supportive but stays in place. I suppose there's no point having a comfortable supportive brace if it doesn't stay where its needed. The wrist brace is more comfortable than the last and has a cotton mesh on the inside making it breathable. It cant go in the wash but it feels much more supportive than my other wrist braces. These were more expensive so the Orthotist wanted to try me with the Osso one on my right wrist and keep the Beagle one on my left wrist rather than supplying me with one for both wrists.

So far so good. I tend to wear my knee brace when I know I will be wobbling about the house all day or not using my power chair and my wrist brace when I'm using my hands a lot like crafting, writing or when they hurt. I avoid wearing them all the time as I want my muscles to keep the strength they have but at the same time want to prevent any deterioration in my joints. Its a balancing act.

Any questions? What orthotics if any have you found useful? Comment below

As always, thanks for reading,
Laura :)

Check back next Sunday for my post on anxiety around unplanned events.

Getting out and about when you drop it like its POTS!

Following on from my other aids and adaptions posts about cooking /cleaning and showering or bathing I've decided to write about mobility aids and extras to make it easier or possible to get out and about.

I have a few issues with mobilising, it all depends on my pain, fatigue, joints and heart. Sometimes they all play nice and I can wobble short distances with my stick. Sometimes they all hate me at once and I can just about make it from my bed to the sofa to my power chair. It took me a long time to find my mobility aids and my Power chair is the first time I've had the chance to do some research and choose something tailored to my needs.

So I thought id share my experiences and knowledge ...

I started on NHS crutches but because of excruciating elbow and wrist pain I really struggled. I ended up with a gel handled walking stick and although it still hurt my wrist I persevered. I swapped between crutches and a walking stick for about 5 years.

Click the picture if you want to see the Amazon listing

This was my main mobility aid until my heart issues arose, its black with a marbled white effect with gel handle and...GLOW IN THE DARK HANDLE AND FERRULE!!! Its the funkiest one I've had and I still use it to stabilise myself whilst I'm getting my power chair out of my car and on my bad days around the flat. It's called glow and go by drive medical. I bought mine from amazon but I have seen them in mobility shops and you may find one on Ebay. The best thing is been able to find it in the dark and in the cinema!

I probably could have continued persevering like this until I developed heart issues. The issue with POTS is that I can stand and be okay and then 5 minutes later stand up and faint without warning. The SVT attacks make me really dizzy and wobbly so I tend to fall right over thin air. When they're both playing up its a gamble to stand up, let alone try and walk! Evidently its risky to go out in public like this, people tend to panic if you just drop to the floor unconscious in front of them! Add to the mix unstable joints, fatigue and chronic pain and you can see the problem.

Hospital Physios told me it wasn't a good idea to stand up so my husband went on a mission to get me a self propelled wheelchair. He went to the red cross and borrowed one at first, this option is available through quite a few red cross branches, they also loan out other mobility aids and things like toilet frames. Our branch of the red cross also sells used wheelchairs and the amazing man (wish I could remember his name) put one aside allowing us to get some money together to buy it. This is a black version of mine, available on amazon. It was quite good, had removable sides and armrests that lifted backwards to get under a desk or chair. The back also folds down and the chair folds up quite small (I was able to fit it in the back om my tiny 1999 Nissan Micra before it went to scrap heaven).

Click chair to go to Amazon listing.

 

It got me out of hospital and enabled me to leave the house, go shopping, socialise and mobilise without fainting but I could only self propel for a few metres, so I needed someone to push me and I struggled lifting it in or out of my car. I tried using a scooter that would come apart and fit into my boot but it wasn't powerful enough to go up hills, across grass or even on uneven road surfaces like car parks so was no good for me. During this time I had my PIP reviewed ( I will write an advice post about applying for PIP in the near future). Luckily my PIP was increased to enhanced mobility allowing me to use Motability to get a power chair.

Unfortunately you cannot have both a vehicle and a power chair on Motability, fortunately I already have an automatic car big enough for a power chair to fit. If you aren't this lucky you can have a Motability vehicle adapted for a wheelchair and fundraise to buy a chair through things like go fund me or find other finance options, you will need to know what kind of chair you are getting before the Motability vehicle is adapted as  information on its weight, height, width and type of bracket will all be needed to have the right hoist etc..

Quickie Hula with Jay comfort seating

My dad is a mechanical/engineering/electrical genius so I knew if I could source a boot hoist he would be able to fit it for me and wire it up. I bought mine after doing a lot of research to check the weight would lift my chair, it would fit in my car and brackets to connect it to my chair could be sourced. I found I needed a 100kg hoist and brig ayd hoists would fit my car. I found a 4-way one from a reputable company on Ebay and bought it.

Brig-Ayd 4-way 100kg hoist in the back of my 4x4

While I'm out and about I keep myself safe with my Buddi it's a gps enabled falls and panic alarm. It automatically detects a fall and It works outdoors too through a mobile phone signal. It's waterproof so can be worn while showering. If you trigger it staff at their 24 /7 centre respond by asking if your ok? What help you need and who would you like them to contact. If they get no response they call an ambulance to your gps coordinates. It also comes in grey for people who don't like purple, (butterflies are my own addition). It is a bit pricey for some coming in at £50 for the set and £5 a week for the service through Carers UK (a lot more direct from Buddi) but I've found it has given my family and me some peace of mind.

I also have extremely useful keyring cards from Hannah ensor at www.stickmancommunications.co.uk. she covers a wide range of issues including epilepsy, diabetes, hypermobility/EDS, POTS, Ashma, chronic fatigue/ ME etc... and also makes useful bits and bobs like posters, pens, zip pulls and lanyards. These have been incredibly useful during POTS attacks and to hand to paramedics. They're also good to show people who don't understand your conditions or to raise awareness and are quite light-hearted and funny.

Finally onto blue badges. These allow you to park in disabled spaces, closer to facilities and wider to allow you to open your door fully and bring a wheelchair or other mobility aid alongside.

 

You are automatically entitled to a blue badge in the UK if the person who they are used for is over 2 years old and either receives high rate mobility on DLA or receives PIP for been unable to walk less than 50 metres (score of 8). If this doesn't apply to you, you can still apply to your local council and complete their assessment. They usually cost around £10.

 

Whatever you use its important that your comfortable and safe using it and it meets your needs. Its ok to use different mobility aids depending on how you are that day or even more than one aid at a time, you know how you feel and how much help you need. Never worry about using a mobility aid due to your age. People may look but it's human nature to be curious and some people were never taught its rude to stare, just smile at them, if they're really rude try a little wave too and just make the most of your freedom and do your thing.

Have you come across anything that's helped your mobility or made it easier to get out and about? Do you have any questions? let me know in the comments below...

Thanks for reading I know it was a long one and I hoped it helped.

Laura :)

Disclaimer - if you click my links to amazon listings I get a percentage of any purchase made. However I will always say if I know of other places that may sell the same items or are cheaper.

keeping it clean spoonie style (and getting up again afterwards!)

So I took almost a week off whilst I finished recovering from my op. If you missed my post about having a hospital grab bag for emergencies and how I prepared to go into hospital, including what I packed in my hospital bag and why you can read it here. I also wrote about my experiences in the recovery room and the first 72hours after surgery. It actually felt like all my conditions took a number and joined the queue to flare up once I was home, it was not fun and today is the first day I've felt like myself again, 10 days later.

This post is part of a series about aids, adaptions and gadgets that I thought might be helpful. If you missed my cooking and cleaning (housework) post its here.

This Is all about what aids adaptions and gadgets I use in the bathroom. My bathroom is tiny, there is just enough room to get in, turn around and do what you need to do, this has its pros and cons. there's things to sit on and lean against everywhere (good for my POTS) but if I fall or faint in there I am really screwed!

I have a bathtub and an over the bath power shower. My sink is positioned right next to the bathtub which means I can sit on the side of the bath to brush my teeth and wash my hands etc.

The council recently renovated my bathroom and kitchen as part of some scheme called better homes. They did this to all the flats in my area not just mine but it was really handy as it came right when I was needing to use a wheelchair more and was struggling with my mobility and day to day tasks.

So when they refurbished my bathroom they gave me a new sink, toilet and bathtub. The new sink had a different shape making it easier for me to reach if I was sat on the side of the bath or on a perching stool and had taps I could actually use:

The new toilet was quite high of the ground meaning I didn't need a toilet raiser. My OT noticed I tended to grab hold of the sink to pull myself up, putting strain on my joints and putting the sink at great risk of been ripped off the wall :/ so she gave me a support frame with handles I could use to push myself up:

I tend to only use it if I know I'm weak as its quite bulky and it does have a tendency to get in the way.

Next were on to bath / shower. Now I have to be incredibly careful if I have a bath. I have to sit on the shower bench swing my legs over then lower myself down. I then use the shower bench like a bath shelf. I cant have a bath unless there's someone to keep an eye on me as if the water is just a little too warm for me that day or my heart is just feeling extra special I will start to see stars and be at very real risk of blacking out / fainting.

It is much safer for me to shower sitting on my shower bench however Epsom salt and/or aromatherapy baths really help my fibromyalgia so sometimes the benefits outweigh the risks!

I have quite a complex set up to get into my shower as you can see here:

I have two grab rails on the wall to steady myself getting in and to pull myself forward to stand if I need to. The best thing I have is my shower bench. Its removable so Dom can still have a normal shower and I can take it with me if I'm staying somewhere else. I sit on it sideways then lift my legs over the side of the bath and voila I'm under the shower.

If I'm POTSie I'll make sure there's someone home just in case I faint getting in or out, otherwise I wear my falls alarm as you never know with me (next post will explain more about my falls alarm)! If you don't or cant have a falls alarm I was reading somewhere about a lady with POTS and she used a wireless doorbell in her shower so if she felt dizzy or had fainted and come round / fallen she could push the button and whoever had the receiver would know she was in trouble. I think this may be a good idea if you have a shower cubicle that's too small for a shower seat. You could have two, one at your standing height and one close to the floor that you could theoretically push it if you had collapsed/fallen (if your reading this and it was your post please let me know so I can give you credit).

To get out the shower, I swing my legs back over the side of the bath and I have another grab rail to support me standing up from shower bench:

Now even if I've been really careful I can still stand up and feel as though I've just been skydiving, so I have a nice cushy bath mat that's more like a rug so I can sit comfortably on the floor until everything stops spinning.

That's it for aids adaptions and gadgets in the bathroom for me. I have thought about some gadgets like an electric toothbrush if the movement hurts your wrists, long handled sponges if your upper body movement is restricted and shower feet if you struggle to reach your feet or bending down makes your head spin:

Finally its not always possible to shower for many reasons, you could be bed bound, unable to climb  the stairs to your only bathroom, too exhausted or dizzy to even attempt it or stuck in a hospital bed.

For these occasions baby wipes, dry shampoo and facial wipes are your best friends. Simple even do exfoliating face wipes so you can cleanse, exfoliate, tone and moisturise all from bed, if you have the energy of course! If you anticipate been unable to shower for quite a while I came across these on amazon. Waterless body wash and shampoo/conditioner. Also wet toilet wipes are good for keeping those *cough* areas *cough*fresh, especially if you have bladder/bowel issues.

             

This has been a really long post so well done if you've carried on until the end. Although all the gadget links are from amazon that's just because I do most of my shopping online, I'm sure there are probably other places you could find things which may be cheaper and/or more convenient for you.

Do you have any suggestions for making showering / bathing/ personal care easier or safer? If you do just pop a comment below and ill add it to the list.

Thanks for reading

Laura :)

Cooking and cleaning when your a spoonie

I've gathered and been given various aids/adaptions/gadgets over the years that are all helpful for something. I thought id share the ones I currently use in a serious of posts looking at different areas of living, as you can probably tell by the title this posts about cooking and cleaning.

Now a lot of the movement and concentration involved in cooking and cleaning I struggle with, for example, hovering, mopping, dusting, chopping, grating, using an oven all cause me issues. Depending on your abilities you may find some or all domestic tasks too much, but I will show you what I use to do what I can and why it helps.

First of all I have somewhere I can quickly sit down in every room, this is in case I'm about to faint so I can quickly sit down and recover. For the kitchen I have a perching stool this enables me to do most things sitting down.

This is how I manage to do bits of washing up at a time or heat something on the hob. Mine came for the NHS equipment stores following an OT assessment. Most health professionals and social workers can refer you to Occupational Therapy for an assessment. some health authorities allow self referral, others don't. The perching stool has adjustable legs allowing it to be high enough to reach your counters or low enough so you can get on it as you can see it also has two handles either side these are quite useful to hold onto to keep your balance if your having to stand for something. For washing up I pre-rinse everything in a hot soapy bowl and then do a few bits at a time, stacking them on the draining board to dry naturally, this reduces the strain on my hands and minimises fatigue.

Onto the next task...Laundry. Doing the laundry is difficult for me. I use a grabber to push and pull washing in and out of the machine and in/out of the tumble dryer.

I really struggle with carry loads of washing so I don't. I have one pop up laundry hamper that once its half full I can drag into the kitchen then use my grabber to move the clothes around. I also use a tumble dryer all year round when I'm doing the laundry myself, this is because I cant carry the washing out into the garden and I really struggle bending over and lifting my arms up to peg the clothes on the line. If April or Dom is available to help they will peg it out for me. I understand that this isn't very cost effective or environmentally friendly but its the only way I've found of doing it
myself without triggering my POTS or causing me additional pain and significant fatigue.

The Grabber is also good for picking up mess and reaching up to do or grab things like closing the curtains or picking something up off a high shelf without losing your balance, especially helpful if I'm in my chair!

Next comes sweeping up mess, sweeping large areas kills me off as does trying to bend down to use a dustpan and brush. I found a long handled dustpan and brush in my local Pound land. its a life saver, especially when I keep dropping things! This is good for small areas but also starts to hurt my hands if I try to use it for larger areas.

Cooking is trickier. I buy most things like my fruit and vegetables ready prepared and frozen, supermarkets have a really good selection now and I have chopped mixed peppers, garlic, spinach, Avacados and berries all ready to go in my freezer.

Unfortunately not everything comes ready prepared, for blending, crushing, chopping and grinding I have a mini blender, there are lots of models out there, B&M sell one for £20 but they are quite similar to the Nutri ninja's

mine comes with containers that have handles and different blades that you screw on the top as the lid.

I also struggle with opening jars and bottles so I have an automatic tin opener and one of these handy things:

You squeeze it round the lid your trying to open and it takes the strain off your hands. This one came free from amazon with my tin opener, unfortunately the tin opener stopped working but this still works really well.

Finally the actual cooking part, I mentioned that I use my perching stool to use the hob. I don't use the cooker as I tend to forget I have anything in there, go off, have a rest, maybe a little sleep then wake up to the smell of burning! Since the day I did that and then left the house I have used a halogen cooker. These beauties sit on your work surface (no bending next to hot oven), you set the temperature and they wont turn on without setting the timer too. When the timer stops the heat turns off. The worst that happens now is overcooked or cold forgotten about food. I love mine and it is well used (you can probably tell).

 

 

I'm hoping some of this is helpful, I plan on writing some posts showing my bathroom aids / adaptions and my mobility aids soon. we are quite lucky that new technology is been developed all the time, making different and/or easier ways of doing things.

What's your favourite aid, adaption or energy saving gadget? let me know in the comments below.

Laura :)

Cooking and cleaning when your a spoonie

I've gathered and been given various aids/adaptions/gadgets over the years that are all helpful for something. I thought id share the ones I currently use in a serious of posts looking at different areas of living, as you can probably tell by the title this posts about cooking and cleaning.

Now a lot of the movement and concentration involved in cooking and cleaning I struggle with, for example, hovering, mopping, dusting, chopping, grating, using an oven all cause me issues. Depending on your abilities you may find some or all domestic tasks too much, but I will show you what I use to do what I can and why it helps.

First of all I have somewhere I can quickly sit down in every room, this is in case I'm about to faint so I can quickly sit down and recover. For the kitchen I have a perching stool this enables me to do most things sitting down.

This is how I manage to do bits of washing up at a time or heat something on the hob. Mine came for the NHS equipment stores following an OT assessment. Most health professionals and social workers can refer you to Occupational Therapy for an assessment. some health authorities allow self referral, others don't. The perching stool has adjustable legs allowing it to be high enough to reach your counters or low enough so you can get on it as you can see it also has two handles either side these are quite useful to hold onto to keep your balance if your having to stand for something. For washing up I pre-rinse everything in a hot soapy bowl and then do a few bits at a time, stacking them on the draining board to dry naturally, this reduces the strain on my hands and minimises fatigue.

Onto the next task...Laundry. Doing the laundry is difficult for me. I use a grabber to push and pull washing in and out of the machine and in/out of the tumble dryer.

I really struggle with carry loads of washing so I don't. I have one pop up laundry hamper that once its half full I can drag into the kitchen then use my grabber to move the clothes around. I also use a tumble dryer all year round when I'm doing the laundry myself, this is because I cant carry the washing out into the garden and I really struggle bending over and lifting my arms up to peg the clothes on the line. If April or Dom is available to help they will peg it out for me. I understand that this isn't very cost effective or environmentally friendly but its the only way I've found of doing it
myself without triggering my POTS or causing me additional pain and significant fatigue.

The Grabber is also good for picking up mess and reaching up to do or grab things like closing the curtains or picking something up off a high shelf without losing your balance, especially helpful if I'm in my chair!

Next comes sweeping up mess, sweeping large areas kills me off as does trying to bend down to use a dustpan and brush. I found a long handled dustpan and brush in my local Pound land. its a life saver, especially when I keep dropping things! This is good for small areas but also starts to hurt my hands if I try to use it for larger areas.

Cooking is trickier. I buy most things like my fruit and vegetables ready prepared and frozen, supermarkets have a really good selection now and I have chopped mixed peppers, garlic, spinach, Avacados and berries all ready to go in my freezer.

Unfortunately not everything comes ready prepared, for blending, crushing, chopping and grinding I have a mini blender, there are lots of models out there, B&M sell one for £20 but they are quite similar to the Nutri ninja's

mine comes with containers that have handles and different blades that you screw on the top as the lid.

I also struggle with opening jars and bottles so I have an automatic tin opener and one of these handy things:

You squeeze it round the lid your trying to open and it takes the strain off your hands. This one came free from amazon with my tin opener, unfortunately the tin opener stopped working but this still works really well.

Finally the actual cooking part, I mentioned that I use my perching stool to use the hob. I don't use the cooker as I tend to forget I have anything in there, go off, have a rest, maybe a little sleep then wake up to the smell of burning! Since the day I did that and then left the house I have used a halogen cooker. These beauties sit on your work surface (no bending next to hot oven), you set the temperature and they wont turn on without setting the timer too. When the timer stops the heat turns off. The worst that happens now is overcooked or cold forgotten about food. I love mine and it is well used (you can probably tell).

 

 

I'm hoping some of this is helpful, I plan on writing some posts showing my bathroom aids / adaptions and my mobility aids soon. we are quite lucky that new technology is been developed all the time, making different and/or easier ways of doing things.

What's your favourite aid, adaption or energy saving gadget? let me know in the comments below.

Laura :)