UKC

I will need to have Chemotherapy for advanced cancer and as a consequence in future I am likely to end up spending a fair amount of time in bed. I was looking at getting one of the electric adjustable beds so that I would be able to read or look at an iPad, recover etc.

Any tips on what to look for since my only experience of adjustable beds has been a short stay in hospital.

Thanks for any help. Wish this was asking for advice about gear but unfortunately those days now seem gone.

In reply to m0unt41n:

I don't know about the beds, but I love my V pillow.

Wishing you all the best with your treatment.

In reply to m0unt41n:

Can you get - or are you entitled to - an actual hospital bed? They seem wonderfully adjustable in all directions.

Fervently wishing you better!!!
L

In reply to m0unt41n:
Looking into what kind of beds hospitals get would probably be where I'd start. Maybe ringing one up where I've liked their beds. If you mention why, somebody might put themselves into finding out.

Hopefully you'll be posting on here asking about walking gear or something along those lines in the near-ish future, even if you don't quiet go climbing at first.

In reply to m0unt41n:

No advice about adjustable beds, lots of positive thoughts coming your way though. Wishing you all the best,

Ianto

In reply to m0unt41n:

The bed itself, I don't know. But my dad passed away this year after being bed bound for six months and the key, it seems, is to get a good mattress. It's the mattress which stops you from getting bed sores and the like.

The hospital supplied him with a super comfortable one (I slept on it on the floor for a coupe of nights when he was on a different mattress ) and then when he got worse they gave him one which was like a permanently adjustable air bed connected to a pump to avoid bed sores.

Long shot but I don't suppose you're based in France. They'll loan you a hospital bed to have at home on the national health in France.

In reply to m0unt41n:

A quick Google found a few places that do adjustable beds. Benson for beds was in there. Alternatively, enquire at a local helping hand shop/mobility place about renting one if you have the space to store your normal bed.

In reply to m0unt41n:

Thanks for all the replies. having had a Google there seems to be lots of options and quite a few places where you can buy refurbished hospital beds. At this stage we (wife and me) want to avoid it feeling as if I am setting up in competition with the NHS which would be unfair given how much of their drugs and services I am about to grab. So will have a look at the standard Benson / Dreams beds. Good point about mattresses being comfortable.

In reply to m0unt41n:

Good luck with the treatment mate...

In reply to m0unt41n:
Firstly wishing all the best.


If you can justify it, an air mattress? All I know is when my late partner was in the hospice, the air mattresses were in high demand. Everyone said they were amazingly comfortable, and particularly for those who we in the bed for extended periods. Of course theirs probably cost a lot as they also had massage built in to minimise/stop bed sores, etc. Could be worth checking out.

As for standard adjustable beds, my mother has one. As far as I see you do need mattresses that are designed for the particular bed - I.e. To cope where it bends and flexes. Most I think are therefore memory type ones. Lots of folk think they can be too warm.

Also, remember bed linen - unless you want to remake the bed several times a day - needs to be generous in size to cope with the angles that are generated on bending/moving a lot - and needs to be as "grippy" as possible otherwise you end up sliding down to the lowest point. Worse if waterproof coverings used underneath. Lots of effort from carers if they have to keep shifting you back into position, and frustrating for you (limited use when I've been in hospital but I found it annoying to be continually moving down).

Finally, I know various people who have found electric recliner chairs to be a good/better option for day time (even night for one) use if you are fit to move.

In reply to Climbing Pieman:

Those are good points. I had realised that the mattress would have to be fairly thin or very flexible and I am not keen on foam because of warmth. Also you are right that in hospital the sheets went all over the place when you raised the bed.

Was the air mattress the ones that have tiny beads inside which mould around your body when you take some of the air out? Same as the VacMat we use in Mountain Rescue? I know the hospital versions are spectacularly expensive since my wife was involved in selecting them for her ward, she is a nursing sister. Or are they like the normal inflatable bouncy type mattresses.

In reply to Bob Hughes:

The other secret to not getting bed sores is good care. I looked after (as part of a team) a lady in her late nineties who had been in bed and unable to move herself very much for some years. We turned her several times a day and kept her clean and dry. She didn't have a single sore.

In reply to m0unt41n:

Ask your GP to refer you to District Nurses. They are in control of getting a hospital bed and will also assess for the grade of mattress you need. Pressure sores are best avoided.
Good luck.

In reply to m0unt41n:
Sorry, don't really know, but unlikely as I don't think any air was actually let out once adjusted for the patient's weight. They were not bouncy, but felt firm even when sitting on the edge. I do remember the pump running continuously but I think this was part of the massage system to prevent bed sores as well. My late partner did comment on the soothing motion all the time, whilst the hum of the pump did not seem to bother anyone.

In reply to m0unt41n:

Depending on your needs FIL was loaned a fully adjustable bed with matress - I think it may have been through Macmillan rather than the NHS.

In reply to Jenny C:

Thanks, I think we are going down the route of an adjustable normal bed. Didn't want an NHS one as my wife would freak out a bit which I can understand.

I was wondering about such things as how do you make them flat if you have a power cut, or if the motor or mechanics fail can you manually make them flat otherwise they would not be much use.