Good morning,
I've had my colostomy for close to 20 years now. I used to get 4-5 days wear time. Now I'm lucky to get 2-3 days. The reason for this post, I've been experiencing leaks lately. I've been trying a washer type product that goes around the stoma and paste, but still having problems. Any suggestions or advice appreciated. Thanks, Mike
I use a similar type of ring and can average between 1 to 7 days. Do you pre-warm the adhesive on the ring and bag before applying?
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Hi Crossley. Ya know, I think it’s all about feelings. I don’t mean the pain feelings which could control everything. I mean the feelings inside our heads, our hearts and even our souls. I mean the feelings of who we are now compared to who we were; how we accept our situation or maybe we don’t. My wife asked how I felt and I said, “like crap”. She asked what hurt and I answered, “Nothing hurts, well, everything hurts, I don’t know, It all sucks.” That was a long time ago. You question if your feelings are normal. How normal is it to relocate your butt hole to your belly where it’s usually in the way of your belt and, you know. But that’s where we are and for lots of us we are so much better off than we were before, physically. Emotionally, psychologically, well, that might be a different story. I believe talk therapy is wonderful if we could find a real empathic or sympathetic listener. So guess what! I found MAO and began “talking” with a keyboard with some of the wisest, kindest most sympathetic and compassionate folks on the planet. Regardless of where we’ve been, lots of folks here have been there and worse places and found their way back healthier and happier. We really do help each other.
Keep “talking”,
Mike
What products are you using?
Does your stoma protrude or lay low on your skin? Do you have a peristomal hernia?
Is the skin around your stoma flat and smooth or bulged/wrinkled?
Having an ostomy for 20 years, you should know the ins and outs of what to do. Have you contacted the company that makes your bags and asked if they have changed anything in the composition of the sticky stuff? If they have, that alone could be your issue for not getting it to stick and causing leaks. Or if you have changed products, that could cause it too. Otherwise, you'd have to describe your exact method of changing/applying your bags to see if there is something there that can be adjusted to fix your issue.
Hi Mike,
The obvious question is what's changed? Something must be different than it was prior for you to be experiencing shorter wear time.
;O)
Yeah, on face value, I'd go with what Alex said. That could be the problem or a change in the quality of the product, and rumor has it that could be an issue. Others had complained about leaks. You are using an O-ring barrier and then the appliance or the wafer, but really, after 20 years, you should have this down pat. Obviously, something's changed, maybe physically. It could be the hernia, it could be maybe gaining weight or losing weight, so you might have to look at that angle too. How bad are the leaks? Since you have a colostomy, it's probably pretty solid. You might need to change your diet. 20 years is a long time; a lot of things can happen, and you don't even realize it. Dude, good luck. I hope you find a better answer.
But we are just working with what you gave us.