I Hate Dialysis Message Board
Dialysis Discussion => Dialysis: Home Dialysis - NxStage Users => Topic started by: boswife on October 29, 2010, 03:58:58 PM
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Ok, so we thought we had the perfect 'chair' for this, but hubby saying it's not :( So, "if" we were to by the real thing, has anyone else done that and been glad they did,(or didnt) and if yes, can you offer brands? and if not, some why's.. AND,,,, any suggestions other than "the real thing" lol.. thanks!
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I'm wondering the same thing. I will need to buy a chair, and I don't really know what things to consider. What makes a good dialysis chair? What does it need to do? Should I get a nice chair that I would like to use even when I am not dialyzing? Thanks for posting this topic.
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Way back, in the 80's. I used to use a Lazy Boy chair that I bought specially for D. The big requirement was full reclining so I could get my head lower than my feet in case of drastic BP drops. I chose fabric (dark brown wide wale corduroy type, not particularly lovely but not hideous either) so it wouldn't be too hot or too cold and always covered it with a big washable blankety thingy. I still have the chair in the basement and I never sit in it but my nephew always uses it when he's watching TV down there. He likes it.
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NO light colors!!!! and yes something that reclines WAAAAAAAAAY back....Over the 2 years Otto was doing Home-hemo he went through 2 diffrent chairs and HATED them both, we went and he tried diffrent ones but just never found any that he liked. Also we went to Homedepot and bought a plastic mat to go under the side his lines were on for easy clean-ups when he "leaked" after pulling lines.
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Aww, the WAY back is something i have to remember. This wonderfuly comfortable chair we aquired from our son is sooooooo comfortable, reclines, but actually, just not enough (i just went and checked). It's also a bit to slippery i think. Off to check out some more ideas. They do have a 'dialysis' chair on sale and free delivery for about 600.00. Wonder if it would be worth it..
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La-Z-Boy has vinyl chairs with a fake leather texture for around $600. Even some leather just over that on sale. The big thing would be able to tilt back enough. One might have to stick a 2x4 under the front of the base to enable the head to drop below the feet if needed.
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http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dgarden&field-keywords=medical+recliner&x=0&y=0
I don't see how this vendor can sell this recliner for $399 with free shipping. No affiliation and no experience ordering from this place:
http://www.totalhomemedical.com/invih6077ax.html
Invacare Clinical 3-Position Geri Chair / Recliner - FREE SHIPPING!
Features:
Softer seat and back package for improved patient comfort.
Gas cylinder for quick trendelenburg and improved lift.
Multiple positions-fully upright to fully reclined.
Four swivel casters facilitate transport.
Fire retardant foam and glue. Meets California 117 standard and Boston Fire Department specification.
http://lifeinthefastlane.com/2010/05/trendelenburg-position-for-the-hypotensive-patient-friend-or-foe/
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I hadn't thought about the feet-above-head position capability.
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I did a quick craigslist search and found an ad for dialysis chairs http://inlandempire.craigslist.org/for/1966306358.html - they have 5 for $300 each, maybe you'll find something if you search your local ads too.
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I don't see how this vendor can sell this recliner for $399 with free shipping. No affiliation and no experience ordering from this place:
http://www.totalhomemedical.com/invih6077ax.html
Does seem like a cheap price compared to others. Like this one, they seem pretty pricey
http://ucanhealth.com/goto-item-Dialysis+Recliner+Chair-search-1-page-1.htm
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That is a great price okarol. wish it were reasonable to ship, i'd even think of that perhaps. I have been checking Craigslist as well. Have found a couple on there but in the 600.00 range so we shall see.. I was also wondering if our 'durable medical' situation with kiaser would supply that type of thing. My mom always had great beds and wheel chairs and stuff from them. And BigSky, i did see those kinds too (pricie) and found some like that for in the 400's on big sale with no shipping cost so we will keep checking.
Thanks all for your help. Im wondering now if anyone actually gets these chairs instead of just recliners.. I do see those for lots less so may just go that route.. Keep anysuggestions comming though.. They're all appreciated.
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I prefer the Laz-z-boy chairs, specifically the "Reclina-Rocker" chairs because the arm rests recline along with the chair seat and back -- making it much more comfortable for your arms and shoulders. And they tilt all the way back.
8)
http://www.la-z-boy.com/Product/5490-7258/Lawrence-Wall-Recliner/
Here's a past IHD thread on the subject:
http://ihatedialysis.com/forum/index.php?topic=17941.msg311809#msg311809
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great thread Zach! Thanks for the heads up.. and also to the chair your speaking of. Im heading in that direction because i think for comfort, they would be wonderful, and thats' mostly the purpose right. Im hoping to get some answers from kiaser/medicare tomorrow on payment, but otherwize, at least we'ed have a chair we like if we're going to pay.
And funny Moosemom, (because you had started this thread in feb)i had no intrest in this just 8mo ago and now am soooo into it.. lol your WAY ahead of me..
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With the new Medicare bundling packages, your clinic should supply you a chair. Even if you do not have Medicare they should still be supplying a chair. My center did not supply a chair and I was not able to purchase one on my own. I could purchase a Geri Chair, but not a real dialysis chair (they are better constructed for hours of sitting). Mention to your clinic that you thought they were supposed to supply the recliner.
http://www.homedialysis.org/resources/medicarefaq/#lnk18
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so what did you end up with vcarmody? and thanks for that link.. Wonder what i'll run into tomorrow.
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And funny Moosemom, (because you had started this thread in feb)i had no intrest in this just 8mo ago and now am soooo into it.. lol your WAY ahead of me..
I had totally forgotten I had started a thread on this. Toxic brain, I guess!! ::)
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I ended up purchasing a Lazy Boy with electric recline. That was another problem for us, my husbands access is in his right arm and all the recliners have the levers on the right side so he was unable to put the feet up and down all that easily when his needles were in, with the electric he can just hit the button. His chair does not recline real far so if we ever have to lower his head I am going to have to get him out of the chair onto the floor and raise his feet manually. I try not to think about that happening. I hope you have better luck with your center getting a chair.
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I ended up purchasing a Lazy Boy with electric recline. That was another problem for us, my husbands access is in his right arm and all the recliners have the levers on the right side so he was unable to put the feet up and down all that easily when his needles were in, with the electric he can just hit the button. His chair does not recline real far so if we ever have to lower his head I am going to have to get him out of the chair onto the floor and raise his feet manually. I try not to think about that happening. I hope you have better luck with your center getting a chair.
This is a little late now, but many of the La-Z-Boy models can be special ordered to have the handle on the left side instead of the right.
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Thanks vcarmody, all info is great for me. I hope that your hub never has one single problem EVER!! I did contact my insurance today and they checked it out and said YES i DO get a chair. Then, after bouncing around just a bit, since NxStage doesnt supply it they invormed me that our clinic would be the one to supply it. We shall see tomorrow. Probably not gonna happen too easly.
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:bump;
I want to post about this later, but I don't have time now, but I'm bumping this up, anyway.
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In the hospital in the UK I have been in there have been two type of chairs:
1. electric - all of these fail from too much use. I guess if you buy one for home use you would probably get more use of it.
2. non electric - like a lazyboy but simpler. Reclines way back in case of BP problems. They are vinal and easy to clean. I will try to find who supplies them to NHS. I am betting on China or India.
Does anyone actually have a chair that is comfortable for 4 hours. My chair is ok for about 2.5 hours and then well let us say I can't wait to get off. However, it is better than the electrical chair I first used.
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OK, so, we happened to pass a Laz-y-boy store while we were out, and we went in to start looking seriously for a chair. I explained to the nice lady what I needed it for, and I discovered a couple of things. One, most chairs were way too big. You'd think that a big chair would be quite comfy, but in a big chair, I discovered that I am too short to be able to easily reach the reclining mechanism...it's too low and too far back on the chair. I'm thinking to myself that if I've got two stonking great needles in my left arm, I'm not going to be able to lean way over to the right to pull on the lever; my arms are just not long enough. So, I'm thinking that a powered mechanism might be better for me. AND it occurred to me that I don't want a rocker...did you know they charge $50 extra to make a rocking chair into a non-rocking chair? Really?
Second potential problem...I had a bit of trouble getting the chairs to recline all the way back. It occurred to me that if I am feeling very lightheaded because of a bp drop and I needed to recline all the way back, I might not physically be able to push back hard enough to get into a reclining position.
When the lady asked me for how long I'd be sitting in the chair at a time, I told her, say, 3-4 hours a day, you should have seen her face. I hope she'll go out and donate a kidney to someone or at the very least go home tonight and imagine what it must be like to have to do that. I was in a very foul mood today, so I was very graphic about my needs. I told her that I didn't want a chair with fabric because I didn't want to have to worry about all the blood ruining the chair, and I explained that I had to have a chair that was easy to manipulate because I'd have the equivalent of knitting needles in my arm. I do believe she paled. :P
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oh goodness MooseMom...................
Lordy ya got me stumped..lol I will say that you just put into words, a whole lot of stuff that people just dont understand or have no idea of if they are not not part of the "D' world. What an eye opener..
And as for a chair for you... ???
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Check out Lane recliners, that is what Sharon used for several years with good results, no lever, just push back and it reclines, very comfortable.......
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When we started NxStage, we bought a recliner that hubby thought would be comfortable. But, after about 2 weeks, he was HATING that chair. I read up on the Medicare rules and mentioned to our clinic that it appeared they should be supplying us with a regular dialysis chair. Magically, one appeared and even in our color choice.
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how funny looney, i was just comming on here to mention the same sort of thing. I DID also mention it, and have now been given a few options so wanted to let people here know, at least they'res hope :-) Im so glad you followed through, and........ are you happy with it?? Thanks a bunch!
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:bump;
Since we have quite a few more members doing home hemo, I thought I'd bump up the discussion re chairs, especially after seeing someone mention Champion chairs. Anyone care to share their description of their ideal, award-winning home dialysis chair? Thanks!
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Yes, I know that I am not most people.
However, if I have to sit for four hours and do the butt-o-rama, I am going to have a quality chair. I will do my home dialysis in a Barc-o-lounger highback wrap around in black leather. I have two of those at the moment. The insurance people bought those after the forest fire wiped us out. It pays to be ornery to insurance adjusters. I have no idea what they cost.
gerald
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Hubby doesn't use a chair at all. He does nocturnal and sleeps in our king sized bed beside me every night. :cuddle; Your chair does sound really comfy Gerald.
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i use a Lazy-Boy. It is "ok" but since it lacks the attatched little table things (like a proper Dialysis chair) we have to move a small table of suitable height near to it when running for supplies. Advantage is the Lazy Boy doesn't look "medical".
It's comfortable enough so far (5 months).
---Dan
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I have a Champion chair. It doesn'tbotherme that it is a medical recliner. It is soft navy blue vinyl so easy to clean and it is matt so it looks quite nice although I wouldn't particularly like i on view in my living room. In addition, I am glad that I don't have leather as I always seem to slide down in leather chairs. It is the Passage recliner which is designed for home use as it is not so wide as the other models,but saying that, it will only go through the double doors to the master. Optional extras include side tables, cup holder, iv pole, push bar at the back. Some of the other Champion chairs can be reclined electrically, and heat and massage can be added. I chose a side table with acup holder, and an iv pole (at the time I didn't know that this was an integral part of the NxStage machine. However, the only way that I could get the chair within a week was to accept their offer of a floor mode, so I ended up with an additional table andcup holder and a push bar at the back, as well as having swing-away arms. I am actually glad that I have the two tables as I always use both and even the iv pole is useful as I hang my pillow (more on that later) and the fleece jacket that I wear for dialysis on it. My chair is manual recline, I just pushback to recline and it is not difficult to do. I cannot operate Trendelenberg mysel as this is set with foot pedals on the side of the chair but when it is in full recline my head is pretty low relative to my body anyway. To make the seat as wide as possible but minimise the overall width, the arms of the chair are very narrow, but this does not bother me as Inever rest on them anyway. The seat is firm but I do not fidgit on it, which is a sure sign that it is comfortable. I did buy a Wondergel cushion thinking that this would make it more comfortable, but would not reccomend these. They are too small for the seat and the cells flatten and make it difficult to shift position.
The only crticism with the chair is that, when I recline there is no bridging fabric between the seat and the back so itcan be draughty but could be overcome withthe use of a throw.
Champion also do a sleep recliner that will go completely flat. You cannot purchase direct from Champion, but from an agent. i used
http://www.dialmedsupply.com/champion/medicalrecliners/medicalrecliners.html
They were cheaper than the company that Champion gave me the name of. The chair was not cheap, cost about $1600 including shipping and delivery to any room in the house, which in my case was on the second floor. my overall opinion is that I am very happy with my chair.
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Thanks for that, Amanda. I've found a couple of really lovely chairs, but then I started wondering if they were perhaps TOO lovely. I'd be worried about bleeding all over them or something, and then I started thinking that the smart thing to do would probably be to get a chair designed especially for dialysis. I'd read your post on another thread about your Champion chair, and that's what made me reopen this discussion.
I'll be setting up my D crap downstairs in our finished basement, and since we don't really have friends over, what the chair looks like isn't really a concern for me.
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I refuse to sit on vinyl in my own home. So for now, I'm using my existing fabric recliner. It's covered with a blanket but I have gotten blood on it a couple of times. Peroxide takes blood out of fabric like nobody's business. :2thumbsup;
Thanks for that, Amanda. I've found a couple of really lovely chairs, but then I started wondering if they were perhaps TOO lovely. I'd be worried about bleeding all over them or something, and then I started thinking that the smart thing to do would probably be to get a chair designed especially for dialysis. I'd read your post on another thread about your Champion chair, and that's what made me reopen this discussion.
I'll be setting up my D crap downstairs in our finished basement, and since we don't really have friends over, what the chair looks like isn't really a concern for me.
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I guess we were lucky and got a chair from my clinic. They had recently moved to a brand new building and got new chairs so I got one of the old ones. It's set up in a den with my computer, TV and dialyzer so it's not the center of attention in the living room.
We found out that a chair was covered by our insurance so buying one was the original idea until the clinic offered one.
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Oh, the pillow that is use is a daisy shaped pillow with a whole in the middle. It is filled with little beads and its shape allows it to be configured in different ways. Seems to be muchmore comfortable then a regular neck pillow and firms up nicely to support the side of my face if I want a nap. They are one of those 'as seen on tv products'. I bought mine from Kroger butI think CVS sell them too.
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I too was a lucky one who got a chair from my center....... it was not good..... yes it had they side tables but what a pain to sit in ...... plastic or vinyle or what ever....... I just gave them back that chair last week...... I am glad I did ........ If I had to do it over again.....I would just get a really good recliner.....how ever I dont like to relax when I was doing short daily....I was always doing projects with a table....so I really depends on you.....when I started nocturnal I slept in a bed..... with my machine right next to me....... oh how I miss those days.....LOL...... its been too quiet......now I have to leave the TV on all night......LOL
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yes on clinic supplying chair. we don't have funds to buy anything. i got onto the social worker about supplying chair, its taken 3 months, but dh picked color and style last week. it belongs to clinic, will have to retunr when not needed any longer. it is fabric. i would imagine its gets re-upholstered after each use. i sure hope so. should get it first of march.
yes, clinic is required to give chair but you have to request it, sometimes a couple times.
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I had no choice from my dialysis unit. I was told that the only option was a Geri chair which are apparently pretty uncomfortable. I can't imagine sitting in one place for several hours in discomfort. I suppose to some extent it depends on how much ypu can moce around when doing it. For me my access is pretty positional, so I can't really do anything much with that hand when dialysing, and can't move around easily.