REM sleep disorder - falling out of bed

Hi, I have sleep apnoea and REM sleep disorder.
During REM sleep, instead of lying still, I frequently kick, punch, thrash, get out of bed and 3 times in the last 2 years I have fallen completely out of bed, landing of my hands and knees. One of the times I smashed my head into the bedside table, resulting in a black eye.
I am looking for bed rails, but my mattress is recessed and all I can find are bed rails for box spring beds.
Does anyone have any suggestions as to where I might find something to fit my bed?

Perhaps it would be better to see a sleep specialist and try to treat the sleep disorder. (Maybe she will respond this time. Her last posed question got 3 pages of discussion and she never responded).

Get a referral to a neurologist who specializes in sleep disorders... or a new one if you've seen one already. What's happening is unacceptable and needs re-diagnosis if nothing else. Bed rails could have their own dangers when you're asleep and are not the answer.

Julie wrote: ↑

Thu Mar 22, 2018 9:29 am

Get a referral to a neurologist who specializes in sleep disorders... or a new one if you've seen one already. What's happening is unacceptable and needs re-diagnosis if nothing else. Bed rails could have their own dangers when you're asleep and are not the answer.

for the falling out of bed part, bed rails are indeed the best short term answer. falling out of bed is a sign of the bigger problem that must be addressed also, probably with a medication. i'm still working on that part. i have this exact same problem.

LSAT wrote: ↑

Thu Mar 22, 2018 9:20 am

Perhaps it would be better to see a sleep specialist and try to treat the sleep disorder. (Maybe she will respond this time. Her last posed question got 3 pages of discussion and she never responded).

LSAT, 'She' never responded because my computer went bust and then I'd lost all my bookmarks/contacts etc etc.

I have been seeing a sleep specialist since 2012 when this was diagnosed (and I see a neurologist annually). 'They' do not know why I have this disorder. My REM sleep disorder is treated (I take clonazepam every night) but at times - especially under stress - it gets worse. I now have a soft mattress cover beside the bed and am looking for bed rails or some such thing to prevent the falls.

[/quote]
for the falling out of bed part, bed rails are indeed the best short term answer. falling out of bed is a sign of the bigger problem that must be addressed also, probably with a medication. i'm still working on that part. i have this exact same problem.
[/quote]
Thank you. I'm sorry to hear that you have the same problem. It is indeed a bigger problem but at the moment for me it is partly controlled by clonazepam (melatonin did nothing for me). I started clonazepam at 0.5 mg per night about four years ago. I am now up to 2.75 mg at bedtime and can function completely normally in the morning. Occasionally I take 3mg if I've had a very stressful few days. The 'episodes' seem to be completely random. When we go away for up to a month I often do not take my CPAP machine with me and the REM sleep disorder does not seem to be worse - I keep a nightly journal, starring the REM events.

Wouldn't it be much easier to just place your mattress directly on the floor? That way you can't fall far...

I used to have a mattress directly on the floor like that for years, and it worked fine for me, though for back support reasons in my case.

Mikebear wrote: ↑

Thu Mar 22, 2018 5:15 pm

Wouldn't it be much easier to just place your mattress directly on the floor? That way you can't fall far...
I used to have a mattress directly on the floor like that for years, and it worked fine for me, though for back support reasons in my case.

Thank you for your suggestion...If I were 30 years younger I'd do it...but then I probably wouldn't have this problem! For about 20 years we slept on a mattress on the floor...but we are now past that...too hard to get down - and up

amelia135 wrote: ↑

Thu Mar 22, 2018 4:38 pm

for the falling out of bed part, bed rails are indeed the best short term answer. falling out of bed is a sign of the bigger problem that must be addressed also, probably with a medication. i'm still working on that part. i have this exact same problem.
[/quote]
Thank you. I'm sorry to hear that you have the same problem. It is indeed a bigger problem but at the moment for me it is partly controlled by clonazepam (melatonin did nothing for me). I started clonazepam at 0.5 mg per night about four years ago. I am now up to 2.75 mg at bedtime and can function completely normally in the morning. Occasionally I take 3mg if I've had a very stressful few days. The 'episodes' seem to be completely random. When we go away for up to a month I often do not take my CPAP machine with me and the REM sleep disorder does not seem to be worse - I keep a nightly journal, starring the REM events.
[/quote]
in lieu of a bed rail, use a kitchen chair with the back facing the bed.

OK, this is a kind of out there suggestion, might be expensive, and will come with its own issues, but since this seems to be an on-going problem might well be worth it. Is there an alcove of some kind in which you could place your bed, so that you would have walls on BOTH sides of the bed? You would have to crawl in from the end, but you could not fall out. It would be difficult to make the bed (issue). If no alcove exists, perhaps you could build (or have built) a wall to enclose the bed--expensive, but possibly worth it from a safety standpoint, especially if you amortize the cost over a number of years. Even a properly constructed partial wall (say with like a window opening, like a pass-through, not an actual window?), high enough to contain you would work and, properly designed, could become a design element of your bedroom. You could maybe set a love seat in front of the wall and create a small sitting area?

Just trying to think outside the box!

booksfan wrote: ↑

Fri Mar 23, 2018 8:02 am

OK, this is a kind of out there suggestion, might be expensive, and will come with its own issues, but since this seems to be an on-going problem might well be worth it. Is there an alcove of some kind in which you could place your bed, so that you would have walls on BOTH sides of the bed? You would have to crawl in from the end, but you could not fall out. It would be difficult to make the bed (issue). If no alcove exists, perhaps you could build (or have built) a wall to enclose the bed--expensive, but possibly worth it from a safety standpoint, especially if you amortize the cost over a number of years. Even a properly constructed partial wall (say with like a window opening, like a pass-through, not an actual window?), high enough to contain you would work and, properly designed, could become a design element of your bedroom. You could maybe set a love seat in front of the wall and create a small sitting area?

Just trying to think outside the box!

Sounds more like thinking "INSIDE the box", LOL

I have this problem too, so does both my parents, or maybe it's an unconscious way to smack the $#!^ out of your spouse and get by with it. Mine are mostly related to a bad dreams; fighting, scared, a few adult versions the misses finds entertaining, put MAINLY its about outside influences while I sleep. The wife has to have the TV on to go to sleep. If I'm lucky enough to wake early and the wife is asleep I will turn on some hippy dippy zen music. It greatly helps me. I can't think of a time I had an episode when zen type music is on. Another help for some reason is spooning as we sleep.

Then the wife wakes up in the middle of the night and turns on freaking Murder She Wrote or Hart to Hart, that would make anyone have bad dreams.

booksfan wrote: ↑

Fri Mar 23, 2018 8:02 am

OK, this is a kind of out there suggestion, might be expensive, and will come with its own issues, but since this seems to be an on-going problem might well be worth it. Is there an alcove of some kind in which you could place your bed, so that you would have walls on BOTH sides of the bed? You would have to crawl in from the end, but you could not fall out. It would be difficult to make the bed (issue). If no alcove exists, perhaps you could build (or have built) a wall to enclose the bed--expensive, but possibly worth it from a safety standpoint, especially if you amortize the cost over a number of years. Even a properly constructed partial wall (say with like a window opening, like a pass-through, not an actual window?), high enough to contain you would work and, properly designed, could become a design element of your bedroom. You could maybe set a love seat in front of the wall and create a small sitting area?

Just trying to think outside the box!

Thanks for the suggestion but it would not be practical in our bedroom. At the moment I'm safe with a securely rolled up sheet at the edge of the bed, tucked under the bottom sheet. Against this I also have along, narrow pillow.

When we slept in a water bed, getting out had to be a conscious effort,
with the emphasis on effort.
It kept me limber.

chunkyfrog wrote: ↑

Tue Apr 17, 2018 9:15 am

When we slept in a water bed, getting out had to be a conscious effort,
with the emphasis on effort.
It kept me limber.

Now why would that statement surprise me, you live on a Lilly Pad, a water bed is logical. Jim