Suggestions to wake me up at night when LO goes to the toilet?

If you're getting up several times a night, maybe it's time to put bedside toilet next to her bed. Close enough to stand up, turn around and sit. It may give you more continued rest instead of all the interruptions.

Samantha54321: Perhaps you could opt for a bedside commode since your LO is a fall risk toileting TO the bathroom. It is imperative that you receive rest, else you will be good to no one.

Maybe the answer is for your LO to not get up at night. Talk to their PCP about too many nocturnal visits. What can be done to reduce this? Is there a mild UTI? Does LO drink too much after dinner? Is there uncontrolled diabetes? Is it an issue of incontinence?

Can a commode be put right beside the bed instead of taking a hike to the bathroom? (This worked for my mom for a few years.)

What about overnight disposable underwear?

Have you tried bed rails? With proper garments worn and possibly a sleep aid, the LO should be able to sleep, and you can too.

There are bed alarms. That would notify you if he was restless. The problem with bed alarms is they can go off with movement.
There are floor alarms/mats that would sound when he put his feet on the floor.
Have you considered any of the following...
A commode by the bedside
Using a hand held urinal
Convincing him that the incontinent over night underwear will absorb all and he does not have to get up out of bed.

Side story about the same thing.
One of the ladies at my Support Group made a loop in her husbands pj's and she would put her hand through the loop. That way she would be awakened if he tried to get out of bed. Tried as we might she would not take any other suggestions and this is how she managed until he had to go into a MC facility after a fall.

My dad now sleeps in a lift chair & me on the couch.
Im an extremely light sleeper so just the push of his button & chair motor I'm up to assist him.
Prior to him using tge chair, I slept in the bedroom across the hall.
BUT again I was tuned in to listening for him so I was up in the room helping him get out of bed.
I bought a bell that he could ring if he needed assistance & I was maybe in kitchen doing dishes etc
I laid it close so he could feel where it was at & it worked
You might give it a try
It was only a few dollars on-line

There are bed alarms and chair alarms that have a sensor that has a loud alarm that let you know when LO moves to side of bed or tries to get out of a chair.

Tie small bells to her sheets

Bed alarm and/or bedside commode. Having the commode next to the bed ready to use will prevent the need to walk to the bathroom.
Wishing you and loved one well.

I used an Alarm Pad on the bed, recliner chair, and kitchen table chair. If the person starts to get up, the alarm goes off. No too expensive. Amazon

From your profile: "I live in Johannesburg, South Africa, but commute to Pretoria for work. It's a 3-hour round trip."

Is this a M-F commute? So you work a full day during the week PLUS a 3-hour daily commute?

No wonder you are "permanently exhausted"!!!

You will be further harming your health if you insist on getting up with your mother during the night.

It's time to get overnight help for your mother or possibly placement in a facility.

There are portable motion sensors with a transmitter you put on the floor under a dresser or bed, and the remote receiver you can put under your pillow. Once LO's feet hit the floor, you will be alerted. (Its much like the sensors that go off when you open the door to local shops). Mine was very inexpensive and was battery operated, and worked great.

I use the Smart Caregiver Alert Monitor with motion detection, found on Amazon. I tried the bed pad alert, but it didn't work out for us. I found the motion detector to work best in our case. Once his feet start to swing over the bed, the monitor alarm sounds. It has been very helpful to have. The monitor has a volume control, but even on low is quite loud. It would probably be best if you were sleeping in another room as it might startle your LO.

Also, if you have pets, they can trigger it. My cat sometimes walks in the room and sets it off.

Does she use a walker? Or, have
you considered a bedside commode? It could really help as she wouldn't have to walk to the toilet. Less risk of falling.

This bed alarm from Amazon has been a life saver for me. It enabled me to return to my own bedroom and has not failed to "alarm" me when my mother gets up at night.

Place it just below the pillow underneath a quilted bed pad - also from Amazon - and when she lifts her shoulder off the bed to sit up, it rings. That gives me enough time to get in to her bedroom before she starts walking.

I also have the chair alarm from the same company that I place in her chair so I am not confined to the kitchen all day long while she is out of bed and sitting in her chair.

In addition I have a baby monitor, but don't rely on it nearly as much as these two alarm devices.


https://www.amazon.com/Smart-Caregiver-Wireless-Alarm-System/dp/B07RCYD69T?ref_=ast_sto_dp

You require your rest and need respite help. You cannot be there for your Mom 24-7. Your mother's condition is beyond your level of care and requires placement into a facility.

I experienced problems with my 93-year-old late mother back in 2013. After several falls, she was forced into a NH despite her nasty protests. Glad I listened to my family to leave her in a facility as she was fragile with osteoporosis, heart condition and other medical conditions.

Forget about any inheritance as all her money goes to her care.

Wow !

Thank you very much CountryMouse, Beatty, MJ1929, Catskie62 and Nanabell for your responses ! I can't tell you how grateful I am !

I have a part-time Carer to relieve me some days and nights but it's pricey and after-hours public transport is not always safe for her to use. Mom is also resistant to having a Carer.

Mom has an en-suite loo about 4 metres from her bed, and my room is right next door. I leave the doors open all the time but she is so small and frail that it's like listening out for a mouse. I have a camper bed to put next to her bed.

Thank goodness she has not yet fallen but is a prime candidate.

Aside from Leukaemia, Mom has Dementia and she cannot remember to press a buzzer or call me. She doesn't even put the light on or flush the loo because "I don't want to wake you up" !

There are bed pads which will set off an alarm when the person gets off them.

This isn't a recommendation, just an example to start you off: https://za.ninelife.com/products/bed-alarm-with-long-term-bed-and-chair-pads-by-smart-caregiver

I can't imagine how you can go on combining broken sleep every night with a three hour daily commute, though.

Note: Preventing a fall is not always possible.

But working to decrease risks & increase safety are excellent aims.

Envinomental ideas: Remove floor rugs, good slippers, sensor light in bathroom, grab rails around toilet, the correct gait aid/frame. Even a bell on the bathroom door.

If Supervision or actual hands-on assistance is needed, this becomes very tiring for the nighttime caregiver. It is critial a full-time daily caregiver gets quality sleep.

Are you willing to share any recent falls? Or why your LO is not safe up alone?

Good Lord. This is what killed my dad -- not getting any sleep because he insisted on getting up with my mom every two hours when she went to the bathroom. He was a walking zombie.

You will not be able to prevent a fall anyway. There's a reason why you don't wake up -- you're completely exhausted.

Please get overnight assistance for your loved one, because this is not sustainable. You need to sleep in another room so you can be coherent during the day.

The hospital used the floor kind when my mother was attempting to get out of bed. Is there a bathroom in your room? Could your bed be positioned where you can see/hear when she gets up?

You can use a bed alarm but I found it difficult to shut off so what we did was took a sensor and put it down where My mom would put her feet down to get up and you can hear it very loud and clear if you have a baby alarm in your room and one in their bedroom. This works really well for us
The was used originally for the driveway when anyone would come up the driveway so they would hear that somebody was here. So we removed that and put the sensor in the bedroom under her nightstand and the other part near my dad's head so that he would wake up also but for me to hear in the other room I use the baby alarms I can set one up in their room and put the other one in my room so I could hear it go off so I will get up it's very loud and it will wake you up