Assistance getting up from toilet. Any suggestions?

Question

Assistance getting up from toilet. Any suggestions?

Follow

Share

My husband has difficulty getting up from toilet. He grabs the towel bar to get up but it is quite a reach from the toilet. Installing a grab bar there would help but the distance to it is still an issue. I fear one day he may fall if he cannot grab on to something. Any suggestions?

Mobility Toileting

This question has been closed for answers. Ask a New Question.

36 Answers

Most
Helpful Newest
First Oldest
First

1 2

Consider placing the commode over the toilet and removing the pot hence your Husband will have the use of the arms to help Him stand up, or have your Carpenter build a timber unit around the toilet to make the toilet firm and steady.

Helpful Answer (0)

Report

SorryWorriedSpouse I had been reading another Question and I got my wires crossed.
I would suggest ask Your Occupational Therapist for a raised toilet seat which is fixed on top of the toilet also a raised mobile frame with raised arms to support Your Husband as He is getting back into a stand up position. This equipment is an absolute God send and will make a huge difference to Your Lives.

(0)

Report

See 1 more reply

If you are fortunate enough to have the V.A. help they can be a great asset. When they evaluated my husband after a diagnosis of ALZ. they questioned our safety preparations in the house. They sent a safety specialist to our house to walk around and make suggestions as to how to improve the safety aspect. One suggestion was to add more safety rails in the bathroom. They sent someone out with 5 additional rails and installed 4 in the bathroom and 1 in the garage. Frankly, I was a bit upset because I thought the bathroom would look like a jungle gym but now I find that the rails have saved him several falls and I even admit to using them myself. For all the negative remarks I have heard about the V.A., I have found them great.
Good luck

Helpful Answer (0)

Report

Why not get commode in his room, with a night light if he is still able. The fall risk is less toilet close to bed less accidents.

Helpful Answer (0)

Report

Any suggestions of videos to help with technique? We are being challenged at the toilet helping hold up mom and at the same time pulling her pants up and down.

Helpful Answer (0)

Report

I think that your mom needs to be able to support herself for at least several seconds in order for you to continue attempting to toilet her, there is no way to hold someone up and assist dressing and undressing them unless there are two caregivers, and even then it would be almost impossible to support someone who won't bear any weight on their legs. If you don't want to use disposable open sided briefs and change her in bed then you will need to acquire a lift and toileting sling.

(1)

Report

As others mentioned, I would recommend a raised toilet seat with arms. Drive Medical and Carex make good ones with pads on the arms to help with comfort when getting up. If you don't want to add something to the toilet itself, you can add a grab bar/ safety bar. These come in a variety of sizes and materials to give people more options on what will work best for them.

Helpful Answer (1)

Report

we went to a medical supply store near us who helped a lot. We bought a unit that I think someone here stated as well, it fits over the toilet and has handles on each side. It helped my dad get up and down on his own. We also used a walker infront of him to grab onto once standing to help his balance.

Helpful Answer (2)

Report

I use a combination of a toilet seat riser and a commode frame over the toilet. As some have said, some frames are not meant to be used with more pressure on one side. They will tip over. I tried a dedicated toilet seat frame that was this way. It was more dangerous than no frame at all. I specifically chose a bedside commode frame that was wider at the base than at the handles both in depth and width. It is very hard to tip over. I tried hard to tip of over myself and it took a lot. I had to try a few before I found this one. Some commode frames are not this way and thus easy to tip.

If none of these work, there are toilet seat lifter seats much like what you would find for a chair. They will literally push a person up and off the toilet.

Helpful Answer (2)

Report

You should get a higher standing toilet. Quite a lot of people switch out from the standard height toilet as they age.

Helpful Answer (0)

Report

Even that was not high enough for grandma, so I put a bedside commode frame over it. They are designed for that. You can then adjust the seat to a workable height. I always wondered what that ring was that fit into the commode bucket. That's the splash guard to fill the gap between the commode seat the the toilet bowl.

(1)

Report

Happily, this is a problem easily and relatively cheaply fixed. Go to a store selling equipment for mobility challenged people and have them help he and you. Grab bars are good, but not as good as a commode with arms. The commode fits over the toilet seat, and can be adjusted for height. Getting both the commode and the grab bars is even better.

Helpful Answer (3)

Report

Can You ask one of Your Family to install a rope hanging from the ceiling Joyce to a point in front of the toilet where Your Husband sits on the Loo when He is using it. You can buy a grabbing bar that can be fixed onto the end of the rope so He can pull Himself into a stand up position when finished using the toilet.

Helpful Answer (0)

Report

I found a wall bar that I turned upside down and had a handy man screw it into the floor(which is cement) so it became an upside down U. It was about 2 1/2 ft tall or so and was perfect for my friend to grab onto and pull himself off the toilet. That was after the towel bar coming down a couple times!

Helpful Answer (0)

Report

Great answers. Too bad you can't put bathroom layout on this site. People spoke is small stature being an issue, is your LO large!

I did ADA structural accommodations for years. Sometimes a curved L shape in reverse or on long edge is best. Or a longer bar at about 35-45° angle. This way, he can reach it sitting, and right height as he stands. Did this in shower/tub, working with OT for exact placement.
The problem with towel rods is they are designed for weight of a wet towel, not an adult pulling themselves up. They work.. till they don't...then you can have serious injury.

Helpful Answer (2)

Report

I bought this for my 97 yr old mother to use at her AL facility and she loves it. No installation and portable. It looks like a walker and it can be used for support in front of the sink or wherever.
Carex Toilet Safety Rails at Amazon.

Helpful Answer (2)

Report

I believe the technical term for the high-rise type of toilet is "comfort height." Just in case anyone is trying to describe it to a bathroom fittings retailer.

Helpful Answer (0)

Report

What's kind of funny is that I am short, and the comfort height toilets aren't that comfy for me. ;-)

(2)

Report

There are raised toilet seat with handle bars on each side. They fasten easily to existing toilet using the screws that hold the seat on. Makes all the difference (about 3 - 4 inches higher than regular seat (not to mention the newer lower toilets - the raised one is a super help)

Helpful Answer (4)

Report

I bought a whole new toilet that is 2" taller than standard. Those 2 inches made a big difference to my knees. Before you install anything, ask a PT to determine if the problem is the set up or your husband's lack of leg strength.

Helpful Answer (2)

Report

22 answers so far, and i had to scroll thru all of them before someone mentioned getting a new higher toilet. i have one and love it. Not the cheapest solution, but if your current one is old and needs replacement anyway. The newer ones tend to flush better too.

(2)

Report

A quick pointer if anyone chooses a toilet seat riser: ensure the LO can fully sit on the riser seat.

My sisters had bought my mom one of these risers as she had trouble sitting and rising from the standard toilet seat. The taller height made it easier for her to sit or stand.

When I arrived to care for Mom, the house reeked of urine. Sisters said the toilet was leaking. The floor was crusted with dried urine. (So, why didn't they get it fixed!?) Long story short, when trying to figure out the problem, I realized Mom was short, less than five feet tall, and she could only sit on the edge of the riser. She couldn't get her bottom fully on the riser. She'd pee on the riser edge, and the fluid flowed to the floor. With her dementia she couldn't realize it herself.

I tossed the riser and installed a rail around the toilet--the commode railing mentioned below--so she could sit and rise easily and get her bottom on the toilet. Took me hours to clean and sanitize the floor and clean the carpet because poor Mom would step in the urine, tracking it throughout the house.

Helpful Answer (5)

Report

Excellent point. My father was short in stature also and afterward he was in the hospital for awhile. The hospital supplied him with a riser seat but his feet didn't touch the floor. He kept telling them and they told him he just had to get used to it. He finally removed it himself and was fine.

(1)

Report

My mom had a raised toilet seat with metal hand bars on both sides - this fit under the toilet seat - check with a medical supply company

Helpful Answer (0)

Report

They make a Toilet Surround that really works. Like a walker that sits around the toilet.
I've been told that a bedside commode frame will also work but I had the surround from my dad and my DH used it for 3 years.

www.healthproductsforyou.com/p-homecraft-adjustable-bariatric-toilet-surround-frame.html

Helpful Answer (3)

Report

Get a raised toilet seat with raised handles on the sides available at Home Depot in person or online or other retailers. Easy to install just pop on top of the toilet seat!

Helpful Answer (1)

Report

I’ve also seen things that sit over the toilet to make the seat be higher. Maybe if he didn’t have to go so far to get up it might be easier...

Helpful Answer (2)

Report

You can add the frame around the toilet that will give him something to push off of, and also get a special seat that will raise it a few inches so it’s not so low...(less knee bending)...

Helpful Answer (2)

Report

I purchased a frame that goes under the toilet seat it has handles so when sitting you can push up on the handles.
Nothing but a screwdriver is needed to install this and it can be put on and removed very easily.
I think I got it at Menard's a Midwest Big Box hardware type store.

I also used a walker, placed backwards over /up against the toilet until I purchased this frame (I wish I knew what the name of it was!)

Depending on how far the distance is that your husband has to grab..I placed a grab bar on a wall and it also was a bit far so I had the guy that was doing it place a piece of 2X4 into the stud first then put on the grab bar into the 2X4. We did have to use hardware other than what came with the grab bar but it worked and is very sturdy

Helpful Answer (2)

Report

Nova or drive toilet safety rail at Lowe’s or other for about $35. It looks like a walker that fits over back of toilet bowl. This will help him sit and get up and nothing to pull out of the wall.

Helpful Answer (3)

Report

If you put in one of those toilet things that has handles on the side he can push himself up to a standing position with the bars and then reach for the other bar

Helpful Answer (1)

Report

Like cwillie's answer I had a SuperPole in the bathroom for my husband. He had right side hemiparesis after a massive stroke and a right above knee amputation. The pole allowed him to use his left hand and pull himself to a standing position on his left leg and he could pivot onto his electric wheelchair. He had another one beside the bed so he could transfer from chair to bed to chair. He practiced these manoeuvres in hospital before I brought him home. These poles were a lifesaver and I highly recommend them. There is no construction. I put it up myself.

Helpful Answer (4)

Report

Just an additional word of caution in case anyone wasn’t aware- towel bars, shower curtain poles, soap racks, toilet paper spools, NONE OF THESE or ANYTHING suspended from a wall in a bathroom is EVER safe as a lifting or rising assist UNLESS it has been installed with that specific purpose in mind.
ALSO, if you have recently moved to a home that has safety equipment installed, have a qualified handyman/installer check to make SURE that the safety equipment has been properly installed, and not just screwed into a wall that may be sheet rock or other materials that cannot support full body weight.
I learned this lesson the hard way, and luckily was not hurt myself, but would not want anyone else to have a more serious experience with equipment I tended to help.

Helpful Answer (8)

Report

You had an accident with safety equipment that hadn't been installed correctly? That's terrible! It must have been such a blow to your confidence. Glad there wasn't lasting damage.

(2)

Report

If your LO has lost strength on one side from a stroke or injury, be careful about using bedside commode frames or toilet risers that are designed for someone pushing or applying pressure on both sides of the frame because they can become unstable when someone applies full weight to only one side and tip over.

If your bath layout doesn't include a side wall for installing a grab bar or the wall is on your LO's weaker side, there are still some workable grab bar options out there. There's one that mounts to the wall behind the toilet and folds up against the wall when not in use that's very workable in just about any bath configuration. Because it has no feet extending to the floor, it doesn't block access to swing legs over a bathtub when using a transfer bench; neither does it impede floor cleaning efforts. Because the wall is carrying the full load, it needs to be installed using long wood screws by someone who knows how to hit the wall studs dead center. You may even need the wall opened up and extra structural studs installed horizontally so you can place the grab bar exactly where you need it. A quicker and less expensive procedure is to place horizontal studs over the existing wall; using some type of stain or paint before installation gives a fairly nice finished look even when the studs will be visible. One local volunteer fire department has become so good at the over the wall installation method they can install the grab bars in less than 30 minutes (arriving with precut and drilled painted horizontal studs).

There are also grab bars that attach to the wall behind the toilet and to the floor beside that are very effective if your bath has enough room available.

As a quick fix, my family once used metal strapping to "tie down" a bedside commode frame to the wall behind the toilet. It didn't look pretty and we had to use electrical tape to wrap the sharp edges on the metal strapping, but it did prevent the commode frame from tipping until we could order and install the grab bars. My depression era father always said anyone could fix it if they had all the right tools and all the right parts; real skill was being able to fix it with what you had.

Helpful Answer (4)

Report

When I first saw those fold down grab bars I thought they were the best thing ever - unfortunately most of us would need to tear out the wall and add extra wood supports because studs are never where you need them to be.

(3)

Report

See 1 more reply

We got on amazon and purchased some easily installed rails that are along both sides of the toilet itself. They install under the toilet seat hinges. Guardian Toulet Safety Frame. Here is the link. I installed it myself with no problem. And it isn’t ugly or super expensive https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00G4E4ZNO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Helpful Answer (3)

Report

I am only 52, but have a toilet seat riser which helps tremendously. He can also hold on to the side of the sink if it is next to the toilet. They also have toilet seat risers with the grab bars already on the side so they will not be far from him.

Helpful Answer (2)

Report

1 2

This question has been closed for answers. Ask a New Question.

Assistance getting up from toilet. Any suggestions?

36 Answers

Recent Questions

Popular Questions

Related Questions