My husband has been falling a lot, and nobody can figure out why. This morning he got out of bed to go to the bathroom and hit the floor like a ton of bricks. Does anyone have a method they use that alerts them when the person gets out of bed? We no longer share a bed because he is so restless I wasn't getting any sleep; although I did know when he got up and I could monitor what was going on. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Pam
I know some push the spouse up next to the wall, but since you are not in the same bed, that won't work. Are you in the same room - if so them you might shove your bed closer to his. If not, there are others that will come along with suggestions like matts with alarms or something
You may have to get one of those alarms pwiebe. This was one of the most difficult things with my mate , he would get up, pee on the floor, and then fall, every time. I ended up sleeping on the floor on a futon in the other room , yet I was so tired I could often not wake up in time.
Due to all kinds of "restraint" laws, AL facilities are not allowed to use beds with bars, but if you are at home, it's up to you. If it were me, I would definitely use the bars. They have some that slide under the mattress. Try this - http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&index=blended&keywords=Regalo%20bed%20bar
I ordered a motion sensor alarm from Vitality medical - there are 2 pieces-one alarm which senses that the person has gotten out of bed and is in the room (not a bed alarm) and the receiver gives an alarm to the person who has the receiver. This has worked very well for us because I can place the motion sensor near the bedroom doorway and it will alert the receiver if DH is going out the bedroom door but not if he's just gping into the bathroom. It's around $40.00.
LFL, I have that same motion sensor and it works great to alert you if they start to leave the bedroom. Before I got it, he would get up and wander all over the house at night. I don't think he ever went outside but one morning when I got up the back door was standing wide open. I wonder if it could be placed near the bed and sound off if they start to get up.
I have Paul in a hospital bed-that way there are rails I can put up and I hung the huge jingle bells on both sides of the rail,so anytime he tries to get out of bed it makes enough noise to wake me.Of course I have baby monitors in my room so I no what is going on in his room all the time.
So far we are still sleepng in the same room, seprate beds. Thank you all so much! I will look into these options. Honestly, I am so thankful for this website.
Never under estimate what they can do regarding getting out of the bed. My husband never wanted to call me to help get out of bed and wouldn't stay in bed when he decided he wanted to get out. He had a regular hospital bed with rails. We have a large bedroom and I slept in our bed and he slept in the hospital bed. He would get himself at the end of the bed and climb out some way in the small gap between the rails at the end of the bed and the foot of the bed. Hospice then ordered him a bed that was very low to the floor so when he did climb out if he fell he would not have so far to fall. I also had the bells but he could get out of that bed without ever making the bells ring. One night he got out of bed then back in and he got under the draw sheets and the draw sheets were still tucked under the bed. Also, one night I woke up because our dog was barking and he was sitting on the edge of the bed completely dressed. I never could figure out how he did that because he couldn't dress himself during the day. All of these strange things happened within weeks before he died and he was weak. Very strange.
JudithKB* I think they become vampires at night and can do everything they cannot do during the day! DH needs alot of assistance getting dressed in the am but in the middle of the night he dresses himself, comes downstairs and will be out the door if they were'nt locked.
Dazed, I just move the sensor so it is across from his side of the bed so when he gets up, not even out of the bed, the sensor detects his motion and the alarm goes off. I like this particular motion sensor because I can move it wherever I want in the room or house even. I bought a second on and put it at the bottom of the staircase that way I know if he's started to go downstairs. I couldn't live without them.
Smart Caregiver one to one wander alarm motion sensor it's currently $42.00 on the Vitality Medical website. You can order an AC adapter from the manufacturer if you want/need that. It has worked well for us BUT....when DH saw it and somehow understood it was alerting me to his movements (don't know HOW he understood this) so he hid it in his bedroom and it took 3 weeks to find it. Also, it is battery operated and it does go thru a lot of batteries if you don't turn it off when the spouse is not in the zone you want to monitor. I always check both the sensor and receiver each week to make sure the batteries are still working and don't need to be replaced. The receiver also has a belt clip although reviews on that are that is it flimsy and can break if not handled correctly. All in all I've been very pleased with this unit.
I got one of theseand it works great. It has a 90' range. All you do is place the motion detector in the room with your loved one and you can carry the alarm on your bilt or just place it near where you are. I have mine on the night stand next to my bed and if Kathryn lifts her knee in bed it will go off and if it will wake me it will wake anyone I think. My bedroom is about 45 feet from Kathryn's. Just copy and paste this link and it will take you to one of the sites that have them. If you want to google it just put "BC-202 motion sensor" and you will fine several places that handle them. It does a great job for me.
I was very happy with the Smart motion sensor and pager that I used. I placed it about five feet from the bed in a way that it would detect the motion when he put his legs over the side of the bed. If he slept late in the morning, I was able to work out in the yard but be alerted when he was trying to get up. During the day (when he was still mobile) I placed it by the bathroom door. I think I only had to change batteries once in the time I used it--several years of 24/7 usage. I would highly recommend it.