Leaks due to leg bag tube dislodging from urostomy bag

night bag
The Convatec connectors between the night bag and the urostomy are mechanically better than
the Holister.
However, ALL the mfg'rs of the night bags provide them with a hose that is too short to
place at the center of the foot of the bed.

You need to puchase an extention or the relative size hose from the hardware store to make an extention with 1 of the 2 connectors provided in each box of pouches.
( for convatec the hose size is 5/16" Inside Diameter )

Hang the night bag inside a bucket or plastic small garbage pail and place the bucket
on the floor at the foot of the bedin line with where your feet are in bed.
this will save the carpet from any accidental leaks from the night bag.

The hose extension should be made long enough to just reach the bottom of your pillow from the night bag's location at the foot of the bed.
When connected to the urostomy pouch, this gives you about 1 ft. of slack in the hose and
allows you to turn from side to side in bed without pulling the hose connectections apart.

I have used this method for 22 years without issues and I am a person that turns from side to side alot during the night.

When I turn, I unconsciously grab hold of the hose below the pouch connection to ensure the hose is not caught beneath me or my partner and that the entire hose flips to my other side as I turn

Having the night drain bag at the foot of the bed means that the urostomy pouch remains
drained regardless of which side I sleep on

With respect to a leg bag .....get rid of it ..... use a larger pouch.
For me , a leg bag has always felt like I had full diaper attached to my leg ...awkward !!!

Conchal said:

hey all!
Not much to add here but I did want to say reading the question and the responses has been helpful. My wife has a new urostomy (due to bladder removal after surgery for urethral cancer) and seeing this info is valuable! We use hollister products and we do put tape around the tube connector and the bag connector at night to prevent any leaks (we use waterproof tape--it is pretty strong, it seems). I will keep checking this topic for other comments related to urostomy's. Not much else out there about this specific issue (urostomy) or the products for it.

Conchal

Thanks u4art for hose extention idea...
Thank you u4art for helping me with the longer extention. I do use convatec supplies and like them, but I have been using a two piece system which allowed me to turn my bag toward the side of the bed that I wanted to and the short hose wasn't a problem. But after 11 months of this process I have decided to go to a one piece system and that does not allow me to turn the bag as it is where it is and that's it. So, thanks to your reply earlier in the thread, I called convatec and they supplied me with a 5 foot extention tube which comes with the proper connections at each end. Added to the couple of feet hose that comes with the bag, that adds up to about 7 to 8 feet of hose. Tonight will be the third night I've used the bag at the bottom of the bed and I find it better than having it at the side. It is giving me more freedom than I used to have.

You got me when you said it has worked for you for 22 years. Now we all know it's not necessary to re-invent the bicycle, so why change something that has worked for all of those years. Thanks again for the info u4art and keep the advice coming. I will have my one year urostomy anniversary on June 30, 2011 and find that it does get better.

C U,
Bill

2 connectors

U4art, thanks for mentioning the connectors! I am a caregiver, the training for the urostomy was less than perfect. I was there with my friend for the whole time and they were not mentioned. But the night bag would not stay hooked up. I tried tying it, taping, no luck. It would just pop back out! Once I read your post I remembered seeing some tubes in a bag inside the uro box. So far so good.

Originally I made my own setup using tubes to connect a leg bag for overnight sleeping. Fast forward past the failures. I'm now sleeping overnight and not getting up with no leg bag. I've never had a problem this way. I just have to not roll too far to my right side where I would have a problem if it's too full. Stop liquid intake four hours before bed to be on the safe side.

I use hollister flange and bag. Over time I developed my own way of changing. I heat water in a coffee cup and place the flange on it to warm up while showering. After applying the flange I use a 1" and 1 1/4" pvc water coupler to press the flange tight to my body.