Coloplast 1piece leakage - AGAIN

Definitely not me laying on the tail end - it has just leaked again. Dying inside, so embarrassed :'(

I'm using the same bag: Coloplast 1-piece. I had my ileostomy done in February 2013, so I'm still fairly new to it. I do remember in the early days almost having a bad accident in a restaurant with one of those bags. I noticed a bad smell, went off to the toilet and saw to my horror that the bag had come undone at the top. The rest of that afternoon involved bodge jobs with sellotape. (Moral of the story: always carry spare bags with you).

It actually put me off Coloplast bags for a while and I switched to Dansac, but I'm back with Coloplast after my skin started to get a bit sore and irritated. So far they have been good.

Anyway, what is your bag-changing routine like? Do you use any extras, like seals, adhesive powders, barrier sprays, etc? Is the peristomal skin well-protected or does output get on it? When you put on a new bag is the flange part lying smooth or is it all rucked up?

And does your stoma have a decent spout or is it 'flush' ie close to the skin? Do you have a loop or end ileostomy?

Sorry for all the questions; truth to tell, leaks can be a common problem, especially in the early days, and it's not always clear why. The stoma does tend to shrink for the first two months after the operation, so you may need that remeasuring. Finally, what does your stoma nurse have to say? If she changes the bag for you, does it still leak in the same spot?

Failing everything, there are several other brands of bags, so just try a different bag if you have to.

PS: you can fold the tail end inside the bag <_<. I dunno if you knew that, but it is handy for getting it out of the way.

You may also want to ask on the Ostomy board as well as here. There are far more people with ostomies there than on the Crohn's board, tbh.

Acid burn isn't good. I had to start using seals when my skin started getting corroded. No matter what I do, there is a sore patch around the stoma which won't completely go away - but at least it's not spreading or getting worse. Try getting some seals, preferably coloplast ones to go with the coloplast bag. (Or Eakin seals; folks mention those a lot, but I haven't tried them. The coloplast ones are good, though, because they are completely flexible and can be made to fit around any shape.)

The powder may be making your wafer stick less well. Some people like using a powder or barrier cream/spray, while others don't. I personally couldn't get on with adhesive powder: it invariably would go all over the stoma and then get claggy if I tried to remove it. On top of that, I swear it made the bag stick less securely. As soon as you get some seals, I would try experimenting with not using the powder and spray.

I'm sorry I can't help any more than that!

Yes, I know what you mean about the seals being cumbersome. I was using Dansac seals, but switched to the Coloplast ones, which are thinner and lighter. You can trim the seals to make them narrower, but you can't really make them thinner (short of flattening them out with a rolling pin, I guess... >.>)

I hope the night leaks stop soon. If they don't, I would try a different pouching system, even if otherwise you like the Coloplast bags. Good luck!

Have you tried a Dansac bag yet? I think they are just as easy to empty as the Coloplast ones, but it's partly a matter of what you're used to. If you've been using the same bag for a long time, a new one will feel a bit strange at first.

Thanks...

Yes, I've been getting a tad upset on there; I think I need to take a long break... >.>

You arrived at a rather bad time on the Ostomy board :-/

But you'll be okay; nobody has a problem with you and aren't likely to. Me, I whinged too much and they didn't like it, tbh.