Wearing ileostomy pouch sideways - tips for comfort?

I was wondering if anyone has any experience with wearing their pouch sideways. I use a two-piece pouch system. My stoma is located in a kind of different area - pretty much in the front/center of my abdomen, just to the right and above my belly button. Therefore, the pouch hangs pretty much down the center of my body from just under my bust to my crotch. Normally, I wear long blouses to cover past the bottom of the pouch.

I was thinking, though, that if I wore a blouse that wasn't quite long enough, if I could attach the pouch sideways on the wafer (so that the pouch is horizontal). I would then use an ostomy belt, tube top, belly band, or something like that to hold the pouch in place horizontally. I know it is possible to do this. My concern comes when the pouch has to be emptied. In order to get gravity to work with me, I would have to basically "bend" the pouch over itself to make the pouch vertical for draining.

Has anyone tried this? Does anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks in advance. I know you guys and gals have the most creative minds and come up with ideas that can pretty much make anything work.

Wow, who did your op? The stoma pouch is in a really weird position. Actually, I've never heard of someone wearing a pouch in the middle of the abdomen. But saying that, there must have been a reason why! Especially men I have spoken to seem to have the pouch positioned very differently from where mine is. Wow, I think you should give it a go and see how it goes. Maybe try it for a day. I'm trying to visualize it, but I'm confusing myself. Look, it could be a great idea. I have never used those belts myself. "Les is best" for me, lol. I even cut the belt holders off. Different strokes for different folks, hey? Good luck, darlz. Give it a go. Who knows, you might help more people in this situation. I know, having my ileo, I have thought of the weirdest things as to where to have my pouch on. Good on ya for thinking outside the bag (box), lol. xxxxx Mooza.

My colostomy (now ileo) was placed slightly to the left of my belly button ... similar to yours... I've never been able to wear my pouch sideways even when I had the closed-end disposable bags because they were so difficult to change without making a huge mess. I always just tuck the end of the tail into the top of my underwear. It folds the bag, but I don't care. I get too hot to wear a band or belt and panties and jeans and a shirt over it all!

Is this the new fashionable "Hired Gun" look... all the rage this season??

Hmmmmm....hadn't thought about how hot I would get - especially with having my own private summers. If you tuck the end of the bag into your underwear, doesn't that cause the bag to balloon up above it? It's good to know that someone else has tried wearing it sideways and it didn't work so well. Maybe it's not such a good idea. Oh well - never hurts to ask. Thanks!

Yeah, like your jet pouch. Lolol.

When I got my colostomy, the surgeon couldn't use the marker the nurse and I picked as the perfect spot. He went for the healthiest piece of colon he could pull (radiation damage) and it was higher than I would have liked. My home health nurse told me about a patient she had at the time whose ostomy was pretty much in the middle of her breasts!! God, I have never forgotten that!

With that said, I also wear a two-piece and why not try it sideways? I have to see if I could still wear low rider jeans. Answer: no. But we are all different and snapping a bag on sideways, even for a few hours, is no biggie. Give it a shot, I say.

Best.
Cee

Thanks for the info, Cee. Wow! In the middle of her breasts?!? That sounds way too uncomfortable, among other things. Moving on....
I "have" to wear low rider jeans or else the button/zipper are right on my stoma. Thank goodness fashion has brought back low rise jeans! If I put the bag on sideways it will be above my waistband still, so that's not an issue. I'm still thinking about the sideways placement of my bag. I haven't given up on trying it yet but haven't totally decided to do it yet either. Thanks for the encouragement.

There are "belts" made of fabric designed to hold and conceal the pouch when hung sideways. I'm sorry, I don't know what they're called but I'm sure you could "Gppgle" what you're looking for.  Try "ostomy belts" or "ostomy underwear" or "ostomy support".  You'll find it.  If not, someone else or I will find it for you.  Don't know if it will work but it seems reasonable and worth trying.  Good luck.  Mike

Thanks, Mike. I did find ostomy "belts" that you described and have ordered one. I should get it this week. I'll let you know how it goes.

I have used a Phoenix ostomy belt for about a year and a half. I also use a two-piece bag and pouch. The Phoenix belt holds the pouch in a horizontal position in a pocket with a flap with snaps. The belt has given me my life back.

I second Osprey's comment. Been using the Phoenix belt with a 2-piece system as well for near as long as I've had my ostomy, although I experimented with the Better Life ostomy belt early on as well, not bad but didn't find it as nicely designed as the Phoenix. The snaps are nice and silent to open and close in the bathroom stall as opposed to a big rrriiipppp!!! of the Velcro on other belts. I much prefer wearing the bag that way, my stoma position is fairly high (just below belly-button level) and I really disliked how it would get yanked on by my waist/belt area when it got a little output in it. Feels much better to me this way, seems safer against leaks in many ways too, for instance uncoupled bag from flange less likely, bag not flopping around as much, etc.

Rgds,
Smith

Thank you so very much, Smith and Osprey, for the input. Now I know it is definitely possible to wear the bag horizontally, but I have to find the right belt to hold it in place, so to speak.

As you two are wearing your bags horizontally, can you tell me if it's difficult to empty the bag? I'm thinking that to empty the bag, I am basically going to have to fold the bag over itself (to make it somewhat vertical), which may be tricky and has the potential for accidents. I'm sure you have figured out the logistics. Any advice for me?

Thanks again!

Hi,

I wore my pouch sideways, years ago, when I had to have back surgery and spent more than a week on my belly. For ease of use, we added a plastic bag extension, partially to "push" the waste down the bag, and so I could empty off the side of the bed. But once I was up and around, it didn't really work, as it was too difficult to empty.

I'm very short, so the end of the pouch ends pretty much at my crotch. I do turn the pouch just a little, so it rests on my leg. But I also wear a light stretch panty, and when I tuck the pouch in, I fold the ending and clip "under" so it's against my skin. I know guys may have a difficult time with that, since boxers or even briefs don't hold the pouch in place. Doing this cuts the pouch content in half, but it makes it easier for clothes to fit. That's the best I can suggest. Good luck.

Marsha

Socalileo,

Originally, the hospital gave me Coloplast bags/flanges when I left the hospital. They were okay, but since then I've switched over to Convatec Natura two-piece, and the Convatec bags that I use (Sur-Fit Drainable Pouch with InvisiClose outlet, #411310, with flange Sur-Fit Natura Moldable Durahesive Skin Barrier with Hydrocolloid Flexible Collar, #411802) happen to have a somewhat longer "spout" once they are unrolled. Basically, they use a plastic hook and loop locking system which is very secure, and it just so happens that it gets folded a number of times, so this makes it easier to do as you say, sort of fold the bag over on itself so that the spout faces downward between your legs while sitting on the toilet. I will admit that I have been a little careless once or twice and allowed a little spillage, but that was my fault and really shouldn't be a problem as long as you are even a little careful. Just let it hang down in the empty position before you open the end, and that should ease most of the issues.

Rgds,
Smith

Hi Smith311,

I am considering to wear it sideways. I have 2 questions.

1. How do you drain? If you are wearing 2 pieces, do you unlock and make it horizontal to drain? Do you recommend that?

2. Which way? Do you wear the opening toward the belly button so that the bag will lay in front of your body? Or do you wear the opening toward the side so that the bag will lay on the side of your body?

Those belts I find on the net look nice to wear. Is there any con versus vertical wear?

Thank you

I wear my pouch sideways so I can put it under a camisole which I use as my bra. Then with the pouch under the camisole, I can wear bikini panties and low cut jeans. This works well for me. I put the opening on the side and just point it downwards when I empty it. It empties just fine.

Renee

Renee,

Thank you for the answer. Do you wear those special belts? I can imagine when a bag is empty, it will stay under the camisole but when it starts to get heavy, won't it slide down? Do you wear a very tight camisole to keep a bag in place? Does it mean I don't need to buy those special belts for $100+??
Thank you.

Hi all, just wanted to add this info to the forum. I had my emergency surgery out of state and obviously by a surgeon who didn't know what he was doing. I woke out of a coma 10 days later to find this strange plastic thing hanging down my leg. I kid you not, he placed the stoma so low that the appliance lays in the crease of my leg and the bag hangs halfway down my thigh, so believe me I know what horrible is. Joyce

Happy,
Sorry for the delay in responding. To answer your questions...

(1) No, I do not unlock. The Convatec 2-piece system connects the bag to the flange in more of a "Tupperware" type of closure, so it is not easy to "spin" the bag like you can when you unlock the Coloplast 2-piece system. However, I personally would not recommend unlocking or uncoupling the bag from the flange when emptying, although I think I've read where others do that because it seems like it would risk accidents (bag falling off if heavy, etc.). Instead, like I kind of tried to describe earlier, I just fold the bag sort of diagonally so that the "spout" faces downward, between the legs while on the toilet, and then open the drain end to drain.

(2) I wear the opening toward the side so that the bag lays on the side of the body. One advantage of this is that when you sleep, you can lie on your back and the bag follows the curve of your body such that any output should go to the bottom of the bag away from the stoma as the bottom (spout) of the bag sort of hangs down over your side. Not sure if I'm explaining myself well enough, but in any case, this is actually an argument for wearing it sideways. Wearing the bag hanging straight down, yes, the output will collect at the bottom when you're standing, but when you're lying down (sleeping) you end up with the bag horizontal, so it's kind of six of one, half dozen of the other, so that either way, half the day the output is collecting at the bottom of the bag away from the stoma, and the other half of the day it doesn't really as the bag is horizontal. Further, if you wear the bag horizontally, while you sleep you can lie on the side that it points toward, maybe without the belt on, so the bag ends up hanging straight down in an ideal position for sleeping, even being supported fully by the mattress.

The only con versus vertical wear that I can think of is that when standing/sitting, there can be more output collecting near the bag/flange connection and therefore closer to the filter (if your bag has one), which can sometimes cause the filter to clog/degrade faster. However, as explained above, wearing horizontally you can actually end up with the bag in a better position while lying/sleeping, so that could very well be why I don't seem to have noticed much difference in total wear time of the 2-piece system. Plus, back when I first wore the bag straight down, my pants waist/belt very frequently cinched the bag, tending to cause output to stay near the stoma/flange anyway, especially while sitting, which in my job I do a lot of the day, so my bag's filter never really seems to stay perfect for very long, regardless of the bag orientation. The filter is just a weak point in the system, and the manufacturers know that.

Hope this helps,
Smith

Smith,

Thank you very much for the complete answer! I have been exploring and found this solution I want to share.

I wear horizontal during the day and vertical in bed. When I sleep on my stoma side, horizontal is perfect like you said, it even rests in the mattress but doesn't work on the other side...

I use Coloplast two pieces. I just unlock and slide to change from horizontal to vertical. Easy!

I use a liner. This has been such a great solution!! The bag never gets full of air because the filter never gets destroyed with stool. Stool never touches the filter! The bag is always FLAT! The bag is always clean! No need to drain! I just remove the liner and flush it. Since draining seemed difficult with horizontal wear, the liner erased this problem for me.

If you have not tried a liner, I highly recommend it!

I have always worn mine to the side and found it works much better that way.

Happy, what is a liner? Never heard of them. I wear mine sideways all the time too. Who are the liners made by? I used Convatec products.

Hi, I have never heard of liners either. Please explain further. Thanks.

Hi Socalileo. I tried that, but stopped it pretty quick. The clip kept picking me in a place that I did not like. I just tuck it in my pants. Good luck.