Dealing with a Large Hernia: Finding Affordable Solutions!

For 6 years, I lived with a large softball-sized hernia around my right-side ileostomy. Abscesses developed around the stoma, while my doctors just "watched it." For several years, the abscesses had to be lanced and packed with moist gauze. I recently underwent my 5th revision during a 12-hour marathon surgery. I now have a very nice "tummy tuck." Post-surgery, I began experiencing 3 leaks per day because my stoma was moved "up high" on the left side and is affected by bending at the waist. My Coloplast Mio #10471 is no longer up to the task. Due to the holidays, I had to spend over $500 to buy different supplies. (For the last 3 weeks, I have not heard from my WOCN.) I tried The Convatec Esteem Plus one-piece #416519, but it failed within 8 hours. The Hollister Cera Plus #8901 is working well with an Eakin seal and Hollister 7730 spray-on adhesive. I tried the Chinese-made LotFancy wafers from eBay. These work, look, and feel like the Cera Plus. Not bad at $30 for 20 bags! Be sure to use a heavy paperclip, as the LotFancy hook closure weakens quickly. I now change the bag daily and am eating well on a normal diet. I continue to experiment with different supplies in the hope of extending wear time to 2 days. I will try the 2-piece Hollister and belt when these arrive. Cheers

Ni; PETey.13, sounds like you went from one problem to another. Have you gotten samples from the different companies? You can call them and talk to their nurse and she can give you advice and send samples.

Hello PETey. 

Thank you so much for this information. I had never heard of lotFancy wafers before, but looked them up on ebay. I do have a tendency to look straight at the comments made by people giving stuff one and two stars rather than five - because I'm a sceptic about false five star reviews. It looks as if in this case, as in many others, the product does not suit every-body in that the adhesive did not work so well with some people. It obviously pays to get samples of these products to test-run them before purchasing any amount. 

I had problems with almost all the manufactured products not sticking to my skin. This is one of the reasons why I gave up and started making my own baseplates, which stick on with a combination of medical adhesive and two belts. Interestingly, in the 'more information' section on ebay, there is a line to the effect that medical adhesive can be used with these devices. That gives us a clue  that the glue doesn't always work for every-body!

Best wishes

Bill

Lovely, I did contact Hollister, Convatec, and Coloplast. So far, only Hollister has answered with a small sample pack and some tips. I spent the money to quickly solve my problem and reduce my thrice-daily stress.

Hmmmmm......never heard of LotFancy, so I too checked them out. Like Bill, I never read the 5-star reviews.....I start with the 1-star and continue up to 4 stars. Too much fake 5-star reviewing going on, so I ignore the raves. From what I read on both Amazon and eBay, it seems the wafer adhesive consistency is all over the map, but an interesting product that I was unaware of. So I'll give them a pass for now.

Regards,

Bob

Bill, the LotFancy worked well enough, in conjunction with 3M skin prep, Eakin seal, and adhesive spray. I don't think there is a way to get free samples of LotFancy. But at 30/20 bags, it was worth the try.