My daughter-in-law gave me a wonderful way to help with the disposal of my ostomy bags. She got me a diaper genie, and now I toss the mess in the bag into the genie. She recommends not using the latest model but the original style with tie-your-own bag.
I hope this helps.

Trial and error has led me to a system of emptying and cleaning my pouch that makes everything feel better. I saw another post about using warm water in the pouch after emptying to wash it out. I will say it takes several times of doing this (put water in, holding the pouch up, swish it around, then empty) to get it clean. I do this until the water runs clear when coming out. I also use a deod ...

Since I can't get into the local nurse until Aug 1st, I went with a video call with an ostomy nurse from Convatec, and I cannot recommend it highly enough! She was great, saw what I was dealing with, and flat out said, “That isn't a stoma, that's basically a fistula” and had some ideas of how I can deal with it. She helped me measure the stoma so that I cut the hole the right size (I was c ...

I put together a great stoma emptying device. Works great in my car, hiking, and flying. You all have seen this jar. As a patient, I have two. Hollister disposal bags fit perfectly. I shoved a few extra bags in the bottom. All you need are wipes for the pouch and hands.
Note the red circle. I drilled two tiny holes on either side with my Dremel, so the bag expands in the jar. Hope IGGIE reads ...

I recently did a 10-day trek in Nepal and have had my ileostomy for a year. I learned a few things that I wanted to share with the group.
Make sure you have a stoma guard to protect your stoma! I had one but did not attach it to my bag because it's a pain to empty. After a few days of hiking 10+ miles a day, I did my first bag change and my stoma was 4 times its normal size and had a mushroom ...

Underwent symptoms of a blockage this evening, started my usual blockage protocol, but then I slipped in a new trick up my sleeve. Hopped on my vibration plate and assumed some positions that encourage small bowel movement. Took about 10 minutes, and things seem to be moving. Whew, will keep this in the old playbook.

I've been using Hollister's new image, flat skin barriers for the better part of 15 years, and at least once a week, I would experience some leakage underneath the skin barrier between my skin and the barrier. This was always frustrating because it meant that the skin barrier only lasted for a few days.
A couple of weeks ago, I decided to try their convex skin barrier, and I am absolutely en ...

Hi, with all due respect to everyone, I joined this group to actually find someone with the same case as my boss's husband. He has a double ostomy, and I believe it has been hard for him since he's been in and out of the hospital for the last 2 to 3 years. This time, he's going for another surgery to fix his hernia, which is, by the way, the second surgery for hernia this year. I would really ...

I have had my ileostomy since 1986 due to UC. I had a great stoma therapist prior to and after surgery, and I know that has made a HUGE impact on my recovery, acceptance, or whatever you want to call it. Because of her, I am pretty much an open book and have always been willing to help other ileostomates when questions and concerns arise. Which brings me to this posting.
Once again, I have bee ...

Howdy bagamigas and amigos, I haven't been here in a year or three, reintroducing myself.
I'm a middle-aged lady with a colostomy. My chocolate-smeared rosebud (the stoma, the ostomy) has been with me since 1997.
Fave products:
Convatec moldable Natura 45mm wafer - NOT the kind with the weird see-through accordion plastic on the ring (to make it easier to snap shut; those are stink factories; ...

So I’m still pretty new to terminology and such. Back in March of 2024, after a year of my ileostomy, I saw a surgeon at Emory. The original doctor wasn’t able to create a J pouch during my surgery in January 2023. After talking with the surgeon at Emory, we both decided to not try again since my quality of life already was leaps and bounds better than when I had UC. He ended up removing t ...