Trouble with bags

• By hockeymom01
• Reply 3323839
• August 26, 2012 at 9:30 pm
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Hi TeriT I have the same problem I have to change mine everyday too, So hopefully someone can give us some advice. Hockeymom

• By Mare5785
• Reply 3323888
• August 26, 2012 at 9:51 pm
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Hi TeriT,

Sorry to hear you are having such trouble with your pouches and seal staying on. Removing it to rinse and snapping it back on should not deteriorate your wafer barrier. If your surgery is fairly new, it could be because of "indentations" from the incision, where the barrier is not in 100% contact of your skin. There are Eakin seals, strips which you might be able to use and add to your wafer barrier. I had to use these along with a stomahesive paste, immediately after my surgery. Give your stoma nurse a call and try to see him/her and they should be able to offer suggestions. That's what they are there for.. make use of their knowledge. My stoma nurse always had other appliances to give me a few samples of, to see if they worked better. Also, I do believe that almost any supplier will send you free samples to try.
There are many appliances to choose from, you might find another that may work better and longer for you. Unfortunately, I never had any luck with a two piece system and use the 1 piece. I've tried several over the last 26 years, but still using the original 1 pc I started with.. lol

Good luck ... Keep us posted.

Mare

• By hockeymom01
• Reply 3323973
• August 26, 2012 at 10:26 pm
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I use the one piece two but mine seem to move away from the stoma so I have to change it daily.

• By TeriT
• Reply 3324471
• August 27, 2012 at 7:11 am
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Thank you so much for the replies. Unfortunately I live in an area where there is no support for ostomy patients. My ostomy nurses are a total waste of time. I appreciate your advice since I was pouring the water in the bag to rinse it and I didn't know I could take the bag off with out breaking the seal. This morning I took the bag off rinsed it clean and put it back on. Hopefully this will work well especially since today is my first day back to work :( I also have a lot of problem with gas. Since you can't control it, its worrisome when you go out in public. I've tried everything such as no chewing gum, nothing sugar free, chewing food well and eating slower, watching what I eat but i still have a lot of gas. Very stressed going back to work because of this. Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions to help with the noisy gas issue. I heard it gets less with time is this true? It is six weeks today since my colostomy. Thanks again for the posts. Hopefully some of this will help you too hockeymom01.

• By alan41241
• Reply 3324562
• August 27, 2012 at 8:09 am
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TenT, if you are wearing a 2 piece, why can't you pop the top of the seal between the 2 pieces to let the gas out? I should think that would work. There isn't anything you can do to produce less gas that I know of. I have the same problem sometimes and I wear a 1 piece so my only option is to empty the pouch so the gas will escape at the same time.
Blessings,
Alan

• By Jofa (Inactive)
• Reply 3324820
• August 27, 2012 at 10:02 am
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Regarding the gas problem, are you watching your diet carefully? I find that I have gas if I eat much cheese (which I love), broccoli, cabbage, etc. A nutritionist should be able to give you a list of foods to avoid in order to lessen the gas problem. And I wear a two-piece Convatec appliance and it lasts one week without any leakage or problem. After I empty the pouch, I fill it with warm water (without removing it from the wafer) by just pouring it into the opening at the end of the pouch and that rinses it out and removes any stool that didn't empty out at the beginning of the procedure. I then put either two Tic Tacs or a squirt of O.A.D. in the bag, put the clasp back on, and I'm good to go. I'm sorry so many of you are having problems with doctors and nurses. I have talked to an ostomy nurse twice in the last 15 years. And my surgeon is in Minnesota and I'm in Iowa so I haven't talked to him but I still have the greatest confidence in the world in my surgeon. Blessings on all of you.

• By Whitwb
• Reply 3325227 · In reply to 3324471 by TeriT
• August 27, 2012 at 12:39 pm
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Hello my suggestion about the gas thing is just to take Beano pills. It helps for me. Also something else you could get an irrigating kit(which is basically an enema) which eliminates going to the bathroom throughout the day. Now irrigating takes a little bit to get used to, it is quite uncomfortable when you start. Hope this helps!

• By HappyS (Inactive)
• Reply 3327096
• August 28, 2012 at 4:36 am
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TenT,

I have an ileostomy and I think there are some issues that are different but just like to add that I use Convatec 2 piece and change my bag everyday. I live in the UK and was surprised to note that many in the USA get a supply of 20 bags and 20 wafers. Is it possible to trade off some wafers for bags? Certainly I use 3 or 4 bags for each wafer.

Gas venting is a nightmare - no idea what the answer is except that gas is related to diet and things like using straws and eating and talking at the same time. I have been experimenting with eating a couple of marshmallows last thing at night and have not had any ballooning but don't yet know if that's a coincidence.

Noise, well I think we are concious of it and just wonder if others hear it in the same way we do. On a couple of occasions I've said "Excuse me" when I thought it was loud to be met with looks of blank astonishment and the question "What for?"

• By TeriT
• Reply 3327256
• August 28, 2012 at 7:37 am
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Thanks again everyone for all the helpful hints. My situation got complicated yesterday when I ended up in the Emergency Room when about 3 inches of my bowel started to come out onto my stomach. They told me in the ER that it is called prolapse and is possible with the type of colostomy I had. It was the scariest experience I can remember. It did go back in but they say it can come out again anytime. I have to call my surgeon today to see him but they said its too soon after surgery to try to repair it. Does anyone else have this condition?

• By hockeymom01
• Reply 3327398
• August 28, 2012 at 8:34 am
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Sorry to hear that you were in the ER. What kind of colostomy did you have? Hockeymom

• By TeriT
• Reply 3327482
• August 28, 2012 at 9:06 am
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I had a transverse loop colostomy on July 16,2012.

• By Mare5785
• Reply 3327496
• August 28, 2012 at 9:13 am
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TeriT,
So sorry to hear of your ER trip!! Certainly a scary thing to witness I'm sure!!! I guess I'm a bit perplexed and trying to "visualize" what this did. Was it your stoma that elongated or a portion of the bowel protrude through your incision? You said it came out and was on your somach... I'm thinking that a belt used for a hernia might be of some help to keep the bowel in place.... Temporarily.

I wish you well and prayers that this will not happen again!!

Anxious to hear what your surgeon has to say about this situation.

Mare

• By WyoJane
• Reply 3328026 · In reply to 3327096 by HappyS
• August 28, 2012 at 12:44 pm
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Yeah in USA we get 20 bags, 20 wafers, 10 seals. Someone see a problem with the math? Can't change a wafer without the seal.

• By coonchaa
• Reply 3328223
• August 28, 2012 at 1:55 pm
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Hi TeriT, I think i have had all of what you have had, but mine was 20 years ago and I did't have any support ether ,as I had it done in Mexico and I lived in the US. it was hard to ask, so I'm going to tell you first after a month of my colostomy my intestine started to come out of my hole , I had to go back I also got very scared ,they did another surgery and I have been ok since,they advice me not to carry heavy things, with the reference of the gas , it does gets better with time, but I would go to the bathroom and separate the top of my bag a little bit and let the gas out, now after 20 years I don't think I have that any more. With the thing of the bags that get loose after washing them , try not to use hot water, but what I do is I use this liners that you insert inside the bag.they are made by colo magic and you can just dispose them in the toilet. I also put a little of Vaseline around the seal when I attach the bag it seams to seal the bag better.
I wish you the best and if I can help let me know.

• By TeriT
• Reply 3330278
• August 29, 2012 at 9:10 am
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Thanks Coonchaa so much for your reply. It makes me feel better that this happened to someone else and that it turned out ok. I am anxious to hear what the surgeon has to say on Friday. They told me in the ER that it was too soon to do anymore surgery but another doctor told me he thought they might be able to put some sutures in temporarily till it can be fixed permanently. Thanks Mare for your suggestion also. It was about 3 inches of intestine that started coming out my stoma (yuk to say the least). Since than whenever I feel it start to come out I put pressure on it and it goes back in. I contacted my supply company and they are going to send me a prolapse belt to help with the problem. I have been doing better with the bags this week. I guess patience is the key word when you have a colostomy. It really does help hearing that all things (gas included) get better. Thanks to everyone who responded to my post they were so helpful. Keep the helpful hints coming. I can use them :)

• By Mare5785
• Reply 3330351
• August 29, 2012 at 9:39 am
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Morning TeriT,
Glad to hear that there is some hope for even a temporary fix to get you through till your body is better able to withstand another operation! : ) Praying that your Dr will be proactive and give you some answers tomorrow!

The use of a prolapse belt is a great idea!! That will give you some support.

Happy the bag issue is a "non issue" at the moment! Gotta LOVE those days!! Patience IS the key.. cause it's gonna do what it's gonna do... I've said from the start, that my stoma had a mind of it's own and it doesn't listen to me!!! lol

Even after 26 years of living with my lil buddy... I still can learn from others in here... It's great!

Happy Wednesday!
Mare

• By Balloonatic
• Reply 3332734
• August 30, 2012 at 4:08 am
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TenT,

Both Convatec and Hollister have two piece systems that have a filter built into the top of the pouch, The purpose is to allow gas a way to escape and at the same time the filter is supposed to cut any order. If you are not using a Pouch like this, you should call whichever manufacturer you used and ask for samples of pouches with "filters".

• By WyoJane
• Reply 3332849
• August 30, 2012 at 6:50 am
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I stopped using the bags with the built in filters because I sometimes have liquid output and they don't work long. I use Ez-Vent product that allows one to attach a vent onto the bag that has a little plug attach. Pop the plug and gas comes. Just wish there was some way they develop one with a removal charcoal pad to filter the smel. Started using Tic Tacs for order control in the bag and that seems to work for me better the the expensive stuff. I been thinking about the liner bags though. A product I would like to try do they offer samples?

• By alan41241
• Reply 3332988
• August 30, 2012 at 8:07 am
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Jane, you can get samples for nearly everything, I believe. Contact the company that makes the product you want and ask about a sample. They usually will send two or three and it takes about three or four days to receive the product.
Blessings,
Alan

• By coonchaa
• Reply 3334282
• August 30, 2012 at 3:52 pm
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the liners are madre by Coló-Majic Liners Inc.
Phone 1-604-988-2707 they are in Canada