Having a chronic illness (or many) gives you some unique needs. Over the past few years, I’ve figured out solutions for some of mine. I decided to share my 7 favorite spoonie products with you here.
Mobisyl
This pain relieving cream is my go-to. I love that there is no menthol in it, so it is safe to use on my hands with no worry about it getting into my eyes. Mobisyl works really well on most of my pains, reducing the amount of pain killers I need to use. This may not work for everyone as I’m sure many people have more severe pain than I do. To give you an idea though, when I was waiting on my surgery for the torn meniscus in my left knee, Mobisyl made a big difference in my comfort.
Dr. Teal’s Pure Epsom Salt Body Lotion
I rely on this lotion to help me with the leg cramps and muscle twitches caused by my fibromyalgia at night. After running out I decided I can never let that happen again. A few sleepless nights made that decision for me. I’m really glad it is available on Amazon Prime (a whole other favorite of mine).
Shower Chair
I never want to be without my shower chair. It saves me so much energy that I need elsewhere. Thinking about getting one but hesitating? Stop putting it off, and just get one. I promise a shower chair is well worth it. Between the energy saved, and the security of not worrying about your balance, it is money well spent.
Bath Cloth
My hands don’t always grip very well, and sometimes my shoulders get stiff. This can make washing up a challenge. I bought quite a few different products before finally finding this one that I love. It is thin and easy to rinse, so I don’t need hand strength to rinse and squeeze it out. It is long and narrow (as you can see in the picture) so it makes it easier to wash my back. I can also either fold/wad it in my hand to make it easy to hold, or wrap it around my hand if I have no grip that day. There is an exfoliating version, but I bought this gentle style, so I can use it even when my skin is feeling extra sensitive.
Knorks
These work like a fork and knife together. I love these because they are slightly thicker, so they are easier for me to hold. Knorks also make it possible for me to use one utensil to cut food when other forks would hurt my hand or make a knife necessary. You will still need a steak knife for steak maybe, but we regularly use only a knork on chicken, pork chops, etc.
The reviews on Amazon mention rusting. Ours have never rusted over the years, but they are around 10 years old so there is a chance the quality has changed. Personally, I’m thrilled with ours and hope to buy four more some day.
Healthy Back Bag
I bought this to use as a purse a couple years ago. From the moment I opened the package, I fell in love, and I haven’t changed my mind since. The adjustable strap design allows me to throw the bag over my shoulder, or across my chest depending on what is more comfortable that day.
These bags have a wonderful assortment of pockets, both open and zippered, for organizing your stuff. After a ton of deliberation, I decided on the small size. I need plenty of space, but I didn’t want to be able to overload it and make it too heavy either. Extra small would likely have been fine, since I do tend to accumulate enough in mine to get a bit heavy on my shoulder. It’s really nice having that space available just in case I end up out and about for a longer day.
As you can see, it carries a good amount. Here is the inside of the main compartment.
And here is everything that fits in each of those pockets.
This shows the outer zippered pocket and it’s contents.
The picture of the bag up top shows this zippered pocket. It’s large.
On the other side of the bag, there is another pocket that is just open with no closure. I usually stick my grocery list and phone in here. Sometimes my keys go in here, and other times I clip them on with my membership cards.
Finally, there is this nifty narrow, side zipped pocket on the opposite side from the main compartment zipper.
As you can see, my disability parking card and my key ring tuck way down into this pocket. You can hardly see it in there. I rarely need these things, but don’t want to be without them, so I keep them in this really cool compartment.
If I need to, I can still fit a water bottle and a couple of snacks into this bag. It will feel heavy, but it won’t be overstuffed for space. I seriously love this bag.
Wrist Warmers
I bought a couple different types, and used my loom to knit up another pair. The set I linked to here are the softer of the two I bought. I really love this brand and definitely recommend them.
This is the pattern I used to loom knit my other faves. These are the ones I wear at night when my hands get cold. I also used this pattern to make Christmas gifts for many of the women in my life a couple of years ago. They are quick and easy to make. I almost forgot I knit a red set for my youngest. He uses them as gauntlets, and tells me they shoot fire. 😉
I actually have some more favorite spoonie products I could add to this list, but the post is pretty darn long already. So, I’ll end this here, and follow-up with another like it if you all are interested. 🙂
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