Stomach Sleeping with a New Stoma – Any Tips?

Hi guys, I'm just getting the hang of this. I think I will fully join to chat. Have questions, does any one sleep on their stomach? I've had my stoma for 30 days and miss the way I used to sleep!!!

Before I started suffering from the pain I suffer from now, I used to quite often sleep on my stomach. I would find that through the night, as my bag filled, I would turn over in my sleep.

For a bit of security, I often sleep with a towel on top of my sheet in case of nighttime disasters, as it makes it easier to sort out the mess without having to wake my partner up.

Hope you get used to things. I've had my stoma (which I call Dooby) for about 3 years now, and it took me a good 18 months to get used to it and to come to terms with the fact that it is permanent. You will soon find what works for you and what doesn't.

Good luck.

Hi! I am brand new here as well. I am 4 weeks out from a total colectomy with ileostomy. I do sleep on my stomach sometimes,

and I have a prominent stoma. Stella sticks out as least an inch and I am able to sleep on her, so there is hope!

Before 1992, before the radical ileostomy with complete removal of the rectum, I used to sleep on my stomach all the time. But after the operation, the doctors told me I could not or should not, because it could crush the stoma and cause serious harm, etc.

Even now, it's hard not to instinctively lie on my stomach with my head turned to the left side, (how I always liked to sleep). But I just have to lie on my left side and lean a bit inward, using pillows to balance me up correctly. One thing I don't want is a crushed stoma. But I think everybody has slightly different physiologies, so...