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Posted 11/12/2011 11:09 PM (GMT 0)
Well tonight I was in a bar and felt that unmistakable tickle. I stood up, grabbed my shoulder bag and went straight to the bathroom. It was unisex and unheated and there was only cold water. I simplyed peeled off the old back, cleaned myselfup and put on a new bag with eaken. And the evening went on.

It is nothing terrible, I just don't understand why, into my eight month with stoma and bag, I am suddenly having these leaks again. It is the third or fourth this week, the other ones happened in the middle of the night. There has been somethick stool, but still, why suddenly now? Is it because I'm nearing the end of my time with a stoma and that's why it's acting up?

Posted 11/13/2011 12:10 AM (GMT 0)
I've had trouble with a bad leak recently, went out grocery shopping, felt something wet and to my horror, my one piece bag had opened up right under the seal. I was in a terrible mess, it leaked everywhere, lucky I was wearing pants.

I told a friend of mine, and the same thing happened to her with the same bag, she called the company, and apparently it was a bad batch.

Luckily I was 5 minutes away from home, and cleaned myself up.

Posted 11/13/2011 2:31 AM (GMT 0)
Cleos, which company and batch was it? Just curious, and you could save others here some leaks if they have those pouches....

B'Dereh, no idea why, but sorry you have to deal with leaks with so much else going on too. Sounds like you're doing a great job of staying calm and moving on.... .hope you figure something out, though.
Posted 11/13/2011 4:19 AM (GMT 0)
you both might have a bad batch of bags, that does happen sometimes.
Posted 11/13/2011 4:35 PM (GMT 0)
I'll see what happens when I open a new box that came in the last package from the stoma nurse.
I'm wondering if I've been cutting the holes too small? There was no real reasons for the leak yesterday; I was just sitting and not wearing tight clothes.
Does a stoma start changing again after several months?
Posted 11/13/2011 5:55 PM (GMT 0)
Happy Sunday to all!

I had the same issues with bags also! Leaking is NOT fun. I use Hollister, 1 inch, drainable bags. Number is 8592. Sorry I threw the box away, can't give any other info. I called the company and they were very nice and sent me 5 new bags.

I had my colectomy and ileostomy surgeries on March 25th, so this is still a little new to me. Just about the time I thought I had it all figured out, the leaks started! I don't know that it was the bags, just am hoping so!

I love this forum, and ALL the information I have gotten. I got much more help here than the WOCN gave in the hospital.

Fondly,
Mollie
Posted 11/14/2011 12:13 AM (GMT 0)
Bluegrass, It was a Coloplast one piece bag, not sure of the batch number though. Sorry I can't give you any more info, it was a sample sent from Coloplast.
Posted 11/14/2011 1:53 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks. I use coloplast.... I sometimes replace the velcro on it w/velcro from the hardware store ... got that tip from someone at a support group.... just got two new boxes, so I'll see....
Posted 11/14/2011 4:34 AM (GMT 0)
well i have that same problem but i am 4 weeks and 5 days after my surgery someonetold me about sure seals they give free samples sureseals.com (i think) ohhh and a question does it hurt (your stoma) anyone else to sneze ! i have hollister i think they suck because i leak once every 2 days one time it was 2x in an hour and i could have sworn my bag was on right but it is what it is sometimes i guess.
Posted 11/14/2011 5:23 AM (GMT 0)
It is strange that the leaks are starting 8 months out. I would think it has to be a bad product batch if nothing else has changed with your stoma or skin. I seem to be one of the lucky ones that doesn't suffer from leaks (knock on wood), but of all the appliances I have tried, Coloplast adheres the least well on my skin, Hollister was pretty good and Convatec (Surfit Natura Durahesive) sticks like glue. I have to use adhesive remover to even get them off. They are so secure.

Jackie- Yes! It hurt my abs around my stoma when I sneezed after surgery. I got a cold a couple of months out and it was brutal. I actually still find it a little painful when I sneeze, so I always try to place my hand firmly over my stoma if I feel a sneeze coming on. It braces the muscles and makes it hurt less. As far as the products, keep trying different things and order some samples. If you call the nurse reps at the various companies they will help you out and the samples come very fast. Well... except for Sure Seal samples. The sample that I ordered 5 months ago still hasn't come. Blueglass kindly gave me one when we met up in CO and it was great. I don't use them everyday because I don't have issues with leaks, but plan to use them if I ever spend all day at a beach where my wafer would be wet all day otherwise. I can't remember, are you using Eakin or Adapt Rings? These are an absolute necessity for me in preventing leaks.
Posted 11/14/2011 12:22 PM (GMT 0)
I got samples of sure seals from edgepark the first time, and they came quickly -- where do you get your supplies, Jackie? Maybe they can send samples....

I mentioned this in another post, Jackie, but I think it'd be helpful if you could write your exact method of changing your pouch, with all products you use..... I did that when I was having leaks at first, and the experts here were able to figure out a lot about what I was doing wrong....
Posted 11/15/2011 5:12 AM (GMT 0)
i talked to my ostomy nurse today and there sending me a bunch of samples for meto try out ! im excited.
Posted 11/15/2011 3:59 PM (GMT 0)
Excellent! Keep us posted.
Posted 11/15/2011 8:08 PM (GMT 0)
Jackie do keep us informed, because the most important thing is to find the right thing that works for you. It helped me a lot that the first stoma nurse in the hospital told me one-piecers make things a lot less complicated. So then later it was just a matter of choosing the convex light plus eaken, instead of the full convex (which stick out a bit more) and recognizing that for me, the flat ones do not work. Don't worry, you'll get past the stoma-changing phase and find your system and then everything will be fine, you'll get to the point where you hardly think about it and then maybe you'll be all ready for the reversal then.
Posted 11/15/2011 8:44 PM (GMT 0)
I may actually have had a bad batch, because i started using the bags in a newer box and now it's been 36 hours without a leak. iI'm probably going to change this one in the morning though.
Posted 11/16/2011 1:21 AM (GMT 0)
That's great B'Dereh.... nice when there's a simple explanation, and hopefully you can get those bad pouches replaced Hope the leaks are over now...
Posted 11/16/2011 4:17 AM (GMT 0)
ANOTHER LEAK JEZZZZZ today in public tuesday are family night and we eat at fazolis because kids eat for $1. right before the food came i felt that little drizzle on my side ididdnt want to mess up family night so i put toliet papper next to the leakit wasn't to bad i was able to eat my dinner and talk a little unil i said hey im having a leak we gotta go! i was calm this time YAY :) but my skin is so chapped and irritated i wash it and the stoma powder doest really work in my opinion. so far this week my stoma has faithfully been leaking 1x every 2 days
Posted 11/16/2011 4:47 AM (GMT 0)
Jackie this leaking is not normal at all. I have had my ileostomy for well over a year and have only had about three leaks in total, all have been at home and they were because of a specific problem that was immediately fixed. Have you seen an ostomy nurse? They help immensely. PLEASE try to get help otherwise it probably won't get better. The more your leak and change the bag, the worse your skin gets, meaning the worse your bag will actually stick to your skin.

I really want to help you get this right. I think a lot of us do. If you don't want to see a nurse, maybe we can help you. Can you possibly post exactly what you do, what you use, how much time you do for each step, etc.? If you want you can email me and we can communicate that way. If you'd like, I could post exactly what I do in steps, would that help? There's also the chat room on here as well, if you would prefer that kind of communication I would be more than willing to try to help you that way. If you would even like to Skype I am willing to do that.

We are close in age Jackie and I know how horrible it can feel when you can't get your bag to fit the exact way you want/need. It has a lot to do with your confidence and self-esteem; your mental health is just as important as your physical health. I would love to help you in anyway I can just as others have said! Please reach out to someone to help you! We're all wishing you the best! :)
Posted 11/16/2011 6:26 AM (GMT 0)
yes! i would like for you to explain your stepsbeause i am missing 1 IMPORTANT step. i'll go through todays change.
1st i got my supplies out and decided to measure my stoma again because maybe it shrunk (wich it diddnt).
2nd i got some gauze layed it out put detachol adehisive remover i take the top off 1st and then booth sides and the bottom last just about every time i leak while i am changing (i try the marshmallow trick works a little)
3rd once i have the ostomy bag completly off i throw it in the trash put gauze or toliet papper on my stoma (usually booth ) i also stand during the whole time and look in the bathroom mirror.
4th i already have a wash cloth with soap and i take it and was around my stoma ..then rinse it off. and just let my skin breathe for a while.
5th when my hands are tied up and i need to cut my waffer i grab new gauze at this time and press my stoma area against the sink.
i use hollister convex 57mm around and cutting area 38mm thats what the packet says. the waffer has a bump to it because my stomma is so small. i get my siccors and cut my waffer width : 38mm and the length is not even to the 1"inch its the length of the 2 creases on my pinky so about 3 cm les than 1 inch.
6th once im done figuring that out i attach my bag to my waffer take the toliet papper off my stomma ( i get little pices stuck on my stoma so i pick it off or wipe it with a wash cloth deppending on how much is there.)
i then peel one side of the waffer off stick it on my skin make sure there isnt gaps then i do the other side most of the time im saticfied if im not ill redo the whole thing!!!! most of the time i dont know if i have a little bit of the waffer bigger than my stoma so i have my mom look at how i measure it and if its not right she'll fix it.
it takes me att least 20min. on a good change wich i feel is FORVER. i did talk to my ostomy nurse and she said the she will be sending samples from diffrent companies to try out hopefully i find Mr.ostomy right :) .... and thank you EVERYONE for being sincerly concerned although my mom is here for me you all actually understand and are wayyyyyy more knowledgable than my mom and I :D
Posted 11/16/2011 1:49 PM (GMT 0)
I'm not clear on the 38 mm step. You keep saying your stoma is small, but 38 mm is about an inch and a half, and that's large -- bigger than my stoma, which I think is a fairly large one and is oval, and I cut it 30 mm on one side, and 35 on the other. How do you use the measurement you find? Do you trace it on the wafer, and then cut a little bigger than that? Your hole should only be about 1/8 of an inch (3 mm or so) bigger than your stoma all around. If you're cutting the hole too big, that would explain a lot of your problems.

I use paper towels, not tp to cover my stoma when I'm changing; they don't stick as much.

If you're not getting the adhesive remover off all the way, then it would also make your pouch not stick (since it keeps removing adhesive). I don't use it at all. Can you try no adhesive remover, and also no soap when you wash, just water (someone else said this earlier, makes a lot of sense)?

To take the old pouch off w/out the adhesive remover, work very slowly, and work moving your skin, not the pouch. So keep the wafer steady, and slowly pull your skin away from it (rather than ripping the wafer off your skin).

I agree w/Sarah that it would be great if you could have an ostomy nurse watch what you do and help w/every step..... hopefully the above helps too, and others will probably have more suggestions. Your life will be so much better when you work this out!

And get some eakin seals!
Posted 11/17/2011 1:06 AM (GMT 0)
the 38mm is the width i cut it my stoma (horizantaly)its long and short vertically. tommrow is my doc. appt he willbe very upset because i dont take the imodiom 4x daily it makes me sooo tired but i will also take my supplies to show them how i put it on.
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