Tiredness / sleep

Hi Alec78 

Do you have an Ileostomy or colostomy, they need  different diets?

I slept well with my diet plan, timings and sleep pattern.

I could sleep from midnight until 6-8 in the morning. This kept my energy levels manageable and my Ileostomy okay for emptying 

Thanks for replying Artsie,

I have a colostomy..

yesterday I concentrated on trying to drink recommended quantities of water and although I didn't reach the target I consumed considerably more than previous. I don't know whether it's related or not but I had at least 6 hours sleep last night, not straight through because I had to empty my bag, and for once I feel quite refreshed having now just woken u

Again, thanks

Hi Alec78 

You are very soon out of surgery, so I think the fatigue is inevitable at this stage. I also have a colostomy and I was guilty of not drinking enough water after surgery-I also have a urostomy and had very extensive surgery in addition to the stomas so I was being sick a lot and couldn’t keep much down.

Can you say what you feel is causing you difficulty sleeping? Is it discomfort, the bag, position etc? I could sleep at the drop of a hat as I was utterly exhausted when I came home, so had naps in the day in addition to going to bed early and sleeping ok. Glad you’ve at least had a decent sleep last night-that should make you feel better today.

Sarah xx

Thanks for replying Sarah. Interesting and telling that you will also were not drinking enough water. Some of the symptoms I had when not being able to sleep were brain activity I just couldn't seem to switch off mainly from fantasising about all of the delicious recipes I was going to make when I finally recovered my appetite Which thankfully has now occurred.

You are doing incredibly well Alec78  to have your appetite back already. It took me 6 weeks after discharge to get my appetite back and I couldn’t eat much at all. I too was fantasising about lovely food! Initially lots of things made me sick, even with tiny portions but that gradually improved and now I can eat anything with no restrictions which makes life much easier.

I remember managing to eat some mashed potato with gravy and not being sick and it was like manna from heaven! Times when I can’t sleep, I tend to listen to calming sounds online with my headphones on-sounds of the ocean or rain falling and that was usually very helpful. Plus a pillow spray, and also a rollerball thing to rub on my pulse points on my wrists to help me relax. I’m lucky in that I very rarely need to get up in the night to deal with colostomy nowadays.

All the best with your continued recovery and many lovely meals.

Sarah xx

By a sheer fluke I tried something which solved my particular loss of appetite literally immediately. I bought a bottle of soda water which is very highly carbonated, took a swig and held it in my mouth without swallowing until I could sense the bubbling had stopped, then spat it. I did that twice, tried to eat a small piece of bread and butter and to my utter astonishment my taste buds and appetite were just about back to normal and have been ever since. 

Gosh, that’s a handy tip for others who come across this thread! I just couldn’t face anything when I came home, not even a bit of toast. I lost 3.5 stone in the weeks following my surgery which has probably mainly gone back on in the last 3.5 years! 

Sarah xx