How To Improve Sleep Quality With An Ostomy

Trouble sleeping due to worries about rolling over the pouch or leakage is not an uncommon issue. Most new ostomates have this concern. The good thing is that you can consider different options to improve sleep quality with an ostomy.

Tips to improve post-ostomy sleep quality

Is it possible to have good sleep quality with an ostomy? Yes, but you might have to make some adjustments to make sure that you do not get up abruptly from sleep. The type of adjustments will depend on the procedure you have had.

A few tips that may help you have a worry-free sleep at night with an ostomy include the following.

1. To prevent rolling on your ostomy pouch, you may want to put pillows on your sides.
2. You will want your ostomy pouch to remain tightly held against your abdomen, so you may want to wear a little snug shirt.
3. If possible, sleep on your back. It will help you prevent rolling on your pouch.
4. Before going to bed, you might want to empty your pouch. It will help you prevent having to get up in the middle of the night due to the risk of leakage.

Pouching options for different types of ostomies

Using the right type of ostomy pouch is the key to prevent leakages and other issues related to ostomy care. There is a wide range of ostomy supplies available to meet the requirements of all types of ostomies. To make ostomy care even more effective and comfortable, you may want to use different accessories.

Now, we will discuss different options for different surgery types.

Urostomy surgery

If you have a urostomy, you are going to have to use an ostomy pouch, which will be different from ones used to manage intestinal ostomies. The valve at the bottom of a urostomy pouch allows you to attach a night drainage system, which collects urine from the pouch while you sleep. The most significant benefit of this drainage system is that it eliminates the need to get up during the night, even if you have a high output.

Ileostomy or colostomy surgery

With a colostomy or ileostomy, you might have to get up in any part of the night to empty your ostomy pouch. Aside from emptying your pouch before going to bed, you may have to follow some dietary precautions to avoid the pouch overfill. The dietary adjustment may involve avoiding eating at particular times to prevent the stoma from functioning during the night. You can discuss this situation with your doctor to get some additional tips regarding the dietary adjustment to improve the quality of your life. As far as ostomy care is concerned, you will want to discuss it with an ostomy care nurse. He or she will give you suggestions regarding the ostomy pouch management to improve sleep quality.

Adjusting to life with an ostomy can take time, but once you adapt to this bowel change, you will be able to live to the fullest.

 

Canoe trip with an ostomy

There are a few trips that have really defined my life.  Well they put a solid stance on what I like to do for vacation at least.  Luckily, I was blessed with the chance to go to Canada for a multi week canoe trip twice. These trips were amazing and so very hard.  They were originally just meant to be fishing trips and one of them turned out to be an all out survival trip.  This is something I was still able to do while having an ostomy.  Being out in the wild all out of touch with the rest of the world for weeks at a time is amazing.  Cell phone signals didn't reach us and we didn't use GPS because that was not widely available.  It was a situation where if you did not arrive at the right time they would send people to look for you.  Otherwise you were all alone for weeks.

One may think this is an unwise move for a high school student with an ostomy, but that didn't slow me down.  Instead, I planned well, took extra gear and didn't look back.  It was a good choice because my ostomy did not give me any trouble out there even when things got hard. I want to focus mostly on my trip that turned into a survival trip because that made me learn many lessons.

On this trip we planned to canoe an average of 10 miles to 15 miles a day.  Now we camped for several days in the same place where the fishing was good and made up the time on other days in the miles.  This was all still amazing because we did it with half our gear.  It all started when our first day ended up in a massive storm.

The morning was calm and we actually got 15 miles in and had set up camp in the middle of a giant lake on a small deserted island.  We then set off to fish around 4:00pm and that is when the storm came.  A massive storm front of black clouds rolled in and 120 MPH and above winds came through.  Now we were all in canoes and with the insane waves and stinging rain we all flipped.  Almost all the gear in the canoes was lost and we all swam for dear life that day.  Then we had lost half our food and fishing gear due to the storm blowing it off the island and into the lake. The seriousness of the situation never crossed our young minds because we were all alive and still had fishing gear. I used my bottom half of my real rod and found another person's upper rod. They connected and I used that the rest of the trip. I had 4 fishing lures and steel liners and used those for the rest of the two weeks.

 Each person lost a lot of gear, and our tents were shredded. Luckily, my ostomy gear was safe and I learned to always keep a spare set and in two different places after that catastrophe.  A tornado ripped through and tore up the island and about 40 miles worth of forest afterwards.  We saw the destruction for the rest of the two weeks. My body was pushed to its limits in the water trying to swim and hold on to the canoe and paddles. But we all made it and I still suggest that even with a ostomy you should still adventure.

Things You May Want To Know About Having An Ileostomy

An opening or stoma made of the small bowel onto the surface of the abdomen is known as an ileostomy.

After ileostomy surgery, your stools will pass out of the stoma instead of your anus. Because there will be no sphincter muscles in the stoma, you will have to wear an ostomy bag over it the entire time. Stools passing out of an ileostomy usually have the consistency that of water.

Why you might need an ileostomy

Your surgeon will choose to give you an ileostomy if your colon is too unfit to process digestive wastes due to an illness or injury. Sometimes, a progressive bowel disease might become life-threatening. In that case, your doctor will give you an ileostomy to save your life.

Depending on your illness, the surgeon will decide whether or not you need a permanent ileostomy. In case of a temporary ileostomy, the surgeon will fix another surgical appointment to join the small bowel to the rest of the lower intestinal tract.

You might need a permanent ileostomy if a large part of your colon is unfit to function. This ileostomy is required when there is no chance to reconnect the bowel. Your surgeon will want to avoid a permanent ileostomy.

The appearance of an ileostomy

The shape of a stoma is generally round or ova. It is red and moist, and it resembles the inside of the mouth due to the mucous membrane. Because it doesn’t have any nerve endings, it doesn’t feel anything. You will have to be careful not to injure your stoma while changing your ostomy bag or cleaning the skin around it. Right after surgery, the stoma will have swelling. It will get smaller and flatter over time, though.

The stoma care nurse

A stoma care nurse plays a significant role in your ileostomy care regimen. They will tell you how to look after your stoma and ensure your bowel health. During the hospital stay, a specialist nurse will visit your ward to check the status of your stoma. He or she will clean your peristomal skin and change the ostomy bag during the first few days to help you get accustomed to the procedure. They also tell you what ostomy bag will work best for you.

At the time of hospital discharge, you will receive the first supply of ostomy bags from the hospital’s nursing staff. You will also be given contact details of the top ostomy supplies dealers.

Looking after your stoma

It will take a bit of time for you to get accustomed to ileostomy care, but you will get there eventually. Although it may be a bit hard to cope on your own, you have to make sure not to be overwhelmed by the initial inability to do everything right when changing or emptying a bag. Just keep in touch with your ostomy care nurse or doctors for proper guidance. You can also discuss your concerns with other people with ileostomies. You will learn a lot this way.

Police officer with an ostomy

I am a Police officer, and I had to get a colostomy procedure following a workplace accident. I am happy to have my life today, especially after the injury that occurred while on the job. I will tell you about it in a moment; I just want to tell you to be happy with life and be sure to take in as much as you can today; it could all be gone tomorrow. During what seemed like a typical day at work, I received a call for dispatch that would end up changing my life. 

It was another day at work. I was on patrol when I received a call from dispatch saying there was a domestic disturbance that needed to be dealt with. I responded that I was on my way. Little did I know that this call would change my life. When I arrived on the scene, I saw the cause of the disturbance. A husband and his wife were out in the front yard of their home yelling at one another. I approached the couple to try and see what was going on and if I could defuse the situation without bringing anyone in. When the husband saw me, he pulled a gun and shot without a second thought. I got hit in my lower right abdomen. I did not know if it was caught by my vest or if it went through my body. I did my best to block it out, called in shots fired, and within thirty seconds, I had another few officers on scene. At this point, the husband had his wife as a hostage. We did our best to talk him down, so it did not have to end badly, but unfortunately, he was not going to come in quietly. Things escalated, and what we all did not want to happen happened. The wife was saved, but at what cost...

It was not until one of my co-workers said something that I was bleeding from my lower right abdomen. They called in an ambulance for me, and I was rushed to the hospital. On the way, the ambulance doctors unclothed my torso to get a better look at what was going on. The bullet had indeed snuck past my vest and went through me. They did their best to stop the bleeding; at this point, I was feeling a bit dizzy from the amount of blood I was losing. 

When I got to the hospital, the doctor rushed an x-ray and saw that the bullet had hit my large intestine and tore it open. He told me they needed to perform a colostomy procedure immediately. I was devastated but knew I needed it if I wanted to have proper bowel movements and digestive movements. Once the procedure was done, I did not feel much better or different. I had to stay for a few days so they could monitor me and teach me all I needed to know about my new situation. 

I am glad to be alive today. Without that surgery, I don’t think I would be if it were not for that. My life is not that much different now, but there are a few things that I cant do easily because of my ostomy bag. There is not much I cant do; I prefer to do everything myself if I am able to do so. I have learned to accept people’s help when they offer it because of my new situation. 

Swimming Lake Michigan With A Stoma

This year I had the privilege to go to Lake Michigan with my family.  We went on a nice vacation to the beach and we were able to enjoy some privacy and great social time out mostly alone. Now many people get afraid instantly when I mention beach and stoma's but in reality lots of people have them and enjoy going outside and enjoying the water just like everyone else.  In fact I suggest people with a stoma to go out and enjoy the beach.  Yes there are some things extra that you need to do and you also need to make sure its the right time if you are wearing a stoma cap, but go out and have some fun. 

This year we were able to do some sailing.  This was my first time actually being able to control the sale and even dock the boat.  It was great because normally my brother in law takes care of the sailing, but it was fun to learn.  Being forced to watch the wind and the tails on the sail was a bunch of fun.  Guiding us while gliding along the water really is a cool experience and I suggest everyone give it a try.  I personally enjoyed tacking.  This is where you jump from one side of the boat to the other when the sail switches. It was a blast and I was careful not to smack my stoma on anything and all went just well.  No seals got loose on this trip. 

Another day we just hit the beach itself. I went swimming and luckily without salt water it sure was nice.  Salt in a wound is not a thing in Lake Michigan because there is no salt water.  This keeps your stoma safe and I surely enjoy that.  So for me I like to play frisbee and toss a football around in the water.  I will say it is a good amount of extra abb work so be careful not to injure yourself.  I ended up having a blast in the waves and was able to enjoy the time with my family floating around and just having a good time. 

When it comes to being outside in the sun though I do take extra precautions.  I wear a shirt to cover my stoma and to keep me from getting sunburnt.  The last thing you want is that and that is why I make sure my clothing is uv protected. Otherwise the sun gets right through anyway and it's all for nothing. So for me I take a little extra care and put lots of sunscreen on and make sure my skin is nice and moist.  It is also important for me to bring some extra ostomy gear along with me.

Just in case I keep my gear in a waterproof container.  Otterbox is a really good brand and it seals out water and sand really well.  I still put my gear in a bag inside the box and put water, hand sanitizer and a towel in there as well. I want to keep things clean and this is a good way for me to do it. It may not work for everybody but it does for me and that is enough.  So go out and enjoy the beach this year even if you have a stoma. Take a few extra steps to stay safe and have fun!

Going to the Gym With a Ostomy Bag

The year is now 2020 and that is just to reference what a crazy time it is.   That means that masks are usually required and people are always looking nervus and yet people still give me a crazy look when I tell them that I have a stoma. People literally lose their minds and cannot believe that I am working out with an ostomy bag and it absolutely cracks me up. It cracks me up because I am in pretty good shape.  No I am not a supermodel nor do I think I ever could be, but I do work out on a regular basis and have a pretty healthy diet.  This all goes into keeping my stoma happy and my general ostomy care healthy. So why does it matter that I like to work out?

 

Well this all goes to stereotypes that have told people that if something is different it is to be laughed at ridiculed or feared. I don't think ostomies bring about much fear but they do bring about a lot of laughter and ridicule, especially from children.  Guess what, that is OK.  We were all kids and most of us laugh at that type of situation, but it is really not ok to have an issue with it as an adult.  People all have different struggles and health issues and anyone could end up with a ostomy.  Now that the emotional things are over with I just like to let people know that we have feelings too and most of us who have a stoma are used to dealing with wild questions but we really don't want to. We live a normal life and for the most part not much changes from our daily lives except a stoma routine.

 

So when we go to the gym I have a few things that I like to do and let knew stoma comers to know about.  First thing is to not jump right into an old routine.  If you just had surgery, guess what you just had surgery.  Even if it is rather minor you are now more prone to hernias and abdominal injuries. So to me this means take it slow.  Now always see your own healthcare provider for medical questions and advice. But I like to tell people to lift a quarter of the amount they used to just to make sure things are ok.  Maybe start lower.  It is ok to waste time by not lifitng to your full potential for a few months if it keeps you from a major injury. That will knock you out for much longer so stay safe and stay healthy.  Once you have that down and are working your way back up to jogging, running, lifting, or swimming then you can get into the gear side.

 

Get good ostomy gear.  That really is key to having a great workout and being able to get back in shape.  Not worrying about a leak or a smell is worth more than gold in my mind. I just want to be normal and not worry about these things. So investing in good gear allows me to lift happy and simply have a happier and healthier life. I hope this helps your ostomy journey. Stay safe and live happy!