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Dad has late stage Alzheimer's and very bad arthritis. He is still able to get up sometimes but we find it almost impossible to do when he is ill - even when we are two. We are considering getting a electric lift hoist but it is pricey so would appreciate any comments if anyone has used it before. Also a comment on if one person would cope when using it would also be helpful. Thank you so much.
Nicky

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I have a manual lift. I have been using it by myself to move my husband around for over a year. I have no problem using it by myself. An electric lift would be much easier, but they cost twice as much. A manual one works fine. Use both hands, elbows bent and close to your body, to pump the lift handle. If you use just one arm and pump using mainly your shoulder joint, you will injure your shoulder in a very short time. The first method saves your joints. Again, I've been doing it this way for over a year and have never hurt myself or my husband.
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My only caveat would be to do with ensuring that your father doesn't become agitated or frightened while he's being lifted and transferred - struggling could cause the machine to topple, which would be very dangerous of course.

However, that's not to say don't get one because they are very useful (you couldn't possibly hire one at a reasonable rent, could you? To try it out?). Get an occupational or physical therapist to train you to operate it safely; and before you use the lift itself try toget lots of practice with arranging the sling around your father and getting him out of it again - you develop a sort of choreographed routine, but it takes a little while to get the hang of it.

Professionals will always insist on two people being there to work it; but at home I found that just me, myself and my OCD about safety procedures worked fine, and better than with other people distracting me.

Best of luck, hope you find a system that suits you.
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My wife is in a care home, they use manual hydraulic hoists,but always have two carers present when hoisting,and use a special support strap.
I'm in the UK so not much help re equipment suppliers.
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My sister and I used one that was manual, in that we pumped the arm to lift and lower our Dad to his bed or chair. It worked great and was provided by his insurance. You must take care of your arm and not over-use it, so it is helpful to have someone to trade off with in the "Pumping" department, but we most often used it by ourselves; one person at a time. Good luck!!! It is so helpful and saves your back.
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Can I offer another thought? Would proper assistive devices allow your father to "help himself" better and delay/avoid the use of a hoyer? A few hoyer negatives- moving it on thick carpet can be difficult/dangerous- many people change to hardwood floors. Maneuvering a sling on/off a person can be a real pain. A person being slinged is not fully using the muscles they have- resulting in lost muscle tone and further decline in strength. Hoyers are necessary when a person's abilities get to that point but I recommend other possible solutions be considered before having automatically going to a hoyer as the answer. There are lots of items on the market that can help depending on a person's abilities- safe/independent bed transfers can even be possible if no leg strength exists.
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Good points, FBG - and an occupational therapist can help with all of those ideas, too.
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Our sister has polio and is now bed ridden. We had her physician confirm she couldn't get out of bed on her own and have been using a hoyer lift for months. One sister can do it completely on her own - it can be done you just have to make sure the top is at the person's neck and the bottom has their rump right in the curved part. Then we put one set of straps on the longest end and the other on the shortest - this way they are out of bed in a sitting position and it is easier to get into another chair. We have roll it under her in a lying position and then get her into the sitting position to get her in or out of bed. We like the manual because you really have control over it. Since the physician did the recommendation, we had no out of pocket expense for this or the electric bed - we did pay for the high / low [to floor] option for the bed, with the hope that someday we can lower it so our sister can sit on the edge and touch the floor - not anywhere near that yet. The first time we put her in it, she was a little concerned that it might snap, but we had the gentlemen that brought it come and show her how he got into it and we lifted him with no problem.
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I had a MAJOR ISSUE with the electric one, please read. Yes medicare pays for a hoyer lift if the doctor writes a prescription stating 4 reasons they need one (at least in my moms case, alz, 94 and full care, cannot use hands or legs)
I got the manual one and complained to the doctor about the pumping. He did a lot of paperwork stating the caregiver (me) needed the electric one to the insurance co. IT got approved. The pharmacy that brought it said I was the first one to get an electric one covered and I was thrilled UNTIL........ guess what...it didnt straddle Moms recliner! Omg, after all of that, I had to have them switch it out for the manual one again. Mom spends all afternoon in her recliner, she cannot walk, and I had to have the hoyer lift to put her in and out of it. So, my suggestion is what do you want to put your husband into? A bed is fine because you can roll it under it easilly. But to straddle a recliner, an extra wide wheelchair, or any other chair, do your measurements and ask for the hoyer lifts full spread measurement. The electric ones are made for hospitals and are narrower. I've been using it for about 6 years myself, its Moms magic carpet ride, no problems pumping it. The only thing I do have an issue with is putting her into a wheelchair because its lifts them curved and the wheelchair is small and straight backed. Good luck, hope this helps. Oh one more thing, always control it with the 2 straight handles and never push on the boom, it tells you on the hoyer, and this way it wont fall over, always travel with the legs as far open as you can also. Travel with him low and then raise at chair or bed.
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Thank you so much for your comments and hints everyone .... I have appreciated the input enormously and value the time you took in the detail that you have provided.
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Hi, my husband has Dementia and arthritis, i have bought for him Easy Comfort LC-200 lift chair. Very easy to use and very helpful, soft no noise and cheap. I got
it from Overstock 4 month ago for $ 540,00. Free delivery. My husband love to sleep on this chair and gets up with out problem. Take a look Overstock.
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