Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

In order to get out of bed in the morning, I have been using stick-on heat pads while I sleep. I have severe arthritis at the base of my spine and without heat during the night, not only can I barely get out of bed, but once up, can bare walk without severe pain for the first hour. The heat during the night has been a miracle for me. However, the cost, not to mention the landfill waste, of disposable, stick-on heat pads has been bothering me. I decided to look for a battery powered, reusable heat pad. When I found this item, I thought that technology had answered my problem. When the heat pad arrived, I gave a cursory look at the IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS. Yeah, yeah, yeah, blah, blah, blah. I charged the cute little battery pack I had also ordered, plugged it in and felt heat. The strap across my abdomen required some getting used to, because it slipped around and missed my lower back when I got into bed. But I was able to adjust it. There was one confusing occurrence. Whenever I would wake up during the night for a bathroom stop (I’m old), the heat pad had turned off and was cold. I would turn it back on, but getting up in the morning, the heat pad was again cold. Initially, I thought it was the power pack I had ordered, that it had drained of power during the night and turned it off. I used a larger power pack that I had already owned and had the same problem. Maybe I needed a stronger power pack since the one I have is 4 years old. So, I ordered a pack of 2 battery packs. Still had the same problem and when I recharged the power packs, I realized the pack still had 50% of power left. What gives? I decided to take a closer look at the IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS and that’s where I found out that this battery-operated heat pad did not work for my needs. Had I known the following information, I would not have purchased this item. On the 3rd fold out page of this brochure were the words “Auto-Off Feature.” The section went on to explain “The Auto-Off feature is designed for convenience and to conserve energy by automatically turning off after 2 hours of continuous use.” This auto-off “feature” was the reason I ordered more battery packs and was confused by I had such pain in the morning after wearing it. I then decided to look more carefully at the rest of the SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS. Several of the 23 itemized issues (TWENTY-THREE) of them stood out for me: 2. DO NOT USE WHILE SLEEPING OR ON SOMEONE WHO IS SLEEPING… Well, that rules out my basic reason for purchase. 11. DO NOT WRAP PAD AROUND OR NEAR THE NECK TO AVOID PERSONAL INJURY. There are times I need heat on my neck because of strained muscles. 12. DO NOT SIT AGAINST OR CRUSH PAD… How are you supposed to use it against your lower back? Only while standing? Doesn’t make sense for those of us with lower back problems. 17. DO NOT PLACE ANYTHING OVER THE HEATING PAD WHILE IN USE OR PLUGGED IN, SUCH AS A TOWEL, BLANKET, CLOTHING What? I’m supposed to stuff this pad inside my underwear and night or day clothes? I guess one is supposed to walk around naked with this thing on because you can’t sit (or lie) against it. After using it for a week, purchasing 3 battery packs, I have decided the heat pad does not meet my needs. I am sending it back. I hope this rather long review helps others who might want to purchase it for the same reason as I.