Mom is sleeping up against the headboard with her feet dangling off the side. Has anyone had this problem?

My answer with the bedrails is that my mom would use them to try to get out of bed which since she couldn't walk was a problem. I agree that if it's just bothering you and you've had her checked out to see if there are any bruises, UTI's, medication, etc. Then I would let it go. Dem/Alz. is a strange and terrible disease. You have to keep a sense of humor on this long journey. Just make sure she's safe and doesn't fall. Good Luck and God Bless

I think cwillie's suggestions about a body pillow or railing might be helpful as you really do want to prevent a fall. If she would toss the pillow try a railing.

As for cause of this happening I wonder if she is incontinent and/or weak?

With my mom she will try and get out of bed it seems to go to the bathroom but some nights she is too weak or tired and although she throws her legs off the side of the bed she can't do the sit-up required to sit on the edge of the bed then stand up and she gives up and lays back down with her legs still dangling off the side of the bed at an angle.

Whenever I find her that way her diaper is usually full of liquid. So it seems like an aborted attempt to get up and out of bed to go to the bathroom (which usually has as the first step swinging your legs over the side of the bed).

As a solution I try to have my mom walk in the mall for about a half hour a few times a week even though we go from bench to bench to keep up her strength and some light weights. Also when she is sitting with me I start doing leg lifts in my chair or raising my knees to my chest, sometimes she'll just start mimicking me and do it but if not I'll tell her to try and see if she can do it it. This helps strengthen her abs a bit. Still it's a tough battle. keeping their strength up seems almost impossible as they age.

Blessings, one position that was hurting her is when she was laying on her side with her legs just above the knee hanging off. That has to be painful after a short time. Another was when I noticed her on her stomach with her body on the side of the bed with her feet on the wall, sort of like a kneeling position. The bed was too high for her to have her knees on the floor.

This method is still working very well.

Perhaps consider a hospital bed and put the bars up??????????

My husband, with Alz dementia, gets into bed at an angle with his head up against the headboard, feet over the edge and thinks that's fine. Hard for me to fit on my side of the bed and he refuses to move. It's a struggle every night and I've pretty much given up trying to adjust him.

I don't know if this would make sense ... is she use to having a mattress for too many years? We had a mattress once that we could not afford to replace and the only time I could find the right position was after my husband woke up earlier than me. Even with a much better mattress I still tend to sleep across the bed, it also does not help that I tend to sprawl when I sleep. My husband and I have different sleeping patterns and we have made adjustments over the years. Maybe for some reason your mother just became accustomed to sleeping against the headboard. Maybe she finds it comforting, as though she is snuggling against her spouse. I don't think that it's not "normal" if it works for her. If her feet dangling off the bed seem to be awkward it may suit her, it may seem to be hurtful and yet she is happy with it. She may not like bedding on her legs and feet. If her feet are hanging over she may find her feet are either cooler/warmer that way and it helps make her sleep more comfortable. Have you thought about placing a body pillow on each side of her, when she is in the position you would be more comfortable with. You didn't say whether she wakes rested in the position she prefers.

I have had this same problem with my husband. He has vascular dementia and constantly would get turned completely around in the bed, so that his head was practically in my lap and his feet touching the floor. The only way I could correct this was to literally put up a large "pillow-wall" between us. This worked for several months but recently I was able to get him a hospital bed with railings. He seems to be quite comfortable in his new bed.