Lactic Acid Rollers and the Squatty Potty – Your Community Recommendations

When managing psoriatic arthritis, sometimes the best recommendations come from fellow sufferers. That’s why we like to keep track of the products and treatments you say have worked for you. In our last article of your favorite things, we reviewed IMAK Wear, Sunbeam heating pads, the MyScript Stylus, Biofreeze, and the Lucky Iron Fish. Here are some of your favorites from Summer 2017.

Lactic acid roller

Lactic acid rollers. I hadn’t even heard of them until you brought them up! Lactic acid rollers look like foam-covered batons that can frequently be found in a gym or physiotherapist’s office (and if you’ve ever used their bigger cousins, the foam rollers, you may be like me and run far in the opposite direction). Have you ever found that after a particularly difficult day of running triathalons and karate in the evening, your muscles are sore and achy the next day? No, me neither. But sometimes the day after trying out a new exercise I feel this! This soreness is due to lactic acid buildup, and lactic acid rollers are meant to dissipate some of this to lessen the aches and pains after strenuous exercise. Simply roll the lactic acid roller up and down your muscles, applying firm pressure (it will hurt a little). One of our community members swears by these and says after a few days of using the roller her muscles feel much better. I’m going to try this!

Squatty potty

People with psoriatic arthritis are more likely to suffer from inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and Crohn’s. Doctors aren’t sure why, but inflammatory conditions and autoimmune conditions tend to “collect” (some people collect stamps, I collect diagnoses. Now if only I could sell my collection on Kijiji.). One hallmark of IBD and related disorders is difficulty eliminating, leading to many long and uncomfortable moments in the washroom. The Squatty Potty is a stool (no pun intended) that you place in front of your toilet to elevate your legs while doing your business. The angle and elevation of the Squatty Potty places you in a more natural position to relax your sphincters, which allows for a more enjoyable (and less strenuous) bathroom experience. Our Disabled Diva has reviewed this product too, if you want to check out her thoughts!

Squatty Potty

Blink health

One of our most frequently shared articles is “Tips for Paying for PsA Treatment.” In it, we discuss contacting the drug manufacturer or looking up copay assistance programs to help cover the cost of expensive prescriptions. We’d like to thank Tammy for her additional recommendation of Blink Health. The app is free to download and there are no membership fees. Blink Health finds the lowest price for over 15,000 medications. You pay online for your prescription, then pick up at your local pharmacy. If you have high co-pays, do not have insurance, or have insurance (like Medicare) that doesn’t cover your medication, feel free to check them out and see if your prescription medication is on the list.

Blink Health

BONUS:

As far as tools go for psoriatic arthritis, The Spoon Theory has got to be one of the best. Sure, it’s not a physical product, but it’s useful for explaining chronic illness to friends or family who can’t relate.

The concept went viral after Christine Miserandino wrote about it in a 2003 essay where she described explaining Lupus and fatigue to a friend. Essentially, those of us with chronic illness start the day with a certain number of spoons. Each spoon is a unit of energy that we can expand to do a chore or task. Some tasks take more than one spoon. Making breakfast uses a spoon. Taking a shower uses a spoon. And when we run out of spoons, that’s it, we’re out of energy for the day. You can read the original article by clicking here.

The next time you’re having difficulty explaining to a loved one why you had to cancel again, or why the house is messy even though you’ve been home all day, remember your spoons!

What about you? Have you tried any of the above products? Have some recommendations of your own? Let us know in the comments!