Shower buddy for shower over tub

[Mary2]

My PALS used a shower bench independently with the hand held device for a couple of years. He was okay with it. As walking becomes unstable and core strength diminishes other alternatives must be found.

 

[affected]

Just because one person found it was cold doesn't mean that is a slam dunk answer.
We had no problem with that AND during cold weather we showered in middle of the day when it was warmest as well.

But honestly, a situation where a worker would have to climb into a bathtub is not going to happen for safety issues.
We used a portable roll over shower base on the floor in the bathroom and extra shower curtains to keep the water contained. I had a really long hose put on the hand held shower head so it would reach.

That solution only works if you have a drain in the floor of the room you are using as it went over and connected to that drain.
Brilliantly simple solution, but not for everyone.

A friend of mine had a wooden slatted false floor put in her shower with a ramp to get in. Brilliantly simple and it was removed in minutes when no longer needed. But not for everyone again.

We can give lots of ideas of what has worked, which is so neat because something one of us did might just be perfect.

 

[AlDowns]

My local ALS Association stocks those SB units. The tilting feature will be important as I lose core strength to sit upright. I have one that we are currently only using the shower chair portion. I need to order a longer bridge unit for the rolling between toilet and shower. And yes, the only recommendation about water was the cutting the curtain to fit between the shower chair legs.

 

[ReginaS]

I just found the name of the manufacturer that we used: Nuprodx. Our bathroom was too small for showerbuddy and they had more variations.

 

[Tomswife]

Our bathroom is 5 x 8. The tub/shower is across the end. It gets warm and steamy if we keep the door closed. I have to put on a ss tshirt to shower tom. I put the liner around the slider bench inside the tub. The floor gets some water, but not too much.

 

[Tomswife]

Regina. I really like the nudprodx product. One transfer. Great.

 

[ReginaS]

If you are really interested and want to talk to them - they gave us a "youth" chair - Tom was rather slender and that helped as well. In our case there was not enough space between sink - toilet and bathtub. So that bathroom did not work. In the other bathroom there was barely enough space but it worked. Afterwards I donated it to the local ALS society. I hope someone else got to use it.
It had a bit of a strange smell when it was new but the showers were worth a lot... one of the few comforts that were left. We did it every day and every day I got quite wet. I mean really, really wet.

 

[affected]

I know that some people don't mind moving from showers to a bed wash, but for Chris the shower was really important and a huge comfort.

 

[Jimi]

I never had the $$ to make a shower happen. Wash cloth and soap and water is perfectly fine.
A caregiver can do this. It's less work. Less money. Probably safer. As Laurie pointed out, getting cold is a real thing. Once my muscle left it is very uncomfortable to loose body heat. We preheat the bathroom with a space heater and do my body in sections then dry to minimize heat loss. I'm still shivering. It takes an hour to get warm under a heavy blanket after. I wouldn't take a shower now even if I could and I certainly wouldn't want to make my caregivers do all the extra work for something not necessary. I was worried when I had my last shower back in 10/17. It's really not a problem at all.

 

[MupstateNY]

Thanks, lgelb. But what the heck are the alternatives? That's what I don't understand.

I don't see how a remodel would be possible in my house. And I think I'd get very, very chilled with a Shower Bay in the bedroom or living room.

Tomorrow I'm getting a site visit from local ALSA chapter.

I've actually fantasized moving temporarily into a handicap accessible apartment in a warmer climate when I'm farther along -- if I can take my cat.

We just measured the bathroom: 5.5 feet by a little less than 8 feet. I will give you a tour going clockwise starting from the left. The door opens inward, then immediately the vanity starts. Then the toilet and boom you're at the window. I can rest my Dilbert book on the edge of the bathtub and focus on the writing, when sitting on the toilet. The tub and shower start on that short wall that has the window (triple pane replacement window). When you get to the end, there is a closet and then you're out the door again.

I find that sponge baths don't seem to get the nether parts clean. The bidet attachment has been helping a lot with that. The other problem I have is that men often have very short hair, whereas I have shoulder length hair and I hate having dirty, greasy hair.

The youth chair sounds intriguing. I'm 5'4.5" tall and I weigh 125 lbs. Maybe that would work for me.

 

[lgelb]

In no particular order:

Dry shampoo is a real thing and you can use it every day, supplemented with a damp cloth / brush/comb to get the scalp clean. I just used it for my dad's last weeks. I basically combined the shampoo and rubbing with a damp cloth and then combed through. I know, you have long hair but the concept is the same.

You could also potentially use some kind of hair wand system in a chair or bed, with lots of towels.

I was not arguing for a shower bay at all given your home setup.

Hypoallergenic cleansing wipes for those nether parts do work pretty well. My husband relied on them for some years.
Jimi's wash cloth is another option.

By the end of our ShowerBuddy year, my husband was cold and exhausted after every shower. It was good while it lasted but he was ready to give it up.

We always have to prioritize what "current state" we are going to work the hardest to keep for the longest time, because there is only so much time, energy, and money. Maybe for you, that is a shower. That was not the case for us.

If you want to spend your last days somewhere else than where you are now, go for it, but start planning so you know where that somewhere is, and can discuss/plan with your family. Later on, they will probably be more in block and tackle mode, so the time to plan for later is now.

 

[Tomswife]

Re Regina post. I called Nudprodx. They are a manufacturer. You must purchase through a dealer such as Numotion. Sometimes the "dealer" is a nonprofit that helps ALS PALS. The dealer will deliver to home and help the PALS get it set up. Without funding it costs around $6k.

Nudprodx also mentioned that Team Gleason is low on funds. Less funding through them for these shower chairs.

 

[ReginaS]

I do not know what company Team Gleason went through but the company asked for measurements (many) and used software to figure out what would fit in our bathroom. I was impressed. If Team Gleason does not have the money they might be able to volunteer the name of the company who they use(d). Tom had pretty fast progression - Tom died 16 months after diagnosis we were told he would have 3-5 years. We might not have spent the money out of pocket and it was great to have this chair... hard/impossible to tell what kind of comfort and relief is worth which price - especially when you have not even tried it out and have little idea for how long one will be able to use it. We might have used it less than a year.
With ALS the options were always shrinking until there were no good ones left... and then none at all. It took a lot of breathing for both of us to go along with that.

 

[MupstateNY]

Today I learned that my ALSA chapter will refund up to $4,000 per year of ALS-related purchases. Wow. Also if I put it on a credit card, that can be used to spread out the expense because they will only reimburse $1,000 per quarter. Sounds like a good trick.

I have no idea what I'm going to want later on -- but I feel quite daunted by my elderly house.

I will look for some hypoallergenic cleansing wipes in the drug store.

What is a hair wand system? Google keeps offering me curling irons.

I actually own some non-perfumy (I'm allergic to perfume) dry shampoo. I bought it to control the static electricity in the winter. I will try it out for cleaning. Also maybe the home health aide will bring some creative ideas when she starts (hopefully mid-Feb). I tried a gel from CVS that you don't have to wash out, but it made my hair gummy. Maybe I used too much. I put a lot on because I hadn't washed it in almost a week. I didn't quite understand the washcloth for the scalp. I think my hair must be on the thick side.

 

[affected]

I have thick hair and can't imagine dry shampooing it.
You may have to consider cutting your hair short at a certain stage.
My Chris had hair nearly to his waist before diagnosis. One day, he just looked at me and said, I'm getting my hair all cut off tomorrow. I was stunned. It made things so much easier, but it did break me just a little. But it was more practical as his hands went very quickly after his voice.

The hair has me stumped too!