"Practice bag", questions already…velcro closure.

Hi Everyone,

Appt. with ostomy nurse went well. Spent 2 hours w/ me and my mom answering questions and telling me stuff and teaching stuff. She has an ostomy, so she really knows what she's talking about. Very nice and kind. Marked me for my stoma.

Decided to give me a bag to wear for a couple days, just to see what it's like. Of course, I can't get the exact feel of it until I have the real thing, but this should help a bit!

Question about it though…..it's a hollister bag with the velcro closure at the bottom. I tucked it into my pants, but not underwear, would be too long for that, cuz the stoma is sorta low. Anyway, so far so good, but the corners where the velcro part is at the bottom of the bag is kinda scratchy. Anyone have that issue? What do you do about it? For now, i wrapped some coban (the stuff they put around your arm when you have blood taken instead of a bandaid, real stretchy material, sticks to itself) around it. It's just the corners that bother me a bit.

Probably will end up w/ the kind of bag that is a throw away one, like change it twice a day. Won't know for sure til after surgery and when things sorta "wake up", but based on my past, they think I will have very thick, very minimal output. Guess that's ok, right?

Anything I should try to do or whatever while I have the "trial/practice bag" on???

So excited, but nervous about all this. She said it would take about a year to fully adjust.



Happy Holidays to Everyone!!

Take care,

Sunny.

Sunny-- wow, that is great to hear that you have an ostomate for a stoma nurse... You cant do better than that! Re hollister velcro ends, that is what I use and I agree re the sharp corners being obnoxious on the skin. i happen to use Ostomy Secret mens boxers, which are sort of bike short style boxers and have an inner pocket where the tail of the ostomy pouch rests. totally eliminates the contact issue of pouch tip on skin. My stoma is low too and I am short to boot, so I find pouches hang down longer than I need, so I normally roll up the sharp tip of the pouch up onto itself an inch or so. This way, even without the ostomy secrets (which I dont necc wear when at home) the velcro corners dont dig into the skin.

Sunny, I use the Hollister velcro bags too, and agree that the roll-up end can be scratchy. Also am short. I put the bag on the flange at a slight angle, so the bottom of the bag is more centred on my body. I use a 7" bag, which is not a problem for me as I have thick output and only have to dump it 3 or 4 times a day. The short bag at an angle tucks into my undies without problem. They started me with the 12" bag with a clamp closure. That was quite uncomfortable.

I had a sample of the Coloplast two piece system, but like NCOT, it took me fifteen minutes to get the click system properly closed, and I found the pressure you need to put on your tummy rather painful. They sent me 6 samples, and it didn't get any easier. I was quite disappointed, as their lock and roll piece tucked up into the space between the bag and the beige cover and stayed there! And I just found their bag generally nicer to wear. Hollister is apparently the only company that has the floating flange, that allows you to get your thumbs under the ring and squeeze the flange and bag together without pressure on your body. It does make for a more bulky appliance, but acceptable to me. Lots of folks have no problem with the Coloplast, though.

The Hollister end can also be tucked in, but doesn't stay. If you visit VeganOstomy's site, he has a nice "how-to" presentation for attaching Velcro strips to the roll-up surface and the bag that will hold it in place. I haven't tried it yet, I am comfortable enough with my current set-up. Yes, I am lazy.

I've never tried a closed pouch -- it seems to me that dumping and flushing could be easier to deal with than disposing of a used bag when you're out and about, especially at someone else's house. Hopefully a closed pouch user will chime in with actual experience! https://www.healingwell.com/community/emoticons/smile.gif
There's also the cost of one or more bags a day.

Best of the season to everyone,
Ann

Colostomy due to diverticulitis.

Ncot I buy Velcro at the hardware store or a craft store and put it on top of the Velcro that comes with Coloplast. It fixes the problem and it doesn't take much at all. I did talk to a Coloplast rep once about the issue. Got the tip from my in person support group -- takes five seconds and makes a big difference.

If you've got a Hollister pouch, this "hack" may help:
/www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uLTD1FMhf0

Also, if scratching is an ongoing issue, consider a soft pouch cover.

Hi Sunny13, I have been using Hollister for 14 years and for the most part am satisfied with the 2 Piece "Lock & Roll" system however that said, I recently got samples from CONVATEC who have what they call a "LOCK IT POCKET" where the tail piece tucks into the comfort cover and you feel absolutely nothing. I didn't even know I was wearing it until it was time to empty. You might contact them and get a couple of samples. They also have the "turtle neck" technology for the wafer or flange, so it forms a tight seal around the stoma preventing "leak through" which is great. Last but not least, they have what they call an "accordion" wafer so you can get your thumbs behind to lock the pouch to it. I will be testing this next week and when my present supplies run out, I am thinking of switching for all of these advantages. Good luck...WaterMaster