aches in the buttox

[PALS]

Hello,
I am a caregiver to my dad who has ALS. In his sixth year his mobility is very limited and is mostly in bed. Recently he has been complaining of severe pain in his butt. He says that since his muscles have disappeared, the bone is just pushing painfully into the skin. His bed matress is covered by another type of air filled bubbly covering that is supposed to help prevent such aches. Obviously this is not enough so I was wondering if anyone has dealt with this situation and what is it that I can do to relieve his pain.

Also to note is that we do change his positions from time to time so that he lays on his sides but he still has the pain in his buttox.

Any comments will truly help and be appreciated,
Thank you,
PALS

 

[CindyM]

Hello. I am sure folks will check in with tips and ideas. I jsut wanted to offer you encouragement for taking such good care of your Dad. I hope things are going better today. Cindy

 

[brooksea]

PALS,

I'm sorry I really don't have a solution for you. My husband just received a Roho cushion from the loaner closet for his butt. He was talking about going to a plastic surgeon to have silicone implants placed on his behind! :mrgreen: Hope you can find a solution. Maybe someone else will be of help!

 

[Al]

I haven't used one but the memory foam mattresses are supposed to be good for that. I have a Spenco mattress cover from the ALS loan closet that works for me so far.
AL.

 

[ZenArcher]

If a memory foam mattress cured a pain in the a$$ you know that every wife out there would have one :mrgreen: Hey wait a minute......I've got a memory foam mattress :evil:

Joking aside, I have a Tempur-Pedic mattress that I got years before my diagnosis. It does distribute the weight evenly and I believe it would help but I can't say that for certain.

 

[dadsgrl4life]

Pals,

I was wondering what your reactions were when your father was diagnosed with ALS? Because Im having a hard time with just knowing that at my dads next appointment, they are going to diagnose him wiht ALS. How were some ways that you got through the news?

Heather

 

[Steve100]

I just tried to concentrate on my Mother, and let her know she wouldn't be alone, and that we would look after her. After that, you just have to take one day at a time. There's no real magic formula, You won't be able to stop the shock
, you just have to steel yourself and go forward.

Hope this helps.

Steve

 

[givenin]

My husband is using what they call a RoHo dry floatation device. We received it on loan from the ALS soceity. His butt still gets a little sore but not nearly as bad as before and the smile on his face when he first sat on one was priceless.

 

[hearts_and_thoughts]

When I helped care for a quad in 2006, he used to have a lamb woolskin chuck that was placed underneath his buttocks. He also had a air mattress in his hospital bed that would "turn" him. It's very important to keep his weight shifted every two hours to avoid bed sores. Making sure he is dry is also very important. I hope this helps. I know it's not much...

Your dad is very, very lucky to have you!

God Bless you!
Mary Jo

 

[NvrGiveUp]

T's butt is disappearing, but one thing she has been using for a while now is sort of like a heavy-duty water cushion. It is just heavy-duty plastic (looks like a float almost) that you fill up with water. A mini-water bed for her wheelchair. She got it in Brazil, not sure if they have here in US but they should! God Bless everyone

 

[pamnandy]

Hi PALS,

Just a few thoughts. Can your dad spend more time in his chair instead of bed? We also have an air mattress along with memory foam, the best that we could afford. Andy's butt is very bony now. I'm wondering what kind of pain it is. Could it be a pinched nerve, as opposed to pressure pain? Does ibuprofen or naproxin help? Is the foot of the bed able to be raised and lowered, like a hospital bed? If not, perhaps a foam wedge might work.

Zen Archer. Thanks for the giggle!
Blessings,
Pam

 

[LauraW]

That happens to my mom. She has a hemmoroid circle pillow that she sits on and at night I put aveno baby cream on her (it is very thick) and she will lay on her side with a pillow under her so that her butt doesn't touch the bed. She also has a hospital bed with an air mattress.
Laura