UPDATE

In December 2013 my husband had emergency surgery for diverticulitis with an abscess that rupture on his colon. The end result colostomy. At first, we struggled finding the right appliance; however, with several samples and alot of help from the wonderful people at this forum we got it down =)

Now, 9 months later, and 2 days post-op a Hartman reversal my husband is recouping well. After 6 hrs in surgery, umbilical hernia repair, scar revision and a double barrel ileostomy (temporarily only 6 weeks to allow his colon heal) he is stil my fighter/determined man to move on.

I am sure the ileostomy will bring new and different challenges than the colostomy. I know the stool will be more watery than the colostomy, does this bring on more leakage issues? Anything he needs to do differently?

Thank you for having and contributing to this forum. You help people even when you think you dont

Yes, the loop ileostomy can have major leaking issues primarily due to the watery output, but also because the loop ileos can retract so far and often be flush with, or even below the skin level. Definitely talk with your stoma nurses and go about getting as many samples as you can again.

Personally, I was so skinny when my loop was formed I didn't have any issues with not getting good adhesion, but there were still times had I not used eakin seals I would have had serious trouble. convex wafers can also help really well with making the stoma pop out a little more.

The loop can also be annoyingly active to the point of gushing output seemingly nonstop. Thickeners, immodium, peanut butter, etc can all be helpful with that.

Another issue that is quite common is dehydration due to the constant liquid output, so just be aware of that.

Hopefully he won't have any problems though, and the next few weeks will go quickly! Glad he's doing well. Don't be afraid to ask any questions here or to your nurses of medical team!

Thank you ryan. That is exactly what I was wondering. Hopefully with just 6 weeks it will be short lived issues. The thickening foods. Thank you so much. He loves peanut butter, so hopefully we can get it alittle thicker. He has already started having alot of liquid out here on post op day three, and he isnt used to that at all.
Thank you for you comments. It is just the little things.... that help so much