Sleeplessness

[Kclark]

My husband is having either spasms or cramps in his legs at night which he says has him tossing and turning. I bought the mechanical bed and he has the arm rail and he says it is all he can do to move around but he manages. He wakes with “bone pain” in his upper arms and back pain. When sleeping he looks like he is folded up. I try to place pillows behind his back but he says it either makes him hot or he can’t get out of them. I saw on the side sleeper post about a knee pillow. Any other help or linked suggestions would be so much help. It seems each day is a new ache or pain and I feel like I am throwing darts at a moving target and I keep researching and buying things and in the end they end up piling up on the floor and he is still miserable. Thanks in advance

 

[lgelb]

If he's getting hot, I recommend light layers, including a bamboo top sheet and really light cotton (muslin) or poly blankets, that maybe he or you can add/subtract and a fan, usually aimed continuously (not oscillating) somewhere around his upper half. Is he using a regular hospital bed (medical foam) mattress? Does it have an overlay? Most need one. I would consider natural latex.

If his bed has the ability to angle the middle part up or down, even small adjustments there can help. In addition, a lot of people are most comfortable when head and feet are at something like a 15-degree angle, as a starting point.

If he can barely move, it might be time to get a floor lift, so he is not exhausting himself in transfers. Overloading the battery burns it out faster.

You could also ask his doctor about trying tizanidine or baclofen for the cramps, if they are the kind caused by the motor neurons. But if he is really folded up, that could be the cause itself and so that would be the reason for trying to lengthen his position .

Does he sleep on his side all the time? The same side or both?