Overnight bags for uninterrupted sleep?

Hi Butterfly - I don't get a headache when my bag is full, but I do get one if I eat pastry of any kind, although puff and flaky are the worst! Weird ......!

Ilesorb and ParSorb are the brand names. Here's one link http://www.brucemedical.com/abflak.html

I get mine at http://www.byramhealthcare.com/

Hope that helps

Marcella

Yeah, I have the black eyes to prove it as well. I might check these posts out, but I use Coloplast pouches and really don't want to change. I will chat to Primo, haven't heard of these things down here in Australia... Mooza. Will come back to this page later in the day, will talk to my stomal therapy nurse as well, find out why we aren't told about any of this stuff. Hmmmm.
I do use the ileo gel, but I can't be bothered turning the toilet light on to put another one in if I have more watery substance during the night. I think my brain is soooo switched on to just get up during the night. I've actually just sprawled onto the floor hahahah, not funny at the time, but the ileo gel works great... I thought someone had another idea. Should have read first. xx Mare - Mooza

Mini caps from Coloplast might be what you are after for shower or swim or intimate.

Yep, we would all... myself included, like to not have those black eyes. I wanna sleep through the night. Oh well, I need water during the night, so it's by the bed. Very dehydrated, and even 5 hours of straight sleep would be amazing. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hi Sally - I really know how you feel as I have to get up numerous times in the night to urinate as the nerves there were destroyed in my last surgery in 09. I think I have slept only once through the night since 09.

Couldn't you take a dose of Imodium before bed? Perhaps that would at least cut down on the number of times you have to get up. Might also help you sleep better - I know it makes me sleepy when I take it.

Hi, everyone. I'm a newbie here, though I have lots of experience with other fora. I don't have an ostomy myself, but am supporting my partner who has an ileostomy.

The problem of getting through the night with having to empty the pouch every couple of hours has been messing up her sleep and therefore messing up the rest of her life. I went looking for solutions and found this discussion. Thank you! She contacted her supplier, and has been trying out the Convatec pouch with its spigot-ish tube at the bottom.

Her supplier's support person also sent along a couple of urinary collection bags, which come with attached clear tubing which connects inside the pouch's spigot. The problem with this setup is that the diameter of the tubing is narrow at the two connection points; it clogs very easily with the undigested bits.

I found that I could replace the original tubing with larger-diameter clear tubing bought from a hardware store: 1/2" inner diameter, 5/8" outer diameter. This goes over the outlet from the pouch, and over the intake of the urinary bag. It was somewhat difficult to remove the original tubing from the urinary bag. What I found worked was to cut the tubing just outside of the bag, then push a very small flat screwdriver between the tubing and the bag's intake to break the contact between them in one spot. Then needle-nose pliers to twist up the tubing, breaking it free from the bag.

The problem we're working on now is emptying the urinary bag. Its outlet is too narrow, and again clogs easily. Since we're on a limited income, and my partner's insurance is refusing to cover the expenses for her supplies, we need to be able to empty, clean, and re-use the pouch and bag. Can anyone suggest methods for unclogging, or other good collection systems? Thanks!

Hi Bunsen. It seems to me that you are looking for solutions to treat the symptom, but not the problem. Your partner is losing an enormous amount of fluid and that situation needs to be stopped ASAP. There are lots of medications that can help, ranging from Imodium, Lomotil to opioids. Diet is also important. Your partner's GI doctor will suggest what's best. I have been living with an ileostomy for 6 years now so my advice comes from personal experience. I can tell you that I don't eat late dinners and I use a large drainable bag from Hollister. I usually wake up twice nightly to empty the bag regardless of how much or how little content there is, and I fall asleep right away with confidence that the bag won't fill and burst. You have come to the right place for information on ostomies and there are some great discussion threads on your area of concern. Good luck!

PB

It's not that simple, I'm afraid. The ostomy surgery was performed in an emergency; the stoma is neither well-shaped nor well-positioned. If the stool thickens more than slightly, the stoma blocks and distends. The skin around it gets irritated and the flange starts to leak.

My partner consumes large amounts of homemade rehydration fluid, per the WHO recipe, and her doctors are keeping an eye on her bloodwork.

The only flange system she's found so far that can accommodate the sunken-in stoma is a highly-convex flange from Convatec. It doesn't look like she can use the Hollister stuff or the Coloplast night pouch.

Diet and meal scheduling are a work in progress. :-