Falls and balance issues

Agree that the falls are a significant issue. I would recommend immediately using a side rail (could a toddler rail work) to keep her in her bed or putting a padded mat next to her bed. I don't know how common bed falls are but in memory care, my mom's bed was lowered after a time, and a pad was placed next to it each night.

Do fall risks occur during the day as well? Is there a walker in the picture? Is this consistently utilized?

Please understand that a fracture would be incredibly painful for your mom. If it was a hip, she may lose her ability to walk.

They are so fortunate to having you manage all medication and doctors. I am assuming you are also ensuring there is appropriate nutrition and that there are controls in place such that there is no wandering or allowing strangers to enter their home.

I don't know what situation you are in. If you are retired, living alone, you may have the time to do all of this. If other family members rely on you or you have employment demands, you are going to need some support. Tell us more about your situation.

Hello I’m so sorry you’re going through this. This was my dad’s journey also, falls and UTIs which caused the dementia to progress and led to placement in LTC. My dad also has LBD where motor involvement is part of the disease and falls are common.

I’m sorry to say that once the falls start, they are hard to stop. She won’t ever remember she’s not supposed to walk unassisted and even remembering/learning to utilize the walker will probably prove difficult. I would look into in-home physical therapy which should be covered by Medicare.

The hard reality is that she should not be getting up at night unassisted (and most likely needs assistance during the day also). The bathroom at night was my dad’s undoing. I was so desperate until I could move him, I put his mattress on the floor.

I purchased a floor bed for my dad. It’s a bed that can be lowered to only 2 inches off the floor and I have fall mats on either side. This way he would not hurt himself if he rolled out and while he was still mobile, because it was so low it was very difficult for him to get out of. He had a bed alarm so staff was alerted as he was trying to get up. You could try the alarm by itself to start so someone is alerted but if they don’t get there in time, then a fall can still occur as you’ve learned already.

These beds are expensive but for my dad it was worth every penny and I could finally sleep at night knowing he was safe. My experience (and what I was told) is that the falls don’t stop once they start and are very difficult to manage. For my dad, they led to several injuries/hospitalizations. I would remove all trip hazards, use a bed alarm, look into a lower bed with rails, etc. but at some point, additional care may be needed. Medicare will cover a regular hospital bed but it was still too high for my dad—I think they are more like 8-12 in off the floor at lowest height. My dad has not fallen in the over two years he was moved to an RCF, got the bed and bed/chair alarms utilized.

My Mom fell last week. I had to call EMS to have them help get her up and help us get her to bed that night. Last month I had to call EMS because my Dad fell and he needed help getting up. I had to take my Mom to the ER twice in the past 3 months and my Dad had to go to ER once. The ER doctors were not much help. The rest of the staff was better. The ER doctors wanted to get them in and out ASAP. I think I have PTSD from dealing with my parents for the last 3 years. Dealing with my Dad when he had sepsis 3 years ago was rough and Mom had gout and some other stuff 3 years ago. Many hospital visits. It never gets better. Good luck with everything and I hope things get better for you soon.

@Jn1

The UTI and subsequent infection can definitely cause balance issues. Also, your mother is on a lot of medication that causes balance/falling issues (seizure medication, Ambien, plus 12 unknown others). I'd recommend reviewing all of her medication. If you haven't already, look up side effects and potential interactions. At one point, a reaction to two medications was causing my mother to have syncope episodes. The doctor who prescribed it had no idea. I had to do that research and have it changed. Problem resolved. Also, my mother was on a low dose of seizure medication that immediately caused issues with balance and falling. Please review her medications and then discuss with her doctor to see if all are needed or if changes need to be made. It may be she needs the medication even though it is causing this issue. Then strategies need to be developed to prevent the falls.

She is most likely not falling out of bed but falling when she is trying to stand up when getting out of the bed. Try looking into the guard rail as mentioned above but be aware they can also create a bigger issue if she tries to climb over it. A bed alarm may help. There are some that can go under her when sleeping, and when she moves it will go off. That may help to alert your father before she has a chance to get out of the bed and fall. They can go off often though so it may be disruptive. You want to get to her before she has a chance to stand up at night so the fall can be prevented (or rolling out of bed can). Perhaps the bed alarm plus the guard rail would work until you find the cause of the falling issues. Is your father capable of assisting her to the bathroom when she wakes to prevent the falls? I'm thinking the bed alarm will go off and the guard rail will slow her down to give your father enough time to assist. This may be too much for your father to handle though, so an overnight aide may be needed.

I do think there's a good chance this is medication related. At least it should be ruled out. Once you figure out why it is happening, you can determine how best to prevent. I wish you the best of luck with this.