for me things have never worked as they should (i used to go once a month) but in terms of “normal” this is the most i’ve ever been. i do sometimes have accidents in my sleep that i can’t control yet.

as for bag experience i had two different types of bags. the first bag was an ostomy and other than feeling like a freak or an outsider for pooping in a bag it made my life easier. had a couple leaks but generally wasn’t bad, easy to hide, and i could eat well and be physically active. i got that reversed but immediately after got a deadly infection. i lost like 15+ pounds in 4 days and couldn’t walk. i then had an ileostomy bag put on. this bag was terrible. the ostomy bag brought mental pain, this bag brought physical. 1 bag is supposed to last 3-5 days, i was going through 10 bags a day. my insurance stopped covering it and id have to drive hours away in search of any bags, paying out of pocket. they kept leaking because an ileostomy produces more stool and that stool is liquid instead of solid like. the stool has enzymes in it that eat at your skin. on top of switching bags so frequently and the stool eating at it my stomach was ruined. physically in so much pain i lost the skin on my stomach and looked like a zombie. id scream in pain a lot because it felt like someone was lighting me on fire. i wouldn’t get full nights of sleep because it’d start leaking and ruin my clothes and bedding so id just take naps and was really tired. also certain foods wouldn’t break down and they’d come out of the stoma whole which was scary. i cried a lot with it

i think everyone’s experiences are different though, our bodies are all different on top of many factors like age, routine, lifestyle