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Posted 4/6/2012 2:17 PM (GMT 0)
Hi,

I remember you writing that you have a longish stoma too.  I have been having pouching problems lately; at first I thought it was due to the PG coming back, but now I think it is because of the stoma being long and heavy, pushing on the bottom of the wafer, and causing a decent-sized gap.  This gap is causing me to have some irritation, burning, and even bleeding right at the of skin and stoma. 

I have tried to use Duoderm but I think it just melts away by day 3.  Paste melts away, and I have no idea how to use an Eakin properly.  I am going to Mt. Sinai next week for an appt, but I'd like to get relief sooner if I can figure out how to pouch correctly with this stoma.  Anything you can offer is much appreciated!!!

Posted 4/7/2012 3:17 AM (GMT 0)
UC_free,

My stoma doesn't seem to push up my wafer. However, underneath where it flops over, I sometimes get some irritation. I don't exactly know why. I think stool gets trapped under there in that one spot... perhaps because my stoma flops over it presses down my Eakin there and doesn't allow it to turtleneck as well as it does around the remaining perimeter of my stoma. That spot only gets irritated a little bit.. like a 1/16" sliver of irritation. That is where I put a small piece of Duoderm, which seems to have solved the problem pretty well for me. My Duoderm does not last longer than 4 days though.

At one of my ostomy association meetings, the stoma nurse talked about a product called Marathon. It is like a glue that you put over irritation almost like that Nu Skin stuff you can buy for cracked fingertips. I thought it sounded like it might work for my sliver of irritation too, though I have not gotten any yet because the irritation really isn't that bad, especially now that I am using the Duoderm.

I would highly recommend trying to figure the Eakins out. They work so well! Except for that one little spot, the skin right around my stoma is flawless (though I am battling a bit of a rash under the tape part of my wafer right now. Argh!) I actually have some photos of the process I use to put on my Eakin that I could send you. Go to my blog at the link below and drop me an email at the address there if you are interested. Basically you just stretch the ring a bit and put it over your stoma like you would a shirt over your head. I do mine a little different. I rip open the ring and hook it around my stoma instead. Eakins turtleneck up around my stoma and fill in the gap well. Sometimes once I get my wafer and Eakin on, I caulk a little bit of paste in the crack between my wafer edge and stoma too. I started using a barrier ring (Adapts first... but changed to Eakins because they held up better to my output) two weeks after my surgery a year and a half ago and have not had a leak since.

One thing, I have the issue with my output melting away my Eakins and paste in 3-4 days too. My stoma nurse said my output just happens to eat them away faster and that I should change every 3-4 days. I must have super corrosive output or something. Maybe that is why I can eat corn ha ha.

Sorry I don't have any other suggestions. There is so much trial and error in all this. Best of luck!
Posted 4/8/2012 12:52 AM (GMT 0)
Thank you!!! I will send you my email address. It sounds like the same exact issue for me, except my area of irritation is a bit to the left around the stoma as well. I think because the skin is thinner and more prone to irritation there; that is where the PG just healed up. I am just relieved that it's not the PG . . . at least I don't think it is. Same thing though . . . the stoma flops over and pushes down on the wafer and causes a bigger gap. This occurs in less than 24 hours, and I know it because I can feel the burning.

How wide is the strip of Duoderm you use? I can't get it directly on the spot unless I make it a semicircle of at least a half inch. I don't know if it is harmful to the rest of my skin. Three days is all I am getting for now. At least it's better than the one day I was getting with the active PG.

Post Edited (uc_free) : 4/9/2012 1:43:15 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 4/8/2012 5:48 AM (GMT 0)
Where do you buy duoderm? I am having a terrible time with burned skin around my new stoma. Yesterday I had to change the bag 4 times before I could get a tight seal that stayed in place. The stoma tips down and burns right through everything I have tried.
Posted 4/8/2012 5:42 PM (GMT 0)
Subzero- I had to buy the Duoderm on the internet. The kind I use is Convatec Duoderm Signal. It was my home health nurse who helped me change my appliance when I had a wound vac that first introduced me to the stuff. If you do a google search, you will find a lot of different medical companies that carry it. I buy the 4x4 size and then cut little pieces off of it. It is super expensive, but I use so little that one sheet last me over a month. The piece of Duoderm I cut is sort of eyebrow shaped so that the inner curve touches the edge of my stoma (buts up right against it). Size-wise, it is a curved inch by 1/2 inch. I don't have any trouble with output burning through the Duoderm. I put an Eakin over it though and a tiny bit of stoma powder and skin prep under it. If I go longer than four days though, my Eakin breaks down and output starts to touch the Duoderm. As this happens, it makes the Duoderm no longer stick well and output seeps under it. That is no good, which is why I change my appliance every 3-4 days. My stoma is long though, so I generally have pretty good skin around it. It is just in this one spot under where my stoma flops over a bit that bugs me. I am not sure how well Duoderm would work in cases where stool was constantly touching it. It seems to stick the best on really dry skin. It is worth a shot though.

UC-Free- I got your message through my site and will get those photos to you by the end of the day.

-Heidi
Posted 4/9/2012 4:15 AM (GMT 0)
Heidi, my nurse had Duoderm thin which is fantastic! We cut out shapes like an Eakins ring but cut to fit my stoma size then put Stomahesive powder tightly around the stoma, blew excess off, sprayed with barrier film spray, put duodenum on, and then the wafer barrier/bag with Stomahesive paste on the duodenum. It made a very tight seal without any burning! Thank you for suggesting it. It feels great.
Cynthia

Post Edited (Subzeromambo) : 4/9/2012 3:18:57 PM (GMT-6)

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