Thickening up stoma output before changing appliance

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chess124

Just a small tip for anyone who has the dreaded "STOMA ACTIVE SYNDROME" when trying to change an appliance... We have all been there... Eating marshmallows around 20 minutes before you attempt to change the appliance is a very common method to help thicken output, thus preventing watery mess when changing. I would like to give an alternative which has never failed for me in 20 years... Here goes... Eat a bowl of porridge one hour before you intend to change the appliance... This is better than marshmallows and should not really fail... Even if there is some output after 1 hour, it will be a small amount and not watery, which is the main problem... Hope this helps some people out there who don't want to eat marshmallows... Also, porridge is better for you as well... Just a side issue...

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Whitey

I concur. The porridge seems to totally shut everything down for a good 2 or 3 hours in the morning.

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cancerfree

When you say "porridge," do you mean "oatmeal"? Can it have any sugar and milk on it? Does the quick cook stuff work well? I have used the marshmallow trick many times and find it works well. I've even used it when I had a small leak starting - ate a few marshmallows, waited 15 minutes before I started the flange change.

chess124

Yes, the porridge that can be microwaved is perfect and you can have milk/sugar or any flavoring you like with it... Quaker Oats porridge or similar is perfect.

panhead511

Are you kidding me? Does that really work? Every time that I change my appliance, I always have some kind of leakage. Heck, if eating a few marshmallows or oatmeal in the morning works, then I will try that. Thanks for the tip! By the way, how many marshmallows do you have to eat?

 
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Belinda

Have almost eliminated liquid output by eating a banana every day. It used to be a real problem, especially at bag-changing time. May not work for everybody. Have to beware of pancaking now!!!!

chess124

You would have to eat around 4-6 marshmallows but porridge is waaaaayyyyyy better... I promise you... just try it as I have described above... hope this helps.

Vinnie43

I love oatmeal, but I'm just wondering if Farina would do the same thing?

janice

I've found the "BRAT" diet works well also. Have either bananas, rice, applesauce, toast. (Not all at the same time) All of these nearly stop my output for a couple hours.

junopete
Different foods have worked for me, but not real well. I always go to bed hungry, keeping my output at night to a minimum. I found that the very first thing in the morning, my intestine is for the most part empty. So I change out in the morning.
One thing I do: I get everything completely ready, plastic bag to put old wafer and bag in, clean up stuff for old seal, warm paper towels, some with soap, some just wet, razor to shave the area, hair dryer to get the area completely dry, new wafer ready.
I have found that once I got good at it, placing the Eakin seal on the wafer instead of on the stoma worked better and faster, and I got a better seal. You need a round stoma to pull that one off.

Rick.....
Past Member

I use the convex flange that can be molded by your fingers, no cutting involved. Put the Eakin ring on the flange and warm the stoma area and flange with a blow dryer. Works very well for me 4-5 days.

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