Maybe I was being dense but... while I was all eager to have slender arms and redistribution and other perky benefits I didn't anticipate being unable to open jars.  I don't mean just one jar, but now three jars of jam (different brands) I tried to open yesterday and today using every possible amount of strength.  Fail.

I've only been on HRT 7 months, although things seem to have accelerated in the past month.  My HRT prescription didn't include a testosterone blocker and I got rid of a couple things (had GCS) a month ago.

So I'll ask a clueless question.  Is this normal?  I expected occasional difficulty with heavy lifting but... every jar in my kitchen?!  If I stop eating I'll be even less capable of opening a jar. 

I have to have my wife open even a bottle of water for me.  It is probably partly due to hrt but I do suffer from spinal stenosis at c7 and it can cause weakness sometimes when it flares.

Smiles, Jess

Just run them under hot water. 

But seriously, I used to be able to lift just about any double wide refrigerator into my van.  After about six months that became an impossibility for me.  Now all I can handle is a single wide.

$2 strap wrench set, a girls best friend in the kitchen.

Hugs, Devlyn

Wow girl, yes, what is with that??? It used to be funny to have to call our son over to do the heavy lifting but now it can be an inconvenience to not be able to open a jar of peanuts without a hammer. Devlyn has the answer, we need to acquire the proper tools to get the job done. But this is no justification to have a man around the house!

Tia Anne

I use a knife to pop the lid open, with air? I was always skeptical when my mom did that because of obvious safety reasons. But the strength lost there's a bit of dexterity gained. At least I tell myself [emoji6]

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I've never been able to open jars, lift the microwave, carry the vacuum upstairs, etc. But that's what guys are for.

I've always had to give the lid a bash with the back of a knife to open them. I've never been able to open stiff doors either.


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I am the go-to jar opener. If I can't do that anymore  ................ pop-tops!!! No pop-top, put it back

Before I started working out again my grip strength had gotten pretty weak too.  Now though I don't have any problems.


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In the past, before 3 years of HRT, I had strong arm and a strong grip, I could always open any jar no matter how tight the lid was.   Now, I have to use those little rubber gripper things and still can have problems.   I don't bang the lids on the counter top or with the back end of a table knife any more, I have broken a few jars that way.

If you have an old "church-key" can opener, just use the blunt end (the end used to pry off bottle caps).  Engage the blunt end under the top of the jar lid and just slightly lift up, just enough to bend the side of the jar top out a smidgen.  Then rotate the jar sixty degrees or so and repeat the process until you've gone all the way around the top.

Only takes a minute and it opens 'em every time!

Don't bend the top too much at any one location around the top or the jar won't seal well when you put it away.

Quote from: itsApril on February 20, 2018, 01:54:49 PM
If you have an old "church-key" can opener, just use the blunt end (the end used to pry off bottle caps).  Engage the blunt end under the top of the jar lid and just slightly lift up, just enough to bend the side of the jar top out a smidgen.  Then rotate the jar sixty degrees or so and repeat the process until you've gone all the way around the top.

Only takes a minute and it opens 'em every time!

Don't bend the top too much at any one location around the top or the jar won't seal well when you put it away.

My wife taught me that using a spoon handle on a mason jar lid I couldn't open a few weeks ago.  It was really stuck with some rust that had gotten between the lid and the jar.


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There's only been a small number of jars I couldn't open in all the years before HRT. I usually wouldn't ask anyone to open a tough one for me, I'd get a tea towel and use that to dull the pain till I got it.

Jars have got easier to open these days, but I do not know why. It's not like my wrists or hands are any bigger. Possibly the tendons are tougher, but there's no way to tell and I doubt they are on me. It's all in the grip I guess.   

 What my sister and I have done is to use a square of rubblerized open weave shelf liner to grip the lid. It really holds well and increases the grip on jars. Use one for the lids and if need be another for the jar.. I also use a piece in my pickup to keep the inverter and kleenex boxes in place that sit on the transmission hump. It will work for keeping things from sliding around on the dash too.

A couple of years ago my dad got my grandma an electric jar opener. It sets on the counter and you put the jar under it and this thing closes around the lid and turns it. She totally loves that thing. If I didn't have guys handy most of the time I would get one myself.

I could not open a jar of pickles I ended up dropping it and it smashed on to the floor so I did not have to open it. I am glad I am not the only one having this problem

Most of the time I can get containers open but in the past when I couldn't, I would have my roommate hold the bottom and with both hands I had the grip to take the top off. A few weeks ago I needed to open a gallon pickle jar and I almost couldn't get the lid off by myself. I guess it's time to visit Home Depot and take Devlyn's advice.

I couldn't get a soda bottle open at work so I asked my boss. He said "You have to open them like a girl now. Hold it from the bottom, not the sides." To my surprise it works like a charm. 

Hugs, Devlyn

Way too much of the time, I have to use a giant channel-lock plier to open jars. If Phillip is home, I have him open them. It helps to have 16 inches of leverage and strong steel jaws for those pesky jars.