Adjustable sleep number bed vs hospital bed

[Adconley]

Does anyone have any experience or advice with using an adjustable bed instead of a hospital bed? We are considering something like a Serta I-comfort or a sleep number bed for my pALS husband and are wondering if it would work as well.

 

[lgelb]

It is not the same. Those are just high-end mattresses but the bed (frame) is not adjustable as he will need. At a minimum, he needs a bed that changes height (e.g. to use a lift for transfers), angles the foot (for comfort and to prevent swelling) and angles the head (for comfort and to improve breathing). You will also use these features to place and remove the sling that attaches to the lift, and for many other purposes.

 

[JimInVA]

I can't comment on the "adjustable" type of bed... but I can comment on Darcey's experience with the hospital type of bed. She moved from our latex queen sized bed to the smaller hospital bed when she could no longer turn on her own. Not being able to turn caused her back and body to begin to ache terribly after a time. An hour to an hour and a half and she'd wake me to turn her. This would continue throughout the night and was difficult for both of us. We thought that by moving to the hospital bed, with its ability to raise/lower head/feet would make a difference. Unfortunately, it did not. UNTIL...

We were able to get an 8" low pressure alternating air mattress from our local ALS loaner closet. Since then (now well over a year), she sleeps beautifully through the night. I use the hoyer lift to lay her in bed. I have the head/back portion fully lifted into a seated position and then push her back into it as I begin to lower her. This keeps her butt in the proper place to begin the night. She sleeps on her back and has no feeling of needing to move. Consequentially, she rarely wakes up on her own. She sleeps... so I sleep. Life has became awesome when we both could again sleep well. Recently, she has asked me to raise her to a seated position after my middle of the night potty trip before heading back to bed. I do so and lean her forward once or twice... just to stretch her back. This has been enough that she wakes in the morning without discomfort.

When I think of a sleep number bed, I see it only adjusting the firmness of the bed. Unless someone wants to change it throughout the night, then you're no different than any other bed. With the mattress that Darcey uses, it is always adjusting slightly... minimizing stress and discomfort. Good luck with your research. I hope you find something that works for the two of you as we have for the two of us.

Jim

 

[BlueandGold]

I recently bought a tempurpedic with an adjustable frame. The bed will raise the head to a sitting position and the foot of the bed raises and lowers as well and also has foot, lumbar, and head massage. I think this type of bed would serve pals in the earlier stages well, while they still have some mobility.

Vince

 

[Nuts]

We have a split king Sleep Number on adjustable bases, so the head and feet both elevate. Those functions are smoother than the control on the hospital bed. What the sleep number does not do is raise and lower the enter bed to facilitate transfers and patient care (he still goes to the hospital bed for physical therapy for that reason). My husband says that he's glad I insisted on the sleep number as we are still sleeping together, but I know this is not the final answer. As for difficulty turning, I got M rails and installed them at the head end of his platform, both sides, so he can pull himself over. Again, that's an interim measure, so I'd say you need to consider your budget. If you can afford the adjustable sleep number now and then let insurance by the hospital bed later, go ahead. If things are moving fast, you may want the height adjustable feature now.

 

[lgelb]

Vince,
I'm glad you were able to make a choice that you like, about an intermediate bed.

But for those who for whatever reason will be going straight to a hospital bed, let me point out that hospital mattresses come at many price levels and pretty much any topper can be used on a hospital bed: latex, foam, wool, combinations, alternating air overlay. It is often desirable to get a medical grade foam mattress -- no frills -- and then a nice topper. As Jim mentions, alternating air for the entire mattress is also possible but that is not for everyone.

Also, a hospital bed does not have to look it esp. if you omit the headboard/footboard. Admittedly, massage is not an option in "hospital beds," but there are humans for that...

 

[anderkling]

Curious to know what the disadvantages would be to an alternating air mattress.
Charlene

 

[lgelb]

Charlene,
Examples of conditions to which it might not be suited include poor vision, vertigo, nausea, spine disorders, subluxated shoulders, other joint instabilities, etc.

Additionally, some people w/o any of these find them problematic.

Also, apart from the VA, not everyone can afford or access one.

 

[djbailey]

We have the split king adjustable bed. it has works grate for us. Wife loves the massage feature. Don't think she will need a hospital bed, but she only 5' 4" and 110 lbs and we have an elevation feature on the PWC.

 

[Diane H]

Your question involves the two parts of a bed, the frame and the mattress, which have to be considered separately. An adjustable bed frame is fine as long as it has all the functions of a hospital bed; separate head and foot elevation, total bed height adjustment, about 6 to 8 inches of clearance underneath for a Hoyer type lift unless an overhead lift is going to be used, and the ability to work from both sides of the bed (meaning a full, queen, or king would have to separate into two beds.).

Mattress such as the Tempurpedic, Sleep Number, etc. are for comfort for an able bodied person. They are not constructed with the necessary consideration of preventing pressure sores. They will only be temporary for a person with ALS. These mattresses are constructed using memory foam. Memory foam is great for ALS patients for quite a while in the disease process but not generally for the whole time.

Memory foam overlay pads are the first step in comfort and the prevention of pressure sores. Next there will need to be modification of the memory foam to include layers of medium density and cut out areas of low density memory foam for high pressure areas. This is how medical supply mattresses are constructed and the same thing can be done by purchasing and cutting layers of high, medium, and lower density memory foam.

Next up the hierarchy of mattresses are air flotation mattresses. (There may be gel flotation mattresses but they would be very heavy.) These are not the blow up air mattresses sold as beds for guests! They are constructed of individual but connected air cells so that air is shifted out from under high pressure areas, and are very effective for both comfort and pressure sore prevention. The next level is an alternating pressure air mattress. This step up adds a motor which alternately inflates and deflates sections of the mattress. The ultimate mattress for pressure relief and comfort is a rotating mattress which gradually turns the person from modified side to side position. This can greatly reduce the need to awaken the caregiver for repositioning. As Laurie (lgelb) mentioned, the turning may not be suitable for everyone, especially those with shoulder pain.

In choosing a bed and mattress the speed of the person's progression and money available to upgrade repeatedly has to be considered. Insurance coverage won't apply to Tempurpedic and other non-medical beds. Unfortunately it can be difficult to get insurance to cover medical beds until there is evidence of a pressure sore.

 

[DreamsEnd]

We bought a sleep number bed, with dual controls for head lift, leg elevation, massage thinking that would be good long term but it wasn't. Because the bed could not be raised itself for Hoyer use and advanced stage care. It's very hard on your back to roll or bathe your partner on a lower bed.
So we got an alternating air mattress on his hospital bed and that was netter for sleep and pressure spots. Fortunately our large bedroom had room for both.
Near the end I put him in our sleep number so we could be next to each other and cuddle but he wasn't comfortable with that - so back to the hospital bed. I just pushed then together so I could still be at his side. But as I was reading this I did have a thought that you could add height extenders under the legs of the Sleep number but I'm not sure how stable that would be.

Sherry

 

[Adconley]

Thanks for all the comments, it really helps decision making to hear from people with experience. I am/was considering a sleep number only in conjunction with the adjustable base, but wasn't considering how that would work with a Hoyer lift. If anyone out there is using those things that raise the bed, I'd be interested in learning if it is stable.

 

[4tloml]

We have 12" legs on a Temperpedic adjustable base (head/foot each raise/lower) and an adjustable mattress with separate control for lumbar and for head/foot. (Our OT told us we could set control on firm for transfers then adjust for comfort.) The base has 3 leg heights available (12" were the tallest).

The 12" legs are stable and high enough to make getting into and out of bed easier for my PALS, although he does not yet need transferring. The Hoyer will fit under the base with the 12" legs (according to the OT). We acknowledge there may yet be a need for a hospital bed, but for now, the split king keeps us together and can separate when caregiver(s) need to get to both sides of his bed.

 

[zoohouse]

I looked into a sleep number bed that allowed the head of bed to be raised, but realized very quickly that it would make turning him very difficult. As a nurse it is very important to have a bed that elevates to a comfortable height so that there is less chance of a back injury to the care giver. Also if the person is large it will require more that one person to do position changes and a single width bed allows access from both sides. Tim has the probed and I can not say enough about it, although he is a Veteran and it was purchased by the VA for him. When Tim became very sick with his gallbladder I did not want to let go of his hand, so I moved his pwc and slid my bed next to his and lowered his bed to the same height as mine. Because he can only tolerate being on his back or right side I left the left bed rail down which allowed me free access to him. Now that he is all better I still do the same thing so that I can hold his had and cuddle when the bed turns him onto his back. Another positive is that our little dog can move between the two of us and I feel like I have a larger bed instead of just a twin.
Paulette