Question about shower chairs

[Sophiebun11]

Hi all,

I know this isn't exactly CKD specific but I was wondering if any of you have any recommendations on shower chairs?

There seem to be so many brands and styles. Benches, chairs w/backs, stools, and various materials like wood, plastic, etc.

I had a scare yesterday in the shower. I don't scare easily on medical issues after being a paramedic I'm great in an emergency and have even driven myself to the ER in anaphylactic shock a few times.

Yesterday I was showering and all of a sudden I felt super lightheaded, nauseous, and then everything started going dark. I didn't want to pass out in the shower so I stepped over to the toilet and sat down with my head down. It took about 10 minutes to clear up and quit the faint feeling and shakiness. I still felt a little off when I walked a round the rest of the night.

I normally have very low BP around 80s/50s. After I dried off and got dressed I checked my BP and it was 100/55. Not bad for me, I think the Prednisone is making my systolic go up some since it can cause high BP.

I'm not sure what caused that episode but I figure I should get a shower chair just in case. My mother fell and hit her head on the tile floor, got a subdural hematoma and died 2 weeks later. I know bathroom and kitchen accidents can be the worst.

I already have an appt. with a Cardiologist for the first week of Dec. which my Neph. set up for me due to congestive heart failure from my CKD and autoimmune disease. I'll ask him about it and call my PCP on Monday.

Anyhow, if you have a style of chair recommendation I'd appreciate it. I figure if I order on Amazon I can get it the next day, I love Amazon : )

Thanks so much!

[Jayhawker]

I’ve got no chair to recommend. I’d probably do a Google search fir the best 5 shower chairs 2021… I just wanted to say that I think it’s great you’re looking into this and taking action. I’ve considered doing the same due to low blood pressure issues I sometimes experience. Fortunately my new house has seats in the showers with ADA handrails.

Jayhawker

[Sophiebun11 in reply to Jayhawker]

Thanks for the reply. I'm glad your new home has the built in seat. The last HUD apt. I lived in was a disabled unit and it had the built in chair that flipped down from the wall so you could fold it up if you didn't need it.

I have plenty of hand rails in the tub here but they don't seem to be enough when you're feeling faint. I do hold onto them when I turn around to rinse so I don't get dizzy.

[jodaer]

I can't recommend a chair but I've found the recommendations on Amazon to be pretty spot on

[Sophiebun11 in reply to jodaer]

Thanks for the reply. I usually read the reviews but I'm getting confused. When I look at a chair review some people will rave about it and others will say it broke in half the first time they sat on it and post a photo. Maybe it depends on your weight, I'm not that big. Thanks again. I'll keep reading the reviews. : )

[jodaer in reply to Sophiebun11]

Good luck. You're smart to be proactive on this. Glad too you have the grab bars.

[Grammy80]

I'd say you have enough going on without adding a fall to it....and there is no telling who would have to pick you up. Here is a pretty good selection and price range.

amazon.com/s?k=shower+chair...

I personally, got the one with the back and legs that come out onto the floor....but I'm one of those folks you can't miss due to lots of pounds added due to pred. I think I paid about $80. If you don't need heavy-duty you do have lots of other options. I wouldn't recommend the one with two arm because I'd be concerned I would trip getting 'my you know what' around that first arm. This is the one I got; amazon.com/gp/product/B000S... and it is kind of handy to sit down and swing your legs out of the tub.

Happy shopping and safe showering~! 💖

[Sophiebun11 in reply to Grammy80]

I think it would be up to my kitty to meow until I came to!!! I'm sure it's my blood pressure getting even lower from the heat and moving to my limbs.

Thanks for the referral. Yours looks like a super sturdy one. It's a bit out of my price range though.

I should have said I'm definitely trying to stay under $50. I have kind of narrowed it down to 3. I'll try to decide tomorrow so I can get it Monday. At least there are free returns with Amazon, so if I don't like the one I get I can exchange it and try another : )

Hope you're hanging in there. I think my Pred. has raised my systolic BP to 100 which is better but the diastolic is still in the 50s. It's no wonder I get loopy in the shower LOL

[Grammy80 in reply to Sophiebun11]

I thought you were probably born loopy.....but work on it while on your shower throne! There are some good ones in that price range.....I had to go for sturdy!!!💖

[Sophiebun11 in reply to Grammy80]

I'll get you for that, my pretty LOL

😺😺👿👿

[Sophiebun11]

Thanks for your reply! There aren't any handicapped apartments vacant at this place and the wait lists are between 5 - 10 years in my part of the state. It took me 6 years on the waiting list to get in here. It's ridiculous. At one place I'm number 120,472 on the wait list. So unless over 100,000 people move out or die I can't get a place there LOL I moved out of the disability unit I had at my last apt. because they allowed smoking and I couldn't stand living with smoke since I have asthma, the smoke came through the walls and ceiling.

I'll ask my social worker about reimbursement for the chair from Medi-Cal (CA's version of Medicaid). I know my PCP will write a prescription.

I've seen a cardiologist for the past 30 years off and on. I've been diagnosed with diastolic CHF. I haven't had an Echo or any other cardiac tests since I moved here in 2016, but things have been controlled ok with diuretics however my BP is lower and my pulse is super weak and slow. My Dr. said he can barely feel my pulses in my feet. I know it was the too warm water in the shower that made the blood go to my limbs and out of my heart and head so I didn't have enough oxygen in my head. I usually wear compression socks day and night for circulation trouble and leg spasms. The only time I don't have them on is in the shower so I wasn't getting enough help with the return blood flow up my legs. I am scheduled for an arterial ultrasound the week after Thanksgiving, before seeing the Cardiologist. Then I have an oncologist appt. in 2 weeks. Nothing but appts. : )

My Neph. gave me a Cardiology referral because I don't have one here since I moved about 5 years ago. He also referred me to a new Rheumatologist but I don't have an appt. yet, there are few of that specialty around and they are all booked up. My PCP handles most things. Once I was out of the shower my BP returned to my normal and I was dressed with my compression socks on so it would have been a waste to call an ambulance and go to the hospital and risk getting COVID. I am just getting over a lung infection that lasted 3 weeks, plus I take Prednisone so I'm really susceptible to infections. I figured I was probably safer off staying home since the crisis had passed.

Thanks so much for telling me about Ins. paying for the chair. I'd have never thought of that.

I do have plenty of hand rails in the tub area. I decided today to start bringing my phone into the bathroom and placing it on the counter right next to the tub so I can reach it when I shower.

Thanks again : )

[novemberlady1]

THAT SOUNDS LIKE YOU HAD A CARDIAC EVENTSO BE VERY CAREFUL UNTIL YOU SEE YOUR CARDIOLOGIST

[Sophiebun11 in reply to novemberlady1]

Thanks so much, I am taking quick showers and hanging onto the bars. Keeping the water cooler is better for my BP but rough on my Raynauds!! : )

[miraclelady]

I, too, have low BP and am also an amputee. I have a basic chair with a seat and a back. No need for anything else. I love it and it helps so much. I hope you will find the right one for you!!! Be safe!

[Sophiebun11 in reply to miraclelady]

Thanks so much for your reply. Luckily I do have plenty of ADA shower bars here since it's a HUD building. I'm glad to here your chair is working well for you. Be safe too! : )

[BMC46]

Hi My wife has the traditional seat but as you may know they also have ones that go over the side of the tub. The other consideration would be to add shower bars- one on the inside back wall and one on the outside wall. Good luck

[Sophiebun11 in reply to BMC46]

Hi, BMC46, Thank you I didn't know about the chairs that go over the tub edge. That sounds more secure. I'll check into those, good tip!!! I live in a HUD apt. so they have ADA shower bars in all the bathrooms. : )

[Bassetmommer NKF Ambassador]

Whoa... Sophie, that's scary. Just a suggestion... Our local ambulance corps has a loan cupboard with chairs you can borrow. See if your does too and you can see what would work for you. Congratulations though on being a paramedic. Tough job but rewarding.

[Sophiebun11 in reply to Bassetmommer]

Hi Bassetmommer, I never would have thought to check there thanks.

I loved being a paramedic, I was sorry to have to leave when I became too ill to work due to my autoimmune disease long before this CKD reared it's head : )

[Bassetmommer NKF Ambassador in reply to Sophiebun11]

I was the Chairman of the Board at our Local Ambulance Corps for the last three years. I just stepped down. I trained to be an EMT years and years ago. Got as far as dispatching and getting ready to ride the rig and then life took a turn and I never had the time so I did not complete the training. Now I couldn't do it on a bet.

[Sophiebun11 in reply to Bassetmommer]

Good for you, COB is impressive! I'm sorry you never got to work as an EMT. I bet you did some ride-alongs!! I was an EMT before I was a paramedic. You have to work so many hours, maybe it was 2,000 hrs in the 70s, before you can start the paramedic program. I had thought about being a nurse, but a paramedic can do a lot more invasive procedures and has more freedom to treat as we see fit without waiting for orders. I liked being out and about, and having new challenges with every call. I guess I'm an adrenaline junkie. I'm sure dispatching was exciting and rewarding as well. I have no clue how I worked 24 hour shifts and lifted heavy people and dragged them out of cars and carried them down stairs. Now it's tough just doing the essentials as I'm sure you know : )

[Chimama]

Well after having a stent put in my LAD in heart I take aspirin and Plavix ( and look like one huge bruise at times) anyway onetime I was showering slipped hit my head on one of the jet knobs on my tub. Luckily no bleeding but I did call a neighbor to check on me throughout the night. After I has small bowel blockage surgery I was so weak and had deep incisions was very anemic I couldn’t even wash my hair. So before I was discharged I ordered a shower chair ( it’s like a durable plastic) rubber covers on the legs with a back it’s been a lifesaver even now with vertigo and anemia fluctuations in bp I find myself using it often. I order it from Walmart online. Wish you the best and be sure and get one 😊

[Sophiebun11 in reply to Chimama]

Hi Chimama, I'm guessing you have a Chihuahua? My mom used to have one. Gosh, you've been through a lot of health issues. I am glad a chair is helping you. I'll check on WalMart someone else mentioned there as well. I had just been browsing Amazon's selection. I am definitely going to get one ASAP. I have to measure my bathtub, I see they come in different widths and my tub is none to big so that may limit my options. Thanks : )

🐕🦮🐇🐇

[Chimama in reply to Sophiebun11]

Yup I’m a Chi mama tomorrow’s her Birthday 🎂 7 years 😊She’s my best buddy. Well my chair I can turn it around sideways lol but I do have one of those rubber no slip mats . Yes I’ve had my share troubles for sure. 2009 Septicemia told my kids say goodbye then ventilator , heart failure, lungs, kidneys u name it I had it. Drs ask what I’ve had I said be easier to list what I haven’t lol . Get that chair 😊Be careful .

[Sophiebun11 in reply to Chimama]

Happy Birthday to your baby!!! Pets are the best. I have a 15 year old kitty. I don't know what I'd do without him. : )

[Chimama in reply to Sophiebun11]

Thank you she’s my precious. She knows I need my nitro before I do she’s very persistent when my anxiety is high don’t know how I would manage without her. Last January I almost lost her with her liver enzymes were off the chart out of this world she’s a miracle 😍

[Sophiebun11 in reply to Chimama]

Well I'm glad she is ok now. She is a cross between a little service dog, an emotional support dog, and a best friend. My kitty Henry got an ESA letter from my Oncologist so I can have him in my apt. He reminds me of everything, he is a furry genius LOL

[Quita55]

Hi shower chairs are wonderful and and when you need to sit down instead of standing. I have a chair because I'm a risk of falling so my Mom got me a shower chair and I can bathe with comfort and feeling safe. So yes I recommend getting a shower chair especially for elderly adults getting one with the back helps.

[Sophiebun11 in reply to Quita55]

Thanks so much. I'm glad the chair is working out for you. I hope not to have to use it often but I'll feel better if it's in the shower at the ready

[KidneyCoach NKF Ambassador]

I have a plastic one with back and adjustable legs. I bought it myself 15 years ago for about $45. It's still sturdy and solid. Bought it at Wal-Mart. Blessings

[Sophiebun11 in reply to KidneyCoach]

Thanks for the recommendation. It's good to know that one can last so long! : )

[Chimama in reply to KidneyCoach]

Sounds like mine👍