Toilet slings

[Upword]

Toilet slings.

My big problem is getting the padded toilet sling on my husband from his chair. He has very painful arms,and is rigid and stiff.although he has carers morning and evening, it is up to me to cope with the toilet ,as we never know when it is going to be needed.

I have involved O Ts,social services equipment departments, physiotherapists, and nurses asking if there is another type of sling that could be in situ to save struggling with current offering.so far no joy. I now have a back and knee problem,and feel that I shall be in serious trouble if a solution cannot be found..

Any suggestions would be very welcome.

Best wishes .

Upword.

[Dadshelper]

Sounds like it may be time to transition from toilet use to matters being handled in bed, as a hospital or nursing facility would. As you stated using the toilet is getting harder, for everyone involved. The caring process must evolve as the disease progresses.

Ron

[luislealsantos]

There are slings that can remain for several hours placed on. They are designed for that.l and are designed to reduce pressure damage. But aren't toilet slings and can be expensive though. Is your husband able to hold position when on toilet? Also important, are you safe and able to cope? Maybe an assessment and change from toilet to bed and use bed pan? Might ease his discomfort. Important. You need to take care of yourself too.

[Upword in reply to luislealsantos]

Thank you for your reply.

My husband can remain upright ,the difficulty is getting the padded sling under his painful arms. I am considering a sling without padding, which might help, and be more flexible.

He is in his chair all day, so bed pan not really suitable at the moment.

It's up to me to find a solution, as the professionals try to help,but don't see many people with PSP/CBD.

Again thanks for your input.

[racinlady in reply to Upword]

I don't know if this might be a solution for you for awhile not knowing what your husband's overall strength is. My husband's arm rigidity actually made him quite strong. If he grabbed my hand or arm, sometimes I would have to pry his hand off. This enabled him to use a stand assist device for all transfers including to use the toilet for almost a year. Your husband would need to be able to support his weight briefly while you flip the seats under him then you just roll him to the chair or toilet. You can view videos to see how these work if you Google 'stand assist device'. We used this because it was recommended by our OT. Eventually, my husband's left leg contracted so much that he couldn't support any weight on it. Then we had to go to Plan B.