I wonder if anyone has had the problem I have now and again.
I have an ileostomy and at present, due to kidney problems, I have water retention. I find if I have a lot of liquids, I suffer at night with water seeping from the circumference of the stoma. The water breaks the seal of the bag, causing a mess. My stoma nurses tell me it is impossible for water to come through the
circumference of the stoma. But it is!
Can anyone help, please?
Frank
I have never heard of this. Hopefully, someone can answer your question. I would check with your nephrologist. Good luck.
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Hi gang,
I was thinking what a great resource this site has been for me since I found it. It would have been really helpful, but maybe a bit scary, to have found it before my ostomy, but that's water under the bridge. But I got thinking about it, and now I'm questioning why doctors and hospitals don't provide this site's contact info to any patient even considering an ostomy today. And how can we change that so potential ostomates can learn about the road ahead for them by getting on here and asking questions before the docs go chop-chop. How exactly do you get all hospitals to provide their patients specific information, like this website?
I just happened to find this site something like 4 years after my ostomy when I Googled "ostomy forum" or something like that. But I never found it during previous searches.....so I found this site pretty much by pure luck. We need to find a way to make this site available to new or soon-to-be ostomates......as that's when we really need to commiserate with fellow ostomates. Anybody have any thoughts on how we do this?
Thanks,
Bob
My question... Why do you only have this issue at night? If water is actually seeping out, it should happen 24/7. I highly doubt it's seeping out; your output may be basically just water, and it continually drips out, or maybe your stoma mucusy stuff is more pronounced under the circumstances, causing more liquidy stuff in your bag. 🤷♂️
I would consult a surgeon. If a stoma is properly installed, it's watertight. Have your stoma examined. It definitely should not leak anything except out the spout. Think about it. If water leaks through the edges, why not liquidy poop?
Good luck.
The only time I had anything like what you describe is when I developed pancreatitis. However, I already had a JP drain, and that is where the fluid came from. It was gushing out when I was taken back to the hospital. I suppose something like that could possibly seep through your stoma somehow. However, you don't describe any symptoms of pancreatitis, so I have probably picked the wrong tree up which to bark. :-)
Whatever it is, I would suggest you talk to a knowledgeable physician and not rely on nurses, as much as I respect and admire them.
Daniel
Devil's advocate here. :-)
It could be because the poop is already traveling out of the ileum, which may protrude a couple of inches into the bag. And the liquid is coming from around the ileum, which is fastened to the stoma.
Or maybe Frank is a back sleeper and has very liquid stool? Pooling could account for seal damage, especially if there is a lot of bile.
There are probably one or two more plates of spaghetti to toss. But as you say, he should see his surgeon.
Daniel
Excellent stoma website with pictures. Once on the site, scroll down.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5498169/
With that problem, I noticed it was happening when particles of food would just sit inside the circle of the flange. Then I unlock my bag, take a wet wipe, and clean it away from the flange, and sometimes I notice it has seeped behind the flange. That calls for an adjustment by putting on a clean bag. Hope this helps!