At Bedtime, What Do You Do?

I don't know about anyone else but, I have a terrible time at night. I wake up 2 - 3 times during the night to empty my bag.

I try to be careful not to eat or drink anything past 7pm. If I do, then my bag gets so full while sleeping I sometimes think it's gonna pop right off! Because it gets so heavy, I think it weakens the flange and, it ends up leaking.

Any tips on how to get a good night's sleep? Is there a "night time bag" of some sort? Ya know, sorta like a foli cath bag that I could hook up to somehow?

I'm up at least 3 times a night. It's been that way for years. On occasion, I will fall into a deep sleep, usually resulting in a mess. Then I'm up for an hour cleaning it, so it's easier sleeping with one eye open. LOL. I think they make an extra long bag, but I have visions of it wrapping around my neck while I'm asleep (I toss and turn), not only strangling me but covering me in fecal matter. LOL.

I had thought of this too, OMG this thing is gonna blow! What I've tried and works for me. Hey, and I like my Chips Ahoy with milk before I drift off. I stay up later, but cut it off at midnight. Sleep like a log till 7ish. It, I hate to say, and you've got every right, is paranoia. You have to experiment a little and let those chips fall. Oh, and just let S#^T HAPPEN. My problem was that I would rollover, for I'm a faithful tummy sleeper. Built a makeshift dam so I don't, and it has worked. Be creative and outsmart that meatball (stoma). Hang in there and give it hell.

OMG, I love everybody's humor on this issue.

Try some anti-diarrheal soft gels. Works for me even after pizza. LOL. Good luck. I have had a bag since 1995. Still have some blowouts though.

Ok... I am gonna invent an overnight bag! Don't anyone else claim the copyrights. Yee-haw--I'm gonna be rich!!

Hi all, if you are talking about urostomy, Coloplast does an overnight bag with a long flexible tube. It works fine for me. My stoma is on my right, and I can actually sleep on my left in comfort. I just put it on a plastic tray on the floor, but you can buy a hook thing that slots between the mattress and base.

Is it just me or does the pressure in my bag feel like a pressure washer just before I'm covered in brown sauce? Lol, maybe the government should look into the amount of energy it takes to blow your bag (not that way). It's gotta be at least 20 bar as a power source, being that the ozone's fucked.

P.S. Forgive my ranting. Lol.

Unfortunately, this is part and parcel with an ileostomy. I don't know if you "burp" your bag during the night. If a lot of what is filling the bag is gas, you can carefully unclip the bottom and let the gas escape without having to actually retreat to the bathroom. You might want to try this with the lights on until you get the hang of it. If you try this by partially releasing the bag from the flange (which some nurses still advocate), you could end up with a fountain spewing from the built-up gas in the bag.

Also, certain medications can make the gas much worse, and if your surgery has been recent, then it will take time for your digestive symptoms to calm down. After my rupture surgery and the on-again, off-again antibiotics, I was having to burp every 20 minutes until around 2 a.m. when it would finally settle.

I had the same problem for awhile, however it was mostly gas that was filling the bag.
The bags with the built-in filters did not work.
I went to an oversized bag. Also, if you are eating a lot of fiber, cut down on the fiber and increase the protein. Most all of the proteins get absorbed and very little is passed. What does that tell you about fiber?

We that have urgent digestive problems have to modify our diet if we want to avoid blowouts and having to know where every bathroom is in the county.
Everybody touts all the benefits of eating veggies and fiber. Other than the bulk they add, they do little to nothing as far as actual life support. In our case, they make things much worse.

What all ostomates need to do is get a hold of the catalogs showing the products that Convatec, Hollister, and the others offer. That way you can do some reasonable research and get your problem figured out. I have talked at length with several different ostomy nurses. Other than figuring out I had an ostomy, they were of little help.

Rick.....

Nu Hope (other companies as well) makes hernia belts for ostomies that also include a flap that goes over the flange. Even for those without a hernia, they can be used at night to keep the flange from coming loose. Since using one (I do have a hernia), I still wake up with the inflated bag, but it never comes loose.

I have had my bag for over 35 years. I still get up. It becomes such a habit that eventually you won't ever remember doing it. I still get those nights that I fly out of bed because it is getting ready to pop! Don't spoil your nighttime pleasure of a snack or drink. You deserve this treat!

This is such a good topic!
I don't eat dinner past 7 pm during the week. No caffeine. Nothing gassy or fatty. Any snacks I eat will either be something that yields low or solid output such as applesauce, rice chex.
My cup of hot chamomile and I'm good to go.
I was never one to sleep more than 4 hours without getting up for something. I have relatively low input at night. So I can get a solid 4 hours before I wake up for a potty break and glass of water.
I can't stand waking up dehydrated.
But goodness, I guess we are all sleep deprived huh?

Sleep deprivation, yep that's me as well. I lost my brand new car one month ago. Fell asleep, BANG! Bloody lucky, not the car though. I love to sleep on my belly as well. Lay on your belly, bring one leg up, use your pillow. Not too much fluid though. And as I said in the other forum, ielio tablets turns water into wine. Lol, not really, but into a gel. I go out on the town and drink beer. Gits pills for the pouch, that's what they are called. Yeah, I look like a druggy, black around the eyes. I also take a sleeper so if I get up, I can go back to sleep. Well, that's what's supposed to happen... nightmare though, so I do get up a lot. Ok, off to bed. Yawnnnnnn. Na, watching a movie. Love the other posts. Haven't been on the site for ages... ok TARA, HURRY AND GET BACK. NEED SOME MORE NAUGHTY EMAILS. HEHEHEHEH.

Janice - I have a similar problem, but I live in Guam, thus travel to the Philippines for medical treatment and found the wafer #4265 60mm Coloplast flanges/wafers with long bags (31") which fit the 60mm wafer (cost Php 150.00 -$3.12 US) - Shipping to the US is actually about the same as the order.
I use these at night - they also have a short bag (10") that fits the same wafer, I use during the day. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6uvR8QpTfE

Hey Charlie, I have had mine for 18 years and you just learn to cope. I'm no different than someone who's had one for 1 year.

You all are too funny. It sounds like having a colonoscopy is a blessing after listening to all you have to deal with.

Peace Love...