Blister packs

[cathie]

I hate blister packs. I also hate pill bottles which you cant open if your hands hurt in the morning.

The dont make our lives easier do they. ANy more pet hates ?

[Jora]

I tried blister packs, but there were too many anomalies; tapering Prednisilone, variable Amiltriptalyne and painkillers. It made it more complicated, not less. So, I have stuck with my 7-day pill sorter and do them on Saturday evening. My hands are more obedient in the evenings and I normally have company at the weekend.

This is the sort I use.

ebay.co.uk/itm/Pill-Medicat...

I like this style because it is flexible. You can have 4 compartments per day, or you can remove the dividers. I just have 2 compartments (generous ones which accommodate my hefty Omega 3 as well as prescribed drugs). I then take Codeine and Paracetamol at lunchtime if I need to. There's a wallet where I keep a check list of the drugs. Another advantage of this style is that if you are going away for a night or two, you only need to take the relevant day.

I don't have shares in this, I promise.

MY PET HATE 1 is the fact that I can load all the ingredients in my Nutri Bullet for a healthy smoothie, but when it's done I can't undo it, as the vibration has tightened the screw cap further. So, I have to either go and find a neighbour (but I'm often in my jimjams!) or watch it oxygenate and lose all its goodness and flavour.

MY PET HATE 2 Well-intentioned people who grab me by my painful shoulder or wrists to help me over a step or out of a chair. They just see the crutch and think "legs"; it doesn't occur to them that other parts are affected.

Jo

[cathie in reply to Jora]

My goodness I've gone and ordered one of those wallets! Thanks for the advice, I was thinking of getting a more complicated one to take stuff in for hospital though they'll probably take things onto themselves. And I'm thinkinig about organising myself so that I know well in advance when I have to order more meds too. Our GP has a great system where you can order online and pick up from the pharmacy you want. This works well except - another pet hate - there's two things you can choose at the bottom of the form - either delete or submit to surgery. Guess which I tend to choose!

[Hidden in reply to cathie]

Waste of time Cathie, I took mine in and they wouldn't let me use them. They either like pills in their original boxes/jars, or to supply themselves. I now just take in an up to date list.

[Azabat]

I thought I was the only one who hated blister packs! I mean, I'd never keep my meds straight without them, but ow! Child-proof bottles of any kind, and excessively tight jars. Bus drivers who don't wait until I'm sitting before they step on the gas.

[fastball in reply to Azabat]

Bus drivers are supposed to wait for you all to sit, I was told this after a fall , also wait until the bus has stopped before you get up.

Chris

[cathie]

Jolting buses arent fun are they.

Why wont someone invent meds bottles we can open but babies wont!?

[Jora in reply to cathie]

Well, I don't know, Cathie and Bats. Jolting Buses can be fun. I was thrown into the lap of a very attractive man the other day!

[cathie in reply to Jora]

lucky you!

[hatshepsut]

Plastic detergent caps that you have to squeeze to open.

Shops with shelves totally out of reach......Sainsbury particularly bad.......and it's always the item you want that's on them.

.....and all things childproof! M x

[cathie]

oh yes, milk bottles that defy your hands. I once threw one across the room. Then I discovered that if you had the old bottle you could rinse it out. Then make a hole in the new one and pour the contents into the old.

[angel-delight in reply to cathie]

Hi Cathie, I use scissors to open most containers, the middle section that slots around the platic cap, including milk, water bottles and I have an opener for cans and jars from Lakelands, some sold in the supermarkets.

Take care, Sue xx

[Jhac27]

I have trouble with all kinds of childproof tops , I used to have to get my children to open them if my husband wasn't in! Also I struggle with pulling the tab off a milk bottle and do sometimes get strange looks at work when I pass them to someone else to do. As my disease is mostly invisible this may be the only time they see a symptom.

[cathie in reply to Jhac27]

Milk bottles are the very devil!

[Someonesmother]

Hahahah I have just caused a flurry here in Oz as I started on enbrel injections but gee couldn't get the cap off the needle so i asked the chemist to order me some other ones. Anyways......now the enbrel support people have written to Pfizer to say hey the needles are no good for people whose hands don't work and they can't use them. Hahah who knew I would cause that sort of reaction up the chain. and yes I take forever to push pills pout of blister packs and oh dear Lord, pill bottles.........hopeless

[Hidden in reply to Someonesmother]

Good for you. You've probably helped thousands of people worldwide. x

[Someonesmother in reply to Hidden]

Hahah I didn't intend to I just couldn't get the top off, so I asked if there were other needles that would fit that would be easier for me to get off. Then I got all these phone calls and apparently the company will ring me to ask about my experience.

[cathie]

Good for you! Nothing like making a fuss for satisfaction

C

[Someonesmother in reply to cathie]

Haha not intentionally Cathie. But hopefully it will make a change for everyone now

[Judetheobscure]

Shocking mother that I was - I used to give my child proof bottles to my children to open. They didn't need to be shown how. I just always forgot to ask the chemist for a different bottle. I used to turn the blister packs over to slit the foil with my nail or whatever was to hand - it was the only way I could find in.

Had a similar experience to Jora on the tube and the young man had previously been so helpful in checking and assuring me that I was heading in the right direction. What a way to repay a kind deed.

[cathie]

Yes I use my finger nail too!

[Hidden in reply to cathie]

My fingernails either break, or I bite them.

[nomoreheels]

My chemist doesn't give me anything in bottles tablet wise. I have a metal nail file handy to pierce the blister packs, it makes it much easier to then push the tablet out.

Like Mavis I have trouble with the detergent & bleach caps. My h opens them initially then I fasten them to just before they lock.

My other pet hate is the storage space underneath the ovens on our cooker, really bad design as there's no handle & I need to open an oven door to make that bit more room to fit my fingers in to pull the fold-down door open. Annoyed that it's something I didn't think of before we bought it as we made sure everything else like microwave, fridge, dishwasher, even the ovens had handles that I could grip properly!

[cathie in reply to nomoreheels]

and the toilet cleaner bottles!

[nomoreheels in reply to cathie]

Weirdly I've just had to ask my h to open the new Toilet Duck cap & came on & clicked on your reply!! How odd is that?

[cathie in reply to nomoreheels]

I think it means that we're on the same page! And that we clean our toilets!!

[nomoreheels in reply to cathie]

Oh my loos each have many companion cleaners. You should see underneath my kitchen sink, there's no more room for any more cleaning products, all with unlocked caps!

[Rosebaywillowherb]

Lemonade,water,soft drinks bottles,I get someone to unscrew them for me,put them in the fridge,behold,someone has had a drink from bottle and screwed the cap back on as tight as they can,back to square one!.

[Hidden]

tiny tablets like Prednisolone. Not only do I keep dropping them, they get stuck in the gaps between my teeth and dissolve. Yuk, they taste disgusting. And don't get me started on the painful mouth that MTX gives me. The plastic containers my Leflunomide comes in. There's a band just below the lid which I have to cut with scissors, or I can't open the thing!!

[cathie]

Oh there are a lot of things! But dont you think it helps to share them? Maybe some design person will be reading our exchange and come up with some brilliant ideas.

[3LittleBirds2]

I struggle with most of the above also...but some of the things I miss most is being able to use a purse and having a good root around my handbag when I need to find something!!

[nomoreheels in reply to 3LittleBirds2]

I've got a brilliant tray purse/wallet 3LB which enables me to see & pick out coins really easily as it has a flat base. Don't know if they still make them but it's by Tula & mine's pink leather, really easy to see in my bags. I've also got an organiser that you can put into any bag. I got it off QVC years ago & it's great, keeps everything in place so there's no rummaging for keys, lippy or everything within really.

[3LittleBirds2 in reply to nomoreheels]

Aha what a good idea...I will look out for one of those, a bit more sassy than the small plastic bags I use at the mo 😉. Hope you're ok x

[nomoreheels in reply to 3LittleBirds2]

Not too bad myself, just really swollen ankles so looking forward to what will be said at my Rheumy nurse appointment on Friday. Nursing my poorly h isn't helping.... fetching & carrying, back & forth to hospital, I'm walking miles or it feels it! This link gives you an idea (though it's the US site) qvc.com/webapp/wcs/stores/s.... Mine is an earlier nylon version but it works the same way.

Hope you're ok? x

[3LittleBirds2 in reply to nomoreheels]

Feel for you...swollen ankles or even swollen anything is never nice! Is your hubby in hospital? Thanks for the link I will check it out! I'm ok thank you, I had my first round of Rituximab on the 9/6, second one is on the 23/6. X

[nomoreheels in reply to 3LittleBirds2]

No, he's just a perpetual outpatient now. He's having trouble with his gallbladder & wouldn't you know it he only saw his Specialist the beginning of last week where they decided he'd had enough of hospitals for the time being & as it was ok they would leave it alone. The pain & sickness of that plus the sharp stabbing pain he's getting in his chest (which is being investigated, 4 different scans & counting) he's having a rough time of it. Thankfully the last cardio sonographer said he couldn't see any fluid round his heart & the other places he checked & as he had his last scan results prior to his op he was able to do a comparison & all was ok in relation to the previous one so that's a phew! Trouble is he's diabetic & needs to eat but nothing stays down despite meds from his GP. Bought him some of that new yoghurt from Finland thinking it would be quite bland but the texture alone put him off trying it.

Good to hear you're ok. Hope all goes well on Monday, third time lucky eh? x

[3LittleBirds2 in reply to nomoreheels]

Blimey...he is having a rough time, good news about the heart investigations though...have they said what it is causing the sharp pain though? Haha well remembered, I have been assured by the management at ATOS that it will not be cancelled again!! 😉. I hope things improve for your hubby and that your ankles improve also! Apologies to Cathie for hijacking her post! Xx

[nomoreheels in reply to 3LittleBirds2]

We're fearing at the mo, though no confirmation yet, it's sternal non-union. If it is trust him to be in the 3% this happens to!

Thanks for your good wishes. Let's hope ATOS keep to their word & yes, apols to Cathie. x

[cathie in reply to nomoreheels]

No problem

[cathie]

I miss rooting around too, have taken to going out with just a few things in my pockets and in car, she wee, Imodium, lipsalve, tissues that's about it?

[3LittleBirds2 in reply to cathie]

Same here...I put my money in my jacket pocket also which is not ideal...I'm a bit of a faffer by nature but I'm now not able to....well not so much!!! I find clasps on bags so difficult too...have slowly been changing all my footwear...will now have to do the same with bags but will look out for the organiser or similar that NMH mentioned. How are you feeling after your Rituxumab...did you have any improvement?

[kazp]

Go to your GP and ask for a metered dose. A trained pharmacist will put all your pills in a blister pack, each pack has 7 days 4 compartments in each. You only need to break a paper seal to get in them.

These are usually offered to elderly, I got mine 7-8 years ago as my GP said it's far easier to use with my hands and fingers how they are.

X

[cyprusmum]

Toilet bottles, annoying things, childproof lids, yes, I tend to buy the spray bleach now which is a small improvement. I use the little nail scissors to pierce the dreaded tops of milk and also the blister packs.

The bus drivers around here think they are in a Formula race or something. Always so heavy and sharp on their brakes. I think they do it for the sport, truly!