I adjusted pretty quickly and easily to my ostomy. I’ve had my moments, like crying over chili,
but for the most part I go through my day with my ostomy bag not being any more
of a hassle than wearing glasses or contact lenses. I really do sort of forget that it’s there as
I go about my day. I will forever have
to pay attention to what I eat but I’m talking about the actual ostomy bag.
People get hung on that part, the bag. Once you have adjusted, figured out your
wardrobe and what you are comfortable with and wearing, the bag itself is just
not that big a deal. Yes, I know it
collects waste in it. Well guess
what? Everyone “goes”. I empty it, wipe off the end and wash my
hands. Others “go”, wipe their hineys
and wash their hands (we hope).
At night, however, it’s a different story. Sleeping with Moxie and her bag is still a
little bit like sleeping with the enemy for me.
Or maybe it’s a little like sleeping with a new baby. I never really know what to expect.
Certain foods are supposed to be more gas producing than
other. We all know this so obviously you
would want to avoid anything that causes gas before going to bed. Imagine waking up with a balloon glued to
your belly. But sometimes, I continually
wake up with that balloon glued to my belly for no reason at all! If you roll over on that balloon, it
hurts. I do not like waking up to burp
Moxie’s bag.
Some nights, for reasons I absolutely cannot figure out, I
put out fluid all night long, meaning getting up over and over to go to the
bathroom. And nearly every night there
is that time in the early hours when my guts decide to get active. I’m lazy, I don’t like getting up. So, I wake up, feel and wonder if I can get
in another hour or two before I have to get out of bed.
I’m also a “tosser”.
You know, I roll over thousands of time every night; I toss the covers
every which way and wake up with the bed a complete mess. I was/am always afraid of what I was going to
do during all that tossing. And I’ve
done it, too. I’ve rolled my bag up in
my nightshirt. I’ve squished it until
the edges are barely hanging on and I have scratched in my sleep until I nearly
bled. I discovered hugging a body pillow
and rolling it with me helps some.
There are also the number of times I wake up because I've been on one side or the other too long, so it's hurting. Thank you, Mr. Arthritis.
I’m still always hoping that I will find that magic
combination or formula so I will know what to expect at night and can get a
solid eight hours sleep without waking up either needing to pay attention to my
ostomy or worried that my ostomy will need attention.
Have you found the formula?
Do you have any tips? And if you
don’t have an ostomy, is there something that you would like to know? Please ask and I’ll share.
