I am caring for my 72 yr old wife and must lift and transfer her 6 - 10 times daily. Has anyone acquired and used an overhead lift system?

Roy,
This is difficult for me to write.
I always said I would keep my Husband at home as long as it was safe for both of us.
There are ways that caring for her might be made easier.
Have you thought about moving her bed to a larger room. A dining room, a study or den if you have one? Would that make using the lifts easier for you?
And possibly forego the bathroom and use a commode that you can set up. You can get privacy curtains if you wish. That would just mean bathroom for a bath or shower if you need to although bed baths can be just as effective.
If your equipment is all "manual" or hydraulic switching to electric might be easier for you.
Also if you have carpet in the bedroom and or hall you might want to either remove it or I know someone that got a room size sheet of vinyl flooring and put that in the bedroom her husband was in. It made using the Sit to Stand much easier.
One other step that you can take is to eliminate 90% of the bathroom trips. using incontinence Tab Style briefs (aka "diapers") you can clean and change her in bed. Once you do it a few times it is pretty easy to do. As are changing the sheets while she is still in bed. (Oh, the things you learn as a caregiver!)
And the reason this is difficult to write is...
At some point it may get so that it would be safer to place her in a facility that can meet her care needs.
I know none of us want that but in a facility there are people that can care for her 24/7. Since she must be moved using equipment the facility that you would be looking into would be a Skilled Nursing facility.
The last thing you need to do is hurt yourself while trying to care for her. What would happen then? This is a thought that all caregivers wonder/worry about.

We thought about this, too. Researched it heavily. Tried to work out a way, but couldn't figure it out. What my Mom needed was more room! The Hoyer Lift wouldn't fit the bathroom, or bedroom, or hallway etc.

What worked for us (for 4+ years) was a Hospital Bed in the Living Room, and a Port-a-potty. The kind with a bucket that you dump in the toilet. They're pretty stable too, and were easy for her to use.
Easy for me to clean.

Those two things gave me and my Mom tons of room, and was easier on both of us. (Less lifting) Eventually, she wound up bedbound and in Depends in the last year or two of her life. But, she liked her Hospital Bed in the Living Room and stayed there until she spent her last week in a Hospice facility.

Like you, I didn't have any help & the lifting was hard on me. And having everything in the Living Room made it easier for her wheelchair, etc and for visiting PTs, and an occasional Nurse to see her. Plus, it allowed her to relax on the front porch, too. Plenty of room for supplies nearby. It worked out great. We donated some of the furniture to make room for her stuff, and put some of it in the family room.

Now that she's gone, I returned the rented bed and Hoyer Lift, and turned the living room back into a living room again.

Hi Roy1234. I do not have experience with an overhead lift but have been using an electric hoyer lift with my Mom since April and it’s working out very well for us. Because it is cumbersome I moved her bed into the living room so easier to maneuver in the larger room and bypassing narrow hallways. I’m not sure if you have any options to relocate the bed but just thought I’d mention. I also do not transfer as many times a day. It’s been great for us as we are both safer without me doing the lifting. I too was wearing a back support but could feel my knees getting beat up. Good luck!

Roy,

You are a wonderful husband. I admire your dedication to your wife. I’m sure that she is a very special lady. I am wondering if she expects this from you.

If I ever get to this point I would not expect my husband to care for me.

I would hope that he would find a facility for me to be cared for. Then he could visit simply as my husband and advocate.

If I were in your wife’s shoes, I would prefer that my husband would be free of the backbreaking work as a caregiver.

Please take care of yourself. Your physical and emotional health matters equally to your wife’s needs.

I do not, but I suggest you also use knee support wraps for the twisting of your legs. I found the hoyle lift too cumbersome too. So while I continued to do the simple (ha,ha) transfer from bed to wheelchair, etc., as I am sure you do, my 'tricks' were to get both items positioned as close as possible in a 90 degree angle and I lifted from under the arm pits vs forearms, lifting the Mrs. almost to a standing position in front of me before sitting her down. Involving the whole body put less stress on fewer joints. Good luck.

For quite a while I used the Sit-to-Stand with my Husband. (Hospice ordered it)
When he declined to the point that the CNA did not think it was safe, he could not support his weight and began slumping so the sling was supporting him, the Nurse then ordered a Hoyer Lift. Honestly I thought it would be more of a pain, more difficult. Was I wrong. Once I got used to it, it took a weekend, It was so much easier. I could tell he was more "comfortable" as he was being supported fully by the sling.
I never even thought about one of the overhead tracks.
I don't know if it makes a difference but both the Sit to Stand and the Hoyer Lift were electric and that made it very easy to operate them. I have seen hydraulic/manual ones and I do not think I would have liked either one for very long (although it would have been better than trying to transfer a 6'4" 275 pound man from bed to chair to toilet and back multiple times a day)

I have 25 years of experience of homecare to my name. I will tell you very honestly, it's not worth tearing your house up to install a lift system at the ages you and your wife are now.


Also, stop lifting her yourself. Regardless of how fit you may be at your age, it's going to take a toll on you.
You've got 30 years on me and my back and body is shot from so many years of the lifting.

Your best bet would not be to start calling in contractors and spending tens of thousands of dollars modifying your house, but rather to start looking into handicapped housing or AL where you and your wife can live together.


You don't necessarily have to put her in a nursing home, but if you both were living in a handicapped accessible apartment, outside help (people like me) could work with that and relieve some of the caregiving burden from you.
Please think about that.

I seriously considered this but didn't go with it in the end. Honestly, even though it took me a while to admit it to myself it was time for a facility, in hindsight I could have never managed my mom throughout those final months.

https://www.agingcare.com/questions/what-are-pros-cons-for-ceiling-lifts-199288.htm

I've only seen them in hospitals but have met families that say they have built a celing hoist system into their homes. (Usually for long term disabilities).

They report much easier to use, much easier than pushing a hoist machine, especially on carpet. The sling part works the same - the sling placed under & around the person. (This may be awkward or heavy for some).

Do you have an Occupational Therapist to advice you?

I have never used a system like this. Nor would I consider it. In my opinion, if someone needs that level of care, I just don't see how one person can handle this huge workload alone. It's great that you're still in good shape and strong enough to do this but I wonder about the quality of YOUR life. I would think about having her live in a nursing home where they can more easily handle this. You would still be able to play a big part in her life, without running the risk of injuring yourself.

Bumping up so someone can perhaps comment.