New here and hoping for some good suggestions

[HeatherG]

I live in Canada and with the winter coming I am having a hard time with staying warm in bed without being trapped. I'm waking up during the night and I can't move the blankets due to the weight and my lack of strength. I bought a silk blanket but it is not warm enough. I thought about maybe a silk duvet but don't know how heavy they are. Does anyone have any ideas? Anything that has helped you? Thanks.

 

[Green Queen]

Heather, welcome here, firstly.
I'm sorry you are having those issues. And I'm sure it's going to get a lot colder.
I'm assuming you wear all the good stuff like socks etc? That's probably the norm for Canada.
Since we have a fan on at night time all year round, I'm really not going to be able to help much, but I totally understand the frustration with not being able to lift blankets.
There are many wonderful people here who will have excellent ideas.
All the best with it.
God bless, Janelle x

 

[Green Queen]

Oh no mod! So sorry Nikki!
J x

 

[Sunvista]

Polar fleece is very light and warm. Make sure you get the real thing though by Polartec. "Polar fleece" has become a generic name for any cheap synthetic fleece.

 

[Nikki J]

Also put something warm under you. If it is hard to turn put something slippery ( like silk sheet) on top of thisnext to you but I have found sleeping on top of a fleece blanket helps. Also wear long sleeves. It is always my shoulders that get uncovered and I wake up shivering. Sleeping with just the blanket or duvet on top helps keep from getting tangled too.

 

[ShiftKicker]

There's also a nifty piece of equipment called a "blanket lift" that keeps blankets from weighing you down. It creates a little tent over your legs, keeping the warmth in, but allowing you some free room for movement. Most medical suppliers have them, or someone handy could probably whip something up for you. If you just look up "blanket lift" online, you'll see a variety of models.

 

[GregK]

How about a nice, light electric blanket or heated mattress pad?

 

[Atsugi]

I always worry about electric pads because they can cause hot spots if you don't move easily.
Also, sleeping on top of a blanket is much warmer than sleeping on top of sheets.

 

[gooseberry]

Flannel sheets? We have the opposite problem...its 68 with the air on in the house and Steve is warm..

 

[lgelb]

A low voltage mattress heating pad. Does not create hot spots. Fine to use w/ a hospital or other adjustable bed. Can use under mattress pad if you have one, or directly under the fitted sheet (though at least a mattress protector on top is always advised). Larry was cold throughout his five years with ALS and his heated mattress pad was almost always on.

Depending on the seasons, we used a fleece or flannel fitted sheet, flannel top sheet, fleece sheet/blanket.

While sleeping on top of the blanket is warmer, true, it can cause sweating/fungus because most blankets are not very breathable. Because the fabric is not smooth, in order to trap heat, yet thick so areas of pressure can build up, it is also more likely to cause skin abrasions in less mobile people.

 

[affected]

A sheepskin to lay on can provide a wonderful amount of warmth. They breathe really well and don't usually cause sweating but insulate very well.

A beanie on the head can also be an important way of keeping the upper body warm as we lose much of our body heat through the head. Then the same goes for wearing socks.

 

[hjlindley]

I use a light weight polyester duvet With no top sheet and a blanket lifter. I tried everything else and always got tangled in my covers. This works great. Good luck!
Hollister

 

[lgelb]

Sheepskin is certainly worth a try. In our experience, it bunched up around Larry so we only used it in "non-underneath" applications, but every "body" is different.

 

[affected]

Laurie on the sheepskin I think it could have bunched up a bit when Chris was still able to struggle to reposition in the bed. Once he couldn't and was in the hospital bed it stayed in place.

 

[lgelb]

It varies. Since we had a slip sheet underneath the fitted sheet for years, a thicker pad probably wouldn't have supported our daily pivot turn anyway (it's hard enough to turn 250# supine 90 degrees w/ minimal bedding underneath). But the sheepskin mini-pads for thighs and arms worked well.

Bottom line, though, the low voltage heating pad worked well enough that we didn't need to overload him w/ bedding on top, which he wouldn't have been able to tolerate. It's more adjustable in terms of temperature, so a first line I would consider. We never had it above 4 on a 10-point scale.