Yes, Dansac is one of the commonly used brands.Its going ok, last weekend it leaked 8 times but we are getting the hang of it. I think dansac is the name of the company?
I agree with this - everyone's very helpful. My suppliers also have an emotional support team, who rang me a couple of weeks after I arrived home to let me know I could call them any time for support, advice on diet, etc. They specifically asked me whether I was having any leaks or skin problems.Yes, Dansac is one of the commonly used brands.
If you continue to get leaks without any reason, it is worth trying kit from other manufacturers. Things like different adhesives, slightly different shapes, etc. suit one person but don't suit another.
Just ring the suppliers in the UK (the contact details are at the beginning of this Stoma Subforum). They are all happy to send you samples and most of the people who answer the telephone are very knowledgeable - some are ostomates themselves.
I use Coloplast myself.
It sounds like your stoma must be situated differently than mine, mine is above my hip bone - with the bag on, the adhesive part is just above where my right hip bone sticks out, but it's further in toward my belly button so even if it were lower it would be next to my hip bone rather than on it.I think its down to technique, some bags last and some don't, I also think my shape affects it, but opposite to what you were saying. I am very skinny and my hip bones really get in the way and make getting the flange on awkward. Nurses say if I put on weight it will get easier.
Flange = wafer. The part that sticks to you.Stupid question, but what is the flange? :confused2:
Sorry if this was asked already, but have you tried a moldable wafer? It's designed to fit around the summa stoma and "turtleneck" it so there are no leaks. Even something like the Eakin rings could help:Ugh I jinxed myself by saying I don't have leaks much anymore. Sure enough a few hours later I wake up with burning skin.
I am so sick of this, every time I cut it, it's a pain since my stoma is oval and swells a lot. I feel like I never get a good seal. I either cut too much opening or make it too tight. God I want a reversal! Sorry bit of an am rant.
Ugh yes. If you wear a 2 piece you can push down on the barrier and push it around a bit as it provides some relief. I also find scratching with coloplast barrier on is safer than the other less sturdy materials used for barriers.Btw does anyone else get annoying itches under the bag where they can never be scratched?!
Me too!I just pulled mine out.
Wouldn't you see or smell it if it was a leak?I found once the stitches had come out, my stoma started to be a lot easier on the eye too! For the first few weeks I was worried it was going to pull straight back inside my stomach, nurse said I was being stupid lol. It's still there now thank goodness but have to say I'm having a bout of the itches this evening. It's annoying as he'll and for anyone who doesn't know it's like having an itch under a plaster cast. Is it a leak? Isn't it? Do I change the bag? Do i not? Grrrrrr
Make the suggestion to these guys:We need a leak alarm or som that changes the wafer color all over so we know it's been breached.
Hi, I hope you're adjusting well! I had so long to prepare for mine, I can't imagine what it would be like to have it unplanned. I've only had my stoma three months (and I love it!) and have so far only tried one-piece, which seems to work fine for me, so I haven't been tempted to experiment with others yet. I change mine every couple of days, although it's not usually necessary for me to do so, I just prefer having a clean one. I've gotten quite quick about changing it now, so I don't find it any big deal to change frequently.Sooo, here I am day 3 of having my stoma, all a bit new and scary to be honest. It's temporary, but I didn't know I was going to have it (had 30cm of TI removed on Wednesday due to a perforation). Saw the stoma nurse today and she will come back on Monday. She wants to know if I want a one piece or two piece bag. Any suggestions? Currently have the two piece.. I like the idea of only having to change the base plate twice a week (I think?) but I think that's because my stoma is still a bit scary to me! Anyway, I'd appreciate any tips etc
Welcome to our club!! I also got my stoma due to a perforation (boy isn't that fun??!! not!!). I've had mine for 4 years now, and I've always used a 2 piece system. I like the fact that I can get away with keeping the base plate on for between 5 and 7 days, and change the bag whenever I want. I also find it's easier to clean both the stoma and the bag with the 2 piece...I used to hate trying to shoot water into the bag to get it clean. This way, you can be sure that everything's spic and span There's a sticky at the top of the forum with the numbers for all the major ostomy companies. Give them a call and they'll send you freebies so you can figure out which brand works the best for you. Good luck! Keep us posted on your progress and of course, feel free to ask any questions that pop into your headSooo, here I am day 3 of having my stoma, all a bit new and scary to be honest. It's temporary, but I didn't know I was going to have it (had 30cm of TI removed on Wednesday due to a perforation). Saw the stoma nurse today and she will come back on Monday. She wants to know if I want a one piece or two piece bag. Any suggestions? Currently have the two piece.. I like the idea of only having to change the base plate twice a week (I think?) but I think that's because my stoma is still a bit scary to me! Anyway, I'd appreciate any tips etc
Not at all. I freaked when I saw mine - it was so much bigger than I expected and bleeding everywhere. It's shrunk to about the quarter of the size it started at now, and stopped bleeding (both these things are to be expected - most stomas shrink a great deal over the first several weeks, and it's common for them to pass a lot of blood straight after surgery).Is it weird that my actual stoma still freaks me out a bit? I feel like I have this little alien attached to me! Hopefully it will become normal soon, but right now it is scary and unknown!
I was told it's best to wait 6 - 8 weeks to introduce blockage-causing foods as the stoma is still swollen until that time, meaning the opening is smaller and things can more easily get stuck.Thanks for you replies everyone, they mean a lot! I actually am up and about and emptying my bag on my own today, so slowly getting used to it. I know it's only a little thing, but it's making it all a bit more normal. Are blockages quite common? I have been eating quite a low fibre diet since yesterday (when I was allowed to eat again!), I am hoping I can go back to more normal foods as I have been eating very low fibre/ minimal the past few weeks when things have been flaring up. The pain is so much better for sure, I have to remember that! All I have now is healing pain (from the surgery) which is about a million times better than what I was experiencing last week!
Yes that's what I meant - I don't know a whole lot about colostomies, but I'm pretty certain they don't have nearly as much as effect on digestion as ileostomies do.I have an ileostomy (is that what you mean?).. I haven't eaten raw fruit/veg yet, only steamed etc. although I believe I do have some sort of salad coming for lunch today.. I wonder how that will go.. At least I'm in hospital incase there are any dramas!
Yes - you need to check all your meds, as some you simply can't absorb with an ileostomy, especially those which are slow-release. Some will have to be replaced with other forms (e.g. liquid meds can be better).They are checking my diet and only allow me certain things, including the salad (strangely) I gave the salad a go for lunch.. It had carrot, tabbouleh, cucumber.. Dear me.. Lol. So far so good. I guess if there is going to be an issue with it I would like it to be here in the hospital! How long do you think it would be before I would notice a problem? Also, very weird that I found one of my slow release pain meds fully undigested in my bag today when I was emptying it!! :-o
No, I appreciate your response! I have read all the materials my stoma nurse gave me and it says I can pretty much eat what I did before blah blah, which was why I wasn't too concerned. Just said to chew everything well and take caution with a few foods (eg stringy fruits, dried fruit, nuts etc). I will speak some more to my stoma nurse tomorrow and see what she says. As for the meds, weird that they have given me this slow release thing if it's not going to be absorbed! Will speak with my dr about that tomorrow! I am compiling a big list of questions which need to be answered before I get out of here
Hi BrightonLou! Welcome to the forum. Do you have a stoma? This forum has been a great source of support and information for me, I hope you'll like it here too.Hi everyone. I am a new member to this forum and I would just like to say that what I have read so far since joining just last week I now know that I am not the only person going through everything. I hope to be of some support for anyone having similar experiences as me and I hope to make friends too
If they made certain layers in the wafer able to change color when wet, you'd easily be able to tell if there was a leak or if the wafer was compromised. I think the majority of us feel burning when the wafer/rings degrade and that's likely the earliest indicator we'll get.I had an idea for a brilliant invention. You know you can train dogs to alert people with illnesses or disabilities? For example to alert a person who can't hear if a fire alarm goes off, or I think I've heard of dogs who can tell when someone is going to have a fit. So I thought I would train my dog to alert me when my stoma bag starts leaking. As we know, dogs have a great sense of smell, so they must be able to detect a leak as soon as it starts. So now I just need to train her to alert me when that happens!
(Unfortunately I don't think my dog is intelligent enough for this to work. But many dogs must be able to learn.)
I'm not sure, but I've seen working dogs and therapy dogs to do some pretty amazing things. I guess they could train them the same way they train dogs to sniff out drugs, or rescue dogs to locate people underwater. Get the dog to smell the stoma bag and reward it for going so. Dogs can be trained to bark when they find something they know they're supposed to find, or to alert owners - there are dogs that are used by deaf people to alert them when the doorbell rings or fire alarm goes off.That seems really hard to train. You would need to know and then your dog needs to smell it and how do you get the dog to show they know? They won't randomly bark or go nuts.