Tips for dealing with loop

My loop is awful. It leaks under everything. I am wearing convex and I have not had any luck wearing anything for more than 1 day. I know it's not me being a complainer either because with my end ileo, I had no problems at all. I used convex and it was wonderful and a piece of cake. This thing is a nightmare!

The problems are, firstly, it is short. Second, it recesses a bit. Third, the spout points down. I have been trying rings and lifting the area before placing the wafer to get the spout to point up but it seems to slowly go down and before you know if, it is going under the wafer. Even with a ring it happens. I can't bear to use wipes, they sting so badly because the peristomal skin is irritated and weepy. I also can't really bear to wear convatec or coloplast because the wafers hurt so much to remove. I wore a convatec yesterday and when it started leaking last night, I had to change and I couldn't get it off because it hurt too much. I can really only tolerate removing the hollister wafer. I have convatec moldable i want to try but that wafer is bigger than the one from yesterday, I am really scared to use. Last time I used one with my end, it was difficult to remove, i was practically in tears.

Anyone have any tips for either getting better wear time with this loop or for removing the wafers without so much pain? I didn't get more wear time out of the convatec, only one day total/24 hours... that one wasn't moldable - the wafer was smaller.

susan, now I know why you complain!

would an ostomy belt help me at all?

I do use adhesive remover wipes but i wonder if maybe there are better strategies/products out there. I have great luck removing the hollister. The others feel like they will pull my skin off.

The other thing is, who knows if changing to a different brand will even improve my situation. As I mentioned, the convatec I was wearing only lasted a day as well.

Liz, this is a dumb question, so please be forewarned. Does a belt have to match the products you buy? Does a coloplast belt work with hollister and all the other brands? I was looking at belts this morning and I wasn't sure what to buy but I figured, as long as it fits my size, I am probably fine...

I see him next week so I will certain plead my case but I doubt he will let me move it up. He's very strict about these things. Even just a week or two sooner would be fantastic.

I had a bad wear time with my loop at first, my skin was blistering because of it. The ostomy nurse set me up with the protective sheet from Coloplast, it did wonders for my skin and I didn't have any problems after that for the 14 weeks that I had the Loop. I would get 5-7 days wear time out of my loop. I also stopped using the ring with the covex.

Keith, would you use paste in between the protective sheet and the wafer? Is the protective sheet OK to apply to any red/weepy peristomal skin? Thanks!

blueglass said...
I have a coloplast belt, and I just checked to see if it would fit a convatec wafer. It will, but just barely.... the issue is how the hook fits into the hole on the wafer. Coloplast has much bigger holes for the belt than convatec (at least w/the ones I have). Unfortunately I have no idea about hollister.

Probably best to get the same brand. And to make sure you have belt loops on the wafer.

I don't have a loop, but I have short stoma because mine was moved to the other side (mine points up). The belt helped a lot. Unfortunately, though, i can't wear it anymore because of a big lump behind my old stoma site -- doesn't sit flat. The lump became more pronounced when I lost weight.

I just tried a sample of the sensi care adhesive remover.... had never really used that before, and wow, the old convatec wafer just slides right off...

Hope you can find something that helps.

Thanks for the help. I guess i will have to wait to buy the belt until I figure out what will work with this dumb stoma. I will try the sensi care. if that helps get the wafer off, at least maybe I can use the convatec without being scared.

I have an end ileo, but kinda in the same situation. My stoma retracted on me almost a year ago, and the only thing I have found to get to 2 days wear time is use the cavilon spray to help protect the skin, and eakin seals. My output eats up everything in sight, but the eakin seals swell up, turn to goo, but protect the skin until the 2nd day. Just getting 2 days wear time makes me happy, and I have learned not to try going any longer than that.

this sounds really simple, but it's how I do it- the WOCN I used to see told me that when you remove the wafer, instead of pulling/peeling it off, you lift up an edge, then push the skin down, to free it from the wafer. So you're not really using a pulling motion, more gentle pushing downwards on the skin, to separate it from the adhesive. I do it this way, and have never had any pain or problems removing a number of different types of wafers. Worth a try!

Frustrating for sure! I did the same thing, I would push my skin down and gentle lift the wafer up. You will notice that you will then get a spot where it lifts right up as suction releases it and you can continue on to have it come off.

I would also take an adhesive wipe and wipe on the wafer edge, and even onto the wafer itself, wait a few minutes, and all of a sudden everything gets all sticky, and it comes right off.

Barrier rings also help with leaks - Are you using any stoma powder to help with skin irritation? I used Holister and it was fantastic at clearing things up quickly.

Good Luck!!

I didn't do well with my loop either...pretty much constant skin irritation for the 3 months I had it. I used Convatec products & non-alcohol based removers. I would try to remove most of the adhesive with that (pushing not pulling as was mentioned above). Then I would get in the shower and let the water run over it until the last bit of adhesive would loosen. I did use Eakin or Brava seals...they helped with wear time for me. I couldn't get the hang of the paste...just made one big goopy mess! I also used the stoma powder to help with the skin irritation. Hope your surgeon goes for earlier takedown. Mine wouldn't...insisted on 3 months. Good luck.

Vicki

There is an adhesive remover called sensi-care. It is awesome and does not burn my skin at all. They have wipes and spray. I use the spray and spray the top and slowly push the skin and let the spray slide down and the wafer will basically peel off on its own as I push the skin down. They have an adhesive remover and skin protectant.

Have you tried this?

Convatec has a 1 piece moldable which I think does not stick as hard. But I'm not sure if they have a moldable in this.

Also, Salts sells an awesome soft, pliable convex. But the only issue is they do not yet sell them in the USA. I would wear these samples as long as possible when I wore a convex wafer with my hernia. Lol

notsosicklygirl said...

I am also going to get a belt once I figure out what is working and I am going to see if my surgeon will let me move up surgery - but i am not better on that

NSSG,

The Loop was really tough on me, nothing slowed the output down for me except for time. They almost did the takedown on me after 2 weeks because my output was crazy high. I wanted to wait it out but it was brutal. I spent a total of 28 days in the hospital with my Loop because I was readmitted with a kink.

Things did get better for me after about a month but about the 10 week mark the loop ileo started to be much more manageable, I didn't need meds anymore to slow the output and their was much less output.

I am still having terrible luck. I change every single day at least once. Now my insurance company is starting to give me trouble about ordering stuff. Like I am ordering for fun... What do they think?

ANyway, I got these crazy NuHope caulking moldable barrier strips and I tried that today with a convatec wafer. I am going to have to man up because i need to find something that lasts more than 12-24 hours. I am going to call convatec tomorrow and see if they can send me some samples of the precut with the deeper convex. The problem is that they are 19mm and 22mm and I am between those 2 sizes :( This downward pointing is the worst. I used the nuhope under. I think it's helping because I feel comfortable so far. I guess it's always okay in the beginning, it just gets uncomfortable after 12-24 hours. The nuhope stuff came in the most awful packaging I have ever seen. It looked like something from another century. I wish I could redesign this packing - it was truly awful.

This has actually slowed down a bit but that doesn't change the fact that the wafer doesn't last more than 24 hours. I think I made it 30 the other day and that was A LOT.