Barrier Change Woes: Lessons Learned the Hard Way

Hi gang,

So here I am talking about maybe extending my barrier change to 3 (or even 4) days because things are going so well in terms of no leaks or blowouts.......and guess what? Yup........I just casually glanced at my barrier this morning (after changing it yesterday) thinking everything is perfect........and there, in the area where I used to have problems (on the short side where I have to cut the barrier opening right up to the max cut line)....I see a little dark stain on the barrier bandage material right next to the plastic ring the bag mounts to. At first, I thought it's just a smudge of dirt, since I got pretty dirty yesterday cutting up fallen trees. And I almost convinced myself that's what it was. But I came back and looked at it again, knowing my morning window to change my barrier was quickly shrinking. Then, weighing the odds that it was a leak vs just my imagination........I decided to change the barrier just to be safe. And yup.....it was a leak. SON OF A BITCH! No obvious reason other than the ring seems to have migrated a bit away from the stoma hole I cut in my barrier......but nothing earth-shattering. So now I have to figure out if it was the repeated dunkings in the pool, me sweating my ass off in between dips in the pool...or maybe I rolled on it while I was getting my 3 hours of sleep......or totally something else. But just as I was getting really confident that stopping the use of ostomy powder was making the adhesion of my barrier lightyears better.........Holy Cow Turds Batman.....I'm back to square one! I was even thinking of trying a non-convex barrier to make it less visible under my shirt now that summer is here..........what was I thinking?? So lesson learned.......from now on whenever things are going well.........I'm not telling anyone. I'm just gonna keep it to myself. SON OF A BITCH......am I pissed! Oh, think I said that already. My bad. What a way to start the week! Thanks for listening..........rant over. Got to go kick the damn dog................ERRRRR!

Later,

Bob

PS Just kidding about the pooch! She's sitting here looking at me like "don't look at me dickhead.....you did it, not me"

What a game you are having, Bob! I was watching a fly walk upside down on the ceiling just now (my busy life), and I thought,

Insects can grip so securely, why can't someone invent a material like that? One that you could switch the suction level or something,

and re-use! I guess they wouldn't sell so many bags then though! Ah well, struggle on with high hopes!

Just one of those things really that can happen. They like to lead us into a false sense of security. LOL. Another time could be within 1 hour, then another time could leave it on for 7 days without any problems.

Pirrip... you're a genius! Yes, what we need is a flexible foam-like ring to put around our stoma and then a Velcro barrier that attaches to our skin around our stoma. The ring wouldn't have to adhere, just be flexible enough to keep contact with our skin and the barrier at all times. I know that material exists... I guess the challenge will be getting the Velcro to stick to our skin better than it sticks to itself... otherwise, it would pull off our skin every time we removed it. But you got me thinking... which we all know is never a good thing! I also thought about having the plastic ring from the barrier (that the bag snaps onto) surgically implanted around the stoma... so no need for barriers or rings. The healing time though would be hard to deal with though. Might need a stoma extension insert while healing, to empty into a container not glued to our bodies. Calling Dr. Frankenstein...

Later,

Bob

    Or... plastic-coated iron beads inserted under the skin around the stoma, and magnetic bags!

    I would love showing it at the airport! But nobody will do anything that upsets the trough...

Pirrip... you're on a roll, Brother! Now I'm thinking about refrigerator magnets superglued to my skin around my stoma and the same magnets inside the barrier connection on the bag. Son, you are just a treasure trove of great ideas!

As for your original idea... with the knucklehead Docs I've dealt with in the past, they'd insist on stainless steel balls rather than plastic-coated steel... and only AFTER the surgery would they come to realize stainless isn't magnetic! Keep the good ideas comin'... one of 'em is going to work!

Regards,

Bob

Bob,

Don't give up, Bob. You could've had a leak with your stoma powder after all of that you put your appliance through on that day, sweating and swimming in the pool and more sweating in the heat and swimming in the pool. That's enough to take any barrier off, even with superglue.

Maybe you just need an additional barrier strip, like the Y shape Coloplast or Convatec half circle barriers, as added protection on those days that you're going to put it through hell.

Pup

I could have a different setup. I had an ileostomy a few months ago. I left the hospital with an accordion flange and bag. When I got home, I would have leaks every night just before bed. Damn, not a good time. After a few weeks of frustration, one stoma nurse tried me on a convex flange that you mold to the shape of the stoma with your thumbs. No cutting. She didn't use any other barrier or Ekin. Very simple. Clean the area and stick it on. I haven't had a leak since. We can shape the flange to the exact size of the oblong stoma. Very happy with the convex flange. Good luck.

Hi all, I've often thought that maybe a thin silicone type washer with the hole the exact size of my stoma lightly glued to the skin and the wafer over that so when the edge of the wafer starts eroding, you wouldn't have to change it right away.