Poopy pants (literally)

Colostomy (permanent) 1/27/15.

STOPPING THE SPLASH

Output remains basically watery, except for the very rare semi-formed stool. Doc said due to my neurogenic bowel, we can't expect it to behave like a normal colostomy or normal anything. Said as long as i'm having output and it's not dehydrating me, she's happy. that will be my life. i'm fine w/ that part.

Problem, i wear black sweats or dark jeans most days and when I go to empty, seems no matter how I position myself, whatever, I end up w/ a few (2-6) little dots of poo on my pants that i cannot see when wet, only can be seen when they dry!!!!! Not happy.

These spots are located anywhere from on my behind to inner thighs to sort of front of inner thighs. It's from splash when i empty. I line the bowl w/ lots of TP, even try to get lower into the bowl, but can't prevent these tiny dots.

Generally don't notice them until much later after i have emptied, but they are there nearly every day. Although I know 99.9999% of people either wouldn't notice them or wouldn't know what they were, I DO. And i feel embarrassed and basically it just really bothers me. I think it brings back feelings i had prior to surgery about the bowel incontinence and all the shame.

Not good enough to "get used to it" "change my thinking" "stop worrying", I have to prevent these little spots. At times I notice them while still away from home and have used shout wipes to get the spots out, other times I am getting ready for bed and after taking my pants off, I see them. I feel defeated.

How do i stop it from happening??? I am just about ready to take my clothes off every time I empty. I know it may sound silly to some, but stopping this from happening will literally improve my depression and my life. I cannot mentally handle these stupid little things.


Sorry I got so long!! Thanks for listening and for any feedback/ideas you have.

Sunny.

I empty while kneeling too. Just the way my legs are shaped (long) it's hard to get in the bowl w out a lot of splashing. For home I got a foam pad made for gardening and it makes the procedure more comfortable in my knee.

When I had my ileo I knelt to empty it too. Doing it while sitting was just way to awkward for me.

well, for me, I always pull my pants all the way down, around my ankles. And I sit on the toilet to empty- sometimes I pee first, sometimes not. Rarely do I get any splashing, but if I do, it's on my thighs- not my clothes. I can't imagine kneeling, personally- I'm not tall enough, my torso isn't long enough- I think it'd be really awkward!

I just sit on the toilet and empty the bag between my legs. Never get splashback, ever. The only thing you have to be a bit wary of is the tab, which can drip onto you if you're not careful. But just grab a load of toilet paper and cover it. I very, very rarely get anything on me.

Another method is for when you're standing (in a grotty public toilet, say). Turn the end of the bag upwards, so the contents don't spill out when you open it. Pinch the tab shut with your fingers, then aim it towards the bowl and open up a small gap in the tab. You can control the rate of flow; the more reduced the flow the less splashing there will be. There's a slight knack to it, but not much. To be honest, I don't think the tabs are that well designed, but the problem is letting out thick output as well as thin output, so I think we're stuck with them. But a small tap that you can turn on and off would be much better for thin output, imo.

#blogWell

Edit: Ah, don't say that :-/ I suspect a lot of people get small 'dots', like you do, but don't notice them or care about them if they do. I have noticed the occasional brown dot and not really cared about it, tbh :/ Also, I had a lot more problems in the first few months after surgery than I do now; the stoma always seemed to be leaking over me whenever I changed the bag and I hated it.

Post Edited (NiceCupOfTea) : 4/14/2015 7:38:45 AM (GMT-6)

I sit to empty also, and make sure to pull my pants down to at least past my knees. I also keep the bag pinched shut until it is pointing down into the bowl all the way, then let it go.

I understand that you cannot thicken your output before it comes out of you, but have you tried any of the gelling products that go into the bag? I sometimes use Osto-gel. They are little bags of gelling powder (probaly silica), about the size of a piece of hard candy like Werther's. You can place one or two of those in your bag each time you empty. They work well, in my experience, to thicken the stool. You may have to kinda of massage it around a little to make sure the bag that the powder comes in has dissolved, and to distribute it around. That may help make emptying your bag a little less splashy.

There are other gelling products out there. I ordered osto-gel because may insurance covers it. Another good one that I sampled is called Diamonds, by Convatec. They both gel and deodorize your output. I really liked them, but they are expensive, and my insurance does not cover them, unfortunately.

Hope this helps.