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WAFER DAYS - HOW DO YOU COUNT?

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Posted 10/13/2007 7:20 PM (GMT 0)
Ok, this may be a silly question but I really want to know how to count the number of days I am wearing a wafer.  If I put on a new wafer on Wednesday morning and change my wafer on Saturday night is that three days or four days?  Do I count "Wednesday" or skip Wednesday and start with "Thursday?"

So, do I count...Wed, Thur, Fri, and Sat..which is 4 days?

Or do I count...Thur, Fri, and Sat...which is 3 days?

To add to the confusion, do I add the fact that I put on my wafer in the Wed. morning and removed the wafer on Sat. night.  So, that adds a half day, right? So, did my wafer last 3.5 days or 4.5 days?

Thanks,

Amey

Posted 10/13/2007 7:34 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Amey.

I would say 4.5 days, as you have had it in all day Weds right to Sat evening

But I could be wrong....mathetamatical genius Im not lol
Posted 10/13/2007 11:28 PM (GMT 0)
I would count like this: Thursday morning is 1 day, Friday morning is 2 days, Saturday morning is 3 days, and by Saturday night it's been on 3.5 days. :-)
Posted 10/14/2007 1:31 AM (GMT 0)
i wonder that too, i think she is right, it would be 3.5, i change mine on thursday and sunday, so i think i get 3 between thursday and sunday and then four between sunday and thursday, it's really too confusing for me!
Posted 10/14/2007 1:49 AM (GMT 0)
Be sure and put a date on the peel off on the back of the wafer and keep that for a record to know for sure how many days you have had the wafer on. I see many folks are able to keep the wafer on anywhere from 3 to 7 days before changing. I am on my 6th day right now. I will change it first thing in the morning.
Rightway
Posted 10/14/2007 4:13 AM (GMT 0)
Are you guys for real?
Posted 10/14/2007 4:27 AM (GMT 0)
Ummm... I don't count lol. I just wait until I feel that my wafer is not going to last another day (usually I can tell when it's getting a bit iffy). I normally get about 6 - 7 days wear from my one piece wafer.
Posted 10/14/2007 7:51 AM (GMT 0)
Shaz,
I, too, USED to get 6-7 days wear time but late this summer things changed and I haven't quite figured out EXACTLY why, but I am still experimenting.  So, I have now begun counting days whitch I never used to really do.  Like you, I could tell by the feel (slight itchiness) that it was time to change. 

Amey
1 day = 24 hrs!  I'm on day #5 right now - so by gosh, I think I may have gotten it figured out!!!  YEH! 

   (Current combination this week: added BOTH a convex insert and strips of an Eakin Seal around the stoma, cut-to-fit opening of wafer.)

 

Crohned

How many days are you getting?
  

 

Posted 10/14/2007 7:14 PM (GMT 0)
I also thought I was only getting 3.5 days out of my wafer but I was hoping that I was miscounting...wishful thinking on my part.

Peggy...what is an Eakin Seal strip? Is that the same thing as the round flat seal that goes under the wafer?

My wafers are holding up. They just get REALLY itchy around day 3...like little ants are running round my stoma!!!! I used some of my husband's head-and-shoulders shampoo last night while in the shower, but today I am itching again. The itching progressively gets worse and worse until finally on day 3 I have to change.
Posted 10/14/2007 8:07 PM (GMT 0)
I really think if it's getting itchy around your stoma around day 3 you're having some leakage. Sometimes it can get absorbed by the seal or the flange and by the time you get around to changing it's hard to see.
Posted 10/14/2007 10:52 PM (GMT 0)
I guess I was being sort of a smart ass....I don't count my days.
Posted 10/15/2007 12:18 AM (GMT 0)

Amey -

The gal at my DME supply house told me about some of her patients who use the Eakin Seals (yes, the round ones) and just cut them in strips and place them on the wafer like you would stomahesive paste.  That is the only area I have trouble with the wafer wearing so quickly and getting itchy - yep, just like little ants crawling around the stoma!!!   I tried it without the insert, and it still got itchy too soon for me.   But, I have to say that when I changed the wafer, that Eakin Seal really sticks well.   It was kinda hard to remove, so I am glad that I did the strip method.  I'm hoping this wafer/Eakin "strips" holds up a couple of more days... curious to see how long it will last.  You should give it a try and see if you can't get some longer wear time with it.

Posted 10/15/2007 12:41 AM (GMT 0)
Peggy, Let me see if I have this correct...you cut the seal into strips and then line the strips around your stoma? Why cut the seal at then? Does the seal go around the stoma even without cutting it? Do you flatten the strips with your fingers or do you leave the seal the way it is, you just cut it into strips.

Thanks for the creative ideas!

Amey
Posted 10/15/2007 1:39 AM (GMT 0)

I flattened the seal with my fingers while the seal was still in between its paper.  I've even read that some folks flattened it a bit with a rolling pin.  So you get the idea.

Then I just cut small strips along the edge of the Eakin Seal about 1/8" wide, kinda like half moon strips.  You will notice that as you flattened the Eakin seal a little, it will work it's way out of its paper barriers on the outside edges.  So, just cut around the edges of the Eakin and take any of the papers off of the Eakin, place it on the sticky side of the wafer, like you would the stomahesive paste.  It can be molded to fit the stoma opening of the wafer.  I place it on the wafer rather than around my stoma so that I can better see that it is lined evenly around the wafer opening.

Does that make any sense?   I just don't see a need to use the whole Eakin Seal if the problem is only around the stoma.  Besides, it really sticks well to the skin, and I only NEED it around the stoma.

Posted 10/15/2007 4:05 PM (GMT 0)
I woke up last night feeling very ITCHY! Judy's words ran through my mind...

"I really think if it's getting itchy around your stoma around day 3 you're having some leakage. Sometimes it can get absorbed by the seal or the flange and by the time you get around to changing it's hard to see."

I had just changed my wafer the previous day but Judy was right...I had leakage.

At 5am I changed my wafer again...this time using Peggy's method. I smooshed the Eakin Seal and moon-shaped strips. I applied the strips to the wafer and worked the wafer onto my skin. Hopefully I can make it an extra day or two. :o)
Posted 10/15/2007 9:10 PM (GMT 0)
Well, Amey, I hope it works for you. I started the "itchiness" last night, changed it this afternoon. 5 days this time for me.

Judy - do you know if I can use some stomahesive paste around the wafer opening also with the Eakin Seal? Just curious....
Posted 10/15/2007 11:31 PM (GMT 0)
You shouldn't have to use the paste, the Eakin should "swell" to fit well, but since you're flattening it, it may not be. I understand why you're doing it, because you already have convexity, but it really isn't doing as good a job as it could that way. If you use the paste, I think you'll have too much product and problems sticking.

Amey, do you use the Eakins? Sounds like you may want to try them.

I just figured out a new "trick" with the moldables and the Eakins. I put the Eakin on first, I fit it snuggly around my stoma, roll back the wafer opening just enough to see everthing and make sure it's centered when I apply it over top of the Eakin. Then I make sure I run my finger around the inside of the circle of the flange pressing down a little, making sure the "moldable durahesive material" is sticking well to the Eakin and that the Eakin is sitting flat around my stoma. Sometimes when you apply the Eakin it sticks to your fingers and "lifts" when you take your fingers away creating small openings for stool to get under.

Peggy, maybe if you do it this way instead of making strips you'll get a better seal around your stoma. You could press down and "flatten" the area where you already have convexity. The Eakin will swell a little and fill in any tiny little openings.

Also, it's absorbent and absorbs tiny little "leaks" and may be why Amey has never noticed leakage before when she was itchy. Sometimes even though it absorbs the leakage, the stool may still be sitting on the skin, but dry even while irritating.
Posted 10/15/2007 11:56 PM (GMT 0)

Thanks Judy for the tips...  I'm just a bit frustrated that all of a sudden this summer I am having problems with my wafer wear time.  SOMETHING has changed and I've not figured out exactly what it is.  20 lbs weight gain?  Eating more often/more meals...   ok, I can buy that.  But this has been a challenge for me and I am extremely grateful for all of your input.  I will try your trick with the Eakin.  I guess I didn't realize that it "swells" like the moldable.  Hmmm.

Your idea about Amey's itchiness/wear time seems logical to me.  What do you think Amey?

Thanks again,

Posted 10/16/2007 12:31 AM (GMT 0)
Peggy, You and I are going to end up making a cake on top of our stomas...a layer of Eakin, another layer of Adapt, followed by a layer of paste, and topped off with an insert. LOL
Posted 10/16/2007 1:22 AM (GMT 0)
And then when it spouts off before we get our bag on, it will just be like a candle being lit!!!  LOL

 

Posted 10/16/2007 1:57 AM (GMT 0)
wow that makes me never want cake again! yay!
Posted 10/16/2007 7:54 AM (GMT 0)
You wouldn't want to light a match for THAT candle. One toot and you could light your bathroom on fire!! tongue
Posted 10/16/2007 12:35 PM (GMT 0)
LOL Cecilia....maybe then I could get my bathroom on one of those home make-over shows.

Peggy, I just changed at 5am Monday morning and last night I was so itchy that I could hardly take it! I wanted to get up and change but I was too tired. I do not want to change my wafer again....I just changed on Saturday and then again on Monday morning. I do not want to use 3 wafers within a couple of days. My wafer has a nice seal around my stoma but is feels like little ants are crawling on me. Last night I was wondered if I should have used some paste with the Eakin Seal.
Posted 10/16/2007 2:00 PM (GMT 0)
Yeah, thats great. Ants and cake.

I have to say, whatever i'm wearing now ( Coloplast ) seems to be working a lot better than the Convatec things i had before. Skin has gotten better and i will be changing it in a few minutes. And since it was last Thursday i put it on, i can't complain. Although i don't like using the belt, it helps a lot.
Posted 10/16/2007 5:14 PM (GMT 0)

Amey said...
Peggy, You and I are going to end up making a cake on top of our stomas...a layer of Eakin, another layer of Adapt, followed by a layer of paste, and topped off with an insert. LOL

Amey, what is Adapt?  A strip? 

One of the biggest mistakes people make when trying to figure out leakage is that they use too much product.   Keep it simple.   

- Skin Barrier (a personal preference, but I think it helps)

- Seal or Paste (I think most people need these)

- Wafer/flange (different types dependent on your needs)

The difficult part is figuring out which types/brands of the above will work best for your situation. 

There are times that you need other things, like powders, but not for preventing leakage and getting  more wear time. 

 

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