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Night time lighting

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 lg
(@grw)
Joined: 5 years ago
Posts: 39
Topic starter  

Getting up in the middle of the night I often need light to unhook the line from my urostomy to the night collection bag so no urine spills during the process. Turning on a bedside lamp I worry will wake my wife. My solution was to buy a small flashlight. Two problems, if I fumbled for it I worry about noise. Problem # 2, holding it while needing 2 hands to unhook the line was awkward. My solution was to use a lanyard from a convention I attended and to just hang the flashlight around my neck while sleeping. The light is directed where needed and there is no fumbling around making noise looking for it. These lights are inexpensive and lightweight. I bought a blue tinted one to cut down on overall brightness.


   
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 LK
(@dlkfiretruck)
Joined: 7 years ago
Posts: 1450
 

I use a small flashlight at night all the time. I am afraid to wake" me" up too much and end up here at 4 a.m., like tonight!  I have had a lot of forced rest lately, and it has caught up to me. If I need more light in the bathroom and still do not want to turn the light on, I take a square of TP and place it over the flashlight on the counter. This seems to spread the light  and make it  brighter for me. Good idea to e a lanyard, and so thoughtful of you!

Linda


   
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VeganOstomy
(@veganostomy)
Admin
Joined: 10 years ago
Posts: 4188
 

Great tips! The lanyard idea sounds like a great one! 

Just your friendly neighborhood ostomate.
~ Crohn's Disease ¦ Ileostomy ~


   
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Navey
(@navey)
Joined: 7 years ago
Posts: 73
 

I put a night light in my bathroom and it works just great. You can see everything you are doing and/or working with without a problem. I disliked getting up in the night and turning on the bathroom light which felt blinding. I always close the bathroom door completely when I leave it as it is en-suite and I don’t want the light in the bedroom. The bedroom has enough light that I can traverse myself back to bed without putting on a light of any sort. Perhaps this could work for you instead of sleeping with your flashlight. Perhaps you could leave the bathroom night light on when you exit the bathroom but leave the door slightly ajar so you can see enough to get back into bed.


   
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Dona
 Dona
(@dona)
Joined: 7 years ago
Posts: 832
 

I  use a nightlight near the toilet.

I also got some of those battery powered 'candles' from Amazon  ( use rechargeable batteries) and set them to come on at various times through the night.  They are very simple. You just turn them on and they stay on 6 hours,. Then they shut themselves off and do the same thing every day. They are nice soft light, enough to get around with.  They look really nice...like a candle flickering.  They are inexpensive and run about a month on one recharge of the AA Batteries.

Onset of severe Ulcerative Colitus Oct.2012. Subtotal colectomy with illiostomy July 2015; Peristomal hernia repair ( Sugarbaker, mesh, laparoscopic) May 2017.


   
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Dona
 Dona
(@dona)
Joined: 7 years ago
Posts: 832
 

These are the ones I have used for several years:

https://amzn.to/2Yh6zRl

I see now that they also sell some that have their own charging dock. Looks like an improvement. No batteries to change.

Onset of severe Ulcerative Colitus Oct.2012. Subtotal colectomy with illiostomy July 2015; Peristomal hernia repair ( Sugarbaker, mesh, laparoscopic) May 2017.


   
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 LK
(@dlkfiretruck)
Joined: 7 years ago
Posts: 1450
 

Hey Dona,  Thank you for the link to the candles.  They are a nice looking set,  with the ideas here, Anyone can find what works best for them. Myself, I know that if there is too much light around me at night, I tend to see things to do and then want to get at them. This is not good when the brain has been programmed to sleep during the darkened hours of our world. It took such a long time to claim my sleep back after that long hospital stay I had where the lights re on 24/7. ICU is not a great place to sleep soundly unless you are in a medicated coma.  I have to question if that is even a sound sleep. I made my room as dark as I can get it and then close the ensuite door. I should mention that even using an LED lit flashlight creates too much light for me, so I found an older light to use. The flashlight sits in the exact same place every single night so I can just reach out and take it. I concentrate only on what I got up to do, I "sip"  water if thirsty to avoid another bathroom visit, do what I need to do and not even allow myself to think  one iota of one thing more. If I fail, I recite the Lords Prayer. Seems Satan would rather I sleep then let me do that! LOL.  And the I still win!

Linda


   
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Dona
 Dona
(@dona)
Joined: 7 years ago
Posts: 832
 

You are right Linda,

No one gets any real sleep in the hospital. Always, light, and always noisy. If you are unlucky enough to have to share, its even worse. I took noise cancelling headsets, but the light is just impossible. Ah well, makes one happy to get home (as if we ever need an excuse).

Onset of severe Ulcerative Colitus Oct.2012. Subtotal colectomy with illiostomy July 2015; Peristomal hernia repair ( Sugarbaker, mesh, laparoscopic) May 2017.


   
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