My mom's circulation isn't great. She's also been having balance problems. What she has been doing is dumping herself into her recliner, reclining, and not coming out of it. She goes kind of into a stupor for hours and hours.
When she's not in the recliner, it's easier to get her to be active.
A couple thoughts I'm having:
1. I think that once she reclines that she mentally shuts-off. I notice her memory is worse, her balance is worse, everything is worse. For this, I'm not sure it's the recliner's "fault" but think that once she reclines that she kind of gives up on life. I think she is then unmotivated to come out of it and do things, again. When she sits upright, she might close her eyes for awhile and stop doing things, but she eventually starts her activities on her own.
2. I wonder if the recliner is bad for her circulation. Partly, it seems to discourage her from any movement. Partly, though, am not sure if reclining with her legs up and totally stationary for long periods of time is especially bad for her.
Anyone happen to know whether a recliner can actually be a bad thing?
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My Dad [93] has a recliner and so does Mom [97] but rarely does Mom use her recliner... she rather sit in her straight back wing chair. Mom is definitely more mobile than Dad is :)
anyone who doesnt like their recliner, ill trade you a camaro bucket seat and 2 concrete blocks for it..
This way she will be able to have all the adjustments one could possible need for comfort as well as for care.
One could see it as a long term solution, as the older she gets the less mobile she will become naturally.
So this will be a benefit at a later stage for both your mom and the people caring for her, like yourself.
I agree totally that she should be as active as she possibly can be...
Perhaps the adjustable home care bed would give her the same perception as getting out of bed when need be to be active, like most do in normal circumstances on a daily basis.
In my opinion it would be the next best thing , not only for her but also for you caring for her, as a replacement to the recliner chair.
Here is an example of a Home care bed:
Keep us posted on your thoughts and progress.
Hope this was useful for you.
be a jellin then..
It is not the fault of the recliner, but if Mom is more apt to be a little more active if she uses some other seat, then changing seats MIGHT help.
I LOVE my recliner. We first bought one because it seemed to help my husband breath easier with his congestive heart failure. One night after he went to bed I sat in it. OMG! I went out the next week and spent a day picking out one for me. It makes me smile every time I sit in it. Why shouldn't someone who is sick have the most comfortable seat he or she can find? (Or someone who isn't sick, for that matter!) It is the lack of activity that is the problem. I'd try to work a little harder on that (which I know is exceedingly hard) rather than focus on the kind of seat.
So hard when they wont get active and then their circulation goes and they get cold.
The nurses are now going to send in a carer everyday to at least get her up and dressed as she will not listen to me but i know its not going to make any difference she just wont do as shes advised. i have to step back now and let the carers see how stubborn she is.
Can you ask her doc to get her physio of some sort? sometimes getting another person in to help this is better than family as they never listen to us!
So sad to see someone just sitting there all day my mum complains all the time of hip pains and legs its because she does nothing to move around im scared that she may lose the mobility in her legs soon.
I think i would get rid of the chair but try and speak to a physio and see what they say. Does she go to daycare? here they have physio for the elderly.