wafer change video

hey guys, I was bored tonight and playing with my laptop and made this video of a typical wafer change: www.youtube.com/watch?v=26rpN2ECnQE&feature=youtu.be

I am wayyy not an expert, probably had my ileo less time than most of the people here, but it was kind of fun and I thought some newbies might like to see how low stress/not time consuming it can be after just a few weeks (I'm exactly 12 weeks post op today!). You can also peep my laparoscopic scars -- healing nicely just weeks before I get cut up again I sped things up but the original video was just about 10 minutes. As you can see it would be even faster if I weren't a little obsessive about cleaning my stoma and peristomal skin

I use a Hollister two piece cut to fit with an Adapt barrier ring, Smith and Nephew prep wipe, and Zeasorb anti-fungal powder (due to a little fungal infection under my stoma -- resolved last week but WOCN recommended continuing to use it for a few weeks). My stoma stabilized in size and shape a couple weeks ago so I pre-cut to a 1 3/8" x 1" oval. I use Viva paper towels that I pre-tear and cut in half (keep a stack on hand), and tuck a mini trash bag into my waistband to catch output and make it easy to dispose of stuff during the change.

Yes, I am in my kitchen. I live in a very teeny apartment and it's basically impossible to do a change in the bathroom. I wipe down all the surfaces with Lysol afterward, light a candle, and it's all OK. My friends have changed their kids' diapers on this counter without batting an eye so I see no problem with it

Great video! Thanks for sharing!
Have you tried sure seals yet?

Thanks so much for posting that, Liz. Speaking of cleaning, do you dare go let it get cleaned by soap and water in the shower on change days (and if so, I guess you keep the water trickling into it but not directly onto it eh?) and how often do you change the wafer again?

Pouch covers, UCwhat? Awesome!

As I've gotten used to the opaque bags I have reached the point of no longer feeling like I need to visually check on my stoma. I think the opaque bags have been good for my neurotic tendencies too as otherwise I will just stare at my stoma/output (when home, of course :)) waiting for something to go wrong! Haha! I still feel like I need a two piece though so I can burp it from the top. I wear pretty tight clothing nowadays so when I get dressed in the morning I always unsnap the pouch from the flange just a tiny bit and put my hand over my stoma to squeeze out the last bits of air and make the pouch lay super flat. By the way UCwhat I love your ramblings, I've never bothered trying a different appliance so it's fun to hear the comparisons!

I've never tried Sure Seals because I don't have issues with leaks, but I never thought about the convenience for showering!! I will have to look into getting some, I'm not sure if my pharmacy carries them.

Probro, again this makes me sound like a dirtbag, but I have yet to shower sans wafer... because my drain is always slightly stopped up, so there tends to be like 1/4" of water in the tub during my showers. I know people say "if it outputs a little it'll go down the drain!" but in my case if it outputs a little it will sit there... at my feet... being gross. I have really long hair that sheds quite a bit so even when I snake it regularly my drain is always a little wonky. I'm sure if I showered "naked" before an appliance change I could cut down my change time significantly!!

I change twice a week, usually alternating every 3 days and every 4 days (I believe that's BlueHeron's schedule as well). I suspect I could go much longer as I've never had a leak and my barrier ring is always really firmly stuck on/not broken down when I remove it, but I prefer the security of knowing my wafer is pretty fresh at all times.

I haven't watched it yet but I will copy and paste the URL for the next ostomy meeting.

We have several seniors very new to ostomies or about to have surgery and are not very informed and nervous about changing. One woman's husband will NOT maintain it and she has to do everything for him and she is a wreck over it. So unfair to her as she just feels she can't be away from him for any length of time.

Thankfully my husband is not like that as I have girlie day trips I take and even weekend getaways once or twice a year. Going to Vegas for a week with the gals for a convention and 2 extra days before and after for personal enjoyment. If he was not self sufficient I would be bonkers.

I have recommended over and over for them to go to YouTube and type in Ostomy and they will find a lot of useful info. The "show and tell" aspect is very important as most people are visual and that is such a help.

When my husband decided to opt for the surgery I immediately went into research mode and thought of YouTube and we sat and watched 4-5 videos and that just took all the unknown, fear and anxiety away. He remarked that's not so bad, I can handle that. So much better to be as prepared as you can be instead of just waking up with your new ostomy and not knowing what to do.

Thanks!

Great video Liz! Your steps are really similar to mine except I use stoma powder instead of fungal powder as I just get some other irritation around my stoma sometimes. I laughed when you said you were obsessive about cleaning around your stoma. I am like that too! I am really meticulous with the skin care and my changes take longer because of it but oh well. My skin is happy. Plus my stoma is a wacky shape so even when I use my template to trace a pattern on my wafer, I sometimes have to do last minute trimmings to fine-tune it. This adds time.

Too bad about your shower drain. It feels great to shower without a wafer. So much so that sometimes, output spewing or not, I lollygag and take my time in the shower. Sometimes I am not in that huge of a hurry to get my wafer on either because air on the skin feels so nice when it is covered 99% of the time and a paper towel wrapped around my stoma catches any output (usually!!!)

I can relate to the small bathroom thing too. Mine is super tiny so I usually change in my office or even in the living room. I like to sit in a towel-covered chair so I can recline a bit to put powder around my stoma without it getting everywhere. I have had some people describe their stoma as spraying output, but mine has never done anything like that. When my stoma does decide to be uncooperative, output just dribbles out-- only really getting on my belly. Changing outside of the bathroom isn't messy. It is the same reason I can easily change my appliance in a tent.

Thanks again for sharing!