Sleeping with a stoma
This is my first blog of 2023, so I’d like to wish you all a Happy New Year and may it be a healthy one for you. This blog is really to share my thoughts on getting a good night’s sleep and how to avoid those dreaded leaks. Since my days as a baker, then as a coach driver, and now a bus driver, I have always taken my sleep very seriously – a bad sleep makes it more difficult to function properly at work. Having a stoma on my right side means that I now have to sleep on my left side (although sometimes I end up on my back – which Mrs T complains about when my snoring gets worse!)
Set a sleep routine
If you’ve read any of my previous blogs, you will know that having set routines is something I swear by to make my life easier and trouble free. I realise that I am probably in the minority when I say that bag leaks, day or night, are rare for me. In my ten years as an ostomate my routines have kept me leak-free 99% of the time.
I always do my full bag change before bed so that any leak is more likely to happen at night as opposed to during the day when I’m in work. That would be considerably more awkward! How active your stoma is at night does impact on this though. It may well be affected by how late you ate your evening meal, the quantity of food you’ve eaten throughout the day and how much (and sometimes what) you’ve drunk during the day. I don’t necessarily do a full bag change every night but I always empty my bag before I go to bed no matter what – and if I wake up at some point to go for a wee, I will take that opportunity to empty it then, no matter how much is in it.
Finding the right products
I have to say that the products I use also make a difference for me. I wear a Pelican ModaVi two-piece bag which I find a lot easier than a one-piece in that I can just pop my bag off, whether it’s full or empty, and replace it without having to remove the back plate. This is so easy and convenient. I also use mouldable rings behind my back plate to give a much better seal. To be honest I wouldn’t be without them but it is advisable to check with your stoma nurse to see if they’d be suitable for you, as it might depend on your individual stoma and the type of bags you need to use.
After a bag change I use a belt with a hole in it to pull my backplate tight for ten minutes or so to help everything stick better. This gives me a sense of security; there are occasions when my stoma is quite active during the night but that’s something I’ve learned to cope with. Having a stoma does mean that there may be the occasional leak, but if you find a routine that suits you then that risk is significantly reduced; I’ve definitely found what suits me and it is pretty foolproof.
Sweet dreams until next time!
Keith @keiththom14