Weighing an elderly person with no balance. Any suggestions?

Before purchasing a special scale or trying to adapt something yourself, if the doctor will give you a prescription Medicare may pay for it.

Your Mom didn't qualify for Hospice when I assume has CHF? If she is retaining water to the point without meds she could drown in her own flipuids, that does not make sense. Try another Hospice.

You can also tell water retention by pushing on her leg with a finger. If the dent stays in, she is retaining. At Moms AL they had a chair that weighted residents. Her doctor needs to know how weak she is.

MHill, if we are worrying about fluid that is collecting in the lungs, not the periphery, do know it is almost impossible to catch by scale. Fluid that collects in the lower extremities and abdomen is often due to RIGHT sided heart failure. It is dramantic but less deadly than the fluid in the lungs, which is LEFT heart failure. It can't really be safely caught by scale. I have seen people with the very very serious left heart failure (and some have failure on BOTH sides) go into what is called Flash Pulmonary Edema in minutes, and be in need of IV medications at once.
I agree with those suggesting you see the cardiologist with Mom and discuss what side her heart failure is on, what can be done, and if you may be in need of Hospice in future if she wishes it. CHF is Congestive Heart Failure. The treatment is what you are attempting here to monitor, but the treatment will never change the fact that the heart is failing and that cannot be fixed short of transplant, something your Mom won't be doing.
I sure hope you find the right scale. Remember how important the blood draws are for potassium measurement, for while that lasix is getting some of that fluid out it is also washing out the potassium and other electrolytes crucial to life.
I sure wish you both the very best.

Sounds like it's time to bring hospice on board. They won't worry about weighing her, but will measure her upper arm and pay attention to where she's retaining fluid and adjust her Lasix accordingly.
When my husband was completely bedridden and under hospice care for the last 22 months of his life, the nurse just measured his upper arm weekly and of course she and I both watched closely for any fluid build up and frequently adjusted his Lasix according to how much fluid he was retaining, not by how much he weighed.
I think you're making this harder than it has to be. Even I as my husbands caregiver knew when we needed to up his Lasix and when we didn't just by looking at his body. It's not rocket science. And the hospice nurse and I were always on the same page on this issue.
Your mom is 91 and deserves to live whatever time she may have left in comfort and peace and not have to worry about what kind of scale she should be getting on when she can barely stand.
Please get hospice involved and they will watch her closely and adjust her Lasix accordingly. Plus she'll benefit by them supplying any and all needed equipment, supplies and medications all covered 100% under moms Medicare. They will also send aides to bathe her at least twice a week along with a nurse once a week to start.
I wish you both the very best.

So Mom has CHF. You may want to tell the doctor that she cannot stand long enough to weigh her. Sometimes they forget patients have limitations. My Dad had to be weight too and was not allowed to gain too much. I think it was a pound. Really! I gain a lb eating pasta.

I’m a he and I posted it was due to fluid retention..,if you dint keep up on fluid buildup it can go to lungs quickly

I found this guy on YouTube, maybe you could try to rig up something similar?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jf11nhHCFA

I found another idea - digital pet scales for large pets. The cost is pretty reasonable, much less expensive that similar ones designed for wheelchair users.

They make very large flat scales now. She should negotiate that just fine with a walker if she is able to walk at all with a walker, as there is no step up to it really. I would try that. Take a look at options on amazon and buy one with a substantial size square and no real step up to speak of. These scales are very quick as well. If she is truly not able to stand for even seconds with hands off the walker I don't have any ideas for you. I am surprised they haven't taught you some of the ways to check for fluid retention that don't have much to do with the scales, because pitting edema and an inability to lay flat and breath easily are the hallmarks for retention.

I wouldn’t even try to weigh her on a home scale.

My mom had Parkinson’s disease. She had awful balance. She fell quite often. Falls are terrifying. Fortunately, mom never broke anything.

Why does your mom need to weigh herself?

The doctor’s office can safely weigh her.

Overall I was satisfied with my mother’s home health organization. The one thing I disagreed with was when they wanted mom to weigh on our home scale.

I knew that my mother would fall off of the scale. The nurse insisted that she weigh even though I gave her mom’s weight from her last doctor appointment.

So, at this home health nurse’s instructions, mom let go of her walker and stepped on the scale. She was very wobbly and nearly fell.

The nurse quickly told her that it wasn’t necessary for her to weigh herself.

Home health exercises did help some with balance and strength.

What is your concern about weight? Is it fluid retention or another matter?

My mom was never large and continually lost weight as she aged. She lost her appetite.