Dealing with a Flooded Stoma Bag: Seeking Advice

I had a stoma bag fitted about 18 months ago due to a twisted bowel. Yesterday evening, there was a sudden heavy bowel movement, which resulted in the bag being absolutely flooded with poo all over. Now, therefore, I'm afraid to leave the house in case it happens again. Perhaps I should mention that there has been no dietary change lately, but I have been trying to drink more water.

I'm using the Salts 'Confidence BE bag' supplied by Medilink Edinburgh.

I'm desperate to find out how I can cope with this problem.

Maybe a stomach bug or just one of those things that happens occasionally in bag life knocks your confidence for a day or two. Soon you'll be back to yourself, as you say it's only happened once in 18 months, so fingers crossed it will be another 18 months or longer before it happens again.

Hi Ben,

Thanks for getting back to me. I should say that it's happened actually twice in the past fortnight, and it makes such a mess that it would be an actual disaster if it happened outside.

Hi and welcome. Sounds like your fitted bag might be too small, no? You are saying flooded with poo. The

capacity of the bag is limited.

It's happened twice after the fitting, right?

If it's not a bug causing excessive output, I'd see the people who fitted you with this bag. It's possibly just too small for you.

Hi warrior, thanks. I'm trying to get in touch with the local stoma clinic, but I just wondered if somebody out there had any ideas about how to cope with a sudden poo.

My Ostomy Journey: LeeAnne | Hollister

G-Day Argos,

This sounds like you might have had a blockage, and it built up behind the stoma, and it gave way real fast. This happened to me about a year ago, and when it gave way, my bag filled so fast, and as soon as I emptied it, it filled again.

Regards, IGGIE

I have read that Salts has excellent products. I looked up the bag, and it looks small.

My Coloplast bag is approximately 6 inches wide by 7 inches long, drainable, and balloons out very nicely if I choose to have a very strong cup of coffee, but it has not burst at this point in time.

The goal is to have a bag stay on even if you have diarrhea. You may have to empty it often, but it needs to stay on your tummy until you get to the bathroom.

I only get this if I have some kind of infection or bacterial overgrowth, if I am struggling to digest some food (sometimes the same food, just in larger quantities). Pepsi or coffee. Medicine's side effects. If it stays with me for a few days, I get an open-end bag so that I don't have to open the bag to empty it. Imodium and antibiotics or potatoes help me, depending on the reason.

Hi Maried,

Thanks for getting back to me. Your Coloplast bag sounds huge compared to mine. I must investigate.

Hi Argos,

If the size of Maried's bag seems big compared to yours, then you definitely have too small a bag. My Hollister bag is 6x9 inches, and they make larger bags with more capacity. I believe all the major suppliers make large capacity bags... so you may just have an undersized bag fitted. Looking at the Salts website, it shows they make their Confidence BE bags in three sizes... small, medium, and large. You should see which one you have and upsize if possible. You didn't mention if your bag was drainable or not... but I would hope it was.

Regards,

Bob

I hear "sudden heavy bowel movement" and "flooded with poo," and I think your ostomy is trying to rid itself of a blockage. Were you in any discomfort before the rushing of output? I agree with the others; it sounds like your bag is on the smaller side, but if it's been good all along except for these two times, maybe it's not the issue. I hope you're done with the flooding!

Maybe you need a large-capacity bag? Can you empty it as soon as you notice it filling up? You might try some thickening foods too, like peanut butter, bread, and bananas. Things that might slow down the flow are medications like Imodium.

Thanks w30bob.

Forgive me for not replying properly to you and others at this time. I am 89 and presently feeling very unwell.

We hope you are feeling better.

I take Imodium before I go out. If I am out for a short time, I refrain from eating or drinking anything. Lucky for me, I am reclusive, so I only go out when I have to.