Hello all,
Mom has regressed to the point that she can not stand with my help. This is my problem. When I get mom off her bed to use the portable commode next to her bed, I get both hands to get her up and she used to walk the 3 steps to the commode with my help. Then I would put her walker in front of her to hold onto and have time to pull her pants down and sit her on the toilet. I can not do it by myself now. With help I can, the other person puts their hands under her armpits and I do the other work. My problem is that sometimes there is nobody else around. I like the fact that she can still urinate and move her bowels in the toilet. Has anyone got any ideas?------Jack

Does your mother have the help of hospice or home health? Either way, get a consult with an OT to help advise you.

You might consider a patient lift. Two brands are Hoyer and Invacare. I don't know if you can do this fast enough to get your mother to a toilet but you can try.

I'm pretty sure an OT can show you how to transfer your mother using a gait belt. It would only require one visit and your doctor can order it through home health and will be paid by Medicare, if she has it. Do take advantage of these home health services as it can make your life a lot easier. God bless!

Do they make something that is a sling that goes around her armpits and keeps her upright? The problem I am having is that I need to pull her diaper off when she is standing and I need one hand to hold her up. If I had 3 hands it would be easy. ----Jack

A patient lift has a sling with a hole in the bottom so that you can easily place someone on the toilet.

Here's a link to the Invacare 9805 lift, which I have used in the past:

http://www.invacare.com/cgi-bin/imhqprd ... -536885361

You will see an image of the sling on the same page. Click on it for greater detail.

Occasionally such lifts become available in our local support group. You might also check with Goodwill and Salvation Army as some of their stores sell these items.

Jack,
Been exactly where you were several months ago. We had her dr write a script for a Hoyer lift, which her insurance would cover. However, before filling it, she had some setbacks and qualified for hospice. Hospice brought a Hoyer lift and a sling with the bottom cut out. We used it for a while, but the problem I had was that you had to take off the depend before putting her on the bedside commode. By the time you put the sling underneath her (while lying in her bed), take off the depend, hoist her up, she can go in "mid-air" missing the commode. I did keep towels on the floor by the bed and under the commode. This was really a problem when she was sitting in her recliner. I then had to get her back to the bed, take off the depend (I did try taking it off while she was in the chair but that was too difficult as mom is very rigid and can turn herself over), then lift her back up and get her on the commode. We finally quit using the lift for that purpose and went to using a bedpan. It's not comfortable for her, but easier on both of us. Now, she goes in the depend and isn't even aware of it most of the time. The Hoyer lift iss still nice to have because we can get her up to sit in her recliner so she can enjoy being with the family. But, now she's digressed more and can only get up every few days for short periods of time and I see that coming to an end soon.

My mom is at the same stage. I have the commode as close as possible to the bed.After I set her up, I have her hug me, sometimes I need to rap her arms around my neck. I make sure she wears a short night shirt then just pivet her as I pull down depends. I bent down with her as she is unable to bend at the knees easily. This is the way we do most tranferes now.

Thank you. The last 2 posts know exactly what I am going through. I can get her out of bed and I can get her on the toilet, but I can not get her diaper off in between by myself! My wife is recently retired and can hold her up while I quickly get her diaper off, then set her on the toilet seems to be the only way to deal with this.
One other thing, what is the dosage that everyone that gives their LO miralax? Once or twice a day, I have the packets.

Perhaps the trips to the commode need to end....?

It should say on the package what the Miralax dosing is. We got it in a bottle where the cap was supposed to be filled to a certain line. Standard is 17g per day.