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My mother was diagnosed with RA recently. So now I'm trying to make my house as comfortable as possible for her. I've already provided her with such things as switch extensions and reachers, and now I need to choose a good lift chair.


Which lift chair should I buy or rent? I found some reviews, but still I'm not sure if these models are appropriate for a person with RA. Also, isn't it dangerous to use such things in her condition? She's trying to convince me that everything is not that bad and she wants to stay mobile as long as she could, but I consulted her rheumatologist and he said that her knee joints are damaged. So I'm asking you to share your experience.


Thanks in advance.

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I bought two lift chairs for my folks. They were around $800 each but not very well made. One quit working in about a year.

I think the factor for your mom, would she be able to use the pendant button to operate the chair.

The chair was a help to my mom after hip surgery but as dementia developed she couldn’t remember to use the lift feature.
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amaranth Sep 2018
It's very upsetting to know that some manufacturers are not reliable when it comes to medical supplies. What about warranty? Was it already expired when your second chair went off?

She's able to use our stationary phone with big buttons, so I hope it won't be a problem.

Glad to know it helped, though it's a heartbreaking situation. Sorry for you loss.

Thank you again for the answer, Windyridge!
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I bought a lift chair for my mom with spinal stenosis. She had trouble getting up and she uses a walker. We bought a very nice chair at Art Van Furniture for about $700. My mom is tiny and this is a smaller chair.we looked at Lazy Boy but they were $2000 and she looked like Goldilocks because they were huge. The drawbacks were it was upholstered in a gray color but she is incontinent. She also has dementia and knew how to put the chair back but not how to use the lift part. If your mom is of sound mind and can work the controls I think they are great for helping them out if a chair. Ours had 1 remote with “ up and down”. Nothing complicated or fancy. Again if she can understand remotes I think it would benefit her very well in getting out of the chair. If you can take her with you to shop and have her try some chairs. That’s what we did. Good luck!
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amaranth Sep 2018
Your story gives me hope that I could find something affordable too. But not only that. My mother is smaller than me, so it seems that we should be careful with size too.
We'll see. If she would be in a good condition next week, we'd probably go to the shop together. I don't want to pick something from the internet without any chance to try it before buying.

Thank's for sharing your opinion, Judy!
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Good morning,

We bought my mom a wonderful lift chair at LazyBoy. The young salesman was wonderful ( they even followed up with me by phone afterwards to see if it was a fitting choice) He allowed us to try each ( I believe 4 models) He lead us to ,believe it or not , the least expensive and it had the simplest remote to operate.
Up- down height ... reclined or not. When we got home I showed mom once and then made her do it herself repeatedly.
I guess the muscle memory stuck because I do everything else and refuse to operate the very chair she sits in all day.

As far as the RA , my mother doesn't have it but I ( her caregiver) have had it for almost 15 years. I would love to be in that chair but alas I have to take care of all of mom's ADLs so I don't have that luxury !!

Since RA has good days and bad days your mom would be able to use the lift feature or not depending on how she feels.
Moving those joints on a good day is the best thing for her. I'm happy to hear your mom wants to be mobile while she can...unfortunately my mom's favorite statement lately is
" I can't"

Blessings !!!

PS . We went on a big holiday sale weekend and paid about
$1300.
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amaranth Sep 2018
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Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

Do you have any recommendations on particular models? I've started to collect reviews, yet still I haven't met anyone who'd use these https://www.top5reviewed.com/reclining-power-lift-chairs/ or these https://wisepick.org/best-lift-chair/ for example. Have you ever heard about them? Or they're not worthy?

I suppose, I'm going to make a list and then we'll go to the nearest store. After all, it's my mother who need to make a choice, since she's going to use it on regular basis. Even if I don't really want to disturb her and take her out for a "shopping".
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Mimi-of-2 Sep 2018
Hope your having a good day amaranth,

I will definitely get the name of the model for you .. it's at bottom of post. It was not an easy shopping trip to the lazy boy store ... wheelchair in and out etc .. but definitely necessary as we tried her in each of the 4 models and the one we went with was NOT the one I would have chosen.

The salesman stayed with us and showed each remote and the measurements. I would have bought the overstuffed beautiful burgundy top model. The young man led us to a simpler ,smaller more streamlined and firmer model. The remote was also simpler-- upright/ recline... lift/ lower. We showed mom how to use the remote and I purposely refused to do it. As she ages she tends to " I can't " to everything. It worked though as now she doesn't have to look at it to operate it.

I'm not sure how sedentary your mom is but I had to add a ROKU cushion as she had pressure sores on both buttocks coming home from rehab. ROKU also worked because upon healing we've not had them back.

As far as your mom's RA ... I was diagnosed at 31 with 4 kids under 6...I never had the time for bad days ... 😇... lol....
Seriously though ... I am on steroids as well as a DMARD medication. I'm not sure of your mom's age and what treatment they may or may not give her as some of the meds are as hard as the pain some days. I have joint damage but I know it's mostly from lack of rest during my flares. In case no one is telling you --- you're taking good care of your mom.

I love my mom so I'm here(her house) but there are definitely days I could use a break.. something my siblings do not take into account (they neither help nor call unless they want $$ but a story for another day) and unfortunately age and beginning stage dementia has made my mother incognizant of my health as well.

The model of the chair is :
Ally Silver Luxury-Lift Power Recliner.

Blessings !!!
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If you can easily rent one I would try that first or at least insist on having her try using a fully operational floor model, my mom's old caregiver could tell you lots of horror stories about people who were dumped on the floor by their chairs.
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