camodes

[Sh0rty]

like a van, a camode has and is, trying to be shoved down my throat. still tired from the fight against a van i just thought why fight this they must know what i need right? last night i went over to someones house (who is in a chair also) so i could just pick her brain. she has been in a chair for about 14 years and her friend who was also there has been in for 24 years.
while touring her house in the bathroom i made a comment about her not having a camode...she said no she doesnt she just transfers onto the toilet and they both said i dont need a camode and dont get one. i really dont want one if it is possible not to.

SO.....it just got me thinking....cus i thought everyone had to use one (for some reason) So, how many people use one? and how many dont? in your opinion do you think it is better to get one? not to get one?

[Curt Leatherbee]

On a regular toilet seat, no way to get a hand under unless you are some kind of contortionist, although I have friend who has pretty bad scoliosis and he says he is able to lift a butt cheek off the toilet seat pretty easy by leaning over. Not me, its a hassle, I can do it if I have too, but regularly just use a raised toilet seat (the kind that sits on four legs, raised about six inches) When I travel, I simply remove the legs from the seat (plastic seat is only about 3/4 inch thick) and pack it in my suitcase.

After I use it home, I throw it in the closet each time, makes my bathroom look less cluttered. Hope this helps out.

"Life is about how you
respond to not only the
challenges you're dealt but
the challenges you seek...If
you have no goals, no
mountains to climb, your
soul dies".~Liz Fordred

[mk99]

I use a comode at home. When travelling I struggle with a regular toilet or a raised toilet seat (if it even fits). The regular toilet thing just sucks. Curtis is right, I end up almost breaking my wrist trying to get it in there and the whole experience is even more miserable than normal. It's even more nasty, disgusting & messy than usual.

Commode makes life 10x easier for me. After finishing I roll directly to shower and save another unnecessary transfer. Raised toilet seat is not a bad option though. Less stable but doesn't take up a lot of space and is much more portable than comode. Whenever I travel I almost miss my commode more than my cat. -)

Shanna what are you using now? Don't you find a regular toilet very unstable, difficult & frustrating?

[Lshall82978@yahoo.com]

I use a regular toilet, always have. I've never tried anything else. It's a regular toilet and the only thing that is different about it is that I have two "handles" if you will, mounted on the wall on each side of the toilet that raise up and out of the way when I'm not using them. I only use them when I am getting back in my wheelchair.

Don't let people think you HAVE to use a commode-thingy. If a regular toilet suits your needs, then don't be talked into spending money on something you don't need.

[Sh0rty]

i hate anything that screams out i have a disability and some of u will argue with me on that i know but i like to do and be as normal as i can. i am fighting this SCI thing all the way to the end.
right now i am borrowing a cammode and i just hate it...i hate storing it i hate the looks of it i hate the idea of it. i have tried just doing it on the toliet without and i have probs getting off but i am getting stronger and i know with more practice i can do it.
and the hand thing i understand....it depends on the type of toliet seat u have i am told. and i am pretty small so it really isnt hard for me to do...although it is sorta hard but what part of SCI isnt hard.
i also dont want to have to worry about going on a trip or something and bringing that with me...arg cammodes!!

[Tara]

Shorty,
Don't get one. You really don't need one and traveling is so much easier if you don't have to have one.

[bushman]

Like curtis I just use the raised seat it is so easy to travel with, just fits in my suitcase. I have two bathrooms so I can leave mine on all the time and everyone uses my other bathroom. The comode is a big expense not covered by most ins. and is not really a neccesity IMO.
And a van is not always best either it is expensive big and usually a gas guzler aside from looking ugly (no offence to those with 'cool' vans)

[This message was edited by bushman on Aug 29, 2002 at 06:52 PM.]

[shacha]

they make a comfort heigth toilet now that is not as tall as h/c one you see in public places, but it is not as low as a regular one. my hubby is tall so the regular one is to low, and his camode was to tall for me(my legs fel asleep),
so this comfort heigth one is great my feet touch and it is that little bit taller for him. maybe thatis an optionbut i agree dot get usedto a camode if you don't have to.

[bob clark]

I used to use a raised padded clamp-on toilet seat but for some still unknown reason my left arm got weak and it was getting a little scary transferring from my wheelchair onto the raised toilet seat. And especially back again. I came really close to falling a couple of times so decided to get a shower/commode chair. (http://www.spinlife.com/Drive-Medical-Stainless-Steel-Rehab-Shower-Commode-Chair-Rehab-Shower-Commode-Chair/spec.cfm?productID=79701) I have a wheel-in shower so I should have gotten the shower chair a long time ago... it's a lot less transferring.

This way I just get on the shower chair and wheel it over the toilet and get that nasty job over with then go directly into the shower. It saves a lot of time too.

I haven't fallen outta my chair in over 20 years but if I do fall I'd much rather fall transferring from my bed onto the padded shower/commode chair and fall on the carpeted floor than fall on the very hard bathroom tiled floor. And maybe hit my head on the toilet, vanity or floor. And if I cath first the tile floor always gets wet from the water running down my arms and that makes the wheels on my regular wheelchair slide sideways even if I have my wheel locks properly adjusted.

If company comes over I don't have to remember to remove the raised padded clamp-on toilet seat from the toilet bowl. And be caught/seen trying to hide it as I move it from the bathroom into my bedroom closet! I took my closet door off and I can push the shower chair in there to hide it and use a broomstick with a hook on it to get it out of there while still in bed. Valet parking would be nice but whatcha gonna do... I live alone.

I could never get the job done right without a raised toilet seat. I'm an ASIA A T-4.

Bob.

[SCI-Nurse]

Bob, please don't respond to spammer posts like those that revived this 9 year old thread. The spam has been removed, but your post keeps the thread active. Thanks.

(KLD)