Riser recliner chairs - any recommendations?

[lostinyonkers]

Does anyone's DP's have a riser recliner? Is it useful, safe etc, and if so, what brand? Did the company insist on a visit? DF won't put up with the hard sell so that won't happen! Most of the sites I've looked at don't have prices so I immediately think they must be charlatans!

[holeinmyheart]

I think the whole recliner/ riser industry is a bit of a racket. We had one specially made for my MIL and it was unused as she went into hospital. It cost about 2 thousand pounds.
We asked the company who made it if they would take it back but they wouldn't as it was made to fit my MIls dimensions ( supposedly) huh! It fits me and my DH and Uncle Tom Cobbly and all.
My step MIl and my FIL have second hand ones that someone gave them. They are just as good. Both chairs fit me and my DH and although they are really ugly looking things, they are really comfortable and useful.
When I am really old I am going to get one.
We have sold my MILS now, but until it was sold I really enjoyed sitting in it.
Get a second hand one is my advice.
They are all the same price as the companies collude together, IMO.

[Helenluvsrob]

Look for 2nd hand I agree. Remember though they are v heavy and will need to come apart to have any hope of transporting in a big car. Local disabled supplies shops will have them without the hard sell in the home too. We went and tried em with mum but she found the basically rather scary.

Having seen mum use one the recline function is grand but the rise less helpful that you'd think. You still need to organise your legs to be in the right place and straight as the weight transfers etc and I reckon that if you can do that mostly you can stand really.

Top tip do not get a pleather or even leather riser recliner. They are too slippy. They seem practical with spills / incontinrbxe but would basically just allow you to slide gently onto the floor !

[holeinmyheart]

Towards the end my MIL was sleeping in a chair all night. So that is why we bought the chair as at least it would transform into a chair bed.
Before that we took endless beds, mattresses, chairs, water mattresses for her to try, all 'no good' She spent a couple of nights on the floor, having slipped down and refusing to call the emergency services with the pendant we paid for. She was supposed to wear at all times, but half the time it was no where to be found.
Refused to live with us as it was in the North. Couldn't possibly consider the North !
Now she is in a nursing home being really well looked after and sleeps in a bed all night. To think of all those year we travelled hundreds of miles in all weathers to make her happy.
We are preparing for our old age by de cluttering, down sizing and informing our children where everything is and paying our funeral costs now. I don't want them to go through what we are going through and have gone through.

[Tarrarra]

Following as this is my job for tomorrow with dm! We are also looking for stairlift and bathroom adaptations. The one place I keep finding on google is ageuk. I was hoping they couldn't possibly be rip off merchants as they are a charity??

[VertigoNun]

I Kea do a nice recliner, it doesn't rise though.

[Helenluvsrob]

Tarrarra we got the stair lift on eBay as a recon from stannah. Utter bargain and so quick.

[holeinmyheart]

We had a plastic chair, battery operated, that lowered my DF into the bath. He loved a bath. It cost around £300.
They ( the person) need a certain amount of mobility as they have to lift their legs over the side of the bath whilst sitting down. I thought it was very efficient.
They really need a wet room with non slip floor, plenty of things to grip onto. They need to sleep downstairs. Ours who are left, are now resigned to having a bedroom downstairs.
You eventually get to live in a couple of rooms anyway. A bathroom, kitchen and a sitting room, voila.
After our experience with all our old folks I am hoping to downsize to a bungalow with one large room and three bedrooms with ensuite. One bedroom for me and my DH, one bedroom is case one of us has a cough etc, and one for a carer or relative to stay. A very small outside yard.
Having driven hundreds of miles to work all weekend on Grannies/ Granpa's garden, I don't want my DCs doing someone else's garden when they have worked hard themselves all week.
All my lot clung and are clinging onto large houses until they start to rot around them. We have spent years trying to shore them up as they didn't want help only us!
I sound mean, but honestly they have all had their head in the sand and it is still there.

[CMOTDibbler]

My dgm had a riser/recliner but she needed it due to her fused hip. Now mum just has riser blocks under her chair supplied by the OT (like the rails everywhere, bed rail, bath lift etc) and a footstool. She'd be confused by a recliner and would quite probably try and stand with the foot bit out.

Locally, I have an excellent disability aids store which has OTs in store and areas to try things out (even a bathroom and scooter test track), which would be the best port of call to see whether someone can manage a chair and how they get on with it. Or whether riser blocks and a handrail would be better!

[lostinyonkers]

Thanks for all your advice, we are going to look into 2nd hand chairs. I've also organised a visit from our local occupational therapy team to see what their advice is. We'd thought about riser blocks, my gran used to have them on her chair, but DDad has a habit of 'launching' himself back into his chair when he sits and I have visions of him knocking the chair of its blocks!

[VertigoNun]

If your Dad isn't ill he learns not to launch himself and not to use that chair.

[Tink06]

If you haven't already bought one we got ours from Amazon - less than £300. Very frustratingly mil won't use it - thinks its going to tip her out. Have bought several mobility aids on there for a fraction of the cost at some of the specialist shops.

[LuckyNumber25]

Hi, re riser-recliner chairs - I got one for my mum from DFS. It cost about £1000 and has two motors, one for the back and one for the footrest. It is leather and IMO doesn't look as naff as some of the upholstered ones. I figured we could use it eventually and it would not look too out of place in our own living room.