Sleeping

I am on about week 7 now i think from surgery.  Sleeping was not easy as i am a side sleeper switching from side to side throughout the night.  Was too sore to sleep like that after the op and had to sleep on my back.  I too still get the nerves about having leaks etc at night.  Have not had any problems like that but do find myself getting up a couple times at night to go to the bathroom which sucks.  I am hoping that as time goes by i will be able to sleep more.  Last night i took a loperimide tablet before bed but i didnt notice much difference.

I dont wear anything to bed so maybe if i had some boxers on or something i might feel more secure.

I am hoping that once i am backat work (in the next week or so i think) i will be so tired by bed time i will sleep a lot better!

All the best :)

sounds like u & i are a week or so behind each other 2morow will be 5 weeks for me.
thats a good point i go back to work 5-18. maybe after a days work ill be whipped and sleep like i use to like a rock (on my back tho ) how about your bag tho are you paranoid itll pop or worse yet leak then again if youve become an expert and are wearing the right stuff that shouldnt be a problem. im a lifetime ostomate now doc says things were really bad. i had uc in 92-93 wore a bag for 11 months went thru all 3 ops. i had a j-pouch and didnt regret it except when i found out that spicy food wasnt for me. now i was hit w/ crohns and the damage has been done my j-pouch will be remove in september. life w/ a j-pouch was great after you get thru the rough stuff i pretty much had to potty train myself. oh and when you would fart thats not a good thing either i had to find out the hard way and a couple pair of fruit of looms later. all in all my life was back to normal. is the uk in your screen name mean your from the united kingdom?
hang in there, just healin and dealin

I love sleeping on my stomach, but I don't dare now. I am actually afraid of hurting/pushing in the stoma.

So, I sleep on either side and on my back ( which I never did).

I have to wake up once at night to empty bag. I used to feel the need to get up twice, so I am doing better.

I HATE the way the bag fills up with air; this even happens at night. I go back to work TOMORROW (YIKES) and excited but nervous. I have never emptied my bag anywhere but home, so this should be interesting.

Thanks Bag---- I plan to give 'um hell and I just packed my travel bag

Yeah i am in the UK - couldnt think of a good screen name!

I am a little paraniod but as i havent had a problem yet and i seem to wake myself up when it needs emptying i dont worry too much.  before my surgery my UC was quite quiet ( i waited till i was strong to have the op), so getting up in the night in a way is a step back for me - but no more UC so that far out weighs that.

Jackie - all the best for your back to work day, i will be thinking of you.  Let us know how you get on. Dont worry about emptying - i find it far easier than going to a public bathroom with UC.

hey ohio76 we chatted the other day. looks like atlantas coming to town tuesday for a good ol fashion cleveland butt whoopin!
no kidding... sleeping on my stomach will be possible one day, huh? wouldve never thought so w/ THE BAG.
see my problem right now is that i also have a supra-pubic tube. this is in place till september. then i go back to have my j-pouch from 92-93 removed doc said that eveything is so infected w/ crohns and the ileostomy is 4life.
you say the gas-x helps calm the farting at night. will keep this in mind for the future. thanks

hi there badgirl. wow you too. ohio76 does as well. i dont know how you folks do it? im paranoid to the utmost and i have a supra-pubis tube ( not the traditional cathater ) this is right in the pubic hair area. plus the foley bag. so once this is gone ( in september ) i can adjust and only have to contend w/ THE BAG. do you have problems w/ gas at night? youre not worried that itll pop? just amazed and paranoid.
WOW!

I too start out sleeping on my stomach.  By morning tho, I am over on my back or side, usually back.  I'm sure that the body "knows" when to turn over, but it is learning about it's new appliance too, so just give it some time.  Yea, I was paranoid as well.  No worries.  It'll all just happen, when you least think about it.  And I would think the cath would be more of a pain than the ileo as far as sleeping on your belly.  But I have never had one like that so Unfamiliar with it.

You sound like you are doing great... been lurking and watching the conversation too.

 

i sleep on that waterproof pad just in case i do have an issue at night, then all i have to clean is me and the pad, not the whole bed!

i have been sleepign on my stomach since i could stand to lay on it, i usually wake up because i have to pee anyway, but if i dont i find that i wake up from a dream about bathrooms when i need to empty my bag, lol. And i am usually on my back when i wake up too.

TheBag said...
 HEY I LOVE A GOOD CHALLENGE! had to cap it b/c i mean it! all things considered peggy, yes im hangin tough go back to work 5-18. that will be an adventure. be more like a social event b/c i havent seen my co-workers since 3-26.

You sound like you have your mind in the right place and haven't asked many questions about managing things for your return to work, which means you must be doing pretty well.  There is always a way to manage it... sometimes it just takes some confidence.  And, I think you will eventually sleep on your stomach, when you become confident enough.

WHat kind of work do you do?  It will be good for you to get back to your "work family" as I always called mine.  Don't plan on doing much work the first day back!