All My Best Pain/Illness/Disability Recs, in One Place!

My first reaction to any problem is to try and figure out how to solve it. I love research and trial and error and finding solutions. I also have dealt with chronic illness and chronic pain for over a decade. I am a great chronic pain patient, however, because of the aforementioned problem solving. I keep a running list in my phone of things I want to talk about with my rheumatologist, and she is lovely and just comes in like, “Alright! Hit me with the list.” My number one chronic illness tip? Find a doctor that works well for you, and don’t feel the slightest bit of guilt about switching doctors if your doctor isn’t working out. This also applies to abled people! You don’t need to see a doctor that makes you feel anything but cared for and listened to. But, there are also some recommendations I have for how to care for chronic illness and pain at home. I’ve written about a lot of helpful products for the chronically ill before, and I thought it would be nice to aggregate them in one place. This doesn’t include every single thing I’ve recommended, but these are my top picks, most recommended, and most used. Plus, I’ve put them in order from cheapest to most expensive, in case cost is a factor. (This is also a great resource if you want to buy something for the chronically ill person in your life, to let them know you care about them and want them to be taken care of! HINT HINT.)

This is the Drugs Vase in my kitchen. (The little gold bowl is Hero’s Drugs Bowl)

Drugs… Within Easy Reach ($0.89 - $15)

I’m not going to tell you what pills to take or what you need, but I AM going to tell you once you know what pills you need, make them easy to reach. I have prescription pain pills and regular ol’ acetaminophen scattered around my house. I buy a giant acetaminophen bottle from Costco and keep it in my nightstand, then I have a small bottle of the same stuff, but from Target, that I keep in a vase in my kitchen that’s full of various pills and potions (my prescription pain pills are in there, as well as TUMS and Voltaren). I just refill that small bottle from the big one. THEN, I also have one of my favorite Nalgene bottles (the 1oz one) that I fill with a combo of some acetaminophen and prescription pain pills, and that’s in a basket in my den that I can reach from the couch. I didn’t do all this pill arranging at once, I sort of added to it as I realized what I wanted and what would work for me, so you don’t think you need to go buying a whole pharmacy and creating drug hidey holes all in one afternoon. Or do! Sounds fun.

Here are links to when I wrote about Nalgene Bottles, Tums, and Voltaren. I also have a pill organizer for my regular drugs, which I wrote about here.

Arthritis Gloves ($10)

If you have an ache in your shoulder or knee there are stretches to help ease it. Plus, it’s just easy to kind of wiggle around and work out the kinks, even without doing the “right” stretches. But hands and feet are a whole other issue. I’ll talk more about feet later, but where are the stretches for HANDS?? And what about if those hands are arthritic and hypermobile? And also they’re your hands so you need to use them to do most things! The best solution I’ve found is arthritis gloves. They’re fingerless gloves that aren’t super compressive, but give your hands enough of a hug to ease pain and make your joints feel supported. I can still type and use my phone and do most things with them on, plus you can just throw them in the washing machine (I air dry) if they get dirty. If you want to go next level, put Voltaren on your hands, then put on arthritis gloves.

I wrote about arthritis gloves here, and here…. and here (clearly I love them)

Yoga Balls ($15)

Speaking of stretching, sometimes pain is so high that you can’t stretch. Stretching one part of your body involves other parts of your body moving around in ways that might be impossible on any given day. But you still want to work those aches and kinks out. This is where yoga balls come in. The ones I have are actually called “Yoga Tune Up Therapy Balls” but I just call them Yoga Balls. They’re also marketed as massage balls, and if you want to go really basic (and cheap!) you can also just use tennis balls. I typically use these on my low back, glutes, and hips, and I use them in two ways. I either put one of the balls between myself and a wall and kind of wiggle around and find the spots that need targeted relief, OR if I’m feeling like I can’t stand up, or I just don’t want to, I put one ball on each side of my low back, sort of where my back/hips/butt all meet, and just lay on them. Another pro tip: If your muscles are really tight, like so tight that these balls are too painful to use, buy children’s tennis balls and use those until you can bear the harder balls. You need to specifically get children’s tennis balls. They’re a bit larger and softer than regular tennis balls, and they’re a great option for super painful areas.

Here’s a link to when I wrote about Yoga Balls, and it’s in a post about other pain relief products!

Weighted Hot/Cold Shoulder Wrap ($20)

I’ve started doing more weight training, and it has made me realize that my shoulders are in ROUGH shape. I think it’s a combination of arthritis, hypermobility, and limited strength, and it makes shoulder work particularly tough. And loud! My shoulders are clicking and clacking and popping and it makes me feel like I’m falling apart. So I’ve been really babying them, as well as trying to get them stronger through lifting weights. I’ve made a lot of impulse purchases to try and help my shoulders, but one of my favorite is this wrap I got in the As Seen on TV aisle at Target. There are a lot of similar products out there, but I got the ThermaComfort Weighted Hot/Cold Neck Wrap. It comes in a bag that makes sticking it in the microwave a breeze, it weighs 3lbs which is just enough to feel substantial and comforting and not oppressive, and it has a faint smell that’s calming, but I really like that it keeps this wrap from smelling like whatever food was last in your microwave.

Here’s my review. Rereading it made me go stick this neck wrap in the microwave and put it on immediately.

I’m not putting a picture of my feet on the internet for free, but here’s the basket next to my couch that holds YogaToes, that little Nalgene of drugs, plus other essentials like headphones, lip balm, and various moisturizers.

YogaToes Gems ($30)

We’ve talked about how it’s hard to stretch out your hands, now let’s talk about how it’s hard to stretch your toes. I dealt with a lot of foot pain when I first started using a stationary bike at home, and one of the big game changers for me was YogaToes. I was familiar with YogaToes from a childhood spent obsessively reading SkyMall catalogs any time I was on a plane, but they’re not some weird gimmicky product you read about on your flight to Las Vegas, they’re actually helpful! I can tell when I haven’t been wearing my YogaToes (I have YogaToes Gems) often enough, and I keep them next to my couch so I can easily pop them on while I’m watching TV (they’re in the same little basket as my Nalgene full of painkillers).

I already linked it above, but you can read my review of YogaToes Gems here

Heating Pad ($35)

I am a heating pad evangelist. Fun(ish) story: An author I follow on Twitter asked her followers if they had any recommendations for a heating pad. I swiftly responded that I have chronic pain and when I tell you THIS is the best one, I am speaking from EXPERIENCE (I think I came across as less pushy but also, this is just who I am). Then later she recommended it in her newsletter and said, “This really is the best one!” and I felt so VALIDATED. (Seriously, if you ever buy something I’ve recommended and you love it, TELL ME! I live for this stuff.) I will now only buy XL heating pads, with both a timer shutoff and a way to disable the timer, and multiple heat settings. My gold standard, buy this one and no others, was this Sunbeam one, but I recently wanted one for my couch, and I wanted it to sort of match (gray) so I got this one and it’s just as good. You can get a cheap heating pad at the drugstore, but it is worth every penny to get an “expensive” one that will last.

I first wrote about my beloved Sunbeam heating pad here, and I also mentioned it here, and it got a little shoutout here (Like I said, I LOVE IT.)

TENS Machine ($80)

There are all kinds of TENS devices, at a lot of different price points (and some are covered by insurance), so I’m just going to tell you about the one I have, because that’s all I can speak to. I have had two TENS units made specifically for lower back pain, and the more recently purchased one is controlled by an app on your phone and is just very tech-y and cool. Also, it really helps with low back pain! I don’t need to use this too often anymore, but when I DO need it I’m SO GLAD it’s around. I usually use it laying down, but if you have a fresh set of sticky pads and high waisted pants you can definitely get away with wearing this while you’re doing stuff around the house.

I didn’t say too much about what or how this TENS unit works because I wrote about it extensively here

Massage Gun ($100)

I wanted a Theragun for a long time, but they are not cheap and I didn’t even know if I would like it. But sometimes you get aches that just need to have the ache beaten out of them, and, particularly while Covid is a thing, it’s not always easy to go get a professional massage. I got this Sharper Image Theragun knockoff from Costco and it is GREAT. I also read a post on the Peloton subreddit where someone said they got the same Costco massage gun, and had used a Theragun that their parents owned, and they are virtually identical.

Here’s a whole post about my Costco massage gun

A Good Pillow/Sleep Setup ($70-$120)

One thing I have learned in my time as a sick person is that there is no limit on how much you should spend to have good sleep. That expensive mattress? Pillow? Sound machine? Whatever it is, whatever it costs, it is WORTH IT. I have had a LOT of sleep setups, and for a long time my gold standard was a maternity pillow. This isn’t just something I’ve discovered - I’d be interested to know what percentage of maternity pillow buyers are actually just chronic pain patients. I’ve had this one and this one. But they’re very large and it was hard for me to store them when I didn’t actually want to be using them, so I switched to a contoured memory foam pillow and this body pillow. Recently, I discovered the Pillow Cube, and I am obsessed with it, so my current setup is Pillow Cube, plus shredded bamboo body pillow. (Other great sleep helpers I love are my “napping pillow” and my Leesa Mattress.)

I wrote about maternity pillows here, the Pillow Cube here, my napping pillow here, and the Leesa mattress here

Food Delivery (Follow Your Heart and Stomach)

Sometimes, you’ve just gotta have someone else bring you food. Food delivery is a critical tool in the chronic illness toolkit. Just two days ago I had finished working, I’d exercised, and I was about to get in the shower, when I realized I was exhausted. I had planned out what I was going to make for dinner (I plan dinner while I’m on the bike… most days), and it just seemed impossible. I had gone to the store the day before! I had food! I had a plan for dinner! But I ordered pizza, because sometimes you’ve just gotta. And it’s fine!

Here are some tips for food delivery when sick, tired, or just unable to feed yourself for any reason: Get all the apps downloaded on your phone and have your address and payment saved BEFORE you need to use them. You don’t want to have to deal with downloading and signing up and all that when things are dire and you need food NOW. Food delivery in Covid has been fraught, so tip well and if you can, find a delivery service that is as good to restaurants as it is to you. ChowNow charges restaurants a flat fee each month to use their platform, instead of taking a percentage of every order. Eat Okra is an app that highlights Black owned restaurants in your area. And, let’s be real: It’s not chic or anything but I use Domino’s a lot (like two days ago) because they always have coupons, they have a good rewards program, and they deliver FAST. When you’re feeling up to it, set up some apps so you are prepared to take care and feed yourself when things are not going to plan.