Hi Asa, I was sent home from the hospital without any nursing support and my prescription for ostomy supplies was not filled. So I had to learn to change the bag by watching videos and order free sample bags from every manufacturer to cover the gap in supplies. Necessity is a swift teacher, plus a strict and unforgiving one.
When I had my second ostomy (the loop) I had such a terrible problem with skin erosion I had to work from home for a couple of months. It sure is painful.
Glad you are on the better side of things now, it will get easier. Lots of us had awful problems with sleep. You'll go through that all over again when you get the jpouch. But you will eventually work out a system you can live with. Pain meds will mess up your sleep very badly. I've learned to compensate by moving my bedtime earlier to help make up for the nighttime wakeups.
As long as your kidneys are working I wouldn't worry about too much fluid. But not sure about all the artifical sweetener. You may prefer to add salt to food & drink more water.