How do you sleep with an ostomy? Need advice!

Omigosh, dadnabbit... I have to say that I haven't met anyone yet on this site that has an ileostomy due to other circumstances.... Me too... That is why I have had a temporary ileostomy since January of 2018.... My case is absolutely not typical either... I understand completely about the 2 hours thing, and wow do I ever relate....

Hi Bob.... Yep... I have to eat constantly or I get very sick and dehydrated with my loop ileostomy. I have bile as soon as I wake up.. I empty it 3 times per half hour, for most of the morning.. As the day progresses, I am better ... I have to sleep on my side because otherwise I will have problems...

I don't know if this will be helpful, but I sleep in a water bed and have had no problems sleeping in any position, back, stomach, or either side. And a good thing too, as I am a restless sleeper and roll from position to position most all night. It's really hard to find water beds anymore, and even water bed accessories are hard to find anymore to keep ours going. But I had a queen-size water bed since the mid-late 80s, and my husband had one as well. When we got married, we mixed and matched parts to make the best bed we could out of the two of them. I have real trouble sleeping on anything else anymore, and traveling with motels can be (literally) a real pain!

But the water bed provides support with give, so that even when I sleep on my stomach, I don't get excessive back pressure against the appliance or pressure that pushes it to one side like a mattress. When I am away from home, I can only sleep on my right side or my back so I don't put uneven pressure on my appliance or stoma (which is located on my left side). Oh, and full-motion - a waveless water bed might as well be a mattress in my opinion.

Bob:  I've had an ostomy my entire adult life.  I'm now 76.  Two things I'll mention.  One, I use massed pillows behind me so that I'm sleeping in a semi-reclining position.  This avoids nighttime leakage issues.  I never allow myself to be flat on my back.  Even in, say, a dentist's chair, I always request to be kept as upright as he can handle to do his job.  They always think I have a bad back.  Second, for years I have found that I fall asleep more readily if I lie on my stomach.  I double my pillow over and lay upon it so that it comes down to just above my pouch, leaving plenty of space above the surface of the mattress.  Typically, I'll wake and roll over in about an hour and fall right back to sleep.  I also use a neck pillow once I'm on my back which helps me fall asleep.  I've never slept thru the night.  I'm usually up one to three times to hit the bathroom.  Over the years, my body has just accomodated itself to this and I fall back to sleep more handily than the average person.  How often I have to get up during the night depends on what I've eaten the evening before, and when.  I typically won't eat anything after six pm, seven the latest, which increases the prospect of only one bathroom trip per night.  This is especially true if I'm going to be changing the following morning, since the longer I've been without eating, the more chance i can get the thing changed without incident.  Good luck.  Henry M

I totally agree, total pain in the a**!

I have only had my ileostomy for 3 months.

I sleep on my side and I find myself constantly waking up to make sure I'm not crushing this stupid bag!

I look forward to hearing any responses you receive, good luck.

Hi guys,

Thanks for the comments. Henry, I do the same thing... I put my longest pillow under my right side chest when I lay on my stomach. The bottom of the pillow stops just above my stoma and the bag has a nice space between my body and the bed/floor to hang in, so to speak. TMN, you've just given me an idea. I guess most have seen the "Stoma Guard" on the web. It's a piece of thick aluminum with a wavy bend in it so it goes over the stoma and allows the waste to drain straight down into the bag. What I'm thinking about is something like that, but for sleeping. Think of strapping on an aluminum cage that fully covers your ostomy bag. If you accidentally roll over on your bag, the cage will protect it and you'll feel the cage press up against you so you'll wake at least enough to roll the other way. That is until you get used to sleeping "on" the cage, which won't be difficult if you use the "pillow under your side" trick that Henry and I do.

As for having to get up during the night, I remember reading somewhere that they make high volume ostomy bags. No one has replied saying they just slap on their 1/2 gallon nighttime ostomy bag and can sleep through the night... Is no one using the big bag? I remember seeing it somewhere online because I remember them showing it next to a normal size bag and I thought, "Who the hell is going to wear that outside?" But for nighttime sleeping, it sounds like a good idea, unless I'm missing something. Ok... I need to get designing! But keep the replies coming... They all inspire.

Thanks,

Bob

Hi, this was a huge problem at first. I also find convex works much better to hold everything in place. I even use a ring with convex. One of my doctors suggested an extra large bag for the nighttime. I use a regular bag for the day and the high output pouch for night. Sometimes I can go 6-7 hours. During the night, I'll sometimes feel it to see if it needs to be emptied. Creating a space for the bag with foam is great, very creative. I kind of lean on pillows - front, side or 3/4. There is a foam-filled tube that you position over or under the stoma while sleeping. Walking during the day helps with sleep and sleeping herbs. Gentle music, yoga nidra, white noise. The ileostomy really is a sleep challenge!

Just heard on the radio that some major sleep study has been completed and the results indicate that getting less than 7 1/2 hours of sleep results in a reduction of ability to complete tasks, etc. So the way we folks sleep, we're lucky to function at all. Personally, I think sleep is overrated....but I may be a little biased. Or jealous.

:O)

Later,

Bob

Morning Bob....Like Puppyluv, I don't and never have belly slept.....just recently, I am now able to sleep on either of my sides....if right hand sleep, it's comfy, no blowouts, no leaks, etc. On my left, everything shifts from that side down, but again, no leaks, no blowouts, and I wear the same bag as I do during the days. I'm too cheap to switch out, lol.....mind you, I do get up at least once during the night as I roll or move. I do the hand test to feel production, get up, poop (empty), and I take sleeping pills to sleep.

My homie is on my right side, right across from my belly button, but he's not overly large nor big....

Wish I had a miracle solution for you, but if anyone can figure it out, you will.

Stay healthy.

Tracy