Ostomy travel certificate and exploding bags on long flights - advice needed!

Last month I returned from a 28-day Southeast Asia cruise, which involved multiple flights to get to Singapore and return from Hong Kong, as well as shore excursions in six countries. This meant lots of security screening. I just told the screeners I had a colostomy and pointed toward my pouch and said "I have a bag." On two flights I was taken to equipment where a wand was waved over my hands; other than that the screeners just let me pass.

Before I went on the trip I had output problems that just kept getting worse—continuous mush. Finally, a friend suggested taking loperamide (Imodium) tablets. I googled "colostomy loperamide" and found that someone on the MeetAnOstoMate forum had been taking Imodium tablets daily for years without any problem. So I told my doctor I was going to experiment with dosage to find what works for me. I did and found one tablet with breakfast and one tablet with supper did the trick. Thanks to the tablets—which I buy on Amazon—I was able to travel without any worry about leakage.

(I also have to self-cath, i.e., use a catheter to pee. For the trip, I took along a bag full of compact catheters and became very adept at using them quickly in a variety of public restrooms.)

Happy traveling.

Annofsd

I have a few Hollister travel cards I got from my ostomy assoc. But when I went to Asia, I didn't need to show anything, well except my pouch. I had eyebrow puckers in my jacket, lol, but otherwise plenty of meds with a doctor's certificate. Still not needed, but good to have. And yep, you can get a travel card. The only thing is, mine says I have a stoma and no one knows what it is anyway :) Cheers, happy travels.

I travel a lot despite a variety of aged infirmities, spinal stenosis which makes walking and bending painful, and residual peripheral neuropathy from chemotherapy eight years ago which makes balance unsteady. Nonetheless, in the past eight post-cancer colostomy years, I've criss-crossed the US numerous times and been to France, Italy, Israel, and Vietnam. Last week was my 82nd birthday and I was returning to Maryland from a two-week tour of Italian Lake Country. I've always feared an airplane blowout and it finally happened. A little odor whiff was the only warning. I went to the toilet and found a large soft pancake had lifted the wafer with stool contained by Safe Seal so no actual soiling. My travel carry-on backpack included some baby wipes, a new wafer, a pouch, Safe Seal, and disposal bags. The toilet was mirrored which was a big help for effecting a quick complete change of "equipment". The remainder of the trip was without problems and the quick change then lasted for six days at home. I was relieved to have weathered that long-feared storm! It's amazing what a full and "normal" life one can lead with a colostomy, if determined and prepared.

The Italian Lakes are beautiful, even in a terrible heat wave.