head falling while asleep and can't pick it up to breathe

[rachlucia]

I am a caregiver for my mother and have had a lot of recent issues with her head falling while she is asleep. She only wears her bipap during the day and doesn't want to wear an uncomfortable neck brace at night. When her head falls she now can't pick it up or make a noise loud enough to wake one of us. She sleeps in a recliner but must have a pretty good incline because of her comprised breathing. Have any of you used any type of alarm system for this? If not, do you have other recommendations? This problem has already caused one hospital trip and I am afraid that the next accident may be worse! Please help! Thank you!

 

[Nikki J]

I am very sorry about your mom. I do not have an answer for you but wanted to share about neck braces. My sister refused to wear one as recommended by her ALS team. While being repositioned she ruptured a disc in her neck and tore a ligament. Required very dangerous surgery under general anesthesia. Very lucky not to end up on vent! How many different collars has she tried? There are a variety of different kinds

 

[rachlucia]

Nikki,
She has a basic soft collar, a miami J collar, and a brace we found online ( I think called Steve's brace). I ordered an alarm last night off of amazon that is made for drivers who may fall asleep. It is supposed to fit over the ear like a bluetooth thing and is supposed to alarm when her head drops. She slept in her PWC last night and did not have any problems, but I just want to be careful.

 

[rosec]

rachlucia, try to get her to use her bipap when she sleeps. May be she can try it when she naps? My husband uses his bipap whenever he is lying down. He uses the Swift LT strap thingie that allows the bipap tube to go up and over his head that way it doesn't interfere with turning while sleeping. He sleeps in a hospital bed with the head raised about 9".

 

[Santa joe]

My pals in on a vent so I use a very soft travel pillow to hold his head up. His head leans to the left so I roll it and put it under his left cheek. Helps a little bit. He will use something a few times then refuses to use it again. So far 3 weeks!

Debbie

 

[rachlucia]

Thank you for all the feedback so far! She did actually sleep with her bipap for about 1.75 hours last night. I will take any improvement I can get. She said she is just worried because she can't make a loud noise over the bipap and is afraid that something might go wrong and she won't be able to get our attention. I think we are on our way to doing things more efficiently and safely but it is just tough always coming up with solutions to new problems!

 

[Atsugi]

I simply stayed awake next to my PALS while she slept, and kept track of her breathing and positioning. Just an idea.

 

[dalvin]

If she still has some use of her hands, you might try some type of a buzzer, like a cordless doorbell, so all she has to do is push a button and the bell rings. The ringer could be placed either Ina hallway near the bedrooms or in your bedroom itself and moved about to other locations through the day so it's always where you can here it. They're available at just about any home improvement store. Might give her the assurance that she'll be heard.

 

[rachlucia]

she unfortunately has no use of her hands. I so wish she did!

 

[minnesota]

We have a bell my hubby can tap if he needs me. Is there any part of her body that you could tape a bell too so she can ring you if necessary?
Sorry to hear about the neck issue! Foam always helps keep people in position or memory foam for the recliner so she is warm, can't move too much but should form to her body and keep her in place.

 

[MaxEidswick]

Sandy got me one of those u-shaped travel pillow to help keep my head up and it helped a bit ... until the dogs are it :-(

 

[lgelb]

The BiPAP should not be too loud for you to hear any kind of vocalization via a baby monitor (we have Motorola's) or app (connect a desktop/laptop w/ an iOS device, for example). If it is, I would suggest a different mask. I would also think she'd be more comfortable in bed w/ the BiPAP, and therefore might wake/need less during her sleep periods.

 

[zoohouse]

We tried travel pillows regular neck pillows, and specialized neck pillows and finally found one that works very well. We got it by fluke with our bed, as we tried to get it through the VA but they didn't have a way to get it. It comes from neck solutions . Com. It also supports him at the T1 level which is very important. Hope this helps.

Paulette

 

[DHollatz]

Does her BiPAP have an alarm that sounds when there is a problem? My Trilogy does although I have it turned off now. Maybe the alarm is turned off.

I hope you can figure something out soon

Dave

 

[seaside]

a magnetic pull tab . Alarm will help here. Normally the string is clipped to the patient's clothing. Instead, attach the string to the mask of the BiPAP, adjust string tension and alarm will sound when the head moves too far.