Wet back of ostomy bag, no leaks - supply issue or bad seal?

Okay, so my wonderful husband put on a new bag for me last night. I noticed it was pooling around the left side this morning. It wasn't leaking out, but I could see it working its way to do that, so I changed it myself.

Then this afternoon, the bag itself was wet in the back????? I checked my skin, and there were more areas of pooling but nothing breaking through. Just the bag. Is that a supply issue? Like are my bags bad? Is it that I'm not even getting a seal when I finally attach the bag to the base? I'm so freaking lost.

I store my supplies in the small bathroom with our shower that does not vent great, so am I ruining the supplies from the steam?

The generic bag they had on me after my surgery never leaked. Do they have better adhesive? I'm so confused.

Are you doing things exactly like they did at the hospital?

Hi, if you use a two-piece system, check that the flange and locking mechanism are solid. There is a plastic ring on the bag which slips/pushes into a plastic, circular groove on the part that sticks to your belly. You have to push really hard until you hear a click. I used to put the two pieces together before putting the flange on, just in case. I had this happen several times, it didn't lock. Be careful with the Velcro closure at the emptying end of the bag too, squeeze until the Velcro locks together. Sometimes the sticky part on your belly wears away unevenly and the sticky breaks down over a half inch of the wafer. Water only needs a pinhole and once it starts, it eats the sticky away.

When I used the two-piece, I always taped around the ring where the two pieces are attached, clip together. Getting out of bed, I might accidentally have my hand on the bag as I get up. This will break the seal on the push-in connection. The wafer/bag connection can separate in a tiny spot and will leak only when you lie down.

To make everything even more secure, I run a strip of 2-inch Micropore Surgical Tape on all four sides of the flange, whether it's a one-piece or a two-piece system.

No. They put on a generic bag when I go into surgery. It's not as "nice" as the normal wear bags but that sucker sticks. I was discharged before a new bag could be put on, so that was not an option. A note here though..... This was a second surgery, not the one that gave me the ileostomy. After my ileostomy surgery, I watched her put the new bag on me and at home, I attempted to follow what she did. I still had leakage. So I switched from the ring barrier thingy to paste, hoping for a better seal. No luck.

Okay. I use a two-piece system but it doesn't "snap" into place. It's adhesive as well. The nurse just gave me a one-piece to try out that is convex to help push the skin down around the ostomy to see if that will help. We also applied paste. I'll have to update to let you know how that goes, but I'm thinking I may need a different product.

My nurse said my skin was very smooth, even if it is uneven. The smoothest she's seen, she said. So that is adding to my lack of getting things to stick. We did the skin prep and all, and now it's just a waiting game, I guess.

Thanks for the info though. This is seriously the hardest thing I've ever gone through.

My Ostomy Journey: Ryan | Hollister

I think there's one more thing you need, Pixie.

The 4-inch Eakin Seal (there is a 2-inch Seal also, but the 4-inch is better) underneath the Wafer is what you need. I think a thicker pad of Sticky Stuff is what you need. The Eakin is just a disc of the Sticky Stuff by itself. It has a hole in the middle that you can shape yourself for the best fit. It doubles the thickness that the Acidic has to eat through, should double your time between changes without any leaks.

With the Eakin Seal and the Micropore Tape (3M Brand ONLY, it works best), you should do better. The "Absorbagel Packs," in my Photos, will help immensely. It comes in small packs, like a small sugar pack, and one (or 2 for traveling, flying, etc.) gives the watery liquid output a thicker consistency. Less watery output is less likely to erode the wafer and cause a leak.

Tape the Velcro closure/clip just in case.

Eamon

I hope this helps.

Hi Pixie, my question is why would you need a convex wafer unless your stoma opening is at skin level? A regular flat wafer should do the trick without skin prep or other extras, as that might contribute to not getting a good seal.

Hi guys, hi Ron... I use the Hollister one-piece bags and I love the convex. If you look at your stoma in the shower (avoid the squirt monster), you will notice that muscle action actually makes the pink rose pull inwards as your intestine does its job. This pulls the stoma away from the wafer and can break the seal. Once the acidic liquid gets in there, it's finished. The bag I use has a firm plastic pad embedded in the wafer. The plastic convex piece pushes into the edge of the stoma, and even if your stoma is perfectly positioned, you will still benefit from these bags. My stoma is pretty good with the belly surface, almost flush, but when I used a different bag I got at most two days. With the convex one, a bag can comfortably last a week!!! For people who have to actually pay for bags or have a co-pay, this would be a huge financial difference, and you change the bag less often. The convex changed my ostomy life!!

Eamon

Hi Pixie, about the Eakin Seals I use. One trick is to warm the Eakin Seal / Sticky Wafer before applying. Try to get it fairly soft and pliable. The warmer it is, the softer it is and it will stick to scars and dips no problem. I put it under my thigh while sitting and it gets nice and soft. The sticky stuff in the tube was an awful mess when changing bags. The Eakin Seal does the same thing in a much less messy way and it's a 4-inch circular pad so it's easy to handle. I posted a pic of the Eakin in my Photos.

This is half the solution, the other half is the convex Wafer. Also, as I mentioned, "Absorbagel" in Europe or "Pearls" in the US will get rid of all that liquid sloshing about in the bag and turn it into a puddle of Brown Sludge which will not spill if you have a leak. Emptying, you just squeeze it out of the bag (some people hate this part!!) like you're piping brown icing onto a delicious cake!!! LOL.. Yuck!!

All the best and I hope it all settles down for you very soon.

Eamon

Eamon

Thanks Magoo. You gave a few things to check into.

Not leaking onto my clothes is always the number one priority, but I have to watch out for my skin as well. I worry when I watch it make its way to the edges, and it always begins itching, and I know it has to come off.

I've still got the convex on from last night, so we are 24 hrs with no leaks. Had a bit of a scare when I thought I was bleeding, but I forgot that I drank a fruit punch Gatorade in the morning. SMHLOL

Well, my stoma goes in and out depending on my position and what it's doing. My nurse that came in last night looked at my stoma with the clear bag on, standing, and said it protruded nicely. Then when I laid down to have her change the bag, the stoma is almost flush with my skin. I've watched my stoma while lying in bed and sometimes in the shower, and it will "rise up" to spit stuff out and then shrink back down again. I have been sleeping on my back, so while I sleep at night, the stoma is probably getting level with my skin and may then end up pooling right around the stoma area, breaking down my adhesion.

I'm just now starting to realize this.

There is also the issue that I am only a week out from my last surgery, and even though it wasn't to do the ileostomy (I had my sigmoid colon removed, my bladder repaired from a fistula, and my ovary removed), they did work around that area of my torso, so I have swelling that has gone down. This, I think, changes the protrusion as well.

I'm still guessing at all of this. I haven't read anything other people's stoma changing like I've seen mine, but I may not be reading in the right areas sometimes. I get overwhelmed and have to shut it all down.

Yeah, I haven't been able to keep my output at a steady consistency but I have hit that icing, squeeze it out of the bag, on occasion. Which I agree is harder to empty the bag but a bit less messy on the whole. I'm 24 hours now with the convex and it's holding up well. We will attempt to put a new one on this Sunday, provided I make it through tonight and tomorrow. It will be the first time my husband tries with the new ones. I hope this is my answer.

It is more uncomfortable to wear and limits my bending over more, which may be something I just have to get used to, but I would prefer to do that than to leak all the time. My abdomen is still very sore from the surgery so it's sort of a hodgepodge of pain for me and it irritates other areas. Which again, I would prefer to get used to as long as I don't leak any longer.

Hi Pixie, I've found that sleeping on my back does the same thing as yours, so now I sleep on my side. And now I understand why you need the convex wafer, and if it works for you, that's good. It's all trial and error until something works.

Yeah, I used to never sleep on my back. I couldn't do it because it just wasn't comfortable, but when I had my first surgery, I slept on my back in the hospital with my head elevated, and I got used to it. Once I was home, I slept on my side the first night and got a leak, so I went back to sleeping on my back. Now, I just tried to sleep on my side, and I was so paranoid that I couldn't sleep. Hahaha

I'm hoping to get back to that feeling again. I need some deep sleep. I'm just so tired all the time, and I can't reboot.

Hi again Pixie, just one more idea for you. Eakin also makes a 2-inch seal (washer). I have a pic of one in my photos here. For some reason, I was having a hard time with leaks when I came back to Ireland a month ago. My output must have been extra acidic because the poopy liquid output was eating the sticky very fast...two days.

I tried the 2-inch Eakin around the stoma first. Get it soft and push it gently around the stoma until it stays by itself. Then put the 4-inch Eakin on top of that. Your wafer sticks to the Eakin. In my experience recently, this combination was foolproof and never leaks. The stoma will be very mobile, it will push out and when muscles flex it will also pull into your belly and make a dip at the edges which can lift the wafer/seal and let liquid under it...burning is the result from the powerful stomach acid. In the shower, I've watched this. After I've eaten, I can really see this movement with the bag off (sometimes I have to change right after eating and I can see the stoma muscle action). The two Eakin seals feel thick when you first put them on but as they soften from body heat they really stick and flatten. The 2-inch and the 4-inch sort of meld or blend together into one, so when I remove it the two seals have become one that is extra thick around the edge of the stoma. This method offers really good leak protection, with 4 strips of 2-inch Micropore Tape around the perimeter of the wafer.

It takes a while for your gut to calm down but it will and you will be able to enjoy life again. Most of my hospital stays have included lots of pain meds and that makes it easier to lie in a hospital bed for weeks or months (me) and not go stark raving mad!!! I always had extreme pain from my surgeries...Demerol was my friend.

Eamon

Thanks again for the added info and I get the pain meds making bed rest much more tolerable. I can't take any pain meds without some type of anti-nausea beforehand because I will just vomit through the whole pain med and never get any relief. My body just hates them and I'm fine with that. I did have morphine in the hospital and oxycodone but never without first having my anti-nausea. They tried once to give me both at the same time and I started to get sick so they only did that once. Then they listened. First anti-nausea and then I will take some strong pain med, otherwise just keep pumping me with the other stuff.

Hi, veteran patients often know a lot more about their body and its likes and dislikes, so they really should listen more. Morphine makes me sick every time. They would insist on giving morphine pills and I would puke it all and then wait 3 hours for something else, Demerol. Eventually, I got what I needed.