Need help with ostomy bag leaks - desperate for a solution!

So my bag leaks almost daily. I've had major blowouts and slow leaks, but I've never gotten to go on one bag for more than two days. I just can't get a seal around the ostomy. I'm currently using paste, but I started with the little rings and they both have the same issues. I'm sooooo freaking exhausted with this. I just can't get a good seal. We use the skin prep, we stay close to the ostomy, but I still get leaks.

Is there any out-of-the-box tricks or something? Like I'm considering denture adhesive or some other type to try and get a good seal.

HELP!!

Have you tried not using the skin prep? Are you rinsing the area really well to get any adhesive remover off?

Pixie, my relation, used the paste as she had a lot of operation, so uneven skin due to scarring, and it worked okay for her. Might be something other than the paste. Alex T may have a good point. Do you clean around the stoma with adhesive remover before washing the area around your stoma? Have you tried the Coloplast Brave Elastic Tape that comes in half moons to encircle the outer perimeter of the pouch as a short-term measure while you figure out what the problem is? All the best, Patrick.

I try to clean the area as well as possible. The paste is such a mess, so I struggle sometimes getting it off. I wash and wash and wash around it. I put this new bag on now with no skin prep and no ring or paste because a home health nurse is supposed to come out to see me.

It happens even after showers and stuff, so I'm not sure how much cleaner I can get the area.

Do you know if there is an issue with storing supplies in a bathroom? Could I be damaging my sticky stuff?

It seems that my ileostomy output just mixes with the paste and it works its way out to the edges. I have done my best with the adhesive remover and I scrub as good as I can. My belly is a "jelly belly" lol because I've lost so much weight this past year and it's covered in stretch marks from my pregnancies, so I don't have a smooth surface. Plus, it's by my belly button. And I have surgical incisions around it. Omg, it's so much I just can't quit crying.

I have put on the half moon tapes to keep it from coming out until my husband can get home to help me, but like you said, it doesn't really address the issue.

Hi Pixie,

Do you use soap with any moisturizer in it? I was told by my ostomy nurse in the beginning that using a moisturizer soap that the oils in it would cause the flange not to stick or rings or paste. I use sensitive skin Dove soap and haven't had any issues with leaks. I do use the paste around my stoma, turtle necking around the stoma, and then run my fingers gently around the flange to push the paste up around my stoma to act as a gasket. I have an ileostomy.

I'm sorry to hear this, Pixie. I've been struggling since my surgery in January, colostomy, to get the right pouch. My ostomy nurse and I just keep ordering samples and trying out different products. I need deep convexity and flexibility to form to my hilly terrain around my stoma.

Any chance you just aren't using the right appliance? It is easy to get samples from all of the manufacturers.

Are your wafers cut to the right size for your stoma?

I'm traveling a similar road as you, but without the extreme leaks and blowouts. We can travel this road together, just private message me and off we will go! I have so far tried 10 different sets of samples and I think I'm getting close to what my stoma wants. If your appliance needs lots of goop and glue and paste and magic, I think you may not have the right pouch.

What is your stoma like?

Peace, and you have come to the right place with your questions.

Angela

Have you tried a convex pouching system with a belt? I use Hollister brand. I heat the sticky side of the flange with a blow dryer for 10 seconds before applying. It softens the "glue" for better adherence. Then the belt goes on. I only leave the belt on for a day. It gives the appliance the pressure needed to stick better, and I don't need to run my finger around the stoma for pressure (that process always made me cringe). I get 4 days before needing to change the appliance. Maybe try using as little accoutrements as possible. Sometimes less is more. Good luck.

Pixie, I didn't realize you have an ileostomy. This begs the question, why does your GI have you using laxatives? I've not read of others with ileostomy Ed's taking laxatives at all, as the small colon flows so freely.

I know it sounds basic and I say it often. Do you use a belt? If not, try wearing a belt. I wear a belt pretty much 24/7 and I get 7 to 12 days on a change. I use Convatec and Eakin seals and a belt. I have had an ileostomy for 25 years.

Or talk to a WOC Nurse.

Hope that helps, good luck. I'm praying for you.

Cplumber

I use my regular soap when I shower, but I always wipe around my stoma with Dawn dish liquid to get all the oils off my skin before I put the appliance on. I can't find anything that doesn't have moisturizer in it. We bought some Dove, but it had moisturizer in it and I quit using it. My nurse thought the Dawn was the better option.

And my paste just seems to mix with my output and eventually work its way out anyway instead of forming a gasket. I need a gasket that doesn't disintegrate.

Thanks though. I'll keep at it.

https://youtu.be/CSMSmFq8g1E

This guy has lots of great info.

Oh, man! I can relate. Lots of good advice on here for you to try. The single thing that fixed it for me was adding Tegaderm? tape on all 4 sides of the flange. It seemed to really stabilize the whole thing. I keep a heat bag on it for 10 minutes after the change and am good to go. I now get a full week out of each bag and never had a single leak since and I know that if it wasn't taped down it would leak in less than a day. Good luck! You will get it figured out.

PS. I don't use any other products on the skin. A little stoma powder tight to the stoma. I find that some of that other stuff makes it seal worse.

You can buy surgical soap just like what the hospitals use.

Hi Pixie.

I have had my osteotomy for 10 years now and can still recall the same problem as you have, with great distress. I became a bit of a hermit actually through fear. However, I am well under control now. I changed my diet to low fiber, emptied my bag each time I went to the toilet regardless of how much was in it, used swabs to dry the skin round the ileostomy as thoroughly as possible, wore Tena Lady pants for a while, used a handheld hair dryer at gentle heat round the ileostomy skin to make doubly sure the skin was dry, then sprayed the skin round the ileostomy with Sureprep Rapid Dry no-sting barrier film prior to applying the bag.

Salts Stoma Paste is applied to the bag itself, then I dampen my finger and very gently run it round the stoma paste to level it and make better contact with the skin. I apply it to the stoma, then fix four quarter-moon-shaped Flange Extenders round the edge of the bag. They stick down very well as they are coated with fairly strong adhesive (Lifteez non-sting adhesive removal aerosol is used to painlessly remove Flanges and the bag).

The flanges really are excellent as extra security for affixing stoma bags and they give early warning if the bag is beginning to leak.

I should mention that I am emailing from Scotland, so the stuff I have mentioned might not be available in your area. But if you would like me to email you contact details of the company who deals with my supplies, I would be happy to do that. Also, the National Health Service over here picks up the tab for all medical supplies, so I am unable to supply prices for them. Just know that they have changed my life for the better. I also had the stoma nurse measure my stoma for a new template as our stomas change as our bodies change. In my case, more than a few extra pounds appeared from nowhere!

Forgive me if I am trying to teach my granny to suck eggs, as they say over here. You probably know most of what I have written, but hopefully, you might find something here that will make your life a lot more bearable.

Warmest regards,

Vickilou

Hi, I use Eakin seals and Convatec (2 piece system) and have pretty good luck. I've had an ostomy for 58 years -- yes, I'm tired of it but I have lived 50 years more than many thought! I have to change every 4-6 days. Sadly, my stoma seems to keep increasing in size and I have to get a larger size appliance as it will take up more abdominal area. Oh, well!

I know what you are going through. I've tried everything. I know our diet has a lot to do with how loose our bowels are. When mine is solid, there is no problem, but depending on what we eat, it becomes loose and it's going to leak. Sometimes worse than other times. I hope you find a cure. I'm considering getting a reversal but need a lot of research to do.

You can't store your supplies in the bathroom. The stickiness will completely go. I suggest buying a plastic chest of drawers, putting it in your bedroom, and storing them there. That's what I do. Definitely not in the bathroom, too much steam.

I had the same issues and just got it under control. I now use a Coloplast convex bag, with the Eakin ring around the stoma, and then paste around the bag opening.
I was using a flat bag so my pouch was wrong. I also wear a belt as well from Coloplast. That fixed my problem immediately. I hope this helps and I know how frustrating this can be, so reach out to me if you cannot get it figured out. I can send pictures to help if needed. Videos on YouTube helped me as well. Best of luck!

Along with Alex T's suggestions, do you make sure the area is completely dry? As an extra measure, dry it, then hit the area with a hair dryer just to be sure. If you can get the Coloplast tape, try 3M Micropore Medical Paper Tape or surgical tape. You can find it in almost every drug store. After the appliance is on, cut the tape and place it around the edge of the flange and your skin. The medical tape adheres even better with body heat and is also waterproof.

Hope it helps. Keep us posted on your progress.

Tracy