Hi, Great Info from Bob. He just about covered all bases. But I know how you must feel. I use to get 7-10 days out of my convex, convatec ileostomy wafer / pouch. A bit less in the summer, when it was hot, or I did a lot of showering ( hot water ?) or swimming. It would soften the wafer. Ive learned to take shorter, hot showers.. But a few years ago, I noticed that the lower part of my 55 year old stoma, was pulling further back into the skin, causing a " hollow/ dent" under the stoma.. Hence, the leaking started. That's when I started with the convex. It helped somewhat. Then I used more " stomahesive paste", but the output leaked through that. I used t he elkin seals, and sometimes it workes and othertimes not. Sometimes it stays on a week, other times, I need to change 3 x in one day.. New medical issues....lots of gas, and water/ like output.. Turns out to be similar to IBS ( Irritable Bowel Syndrom) I've begun reacting to the sugars ( even artificial ones) found in foods, fruits and veggies. First it cause a lot of gas, and then the body / instestine fills with lots of water.. Research the FodMap Diet, which describes the foods most likely to trigger the liquid output. I just thought my digenstion had changed, but a visit to my gastro, gave me an instant diagnosis. It's a trial and error search, to see which foods trigger " the runs"/ w hich then eat away at the wafer... ( It's like gastric acid).. For me, it's limiting artificial ( and reg sugars) fruits, beans and quite a few veggies.. What's left is not a healthy diet, and I'm also Diabetic, so it's a balance. But in the end, my goal is to keep the wafer/ appliance on... Too much gas, is a symptom of " I ate the wrong thing".. I hope this helps anyone who has this issue... The Stoma nurses I went too, were of no help at all. I've had 55 years of experience, and they didn't/ couldn't suggest, anything I hadn't tried... Best of luck Marsha
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