first solo bag change & weird output schedule

I just did my first bag change! It took about 20 minutes. Stoma was quiet, so nothing to clean up really. I used one of the Convatec wafers with that stretchy stomahesive barrier, seems awesome. So far, that is! The stoma bled a little bit, nothing major. My output- every day I've been convinced I have an ileus or an obstruction- I'm emptying about 6-8x a day overall, the bag is rarely 1/2 full when I do. For instance- so far I have only emptied 2x this AM- once around 4:00am, again just now when I changed the bag out. And there is next to nothing in it! I had applesauce & a piece of toast, a cheese stick, and am now having a hot Chai Latte. No cramps, no pain, no nauseau, no swollen abdomen or stoma (although it seemed a bit bigger than when we measured in the hospital). I'm burping a lot, I'm passing gas thru the stoma... IT seems like I have a lot of output between 3:00-6:00pm, then a fair amount at night, but very little in the AM or mid-day hours. At what point does one worry about an ileus? I know it's not a blockage....

thanks- I know I'm overthinking it! There is no output right now, none since I changed the bag about an hour ago. And I did have a few snacks since then. Some gas, that's it. No discomfort... I am still on pain meds, but cutting down. And plan to cut down further ASAP due to the constipating effect! It's hard to switch to "normal" foods- I've been on low-residue for ages, due to the UC & stricture. I have about 3 pints of homemade applesauce in the fridge right now! I love it, but.... maybe in small doses. I'm going to have some lunch soon, & if there is no output by say 5:00pm, I guess I should call the doctor on call. But you'd think I'd be uncomfortable!

I did a lot over thinking at first. It takes a while to figure out what's normal. Even now 25 months later if something is slow to come out I notice and the concern starts. What food really does matter. Sometimes there doesn't seem to be a reason. It's just slow to come out.
Perm ileo Jan. 2012.

It's normal to have "quiet periods" and for most people late morning and early afternoon are very "quiet". Sounds fine to me!

Eva Lou,

Glad to see you posting again and checking things out with people who have "been there, done that". I know that I barely know you, but I am just so excited for you! Glad to hear you are doing pretty well and it sounds like your worries are pretty normal, I'm sure as time goes on, you will stress less and have a better idea of how things work for you.

Also, I had to comment on what you said...I've heard some of the funniest (and true) things on these forums....."I never thought I'd be so happy to see poop". Amazing how changes in health make us think/say some things we never in our wildest dreams thought we would. I sure never thought I'd be discussing my bowel functions with strangers on the internet!!

Keep up the good healing!!

Congrats on the bag change! I was spoiled early on because my wife became a oro and did mine a lot, esp as I was deaking with a big incision rught next to my stoma that required special wafer arts and crafts skills at that time.

Since you are in the stage where you are probably (and indeed should be!) eating many many "mini meals" a day rather than say 3 regular sized meals a day, your output will be sporadic at all times of the day. For me, my quietest time is after breakfast until early afternoon when there is normally almost zero output, because eventually your normal transit will be many many hours, and after you empty on waking you buy a lot of time fir breakfast ti work its way through. Anyway, the first twi months after surgery you'll be dealing with noise, gurgling sounds, gas, liquid spurts etc a lot and little cramp feelings around the stoma as the incisions are still fresh there. That will all fade out to nothing gradually. If you have regular output, including gas and liquid, you dint have an ileus- an ileus is when basically there is no sign of life from the stoma, and it just sits dead as a doorknob, as happened to me a week after surgery. Keep mini meaking, chewing like crazy, hydrating in little sips a lot, walking and sitting up and down a lot etc, and take care not to overdose on narcotic meds accidentally and you should be fine.