How full can an ostomy bag get?
February 4, 2009I found the answer to this question by simply filling up my ostomy bag. For those considering surgery, this video is useful in that I go through when you may want to empty your ostomy bag based on how full it is.
Keep fighting,
~Dennis
Hi Dennis,
I have found a way to make the nights less bothersome. Instead of repeatedly waking at night to check if it’s full, I put the alarm clock for about 3 am and go to the bathroon even if it’s not full. This way I can sleep until 3 am without worrying and then I normally make it to the morning. Overall it makes for a better night’s sleep. Of course this is not relevant for you anymore but perhaps for others watching your videos with ileostomy.
Bye for now,
Marianne
Hi Marianne,
That’s a very interesting strategy you have. At least after 3 you can still get some good sleep before getting up for real. I always just wanted until my body woke me up. Sometimes, though, I wouldn’t wake up until 5-6 in the morning, then I’d go back to bed and not be able to fall asleep again because I’d gotten up so late.
I still get up in the middle of the night because of my j-pouch, so I might have to try your strategy to see how it works.
Dennis
Almost every night my bag gets 100% full but it’s mostly gas. It’s scary to even roll out of bed because I’m afriad it will “pop”. Worse is when the kids come in to wake me up and I’ve the the “balloon” attached to my waist. There is a strict “no jumping on daddy” rule in place for those situations.
The good part about it being mostly gas is their isn’t much weight and I can make it to the bathroom without putting stress on the wafer. It’s still scary when it comes to emptying though. I relate to your earlier post about the bad exploding out the bottom.
Jeff