Leaking Bag Nightmares: Dealing with Explosions and Air Build-Up

Well, the thing that terrifies me the most happened today, and what a Merry Christmas it made for. I have been terrified of the bag leaking at night and making a mess, and Tomi did it last night. I swear he did it to usher in Christmas. What will he do for the new year???

It was not as bad as I thought, and I was able to keep my head, but the dash up the back stairs with the soiled bedsheet pressed against Tomi was not much fun for me. The cats stared at me as if I was bonkers.

I managed to do a quick change of the bag - thankfully it did not leak around the flange, just straight out of the bag. I found that the bottom part of the rings had come unclipped! How I am not entirely sure, but it may be that I tried to burp the bag in my sleep and didn't clip it up properly. I cannot be sure. I had to do a full wash and change all my bedding, and my nightclothes. Fun??? NOT! The only thing that threw me was that the stuff was hard to clean up off my legs. I didn't expect to have to scrub that off, especially as it was very liquid.

Is this what you all mean by a bag explosion or is that another joy I have to look forward to?

It annoyed me a little, I have to say, because although I have placed an order for my Coloplast supplies - the Sensura Click - they won't come until mid to late January and I am now out of my samples. So last night was the first night I was wearing the Hollister New Image that I came out of the hospital wearing. And they bloody leaked!!! The first time ever. Maybe Tomi was voicing his preference. But it sure woke me up for Christmas.

Bit nervous he's going to do this as a regular feature.

I am a little nervous also that the bag fills up with air. The Coloplast got rid of the air quite easily, but the Hollister isn't as good at that and the next thing I have is a barrage balloon attached to my side. I burp the bag regularly whenever that happens, but it is scary. And it is even worse if I use the Comfizz wrap over it. I put the wrap on and 2 seconds later, here comes the barrage balloon. It's so big I could float away! Am I doing that wrong?? I just put the wrap over the bag and make sure that the entire bag is covered. And it blows up almost instantly. Take the wrap off, and the bag has very little air in it. So strange.

LOL

Any tricks to deal with that? And is this likely to lead to the bag popping off, and pooping all over me, because that is not my idea of fun.

I love Tomi, and I totally appreciate how much life he has given me, but.... these things worry me.

Tomi was very much a part of my Christmas, what with the fun of the morning wake-up call, and serious gut rot all around lunchtime, I had to hit the Buscopan, and pain pills so I slept all afternoon. I am happy to report I did not dream of Tomi though..... LOL

I can only hope that your stomas behave better than my Tomi. Maybe he's grumpy he missed Halloween - and is seasonally confused... Trick or Treat?????

LOL

Maybe Tomi didn't like your Christmas present to him. LOL Sorry to sound dumb but I'm a newbie, what is Comfizz wrap? You're not plugging off the vent with it, are you?
But anyways, Merry Christmas Mike.

I'll bet all my sugar plums that your latest leak was a result of not 'clicking closed' properly after your during-the-night burps.

I've had mishaps with nighttime burping. For me, I was trying to do it in a semi-prone position and half awake ... when anyone with a brain (hi Junopete) knows that you have to be almost totally upright (and awake) when burping.

I haven't (in a year) had an awake blowout or major leak. I have had leaks at night when the full bag of gas has actually lifted the tape.

Pinky swears by Beano for gas. For me, it doesn't work quite as well as Gas-X. I take a couple of Gas-X with my evening meal and another 1 or 2 just before I hit the sack (11pm). It's made a difference. I still have to set the alarm for 2 burps/empties during the night.

Keep smilin'

Beatrice

Hi there - yes, that sounds like my usual bag explosion - full wash and bed change when all you need to do is sleep! Mine leaked Christmas Eve without me knowing all over my corset and clothes not long before church, so that was fun! Not! I'm surprised it didn't leak in church too as I was up and down a lot and it was sooooo cold in there!

Hope your Christmas Day was a bit more successful?

Take care,

Rach xxx

I am not sure that Tomi likes pastry.... My insides ached and ached yesterday after eating mince pies, and I had to take Buscopan and a pain pill for it, so I slept all Christmas afternoon. But he played nice later, and there were no disasters in the night, so I am happy. He seems to be doing better this morning. I tested him with a second batch of mince pies; we will see if I get a repeat performance. If so, that's it for pastry for a while. Oh well.

I did find myself waking up in the middle of the night, running my fingers around the seal of my bag to ensure it was securely done up - LOL - that was different. Guess I am very nervous about leaks and messes. I even dreamed about making messes. That was not fun. I think that I am super sensitive right now, and maybe in time I will become less sensitive.

Mike, the Comfizz wrap is what I received when my stomal therapist ordered me Omnigon's All Day Every Day Waist Band. This is a stretchy fabric band that goes around your stomach and supports the stoma. It's supposed to help prevent hernias. It supports Tomi quite well, but immediately the bag blows up with air, and I am not sure why. I just keep burping the bag and hoping for the best. LOL

LottageLady, I'm sorry that your stoma was so unfriendly. It's not very nice when they leak when you are all dressed up and ready to go somewhere special.

Beatrice, I bet you are right... not sure if Tomi would like sugar plums. Based on his track record so far, I suspect they could lead to some entertainment.

I think the worst part of the clean-up after his epic leak was that Tomi gurgled at me the whole time, almost like he was chuckling at me. I can only say I knew he was a guy, right from the start I knew he was a guy - and he proved it by laughing at the mess he made and the work I had to do to deal with it.....

I didn't know that I couldn't do burps lying down. I tend to sort of lean back and deal with them, but I will take your advice and do them standing up or at least sitting up from now on. I don't want messes all over me. They are not fun!

Fiber free as much as possible. If you can eat veggies, they cause a lot of gas. Also, I am a no veggie eater. Also, watch what meats you eat. Greasy meat makes heavy flow. Turkey, ham, cheap hamburger, way less balloon pooping on you at night. Timing when the last time you ate something and also what helps me. Some people use marshmallows to help on plugging, but how many is the trick for you? Well, ta ta and good luck.

This is kind of what it's really all about although it can be said how well you pick yourself up.

To minimize your nighttime worries, always empty before going to bed, no matter how little. You can do a final wait on any activity, but if it's before you fall asleep, an empty bag means more room for any output and if you are secure with it being closed, the better sleep you are likely to get.

When closing a two-piece setup, I like to make sure the six o'clock to the stoma is closed with a hand mirror I got in some welcome kit. Even if it feels like it closed, double-checking it is important.

Just wondering ... The mince pies ... are those the ones with raisins etc. or the true meat pies. If the raisin one ... raisins are very hard to digest.

Pastry (the dough part) goes down so good for me ... but I usually can't eat what's inside like apple, berries, mincemeat, etc.

Ohh yes, I should have said - I'm torturing Tomi with Fruit Mince Pies... I love them and Christmas isn't Christmas without them. But I only made a handful and have chewed them so much they turned to mush in my mouth. I have chewed those currants, raisins, and sultanas till my jaws ached. I found I had heaps of problems with the Christmas pudding - we bought one that said it had no nuts in it. Yeah right!!!!! only almonds, and some other nutty thing stuck throughout it. I was pulling nutty stuff out with every mouthful. I lasted about 4 spoonfuls of that and then gave up. Mum gets to eat the rest of it! I give up.
But according to the ingredients list - no nuts. It has a warning that some shells of nuts might have got into the mix as other items including nuts are made in the same factory. All I can say is not too keen on their hygiene!

Too many nuts for me.

And I am being so good with nuts and not eating any, despite how much I love salted peanuts. So I was a bit put out about this particular eating experience.

.....

I do a bag change just before I go to bed to avoid or minimize explosions, messes, dramas, etc., and Tomi is generally well behaved. Although he does like to tease... blew up with air late last night just to scare me.... I burped him and gave him a stern talking to. Beds are not toilets....... lol

He behaved himself all night!

LOL

The idea about using a mirror to check underneath the bag at the 6 o'clock point is marvelous. I will be adopting that for sure. It can be tricky to see under the bag without pulling it around too much. I have been obsessively checking the seal for the last few days, but I am sure I will become less sensitive to that over time. Just my disaster panicked me a little....okay a lot!

I had a visit from a nutritionist who talked to me about eating fiber that was soluble rather than insoluble, and I am trying to do that. I have a list of fiber-filled foods to avoid and others to enjoy. So that helps lots. I used to be almost vegetarian (ate way more vegetables than meat) and so excluding vegetables from my diet is really very difficult. I will play around with the amounts and see if I can find the perfect serve of veggies that allows me to feel I've eaten them and yet doesn't give me so much gas. I don't mind the gas so much, but the sensation around my stoma when Tomi passes wind is so weird. Does anyone else have this strange puffing sensation when they pass wind?

So very freaky! Actually, it's the freakiest (is that a word???) part of the colostomy.

Yum marshmallows..... hmmm may have to try that......

Freakiest is a word.

And if you are only a few months post-surgery, that could still be things settling down from all the manhandling.

This is kind of what it's really all about, although it can be said how well you pick yourself up.

To minimize your nighttime worries, always empty before going to bed, no matter how little. You can do a final wait on any activity, but if it's before you fall asleep, an empty bag means more room for any output, and if you are secure with it being closed, the better sleep you are likely to get.

When closing a two-piece setup, I like to make sure the six o'clock to the stoma is closed with a hand mirror I got in some welcome kit. Even if it feels like it closed, double-checking it is important.

       

Sinfulsot pointed out exactly what I had been thinking when I read your post, Lilac. The one thing that worried you so much finally happened... and you survived it, right? In fact, it was an event that you were even able to laugh about after the fact and share with us on the forums!

Living with an ostomy is -not- easy, but then, everyone has something they must deal with, some sort of baggage (pun intended) to contend with throughout their lives. I suspect that you will find that things get easier to handle, and you will get better acquainted with Tomi over time, which in turn will lead to fewer worries and issues as you get accustomed to your "new" body.

...Living with an ostomy is not easy, but then, everyone has something they must deal with, some sort of baggage (pun intended) to contend with throughout their lives. I suspect that you will find that things get easier to handle, and you will get better acquainted with Tomi over time, which in turn will lead to less worries and issues as you get accustomed to your "new" body.        

In case you couldn't tell, I like to make nested quotes. =P But one of my primal survival skills from the diagnosis of my Crohn's to this most recent turn, my ostomy (which will be a year this coming February), is to intend pun whenever possible.

Tomi likes your puns, he gurgles every time I read one.
Who'd have thought he could read... through a bag no less!

LOL

I am sitting here laughing at the screen, not at you I may add, but with you! I too have had the midnight flight on occasion. Talk about sex on legs, eh! Showering at 2am, changing the bed, pissing the neighbors off with the washing machine going! But at least you weren't out and you could clean yourself up. Keep smiling.

Trish

Actually, Tomi's not doing any of the reading, you and he are telepathically linked. If you know it, he knows it...