Scared myself
 

I stepped out of the shower onto the rug, like I have for what, 50 years or so? Grabbed the towel off the vanity thing, dried my face, and started to towel dry my hair. Just like I have for 50 years or so. And suddenly I was starting to fall backwards into the tub! :eek:

I caught my balance quickly, thank God, with nothing but my stomach in my throat and a rapid heartbeat, but I scared myself good. I DO NOT like being reminded of how quickly things could go horribly wrong if I stop paying attention for two seconds. :mad:

So true!! I'm glad to hear that you're alright.

The shower is the scary place, I think, for most of us.

Again, glad that you're alright.

Niko:cool:

it only takes a few seconds too. Glad you are okay.

Whew!
 

Thank heaven you’re okay.

They say the bathroom is the most dangerous place in the house. With all the water about and having to climb in and out of the tub, I can see why.

My balance isn't very good and I've had a few near misses. My husband installed a bunch of wall bars (he calls them my "not flying trapeze” handles) and that has helped. I’ve also found it useful to towel off before I step out of the tub. Still, I wonder if that’s enough. Has anybody here got one of those walk in sit baths they advertise on TV?

Those baths are fine as long as you can lift your legs. I always have a custom roll in shower made every time we move because I can no longer lift my legs high enough to step over even a 2" lip.

I don't know what those baths cost, but a custom shower is about $5000.00 and is much safer.

gmi

As I went downhill but could still go up stairs to sleep and have a shower, eventually I could not lift leg to get in and out of tub. DH put grab bars to help me in and out and in hall so I could get to tub from the bedroom, but eventually he built a room and roll in shower on first floor. I go from wheelchair to shower chair with his. If I wasn't lucky he can build, I don't know what would have happened. Be careful!!! I have to be aware my every move now. I can self-toilet and transfer to bed using bed-post, but need something to hang on to.

We do!

It's ok, it has hand rails on the wall in the back of the tub and on front. It's really comfy to sit in, but we got one of the smallest walk in tubs that they have. It cost a LOT. I dont remember specifically what it was, but it was really expensive.

It is a LOT better than the people trap of a bathtub that we had when we first moved to this house. That tub was one of those jacuzzi tubs that was super huge. None of us could get in and out of that without help. The one time I used it, I had to grab a hold of my dog and tell him to stand still while I used him for leverage to get out of the tub. (he was a big dog, and I think he would have made a great assistance dog.)

The problem with the walk-in-sit-down tub is that it's a narrow space. You still need to be careful when getting in and out. I love the fact that the tub company sent handrails to attach to the wall once the tiling was finished. They matched our new tile perfect.

I do like our tub, but dont use it much because it's upstairs in the guest bathroom, and it's just not all that convenient for me to use. But it's great to get in there and play with the rubber ducks and turn on the jets.

I have one picture of it right now, right after it was installed, and before the tile was finished. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...1bd74f91c5.jpg

The only problem with the tub is that the toilet is too close to it by four inches. Doesnt keep you from using the toilet or the tub, just means that it's technically not up to code. If we ever sell the house, that could be a problem, but for us right now, it's fine.

I'll have to take a picture of it later, so you can all see it in it's finished glory.

Wow, Blessings, What a scare!!! I am so relieved that you didn't hurt yourself. :hug:

I have had those falling backwards with no warning and can't stop..:eek: It happened often enough that, I make sure something is behind me to catch me, if I fall. I am overly aware of the perils of getting in and out of the shower and transfering to the toilet, that I am so overly careful..

I have a pretty safe system worked out, because I live alone and my doggy isn't big enough to help me.:D He just sits there and laughs at me..:rolleyes: I do a bird bath every day, but I only get in the shower once a week., whether I need it or not..:p

Blessings, from now on, when you get out of the shower, move over to where a wall is behind you.....do not stand with only the tub to fall into..:eek::D

My bathroom has a walk-in shower and a garden tub (that I've never been in!). The only person who's ever used the tub is my son.....and he just wanted to try out the whirlpool jets. If I got in there I'd never get out! :o

The walk-in shower is perfect for me. It has enough room to stand in the middle with a built in seat on either side. Makes me feel better knowing if I did fall backwards either way I'll have a seat to catch me. It would still probably hurt.....but at least I wouldn't go all the way to the floor!

B2Y be careful!!

I'm glad you didn't fall. :hug: I've had those close calls before though. I usually have to slow down then, at least to the speed limit, lol.

Take care. Lucky you had a near miss without injury. :hug:

Thanks for the suggestions, and for the "consolation"! :)

The frustrating thing is that I'm SO careful getting in and out of the tub, hold on firmly to the grab bar thing, make sure one foot is safely planted before moving the other, go veeeeeery slowly, etc.

I guess I must have been trying to hurry, and the combination of that, having my eyes shut or covered (?) and having my arms up waving the towel around, plus having a shower curtain behind me instead of a wall...recipe for potential disaster. *shudder* I can just picture myself...well, never mind! :o

I should have known better, because I have those arms flapping whoa-whoa-whoa moments just standing still minding my own business. And if I'm standing up straight, I sometimes feel as though I'm tipping over backwards.

Lesson learned on the hair toweling, but it does kinda freek me out thinking about the next lesson, what I'll be innocently doing right before I yell, "Bob! Help!" If I'm conscious, that is. :eek:

Ughhh....I get those sensations all the time. It's almost like that feeling of falling when you're almost asleep and you jump and wake yourself up. It's so strange because I'm standing straight.....feet planted firmly on the ground.

B2U, glad you caught yourself:hug:. It's so weird how you can suddenly have that happen...I almost fell in the tub about 2 mos. ago...don't know how the shower curtain held me up when I grabbed onto it, but it did. Now I move carefully and slowly in the tub. It is the scariest place in the house for me, and also the stairs.

B, i'm so glad that you're ok.
i've found that i can't close my eyes or turn my head while walking or i get off kilter somehow.

i think that's kind of common with MS. i can't remember what it's called.

My landlords put in a walk in shower for me this past summer. It also has a seat on each end. I feel so much safer in it than the old shower/tub. It does have about a two inch ledge so if I could not lift my legs, it would be a problem. I did fall backwards into my tub last Spring from the floor. :eek: I got dizzy and tried to grab the rod which fell also. Luckily, there was no major damage.:D

I am so glad you are okay. It is scary when we get distracted and things like this happen so easily.

Thank heaven you didn't fall B!! It's really a scary feeling, the backward falling thing.:( About three years ago I had Bath Fitter change my tub to a stall shower with a hand-held sprayer. Using a shower chair and of course grab bars, it worked great until, like Kicker, I can no longer raise my legs the lousy 2" to get in. With the glass doors, there wasn't room to use my "transfer bench" so last week a guy from Bath Fitter came and removed the glass doors and put up a permanent shower curtain rod. Of course now I have to get a new shower curtain somehow, but I'll be able to use the shower again while sitting all the time -- in, while taking the shower and out. Be careful and don't move your head too quickly. Even moving my eyes causes the backward falling thing now.

A question for those with limited mobility but are still able to "toilet". How in the world do you manage pulling up your pants? Having to hold on the arm of my "chair" for dear life, it's pretty tricky putting the clothes back in order. Sometimes I'm able to let go of the chair for a second and grab the pants with two hands but often I'm starting to fall back. grrrrrrr :( Who knew it would take a good half hour to p** back in my former life???? After falling down forward many times before getting my "chair", I sure wouldn't want to fall backward!!! Like Sally asked in another thread -- "Are we having fun yet?" :)

I'm right there with you, Judy..:) I still have my shower in my tub with a new handheld shower thingy and I still do a scarry backward fall into my sturdy shower chair. It's not so bad, and I can still lift my legs over the sides of the tub (sitting down, that is)

glad you didn't fall..

.I stepped on a penny on the walkway and lost my next step. I didn't fall, but I bet the the neighbors thought I was drunk as two skunks on a bicycle.lol

It doesn't take much for me to go into my enchanting imitation of the offspring of ET and disco John Travolta.