Hello,
I have a sigmoid colostomy, and I'm now 2 years after surgery. Four months after surgery, I developed a small parastomal hernia. Getting a hernia is common for people with an ostomy. Because of the hernia, I wear a Nu-Hope Corporation hernia support belt all the time. I only remove it for showers and changing the wafer. It helps to keep my hernia from getting larger. So far, it's working. The belt also makes it comfortable to have the bag hanging from my abdomen.
It took about 6 months for my stoma output to become stable. My output is usually thick and pasty... sometimes formed like little turdlets.
I use a Hollister 2-piece system with a Coloplast Brava moldable ring under the wafer (also known as a flange).
I only drain the bag when it's more than 1/2 full. (I'm lazy). If the output is really thick, I change to a new bag. It's hard to drain thick output. When changing the bag, I only wipe off the flange area that the bag snaps onto. I don't bother cleaning the inside of the flange...no need.
The moldable ring under the wafer does slightly swell up around my stoma. It's supposed to, to help seal that area.
My wife is sensitive to smells. If I burp my bag (manually release gas) downstairs, she can instantly detect it upstairs. So I go outside for burping. She does not smell anything otherwise. My bag can be half full of poop, and the wafer flange area can be covered in poop... and she remains happy next to me on the couch.
I used to eat small meals many times a day. After 6 months, I went back to my regular routine. I eat regular meals like I did before I had an ostomy. If I eat more, more comes out. If I eat less, less comes out. Pretty predictable. This only really affects me at Thanksgiving and Christmas.
I always change my wafer in the early morning when I have little to no output.
You do not have to drain the bag every time you have output, unless it fills up a bunch. There is no need to clean the flange area every time you drain the bag. You don't have to do it when changing a bag (if you use a 2-piece system).
Poop from a colostomy can have digestive enzymes in it which will damage skin. The amount of digestive enzymes in the stool depends on the type of colostomy and how much of the colon is still active.
Do you know what type of colostomy you have?
Ascending colostomy?
Descending colostomy?
Sigmoid colostomy?
If you don't know, contact your surgeon or hospital to find out. Knowing will give you an idea of how much care you must do to protect the skin around your stoma.
I can leave poop on my skin, and nothing happens because I have a sigmoid colostomy. The output has little to no digestive enzymes.
You might consider wearing a stoma support belt. It's very easy to develop a parastomal hernia where your stoma is. Wearing a belt might help prevent a hernia, but it's not guaranteed.
You're at 2 months post-op. Relax. It's going to take several more months to recover from surgery and for your stoma to heal and attain its final shape and size.
Keep us posted on your progress.