Hi D,
Ok.......sounds like your stoma is located pretty high up on your abdominal wall. They go in for the gallbladder at the base of the ribcage. I'll assume they put your stoma in an actual abdominal muscle and not in the tendon between two of them. Let's go thru a few more questions;
What shape is your stoma.........is it a nice rosebud like the pretty pictures you see if you Google "stoma" or something different?
Is your stoma flush with your skin, or does it stick out a bit?
I've never used the Nilac adhesive remover.......do you need it? Meaning when you peel off your old barrier......is it sticking that good to your skin that you need to use an adhesive remover? Do you have residue from the old barrier/ring on your skin after you peel off your old barrier? I'm trying to get a feel for how well your barrier normally sticks to you when you don't have a leak (and I don't mean the adhesive portion....I mean the ring).
After you put your stoma powder on you say you use a spray. What spray do you use?
When you put your ring on....do you stretch it out at all before applying....or just put it on in the shape it comes out of the container?
After you put your barrier on over your ring (but before you've attached the bag) do you apply pressure by cupping your hand over your stoma for 45 to 60 seconds to let your body heat mold the ring to your body's contour.........or do you just put on the ring, then barrier, then bag and then hold the heated rice bag on the whole shebang?
Thinking more about where you say your stoma is located........the area just below your ribcage is where you body flexes, or works like a hinge when you bend forward. If you put your hand on the bottom of your rib cage and bend forward you will feel a lot of movement going on in that area. That being said......barriers and rings don't work well in areas that flex and move. I learned that the hard way, as I'm sure most others have as well. Put your hand around your stoma and lean forward. Do you feel a lot of movement of the skin around your stoma.....or is it pretty stable?
I'll be interested to hear your answers to the q's I asked above.
One last thing.........how often do you get leaks, and at what time interval since your last barrier change? If I told you that you had to bet your life on the time interval that you would keep your barrier on to guarantee you didn't have a leak......would you say 1 day.....2 days.....??? Or are your leaks and blowouts so random that there is no good answer? Hang tight, we'll sort this out.
thanks,
bob