Would love suggestions regarding my new ileostomy

Hi everyone, I had my surgery on 10/30/24, removing 10 inches of my ileum due to a stricture from radiation for ovarian cancer. I had experienced over 2 dozen complete small bowel obstructions over 15 months, and it was getting steadily worse. The stricture diameter was only the size of a pencil at the time of surgery. I am just now learning how to put on a new wafer and 2-piece system. I noticed today when I changed the wafer that the adhesive was quite swollen and white. I had been irrigating the Mia bag several times over the last few days and wonder if that contributed to the deterioration of the wafer. Is it a good idea to irrigate, or should I just change the pouch every other day? Thanks in advance for any suggestions or tips.

Hi MEM,

  Yeah, the material you're saying is swollen and white gets that way from being in contact with water.  It's supposed to do that to an extent to swell around your stoma and make a good seal.  Over time it keeps getting more swollen and turns white.  When you say 'irrigate,' I take it you mean flush the bag out with water, not the typical irrigation colostomates do to control their output.  If so, you'll find many on here do flush their bags out with water, but I never do.  It makes the hydrocolloid material swell and degrade, as you're seeing.  Not sure why you'd want to change the pouch every other day.........I keep mine on for 4-5 days without any issues, as do most on here.  And welcome to the club!

;O)  

Oh! Thanks for that explanation. That must be what's going on with my urostomy system! In my case, it's not caused by irrigation but by contact with the urine itself.

FWIW, so far, the appliance has not failed between bag changes, so it doesn't seem to be a huge problem. But it sure is nice to know what's happening

Hey Bob, I rinse my bag out, always have, but I don't put the water up around the stoma.

Hi B,

Yes........that works! As I've said before on here..........all people have to do is take a new ring, or piece of a new ring, and put it in a cup or dish of water to see what it does. It's self-explanatory at that point. It's supposed to swell when it contacts moisture, and our stomas are very moist since the outside of your stoma is really the inside of your bowel just rolled over on itself.

When I first got my stoma, I used to flush out my bag with water all the time and couldn't figure out why my ring kept breaking down so quickly. You think every ostomy nurse would tell us about this stuff. 🤔

;O)

Staying Hydrated with an Ostomy with LeeAnne Hayden | Hollister

G-Day guys, I have always rinsed my bag out with water after emptying the contents, and I do swish it around the top and the bottom, but I have never had a problem with it. I have only had one leak this year, so I must be doing something right, which most people think is wrong. Regards, IGGIE

Hi IG,

You're not alone, as others on here have said the same thing. Everyone is different, and I'm sure it depends on a number of factors, such as how far your stoma protrudes, how soon after you install a new barrier you hit it with a water wash, etc. Ring performance can also vary by manufacturer. Most of my experience is with Hollister rings. Once the Hollister ring swells like it's supposed to, additional water makes it turn into a soft white gooey mess. I would think just splashing water on it occasionally for a second or two wouldn't be nearly as bad as sleeping on your stomach and letting output puddle around it. So it also depends on how often you have output and flush your bag and how liquidy your output is. If you only flush it two or three times a day and your output is fairly solid, then your wear time should be acceptable. I empty way more times than that, and my output is more liquid than solid, so my ring would see water that many times if I rinsed each time. So many things come into play. If what you're doing works, stick with it. But some aren't so lucky.

;O)

Hiya and welcome to the group! I've had an ileostomy since 2017, and I've never once rinsed out my bag. I use the Coloplast 2-piece, and I only change my whole system when it needs it. I can usually go about 4-5 days without changing everything, unless of course, I have a bag leak or if I can anticipate a bag leak. A lot of times it depends on what I've eaten.