Heat pad/electric blanket advice please

[Createausername1970]

DH has osteoarthritis in neck. Pain comes and goes. At the moment it is worse first thing in the morning and he struggles to get upright I am doing him a hot water bottle to pop under his neck/shoulders when he wakes up and the warmth seems to loosen him up.

I am wondering if an electric blanket on a timer, so it comes on about half an hour before the alarm goes off might help.

Does anyone have any thoughts about this or any other suggestions that I hadn't thought about.

Probably will give relief, though you may both be roastedwith the heat. I have a small electric heated blanket which works wonders when placed on painful joints. Something like this may be better suited and could be placed directly on his neck.

You will need to buy a separate timer I think which goes in the plug socket.

There are lots of small heated pads that could go on his pillow.

I bought a heat pad off amazon for my period cramps and it is fab! he can keep it down by his side of the bed and all he needs to do it turn it on and pop it behind him xx

Thanks for your input, it has given me something to think about.

The issue with the head pad is that his problem at the moment is first thing in the morning, and struggling to move/sit up/roll over. So in order to use the heat pad he (or me) would have to turn it on and then put it under his neck, so it would be exactly the same as me doing him a hot water bottle. I was more trying to find a solution that would warm his neck and shoulders up without any interventions from me or him.

Maybe we need a butler - or he needs a valet!

Not that I mind doing it, of course I don't, but he feels a bit dependent on me first thing in the morning and it means if I have to leave the house early to go to the office etc., then I have to wake him up early as well to get him mobile for the day. He hasn't said as much, but I think he would prefer not to be depending on me, especially as both of us are getting older and less able anyway.

Is there any way he could have it under his neck got sleeping and it just needs activated? Depends how accessible the switch is

There are lots of different types available, I have one that's shawl shaped that could be left on the pillow and put on a timer.
Dreamland Revive me Neck & Shoulders Heat Pad 47x52cm, Grey, 1.0 Count https://amzn.eu/d/2n14qcM

Could you put a heated blanket on an Alexa plug, and then he could just ask Alexa to turn it on?

@Createausername1970

I don't understand why you cannot put a pillow sized heated pad in a pillow case and put in on top of his pillow.

You can then use a timer switch like this:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B09B6QW3DB/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

and set it to come on in the morning.

Just make sure that the heated pad you buy does not have an on/off switch so that it comes straight on when you plug it in without you having to switch it on..

Or you could just put the pad in the same pillow case that his pillow is in, on top of the pillow.

I've had some excruciating back pain recently where my husband has had to tie a hot water bottle to my back because I pack the range of movement so I just wanted to say, I appreciate what you're doing for him 💕

Do be careful not to use anything with water or equivalent in. Local hospitals were inundated this winter with endless major burns from water bottles (leaks or other accidents) and the equivalent as we all tried to turn the heating off but keep warm. Even those plug in ones you can get online actually rise to a temp that would burn skin if there was a leak. Hotties seems to be the safest in that front since they are not filled with liquid.

Thank you all. We are off on holiday today - hot water bottle packed - and he managed to see a dr yesterday who thinks the issues might not just be to do with his arthritis and might be poly something or other. He has been prescribed some steroids and if these work and the pain goes, then its poly something or other, but if the pain persists then its not. He started the steroids yesterday evening, so we will see what occurs while we are away.

He does need to buy another pillow, to help with his arthritis anyway, so we will look at the heat pad suggestions as well and see which might work in a pillow case on top - it can't end up too high otherwise he isn't in the optimum sleeping position apparently, so says the osteopath. Oh Lord - who wants to get old!!!

Thank you for the comments about the hot water in the hot water bottle. I am careful. I half fill it, then push the remaining air out before I screw the top in, so the water has a lot of room to slosh around and shouldn't get pushed against the screw top. The hotty botty has a thick cover on, and he usually wears a tshirt in bed so it doesn't go against his skin.

Have a lovely holiday! It's worth checking under the bottle cover that there is no deterioration. Apparently they are meant to be replaced every 3 years. I had no idea! My friend had a very major burn due to deterioration of the bottle which he didn't know about under the cover.