suggestions on dialysis chairs

[boswife]

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!

[MooseMom]

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.

[monrein]

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.

[lola]

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.

[boswife]

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..

[BigSky]

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.

[greg10]

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/

[MooseMom]

I hadn't thought about the feet-above-head position capability.

[okarol]

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.

[BigSky]

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

[boswife]

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.

[Zach]

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.

 

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

[boswife]

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..

[vcarmody]

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

[boswife]

so what did you end up with vcarmody?  and thanks for that link..  Wonder what i'll run into tomorrow.

[MooseMom]

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!!

[vcarmody]

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.

[BigSky]

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. 

[boswife]

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.

[MooseMom]

 

I want to post about this later, but I don't have time now, but I'm bumping this up, anyway.

[billmoria]

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.

[MooseMom]

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.

[boswife]

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...

[silverhead]

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.......

[looneytunes]

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.