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Adjustable Bed
Hello,
My husband has completed 4 rounds of FLOT chemo & immune therapy. He is scheduled to see the surgeon on Aug 5 & tentatively scheduled for surgery on Aug 20. He has been using a J-Tube for nutrition for 2 months. We have been using a wedge pillow behind his head & a fluffy pillow under his knees to try to keep him elevated. Unfortunately I frequently find the knee pillow on the floor & he has slid down to a nearly flat position. We know it will be critical after the esophagectomy to stay elevated for the rest of his life. Based on our experience with the wedge pillow it has become clear we are going to need to by an adjustable bed. Could members of this group guide us on your experience with adjustable beds? We are looking to buy a split king bed. They can get very expensive in a hurry. We have been looking and trying to find objective reviews but honestly there isn't much. It seems DreamCloud, Nectar and Ghost beds are quite popular but can find no where near us in Michigan, USA to go try one so it is going to be a blind purchase that will be delivered to our door. Any experience would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
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I purchased my adjustable split-king bed from Amazon just prior to my surgery. Two frames, two mattresses. I think it came in under $1400 two years ago. Free delivery right to the front door. Frames were heavy as hell to get upstairs but set up was fairly easy and they have held up great. I later learned it might have been possible to get at least one frame/mattress covered under Medicare but had enough on my plate by then with surgery and recovery that I let it go.
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2 ReactionsI purchased a Sleep Number split King. Works great and extremely comfortable but was very expensive. There are several less expensive beds out there that work just as good. I don’t use anything to elevate my feet/ knees. Just my head/ back.
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1 ReactionCome on any of our twice-weekly free Zoom calls and talk to patients who have them (most do, many bought at Costco). I never bought one even though I could easily afford one... the wedge pillow base, with about 4 other pillows on top, worked just fine for me. The key is being locked in place with long side pillows, and then using a bottom flannel sheet to add more friction (when wearing flannel type pajama bottoms)... this makes for soooo much friction that it's almost impossible to slide down! But I'm sure the adjustable beds are great... especially if you put the flannel bottom sheet on your side.
For some reason I stopped suffering from reflux at maybe 15 months post-op... so I now sleep normally once again... on either side, head on a single pillow. I'm basically pretty much back to normal now at 5 years post-op. But that first year post-op... what a wild wide!! Pop on our EC Zoom calls.
Gary
Southern California
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2 ReactionsI have another potential alternative, as I also have to sleep elevated and can't afford (and don't have space for) an adjustable bed at this time. What I've done is sewn a two-ended pillowcase that holds my main wedge (under my head) and the under-knee wedge in place. This has been very effective in keeping both wedges from slipping out, and allows me to sleep elevated without continually slipping down in the bed (which happened all the time before I made the pillowcase). Just a suggestion! Best of luck to you. 🙂
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1 ReactionI purchased a split king ghostbed through Costco in 2023. price included delivery. I was concerned about change from regular spring mattress with a 4” foam topper to 100% foam mattress so I ordered ghostbed hybrid mattress.
My fibromyalgia and restless leg syndrome pain increased exponentially following chemo radiation. I’m very happy with my adjustable ghostbed. My only complaint is that there are no side supports to keep mattresses from moving apart. My ghostbed model only has supports to retain mattress at bottom of bed. I still use extra pillows for overnight pain management, but am very happy with adjustable bed.
Katme,
I also own a Ghost Bed. Am fairly pleased with it. I especially enjoy the massaging / timer feature. I learned about the bed via this very same support group a few years ago now. So much information here!!!
I ordered directly from Ghost Bed. One thing I would seriously do over when researching adjustable beds is contact ones insurance provider and ask about coverage. Get a referral from Dr's, specialists ect.
Much luck to us all!!!
Lori
Wow, was this timely! I'm in the process of looking at adjustable beds. I'm currently doing it with pillow arrangements. My situation is complex, in that I had hip replacement scheduled when my EC was discovered. So I need knee elevation for pain relief, as well as head elevation. Also, mine needs to be fully electric, because I can't weight my left leg at all. I can't balance on my right with a cane and crank the bed up and down manually. All my reading indicates that Medicare will cover this when medically necessary. However, I've had two local DME dealers tell me Medicare never covers the third function and they want a surcharge up front for the elevation function...
Hi. My husband recently purchased an adjustable bed for us to try and alleviate my nighttime reflux and vomiting. I'm 2 years post surgery now and wish we had bought it earlier. I have the top up about 30 degrees and the base up a wee bit to create a kind of V which my butt slides into and prevents me sliding flat. Particularly handy as it's winter in New Zealand and all you want is to snuggle down.
The brand we got is a Tempur - it has a 10 yr warranty on the motor.
Only downside of an adjustable bed is that it is an absolute cow to make
Does anyone have any wisdom on choice of mattress?
I was just on the phone with Medicare this morning and also found out that if you do claim it it’s a once in a lifetime thing for medical equipment.