As your MS progresses, you may find it necessary to make some modifications to your home to make it safer and more accessible. Such alterations can vastly improve the quality of life for people living with the disease, allowing them to regain some independence and making life more comfortable.
Here are some common home modifications you may want to consider from the National MS Society:
Home Entrance
- Widened doorways and hall
- Ramp or access without steps
- Covered entrances
Bathroom
- Raised toilet
- Lever-operated faucets
- Grab bars outside shower and bathtub
- Low or no-threshold shower
- Shower chair
MORE: Advice for people newly diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.
Kitchen
- Lowered counters
- Creating space underneath counter tops to accomodate a wheelchair
- Front-loading appliances
- Raised dishwashers
- Front control ranges
- Side-by-side refrigerators
General
- Low pile carpets or non-carpet flooring
- Lowered thermostats and light switches
- Raised electrical sockets
- Rocker-style light switches
MORE: Six resources that will make living with MS a little easier.
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Any news on treatment for secondary progressive ms, which is what I suffer from. I’m 57 years old and would be willing to go on any trails available. I’m also wheelchair bound.
hi don’t know if you are in US or UK but…
there are UK SPMS trials starting on Simvastatin (spelling?) and Biotin.
Rituximab which is effectively the same as the new drug Ocreluzimab, has quite a few people UK and US with SPMS using successfully (Look for an FB users page).
Other than that most RRMS drugs could help preserve upper limb function but this has been overlooked because all the key measures of efficiacy (EDSS etc.) are based on mobility – we have been forgotten? check out the Barts Blog http://multiple-sclerosis-research.blogspot.com/
Are there any places to obtain financial assistance to make these types of home improvements?
These are all great suggestions, they just have one major problem; ALL of them require money-a lot of money-to do. Much of it is major construction. Much of it (electrical, flooring, walls, plumbing) also involves building codes as to where things can be located (switches/outlets) or what they can be covered with (sub flooring requirements are different for carpeting than they are for linoleum or tile). Then there is the whole load bearing wall issue that can quickly turn a $10k remodel into a $30k rebuild.
I don’t know about other people, but by the time my MS was diagnosed and I knew what I was dealing with, I did not have the $20k-$30k to remodel my kitchen (no appliances yet) or the $10k-$15k to do the bathroom.
There are a lot of organizations out there that will help with meds, medical devices, cooling vests, etc. and even a few local non-profits that will help with maintenance stuff like touch up painting and yard work as well as house cleaning services and snow removal/landscaping.
With the possible exception of Habitat for Humanity (which most of us will not qualify for)there is no one/organization that will help cover the construction cost of the suggested modifications.
What do you do if you don’t own the place where you are living? Remodeling of any sort is not an option and sometimes neither is moving.
Some more practical suggestions would be a grabber for reaching things that are out of reach; having a work table for food/meal prep; electric skillets, crock pots/slow cookers and other “counter top” ovens and single burner induction cook surfaces for cooking that can be placed on a table top; surge protectors that are plugged into an outlet and then mounted at a convenient height; motion sensors for lights and water faucets; chip technology (like for our cars) for locking/unlocking doors; portable aluminum ramps where appropriate for steps; free standing commodes without their buckets that can be placed over a toilet.
The two most expensive modifications in my list are the aluminum ramp and the door lock. Even those come in at under $1000.00. All of them can be done by a home owner/friend and all of them, with a bit of negotiation, can be done to rental property as well.
Modifications to your living space does not have to cost a lot of money or create a lot of stress. Sometimes a modification is simply learning a different way of doing a task and sometimes the modification is not doing the task at all (think Roomba).
Rhonda has great suggestions. As a retired physical therapist with secondary progressive MS, I can affirm changes to your home help a lot but they are sometimes cost prohibitive. A good home health Occupational Therapist can provide great suggestions customized to your needs – ask your doctor for a home health referral for and occupational therapist to come to your home and suggest modifications. Some simple helps that I have found are:
Expandable Door Hinges which can be exchanged for regular door hinges – adding 2″ to doorway opening
put rubber bands around bottles or hand held shower – this helps improve grip
extend the recline handle on your reclining chair/sofa by slipping a pvc pipe (hardware store) over the handle
use a shark sweeper to clean up dry spills – lightweight and easy to empty
keep a flashlight with you – on your power chair
Just thinkin’ we gotta help each other!
I am having the same problem trying to renovate our home but not able to afford it. I came across a site. Modest Needs .Org Self Sufficiency Grants!
What a useful, thoughtful, informative, positive, and constructive comment, Rhonda. Thank you!
Super accurate and brilliantly creative real-life solutions. All the best to you.
The MS Society always has lots of suggestions, but bringing them to fruition takes resources that not many have. Even if we can still work, who can afford all of these home modifications! Impossible! (Do you know how much a Rumba costs…..hundreds!) I am still trying to get a mobility scooter and it seems like a monumental task, I have no help with household chores and I have difficulties with the fatigue. I feel totally defeated ?.
Those are good suggestions.
It would be good to hear of modifications when you are not yet wheelchair bound, to deal with cognitive problems, vision problems, coordination problems, fatigue, …
We often associate MS handicap with the physical aspect but many of us, if not most of us have problems that have not put us in a wheelchair yet. Changes to your home don’t seem obvious in those cases, but they are important. Things as simple as removing clutter and clearing spaces, having a central place to keep reminders, etc.
Maybe that would be a good topic for a follow-up article? If so, I’d always be very interested in learning new tips and tricks!
I have yet to be diagnosed with MS. I am 65 yrs old and as I look back on all the symptoms I have had over the yrs I am surprised my doctors didn’t pick up on it sooner. $20k later the team of dictators found nothing wrong.
The one doctor they never sent me to see was a neurologist.
I lost my sight for just over 36 hours. It did come back, but very slowly. The chronic dizziness was said to be stones in my inner ear that sometimes dislodge, causing sever vertigo. I was told I was depressed and to take antidepressants plus Alorazolam for anxiety. It is these drugs that ended up masking symptoms until they became chronic.
When I turned 65 I vowed to get off all these mind altering drugs. Once they were all out of my system, I began to suffer from brain fog. Described it to my doctor it was like the worse drunk you can never sleep off. The insomnia might be the worse, but I do get a lot done. My sight is an issue, speaking at times is difficult. My brain detrails my thoughts at the worse possible moment. Words become difficult to get out. Remembering what I wanted in an other 6,000 times a day is frustrating. Falling and walking is a big concern for me as my bedroom is upstairs and my kitchen is down. Most of the time I live alone. I am Considering an assisted living arrangement until I am diagnosed. Currently, I have a wonderful primary care doctor that lets me bounce ideas off his head. Between the two of us we came up with MS. Now I wait to see a neurologist 90 miles away from my home. I he has had to send in three referrals for me to the same neurologist. I guess they are picky as to the wording.
I am a strong advocate for myself and my health. If I can’t be, who will. The only thing I can say to anyone is educated yourself, because no one else will. Keep a detailed list of symptoms. Don’t be afraid to research (not talking about Web MD) for yourself. Don’t be afraid to speak up and call some of these doctors on the carpet. If I said said no to mind altering drugs years ago, I may have been diagnosed earlier. Don’t let Someone make you feel like you are just crazy and need t be committed. They sure made me fell that way. Help your doctor find the right answers.
Stay strong and be thankful you have a voice.
Currently, I am more bed ridden than mobile. I have two cats and a dog that depend on me and I on them.
I wish you all good fortune and peace.