It's always a good idea to empty or change your
Find a sleeping position that works for you
The best position to sleep in when you have a stoma is on your back, or on your side. If you prefer to sleep on your stomach, this will be fine at the beginning of the night but increases the chances of leaks as the night progresses and your bag fills.
If you find that, regardless of what you do, your stoma is very active at night, you can try taking something like Imodium to slow down your output. If you find that your bag fills up with gas overnight, you can take something like Gas-X to reduce your gas production.
Sleeping Position
Sleeping on the opposite side from your stoma is fine too, you can just hold a pillow up against your abdomen or set your pouch on a pillow next to you so the weight as it fills does not wake you up. If you are a stomach sleeper, you can modify by bending the leg on the side with your stoma.
Sleeping positions with a stoma
Laying on your stomach may increase the chance of leaks if the stoma becomes active and the bag begins to fill up. There's not really a way around this. Ostomates usually know when the stoma is generally going to be active if they eat and drink at the same times every day.
Colostomy gas is different from regular flatulent emissions (farts). While you may be able to control a regular fart with rectal sphincter control, you cannot control when your colostomy releases gas. Nobody wants to release noisy gas or odors at the wrong time.
Once home, avoid strenuous activities that could place a strain on your abdomen, such as lifting heavy objects. Your stoma nurse will give you advice about how soon you can go back to normal activities. At first you will pass wind through your stoma and then, usually within 2 or 3 days, you poo through it.
It is also important that you dry your skin thoroughly before applying your stoma bag. If the skin is too moist then this can also cause stoma bag leakages. Leaks can also occur if the stoma protrusion has altered. It may mean you need to have an alternative product to help prevent leaks such as a convex product.
Ballooning occurs when your stoma bag blows up with wind. This is usually due to the filter becoming wet or blocked from stoma output. This can cause the bag to come away from the body. Please note: Stoma ballooning can happen with a colostomy or occasionally with an ileostomy.
Coffee and tea are fine, but just like other foods, be aware of any reactions in your digestive system. Carbonated drinks may cause gas. Beer can cause the output from the ostomy to become more liquid. You can drink alcohol.
It is normal to empty your ileostomy bag 6-8 times per day when it is half full. Ostomy output of more than 1,500 mL, or about 6 cups of stool in 24 hours, is high ostomy output. High ostomy output can put you at risk for dehydration, poor nutrient absorption, and weight loss. Measure and log output (urine and ostomy).
It is normal to feel exhausted in the early weeks and months following surgery. You probably didn't get much sleep in hospital as they are really busy places. You are up at night changing or emptying your ostomy pouch so your sleep has been interrupted.
People with a colostomy will not have control over when a bowel movement takes place from the stoma. The ostomy appliance might need to be emptied a few to several times a day. The large intestine is where water is absorbed from stool, which helps to make the stool thicker.
Most people will be aware of the smell of their colostomy because it's their own body. But someone standing next to you will not be able to smell the stoma. You'll have more gas than usual immediately after having a colostomy, but this will slowly reduce as your bowel recovers.
You can bathe and shower as normal with your stoma and, unless you have been specifically advised otherwise, you can do so with the stoma bag on or off. It won't fall off in the water if you choose to keep it on and if you bathe with the stoma bag off, soap rinsing over the stoma isn't a problem.
Many people enjoy leaving their skin uncovered for 15 to 30 minutes after taking their pouching system off. This is called a skin break. Taking a skin break can help with irritation or keep it from happening. You can decide if you want to take a skin break.
An ostomy bag that's too heavy with output can loosen that seal, which may cause odor and leakage. Talk to your doctor or a WOCN (Wound, Ostomy, and Continence Nurse) regarding your personal changing and emptying times.
Some individuals prefer to wear belts during sleep because of frequent position changes and pouch movement. Not all pouching systems will accommodate a belt. If a belt is required for your care, it may limit the type of pouching system that you can use.
If your stoma is near your waist, avoid tight pants, skirts or belts that sit directly over the stoma. You may feel more comfortable wearing pants or skirts with a higher or looser waistband, or with an elastic waistband.
The BBC Radio 1 presenter had a stoma bag, which she refers to as Audrey, fitted last October after being diagnosed with bowel cancer. The operation diverts one end of the colon, which is part of the bowel, through an opening in the abdomen called a stoma.
It is important to note that you cannot use your wife's anus or stoma for sexual activity. If there is an unexpected leak of the pouch during intercourse, bathing or showering together may lesson the embarrassment, and allow you to both continue with your sexual play.
A colostomy is an operation to create an opening (stoma) of the large bowel (colon) onto the surface of the tummy (abdomen). Your poo no longer passes out of your body through your back passage. Instead, it passes out through the stoma. You wear a bag that sticks onto the skin over the stoma to collect your poo.