Useful Gadgets and Coping Mechanisms

This is a collection of gadgets and strategies that I have found useful in helping me cope.  I know that they may not be helpful to everyone, but they work for me.  For gadgets, I'm not necessarily advocating any particular brand in most cases, but if  I think a particular brand is much better or worse than another, I will say so.  I would love to hear about similar things others have found.


A collapsible cane is SOOOO nice to have.  I used it at Disneyland, and just  folded it up when I got on the rides.  It opens up again with just a flick of the wrist.  One thing:  make sure that the cane can be adjusted to the appropriate height for you.  Since I'm 5'3",  not all canes work for me.
 This little grabber can't pick up everything, but I've found it very useful for things like putting up and taking down Christmas decorations.  It can't handle anything heavy, but anything that keeps me off of the kitchen stool or stepladder now and then is a good thing.

I use this little cross body bag to carry my cellphone and medication around with me all the time.  That way, when the medication alarm on my phone goes off, I have my pills right with me, so I don't forget.  Sometimes, I have too much neck and shoulder pain to have a weight slung around my neck, and on those days I use a fanny pack instead.

Pill organizers, of course, are very helpful both for "staging" your medication and for estimating how many pills you have left.

I always label the tops of my medication bottles so that I know what they are without taking them out and squinting at the label.  I make the labels on my computer so they can easily be read, even when I get up at 4:00 a.m. and my eyes aren't really open yet!

3 comments:

Robin said...

Love that tip and picture of labeling the prescription bottle tops! I will be using that one-thank you!!

Marian said...

Thanks, Robin. It sure helps me, especially on those blurry mornings when I get up at 3:00 a.m.!

Felix Lina said...

My husband was diagnosed with early onset Parkinson's disease at 68. His symptoms were shuffling of feet, slurred speech, low volume speech, degradation of hand writing, horrible driving skills, right arm held at 45 degree angle. Things were tough for me, I too was diagnosed of COPD but now we both finally free from these diseases with the help of total cure herbal foundation, He now walks properly and all symptoms has reversed. He had trouble with balance especially at night, getting into the shower and exiting it is difficult. Getting into bed is also another thing he finds impossible. We had to find a better solution for his condition which has really helped him a lot,The biggest helped we had was totalcureherbsfoundation. com They walked us through the proper steps, im highly recommending this herbal formula to anyone who needs help.

About Me

My photo
I'm a lucky lady. I have a wonderful husband of 27 years, a fantastic 25 year old son (I'm so proud of him!) a loving and supportive family, the best friends in the world, a job that I love, and... Parkinson's Disease. I was diagnosed in September 2006. That was a jolt, but I'm learning to deal with it.